Wendy's Country Market & Furnace Falls Farm Celebrates the Past in the Present for the Future.28/1/2020
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 Our "night life" goes from dinners at a reasonable hour to "WOW I can't believe how late it is!" Guess this means spring is on its way.
The signs of spring around our farm / market include an abundance of plants in the greenhouse awaiting transplanting. The chicken coop needs a spring cleaning and some work to be done on its fences. And there is some new fencing to be put in for our new spring arrivals (more to come on that later). It's also time for us to be planning for our first event of the season (Spring Celebration on Sunday April 30, 2017). Oh yes, and the addition of another greenhouse – but first we have to dismantle it and move it to its new location. Good thing the days are getting longer: we are going to need it! Over at Furnace Falls Farm the transformation has begun. The kitchen has been framed in and I can't believe how big the window over the sinks is. Now that we can see the space, I can envision the big kitchen table as a focal point, and can't wait till our guests get to enjoy that first meal ... or maybe we will have to have the first meal there ourselves. In busy days ahead, it is always good to have a back up plan to simplify some of your meals. We have put together a meal in a bag to take the thinking and planning out of your day. Stop by Wendy's Country Market and pick up our Meal of the Week Wendy's Market Taco Salad Kit Serves 4 Wendys Country Market Hot Sauce Wendys Country Market Sunflower Apple Mint Vinaigrette Wendys Country Market Tomato Jam Against the Grain Purple Corn Tortilla Chips Bush Gardens Chili Pepper Gouda Eighth Line Farm Ground Beef or Paradise Pork Sausages Burt's Greenhouse Mixed Greens Instructions 1/2 cup Vinaigrette 1/4 cup Tomato Jam 1 tsp Hot Sauce Mix together for the dressing. Add desired amount to greens. Top with crumbled tortilla chips and grated cheese. Add cooked sausages or ground beef. Enjoy! Have a Great Week. Rick & Wendy & Leigha Thanks for supporting Local Producers. Visit us at the market. We're open Thursday through Saturday 11 am – 6 pm, Sunday 'til 5 pm  This week is practically Balmy outside!!! I love it but it is a bit worrisome since it is 15 degrees and it's only the end of February. This warm weather system sent the local Maple Syrup producers into overdrive getting everything prepared for an early syrup season. Ideal temperatures are thawing in the daytime and freezing at night. Let's hope for a long and steady Maple Syrup season.
Maple Syrup is a great natural sweetener in salads, entrees, and desserts, plus it just makes everything so very tasty. It features 54 different antioxidents (the darker the syrup the higher the antioxidents). It also contains a significant amount of calcium, trace B vitamins, and is a good source of 3 essential elements: calcium, iron and thiamin. We really appreciate all the time it takes for the producers to make this tasty liquid gold. Remember that it takes 30-40 gallons of sap to produce a gallon of Maple Syrup. I was digging around in some old recipes and thought it would be fun for people to have glimpse into the past. It is interesting to see how measurements were way back when. I know from looking at some of my grandmother's recipes that none were very exact. It was a pinch of this and a handful of that. Some of the recipes were even missing sections, and if you followed them exactly, you were in trouble. I think my grandmother just made it up as she went along. However she did it, I could not wait to visit and sample her desserts – especially all those sweetened with Maple Syrup, and there were a lot. Here is a recipe from The Every Day Cookbook, circa 1890. Flannel Cakes Beat 6 eggs very light, stir in them 2 lb of flour, one gill of yeast, small spoonful of salt and sufficiant milk to make a thick batter. Make them at night for breakfast, and at ten in the morning for tea. Have your griddle hot, grease it well and bake as buckwheat. Butter and send them hot to the table, commencing after the family has been seated. Have a jug of Maple Syrup on hand at the table for easy access, Pour over the flannel cakes as you wish. Our ingredient list has been added to the original: Eggs – Beking's Flour – Ironwood Organics Yeast Salt Butter – Empire Cheese Company Maple Syrup – Gunnebrooke Farm, Antoine Farm Notice, not a lot of details about amounts or technique in these old recipes. This shows that cooking was a daily thing and that you just went by instinct on what the consistancy was for a lot of things. At Furnace Falls Farm we will be introducing people to some of these old tried and true recipes. Perhaps we can even help you with some of those old time recipes that don't have a lot of instructions, and help you make it LIKE GRANDMA. Have a Great Week. Rick & Wendy & Leigha Thanks for supporting Local Producers. Visit us at the market. We're open Thursday through Saturday 11 am – 6 pm, Sunday 'til 5 pm  It is that time of year that most of us are needing a big boost of vitamin C in our diet, so how about trying some daikon radishes! Thanks to the folks at Roots Down Organic and Patchwork Gardens for storing these relatively unknown gems in their cold storage over the winter.
Daikon Radishes (aka Chinese Radishes) are packed with Vitamin C. They look a bit like a very large carrot in shape with a crisp texture, and are a bit sharp to taste when raw. When cooked, Daikon become sweeter. Diakons are very versatile: they can be prepared raw, cooked, thinly sliced in a salad, shredded or grated in a slaw, pickled, or braised. A little creativity and the options are endless. One of our focusses at Furnace Falls Farm will be introducing people to the many uses of the wonderful produce we have available to us through our cooking classes. Most of our ancestors canned, pickled and preserved a lot in the fall at harvest time. But fall is not the only time for preserving: you can preserve things all year long. Winter is a great time for taking unusual items and coming up with something simple but exciting. Let's add some variety to the winter months, when we are tired of our everyday ideas of what to do with root vegetables. The following recipe will enhance any meal that needs that fresh, salty crunch. Pickled Daikon and Carrot Serves 6 as a side 1/2 cup white vinegar 1/4 cup white sugar 1 Carrot cut into matchsticks – Patchwork Gardens 1 large Daikon Radish peeled and cut into matchsticks – Patchwork Gardens and Root Down Organic 2 tbsp cilantro chopped – Burt's Greenhouses 1 thai pepper chopped – Wendy's Country Market
Enjoy! Have a Great Week. Rick & Wendy & Leigha Thanks for supporting Local Producers. Visit us at the market. We're open Thursday through Saturday 11 am – 6 pm, Sunday 'til 5 pm  Who doesn't like the smell of fresh ground coffee? Over the Christmas holidays we had the pleasure of introducing coffee roasted locally by a small artisanal roastery in Seeleys Bay: Rideau Coffee Roastery.
Mary Whitney and her husband John Barker roast and sell Fair Trade Organic Coffee. This coffee has been a big hit at our market. We buy it from them in small amounts at a time, so it is roasted fresh. Since their coffee is so good, we thought we had better do it justice by getting a coffee grinder so our customers could grind their own at our market. That and we just want to smell the fresh ground coffee! If you ever can nab John to talk about coffee it is worth it. He is a walking encyclopedia of coffee knowledge. Mary and John are very consientious of what beans they use. I have already asked them if they could set aside some time when we have Furnace Falls Farm open this summer to host a coffee-inspired workshop. They can share their knowledge and we can supply the tasty treats to accompany the coffee. We will keep you posted on updates and scheduling through our weekly emails. This week's recipe: a tasty afternoon bar to be served with a fresh cup of coffee and a good book. Maple Coffee Glazed Apple Crumb Bars Serves 9 (an 8 x 8 in pan) 4 cup apples, peeled thinly sliced - Halls Orchard 1 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 nutmeg 1/8 tsp ginger 6 tbsp maple syrup - Gunnebrook Farm 2 tbsp cornstarch 1 cup spelt flour - Sonset Farm 1 cup oats - Ironwood Organic 1/2 cup sunflower oil - Kricklewood Farm Maple Coffee Glaze 1/2 cup fresh brewed coffee - Rideau Coffee Roastery 2 tbsp maple syrup - Gunnebrook Farm 1/2 cup raw nuts Salt to taste Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 by 8 inch dish with parchment paper.
Glaze
Enjoy! Have a Great Week. Rick & Wendy & Leigha Thanks for supporting Local Producers. Visit us at the market! We're open Thursday through Saturday 11 am - 6 pm, Sunday 'til 5 pm
Recipe of the Week – Fitting for a Mad Hatter's Tea Party
Alice in Wonderland "Eat Me" Biscuits 8 oz - butter – Stirling Creamery 6 oz maple sugar – Gibbons Farm 1 tsp baking powder – Purest 2 tbsp orange squash – Corn Acre Farm 1 tsp vanilla 10 oz flour – Sonset, Purest, Ironwood Organics, Against the Grain Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Enjoy!  This month went by so quickly! It is hard to imagine that our Apple Event is just one week away (Sunday Sept. 25th from 11am – 3pm). We will have a great selection of apple products available from our vendors (apple theme baked goods, apple jelly, apple preserves, apple butter, apple cider, apple vinegar, and more).
Chef Mark will serving up an all apple theme lunch menu for the day . While mulling around (no pun intended) at the Apple Event you will be able to enjoy music by The Andrew Mack Duo. We are really happy to say that Jasper Apple Farm will be on site with a selection of their apples and apple products for sale. This is the time to load up on bulk apples! We will also have a limited selection of heritage and organic apples as well. ' Come watch how to make apple cider the old fashioned way at our antique apple cider press demonstration. For the kids and kids at heart we have an apple scavenger hunt. Bring the kids and family out for a fun filled fall day in the country. Have A Great Week! Rick, Wendy & Leigha Thanks for Supporting Local Farmers Interesting Facts about Apple Cider The production of apple cider used to be one of the most important uses for the fruit. It had great economic benefits as a great fresh cider drink, a mild alcoholic drink (hard cider), a potent alcoholic drink called AppleJack (an apple brandy was made by freezing rather then distilling), and as vinegar. Many pioneers who immigrated to Canada in the 1880s feared drinking the water and believed alcohol killed the bacteria (a least that's what they said HAHA). Every small village had its cider mill operating during the late summer and fall. The farmers brought their excess apples to the mill in lumber wagons and the cider was stored in barrels in the cellar. Recipe of the week to warm you on a cool fall day: Apple Cider Cheddar Soup 1/2 cup finely chopped onion – Corn Acre Farms 1 tbsp butter – Empire 2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and diced – Corn Acre Farms 2 cups apple cider – Halls Apple Market, Jasper Apple Farm 1 tsp fresh thyme – Wendy's Market 1/2 tsp salt 1 dash cayenne – Wendy's Market 1 medium cooking apple peeled and coarsely chopped – Jasper Apple Farm 1/2 cup milk – Limestone Creamery 2 tbsp flour – Purest 4 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded – Wilton Fresh apple slices – Halls Apple Market, Jasper Apple Farm
 Wow were did the time go? It seems like only yesterday we were starting seedlings in the greenhouse and now it is harvest time. Fall is a good time for routines to start again, and it has been a while since an update about life at our market. So here goes!
As most know it was a crazy year for all local farmers – the lack of rain was hard on our crops. In every challenging year though, some things do seem to thrive: this year our hot peppers and heritage tomatoes seem to have came out ahead. This is the first year in 4 that blight did not ruin the tomatoes. So we will have lots of sauces, salsas, hot sauces, chilis, and stewed and canned tomatoes for everyone during those winter months when we all wish for the taste of summers again. We will also be saving some of these dynamo tomato seeds to start new plants over the winter. There are so many things to do with tomatoes. Here is a simple salad that lets you enjoy the full spectrum of colourful heirloom tomatoes. Have a great week. Rick & Wendy & Leigha Thanks for supporting local Farmers Recipe of the Week Heirloom Tomatoes with Zucchini and Blue Cheese 1 1/2 lb of mixed heirloom tomatoes – Wendys Country Market 1 medium yellow or green zucchini – Corn Acre Farms 2 ounce blue cheese crumbled – Glengarry Cheese Company 1 green onion sliced – Corn Acre Farms Vinaigrette Dressing In a screw top jar combine and shake well: 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar – Halls Apple Market 1 clove garlic minced – Frontier Farm (Organic) 2 tsp fresh thyme – Wendy's Country Market 1 tsp mustard – Cressy Mustard 1/3 cup sunflower oil – Kricklewood Farm
Makes 6 servings  Dinner tonight was long, and narrow. We've got the skinny on local!
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AuthorI am Wendy Banks a 6th generation farmer from Lyndhurst, Ontario. I have been selling farm produce since the wee age of five when my parents first set me up with a corn stand at the end of the driveway. I have always been focused on providing quality products and providing customer service with a smile. Archives
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