Christmas Magic - Our Sleigh Ride

   Christmas magic.  That may be the best way to describe our beautiful afternoon at Odd Corners Farms.  The snow was lightly falling, the air had a slight bite to it, a slight bite, but not bitter cold.  We snuggled under blankets and enjoyed the soothing sway of the sleigh, mixed with the excitement of the hills.  The world was a blanket of white, and the only sound was the baying of hounds in the distance and the beautiful jingling of the sleigh bells.  Christmas magic.

    Odd Corners Farm is owned by Lion and Raquilda Van Zoeren.  I say "owned" but really it feels like they are stewards of that land.  As we rode through their beautiful piece of paradise, Lion told us about the land, what it had been, the shape that they found it in, and what it was now.  You could hear the love in his voice and see it in his eyes as he spoke about their land.  His beautiful big horses obeyed his every command all the while he spoke.  It was almost as if they knew what he wanted them to do without ever being told.  It was a thing of beauty to see him handle those gentle giants.  He spoke to them with a firm loving voice, I was in awe.

    The land was beautiful, layered with a white blanket.  We rode through big open fields and then through a stunning path with trees guarding it on either side.  At one point we rode through the forrest, flanked on either side by rock giants.  It was almost like a mythical land.  At one point Lion stopped the team to show us his rock labyrinth.  We climbed out of the sleigh to explore the amazing rocks.  I half expected to see mythical creatures peeking out from the rocks and graceful fairies hiding in the trees.  There really are not words to adequately express the beauty of their property.

    The whole ride the three dogs ran along behind the sleigh.  Two of the dogs were pugs and one was a big white fluffy dog.  We loved to watch them chase along.  Elly was in love.  She was more in love with the dogs than she was with the sleigh ride itself.  She would squeal with delight as she saw the little pugs running along beside us, she even went so far as to rename the pugs "Puggy and Loyd"( I sure hope that Lion and Raquilda will remember to call their pets by their new names).  At one point Lion stopped the sleigh to allow the fat little male pug jump into the sleigh.  This just threw Elly over the edge, she could barely contain her joy. Her little face just beamed as she would report where "Puggy" was.  All of the kids loved to watch him run back and forth under the trailing blankets.

    I was sad to see their beautiful house, because it meant the end of our ride.  As we approached the house we could see the flicker of a bright orange fire just by the house.  Reluctantly we climbed out of the sleigh and made our way over to the fire.  The fire warmed our bones.  It was so nice to have the bite of the cold and the soothing warmth of the fire.  Soon after Raquilda came out of the house with a tray full of hot chocolate, gorgeous homemade chocolate chip cookies, hot dogs and marshmallows.  She invited us to dig in.  The hot chocolate was smooth and warm, it sank right into my bones, warming me up on the inside, while the fire warmed the outside.  In other words it was bliss!

    At one point we were standing around the fire, thoroughly enjoying ourselves, when we heard the flapping of wings.  Suddenly this lovely white pigeon landed on my Mom's shoulder.  It just sat there passively enjoying the comfort of the fire.  Raquilda told us that an animal had gotten in and killed the pigeons parents and that she had felt such sympathy for the poor little thing that she raised it.  It was now the family pet.  Shortly after that the pigeon flew off of Mom's shoulder to find a new roost upon Grace's hat.

    As I said in a past blog about our sleigh rides, Raquilda's son Wesley is in Grace's class.  Wesley is one of the cutest most friendly kids and I was looking forward to meeting his parents.  I can now tell you that Lion and Raquilda are two of the loveliest, friendliest people that I have had the pleasure of meeting.  They love their land, and the life that they have created for themselves, it shows.  They are just lovely people.  It was such a lovely afternoon that will become an annual family tradition.

    A sleigh ride does not just have to be confined to Christmas.  The kids will have two weeks of holidays for Christmas break, and will become bored about a minute after they have opened their gifts.  Instead of taking them to the movies, why not bundle them up and take them over to Odd Corners Farm for a sleigh ride?  Movies are great, but so passive.  In the sleigh I was surrounded by the amazing beauty in which I am blessed to live.  I was with my family, we were enjoying each other and the ride.  We were making life long memories.  You may remember the movie that you have seen, but did it create a life long memory?  Lion and Raquilda can fit 10 - 12 people in the sleigh, and the cost is a small $85.00 (less than it would cost by far to take 10 - 12 people to the movies).  If you would like to experience some winter magic call Lion and Raquilda to book your sleigh ride 613-478-2604, trust me on this one, your kids and you will thank me for suggesting it!

Thank you Lion and Raquilda for sharing your little piece of paradise with us.

Campbell's Orchards / Apple Picking

    Tradition.  For our family tradition is extremely important.  It connects our past to our present and to our future.  It gives us something to look forward to and then beautiful memories.  One of our favourite family traditions is Campbell's Orchards.  For the last 15 years we have been been taking our kids to Campbell's.  It means the beauty of fall, the beauty of family, and Christopher gorging himself on apples (then complaining because he feels sick because he has gorged himself on apples).

Wilbur the Pig is one of Rowan's favourite
parts of visiting Campbell's.

    Our family has been coming to pick apples at Campbell's for the last 15 years.  We began coming when Gabe was just 2 and a half.  It was his first year in nursery school, and the nursery school went for a class trip.  I had never been before that.  Over those 15 years things have only really changed a little, and I like that, I do not like change.  Every year we go and pick apples as a family affair.  My parents meet us there every year.  Every Christopher and I pick our apples in our designated rows, while my Mom runs all through the rows looking for the "biggest, and best apples".

    To me picking apples is quasi religious.  I feel so close to the earth, to the past when I pick apples.  There is that amazing fresh sweet smell, that is only found in apple orchards.  As we pick our apples, we can only pick with one hand, because the other hand contains an apple.  There is no taste quite as good or as fresh as  the apple just picked from the tree.  It is the same as anything, as soon as it is off the tree, it begins to loose it's flavour.  The warm juice runs down your arm, often spraying the person beside you.  It is glorious!  For me apple picking is the beginning of fall, the beginning of my mother earth stage.  I make apple crisp as soon as we get home, and then start making homemade bread and rolls and soups.  I become that mother that I want to be all year, but eventually run out of steam.

   This year we saw a fresh new face.  The young man above was an absolute pleasure.  He was funny and energetic.  He showed us the rows the we were "supposed to pick".  I warned him about my mother's trick of jumping rows.  There are times that I have caught her up ladders.  We loose site of her as she wanders looking for the best apples.  To Mom the rule breaking is part of the fun (I'm sure that she would deny this and say that she just likes the best apples).  He was so funny, as he walked away he turned quickly and gave Mom the old "I've got my eyes on you", fingers to eyes gesture.  That caused peels of laughter from all of us.  If the Campbell's are smart, they will keep this employee around and happy for a long time.  It is because of amazing service, as well as tradition that keeps us coming back.

   The other important part of our Campbell's tradition is our hay ride.  They offer hay rides on Sundays.  I LOVE hay rides!  The rhythm of the wagon is so relaxing.  The joy I feel when I look at my kids sitting on those bales of hay, with big contented grins on their faces is priceless.  I get that all is right with the world feeling on a hay ride.  For the last number of years we have had the same tracker driver (the man in the picture above).  He is that welcome face of familiarity.  The tractor drives us around the farm.  It is amazing to see the size and great beauty of the farm.  One of our favourite parts of the wagon ride, other that the ride itself is when the driver stops the tractor and we jump off to pick an apple.  The funny thing is that we have already gorged ourselves on apples when were picking, but somehow this apple always tastes better.  After we have picked our apple we scramble back onto the wagon.  It's the best!

    We had an amazing day on Sunday.  The weather was beautiful.  We were all together.  The world just felt right.  As we drove home Christopher let out a big sigh.  "That was great day".  He had this contented smile on his face.  "I wish that everyday could be that simple."  I have to agree with my husband on that one,  I also wish that every day could be that simple, that content.  That is what I like about our tradition, you always know what to expect.  You always know that you will leave with a huge bag of apples, and amazing family memories.

campbellsorchards.com

Reklaw Farms - Community Supported Agriculture

This is taken from reklawfarmcsa.blogspot.com

    As promised, here is more information about the Walker's farm (remember yesterday's "Hunt's / Walker's Corn".)  As anyone who is a regular reader of mine, you know how I feel about whole foods. If we could afford to do so, I would only feed my family organic whole foods, that we had purchased locally.  I think that it is really important to know where your food comes from.  There is also something to to be said for eating what your local farmer feeds to his/ her children.  It just stands to reason that he / she is only going to feed his / her family the very best, therefore feeding your family the very best!

    Yesterday I was discussing my addiction to corn.  I also shared that in speaking to Verna Walker, I discovered that her family was transitioning to Hunt's corn.  She had mentioned their "Community Supported Agriculture".  I was intrigued.  The way this system works is that you essentially buy a share in the farmer's stock.  You gamble what they gamble, but without the back breaking work.  You purchase a share, and in return, at harvest time, your share is returned in produce.  I LOVE this concept.  

    I am by nature a super lazy person.  I love the "idea" of my own vegetable garden.  I have in years past planted said garden.  In the late spring I am super excited about all of the amazing vegetables I will produce.  I was super excited to see the little seedlings struggling through the earth.  I would water them religiously, until that is I became bored with it, which was within the first month.  I am lazy!

I really love the idea of feeding my family fresh, from the earth produce, I just don't care for all of the work required in doing so.

    You may be asking yourself, why would I buy a share in a farm, when I can just as easily go to my grocery store and buy my produce for the same price?  Good question.  How do you think that produce got to the grocery store?  How many trucks did those carrots ride in before arriving at your home?  When were those carrots picked?  For that matter, where were they grown?  Not all countries use such strict pesticide policies as ours.  When we were in Florida and picked oranges, this question about what I was feeding my family became more pronounced.  On our family trip to Florida, we stopped to pick Oranges at an Organic Citrus Grove.  The oranges we picked were not orange, but mottled with orange and browns and greens.  They were the most delicious, most juiciest oranges I had ever in my life tasted.  The oranges that we purchase in the stores have essentially been painted orange to make them more attractive.  Who knew that?  Apples are coated in red tinted wax to help them to look more attractive, and to give them a longer life.  Do you see my point?  These fruits are still really good for you, I'm not saying that they are not.  I am saying why would you want these unnecessary extras in your food?

     The other important reason to purchase directly from your local farmer, is really a very simple reason... taste.  Fresh tastes so much better.  A potato that has just been dug that day, or better yet within the hour of eating it, tastes night and day different from that same potato two days later.  The tastes are more pronounced.  The other part of that is the fresher the produce is, the better that it is for you.  If you think about vegetables as living things, which they are, then as soon as you pick them they are beginning to die.  Every minute off the vine / plant  they loose their nutrients. We eat vegetables for their taste, and their nutrients... so fresh is best!

    I realize that I am sounding a little preachy, o.k. a lot preachy.  I just really feel strongly that we need to support our local farmers.  Without farmers we don't have food!  So many farmers are no longer able to just farm.  They have to farm, and have a second job to support their families.  It seems criminal that these hard working people should have do this.

    My family plans to purchase a share in Reklaw Farms this winter.  Last year the cost of a share was $500.00.  The $500.00 entitles you to 16 weeks of produce.  That is only $31.25 a week!  Shares must be purchased by April.  That is perfect, because it is in line with our income tax rebate.  Come the summer it will feel like we are receiving free baskets of produce every week ( feel like free because it will have been ages ago that we purchased our share).  The Walkers do not use chemicals or pesticides on their garden.  Instead they plant heirloom, hardy plants that have stood the test of time.  For a mere $31.25 I will be feeding my family good whole foods, that contain no pesticides of chemicals.  The bonus is that it will feel like Christmas every week for 13 weeks!

    To find out information about Reklaw Farms go to their website and take a peek for yourself, 

or visit Verna's own blog.

reklawfarm.wix.com

reklawfarmcsa.blogspot.com

Hunt's / Walker's Corn

    In the cold of winter I dream of corn.  Corn is one of my addictions.  In the winter months when I can find corn I make do.  I add a table spoon of sugar, and a quarter of a cup of milk to the water I boil it in.  It improves the lackluster taste, but it does not recreate Hunt's corn in the summer.  There are many farmer's selling corn, and they are good enough, but they are no Hunts, oh no they are no Hunts.

    Come mid July, I begin to eagerly anticipate the arrival of that beautiful  bright yellow shed.  That shed signifies the beginning of corn season.  When I see that yellow shed I begin to get the sweats (like they describe junkies on TLC's Intervention).  My mouth begins to water ( I know I have problems.  I mean I don't drink, I don't smoke, I just Jones for Hunt's corn).  I begin my fantasies of corn bathed in butter, lightly dusted with salt and pepper... ohhhhhhhhhhhh.  

    We have been going to Hunt's corn for as long as I can remember (that's not necessarily a long time, I have really pathetic long term memory).  I have been fooled a few times, enough times that I have learned a valuable lesson.  Sometimes you will see corn for sale, fill a bag for $2.00.  Guess what, you get what you pay for!  Hunt's corn seems to be a special type of sweet corn, because no one else sells anything like it.  I remember a few years ago my mother-in-law came to stay with us for a few days.  She is former farm girl (when she was a girl her parent's farmed).  She loves corn on the cob! For years we have told her about Hunt's corn, and that it is the world's best.  She gave us that little "poor little idiots", smile.  You know that smile akin to "whatever you say sweet heart".  Upon finishing her tenth cob (o.k. I'm not certain it was really ten.  Ten sounds better for dramatic effect, it was probably really more like two), she declared "This is the best corn I have ever eaten!".  I then got that "I told you so" smile, akin to "IN YOUR FACE, IN YOUR FACE", and told her I was glad she had enjoyed it.

    The bright little yellow shed has been sitting at the side of the road, teasing me for a while.  Last week Christopher came home from work and told me that "Hunt's Corn is open!!!!!!!"  I then berated him and asked why he hadn't brought any home.  Every single day for the last week we have been eating fresh beautiful corn!  I am in heaven.  If heaven exists, I am pretty sure that there are mountains of sweet corn, and rivers of butter to dip it in.  I know... I have a problem.

I make several different butters for corn.
This one is fresh chives,  parsley and dill, mixed with salt and pepper.
 I also mix powdered barbecue rub into the butter.

    Today I went to buy the corn.  In the bright little shed was not a member of the Hunt family, but a very nice lady named Verna Walker.  Verna told me that they were transitioning ownership.  My first instinct was "but only the Hunt's know the secret magical seeds".  I then gave my head a shake when Verna told me that they had grown the corn on their own farm.  I remember that I had been eating the corn for a week now, and was still very much in love with it.  Denny Hunt had helped them pick out the corn, and recommended a number of things to help their corn business.  I then exhaled knowing I was in good hands.

    Verna, her husband Will, and their three kids run their family farm, Reklaw Farm.  I was telling her how much I enjoy fresh straight from the farm produce, but was too lazy to plant and maintain my own garden (too lazy is really being too kind to myself.  I would not last two minutes in the Amish community).  Verna was telling me about their community garden.  I was intrigued.  I could pay into their farm, and receive a "share" of the harvest, all while sitting on my lazy butt!  I LOVE THIS CONCEPT!  

  I went to the Hasting's Harvest website, and copied this information for you about Reklaw Farm.  It makes excellent sense.  I will find out some more information from Verna, and report back to you.  In the mean time, if you find yourself in the Tweed area, go and buy the world's greatest corn (they are right across from the Tim Horton's, you can't miss it)!  If you are not in our area, do yourself a favour and go seek out a local farmer for your needs.  For those of you who only buy from your grocery store produce isle, you are in for a really great treat.  Food tastes so much better when it is straight from the ground.  You know what they say "Farmer's Feed Cities", "If you ate today, thank a farmer".

Reklaw Farm Community Supported Agriculture

Know your farmer

 You have a dentist to care for you teeth and a family physician to care for your health. Do you have a farmer to provide local healthy produce  for you and your family? If you are concerned about what you are eating the first step is to, know your farmer.

Community Supported Agriculture is a community of individuals that pledge support to a local farmer. In return the farmer grows vegetables and or meat products to be distributed to its supporters. Many supporters of CSA are concerned with food safety. Shares are purchased at the beginning of the growing season. Clients receive a weekly basket of the freshest vegetables. The client and farmer share the rewards as well as the risks.  There are things out of the farmers control such as extreme weather and pest infestations. We will endeavor to grow a variety of vegetables from early June to early October. We will do as much as we can to ensure a bountiful harvest.

We would like to be your farmer.

Full shares will feed a family of four. Half shares will feed a couple or a single person that eats a lot of vegetables. Some vegetables our clients enjoyed last year are:  lettuce, spinach, kale,cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, melons,zucchini, squash, potatoes,broccoli,radishes, carrots, onions, parsnip,kohlrabi, leeks, celery, swiss chard, peas, beans.

Pick up at the farm will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the early evening. Local delivery will be available for $5.00 per week.

We do not use pesticides or chemical fertilizers. We instead use crop rotation, row covers, and hand weeding.

We will also be offering pasture  raised chicken, pork and turkey  this year.

This summer will be very exciting for us for another reason. We are going to be growing sweet corn. Our sweet corn will be available at various corn huts in the area. We will also have wholesale sweet corn. So if you are thinking about having a corn roast this summer give us a call ahead of time for wholesale pricing.

Lastly we have a growing herd of Irish Dexter cattle.

Waupoos Estates Winery

    Prince Edward County may very well be one of the most beautiful places on earth.  That is a big statement, but a true one.  I find that by the time I have hit Picton, Ontario I feel like I am on holiday.  The area reminds me of the ocean side towns in the States.  Somehow to me the air smells fresher, and I feel more calm and content.

    Last year my family and I participated in "Maple in the County".  In March, Prince Edward County promotes their Maple Syrup and the area businesses all get in on it.  On that trip we wanted to go to the "Fifth Artesian Cheese Factory" in Waupoos.  Waupoos is gorgeous!  It sits right next to Lake Ontario and the views are breath taking.  I had never been to Waupoos before that.  On the way we stumbled upon the "Waupoos Estates Winery".  There are no words to describe it's beauty.  We stopped by on our way, and I fell in love.

    Fast forward to last week.  I needed a mini break from my life.  I needed to run away (this is becoming a theme in these blogs lately isn't it).  I packed the baby (I know she's three, but she's the baby o.k.) picked up my Mom and headed out to the county.  Mom had never been to Waupoos before, and I wanted to see her reaction.  She did not let me down.  She ooohed and awwwwed and gasped, and made my day.  So much so that we heard a little voice from the back seat "Oh my, isn't that pretty" in the same breathless tone that she had been hearing from the front seat.  I knew that Mom would love the Waupoos Estates Winery.

    As you pull up you forget that you are still in Canada.  It really feels like you have arrived magically at a foreign country.  Nearly as far as the eye can see are grape plantings, set in front of the the glorious backdrop of Lake Ontario.  Then there is the actual store itself.  They have seen to every single minute detail.  Their very chairs out front have grapevines with grapes carved into the seats.  It is beautiful.  It is obvious that they have spent a lot of time making sure that every detail is perfect.  If they take this much care on the building, imagine the quality of their wines.

    I was impressed before I even set foot in the store.  Inside the store is bright and colourful.  There are lots of beautiful gifts for sale.  My favourite bar none was the giant high heel shoes that were in actuality wine racks / holders.  These would make an amazing gift (hint hint honey).  They had matching adorably fun wine glasses too.  I just loved the whimsy of it.  It was all displayed beautifully with lots of space to look around without fear of knocking something.  There was lots, but not too much much that it was overwhelming.

Wouldn't this make a great gift?

    Even better than the beauty I was surrounded by was the customer service.  For you regular readers you will know that customer service is EVERYTHING to me.  No matter how amazing the product is, I will not come back to your store if you are rude to me.  I will tell everyone I know when your customer service is excellent, and your employees are cheerful and helpful.  If you have good customer service, with polite, cheerful and helpful staff serving me, I will be a life long customer.  The women that work at the Waupoos Estates Winery honestly should win award for their customer service, especially this nice lady in the picture above who helped us.  She was nice, cheerful, helpful and knowledgeable about their products, I really appreciated this.  I told her what I liked and asked for a suggestion of a sweeter wine.  I am new to wine drinking.  If truth be told I prefer sweet wines mixed with juices (one step off of coolers).  I do not have mature wine tastes, but I like to try.  I really appreciated the fact that you can taste any of their wines for a mere dollar.  There is nothing worse that purchasing a wine or really anything for that matter, getting it home and hating it.  I tried the honeysuckle wine, and fell in love.  I bought a bottle to take home.  It was a really nice bottle of wine and cost a mere $12.95.  Christopher and I enjoyed it that night with a baguette (purchased from Sweet Sensations Bakery) and a lovely dill cream cheese (purchased from the Empire Cheese Factory), but I digress.

They had an excellent selection of wines.

    After tasting the wine we wandered over to the new "Chocolatier and Gelato Shop".  Impressive.  I really liked that the chocolate they sell comes from local Donini Chocolate.  I like when businesses support each other, everyone wins.  As I mentioned they sell gelto.  Gelato is such a lovely fresh taste.  Mom treated us to a vanilla and raspberry gelato.  Oh my goodness was it delicious.  The lady who helped us was really nice and helpful, again amazing customer service!  We took our gelato out onto the patio to enjoy the taste and the overwhelming beauty.

    The patio looks out onto the "Waupoos Winery Estates Restaurant", the grapes, and breath taking Lake Ontario.  The temperature was just right.  Everything was perfectly aligned.  The gelato was heavenly, the atmosphere was beautiful, life was good.  I just sat there smiling like an idiot shoveling in spoonfuls of delicate gelato.

    I love Waupoos Estates Winery.  I will be back.  I will be back when it is just my husband and I, and we can enjoy a meal at the restaurant.  We walked down to the back of the property and I had fantasies about sitting on the patio facing the lake eating a delicious meal, drinking wine that has been grown right beside me.  I see my husband and I out on a date, facing the lake, holding hands while we finish our meal.  The weather would be warm (there would be no bugs, this is a fantasy), and when we are finished we will walk up the little hill to the parking lot.  Oh we will definitely do that!

    You owe it to yourself to make a little day trip into the county.  You really owe it to yourself to take that drive to Waupoos Estates Winery.  Their customer service is perhaps the best I have seen.  Their selection is excellent and the atmosphere is holiday like.  What else could you want?

If you would like to learn more about this glorious little piece of heaven, why not visit their website.  I was pleased to learn that they offer free shipping to anywhere in Ontario.

waupooswinery.com

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