This week on the farm, we have been welcoming new animals, prepping for maple and experimenting with some new takes on old favourite recipes.
Hoping to have lots of fresh eggs by the start of our main season, we hatched 80 adorable baby quails this week. These little birds are pretty incredible. By eight weeks, they are fully grown and already laying. They continue to lay, year round, throughout their lives. Their eggs are rich and creamy and make perfect snacks and lunches.
During the winter, we have been hatching new birds monthly to grow our flock for next season. With each new addition, last month’s chicks move on to free up brooder space for the new babies. The first chicks of our winter breeding season should be laying by June and these little ones will join the laying crew by August.
Our sows have all moved to the barn and we are expecting piglets any day. Hopefully we will have an update by next week’s newsletter!
Isaac is taking over maple production this year. He spent the weekend getting the maple house cleaned and organized and is hoping that March Break will be perfect sap running weather.
We have started mushroom and microgreen production once again. Micros are in full swing and mushrooms should be available in the next 1-2 weeks; we will post them on the store as soon as we are sure about amounts and harvest dates.
Kate has been experimenting with a few new ideas in the kitchen including a few that are still in the works like dehydrated sourdough starter (love sourdough but don’t love feeding it every day!), a few different versions of pate fermentee (apparently even easier to use than dehydrated sourdough and still has fermented flavour and health benefits) and a new favourite, kefir pancakes.
We love pancakes for any meal. Replacing milk with kefir is a low lactose option that adds tanginess and creaminess. While cooking kills the probiotics that are one of the benefits of kefir, it retains the additional nutrients produced during fermentation and has the addition of post-biotics, released when the pro-biotics are cooked and reported to have health benefits of their own.
We keep a container of pancake mix at the ready for quick meals. Here is my go-to base recipe (I usually make about 10 batches to save in the cupboard):
- 1 heaping cup 1847 daily grind flour
- 1 heaping tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp organic sugar
- a pinch of salt
To make one batch of batter, put 1 c milk (or kefir or a combo of both!) in the bottom of a blender, followed by 3 eggs, 1 cup of dry mix (above) and 4 tbsp melted butter on top
Blend, moving quickly from low to high speed until almost incorporated (~20seconds) then scrape down the sides and blend again for a few seconds. Avoid over-blending which will make the pancakes tough.
Cook on med-high heat in a non-stick /carbon steel pan (it is ready for cooking when it just starts to smoke). Flip when bubbly and starting to firm up at the edges and cook very briefly on second side until you see the pancake rising and it appears to be cooked through, just a few seconds.
Serve with bacon and maple syrup!
Harmony Kitchen 