Hello Members!
We have lots of exciting news this week!
First of all, we have had a number of requests for another open farm day and many of you have been sharing posts about our farm and our food delivery with friends who may also be interested (thank you SOOO much!). This week marks the start of our maple season and we thought we would start the season off with a member's "invite a friend" open farm day. We will offer a tour of our maple forest, the winter greenhouse and maybe the barn depending on what is happening with the expecting mommas (baby goats and piglets expected any day!). We will also have syrup samples of some sort (maybe with sourdough waffles?) and some thank you syrups for anyone who signs up for a full season share (we will have a computer set up on site and can help with getting sign up completed). If you bring a friend who signs up please make sure they use your "refer a friend" link so that both you and your friend will receive $25 in Harmony Farm Harvie Credit.
We will host the open farm day on Sunday March 3 from 12-2. We will plan on starting a tour around 12:30. Please reply to this message to let us know if you are coming and the number of people in your party so that we can plan for the right number of people.
Our winter greenhouse is growing like there is no tomorrow so we will have lots of sweet and delicious greens this week. February's butcher box special is sold out but we will have a new box to offer for the month of March. We are not listing eggs this week as we have learned that our girls HATE it when the temperature is all over the map like it is predicted to be this week. We should have lots again by next week. Also for next week, expect to see kombucha back on the menu. Kate's scobies had a little holiday while the house reno was being finished but they are back in business and creating some delicious brews!
We know many of you not only buy our local produce but also grow your own gardens. This year we have sourced all of our seeds from Gaia Organic Seeds out of Ottawa. In addition to buying seeds for our garden we also have an assortment of seed packs for home gardeners that you can include in your weekly order (or can purchase on site at open farm day next week).
Last but not least here is the recipe for our family's absolute favorite braised pork chops (from America's Test Kitchen "Cook it in Your Dutch Oven"):)
Ingredients:
- 3 slices chopped bacon
- 4 pork chops
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 c EV olive oil
- 1 onion, halved and sliced thin
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 3/4c chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 lb broccoli florets
- 2 tbsp minced parsley
Preheat oven to 300 deg
Cook bacon in dutch oven until crisp then transfer to plate and remove all but 2 tbsp fat
Cut 2 slits in the edges of pork chops then pat dry and season with salt and pepper; brown in bacon fat in dutch oven then transfer to plate
Add 2 tbsp oil, onion and salt to dutch oven and cook over med heat until softened and lightly brown
Stir in garlic, thyme, pepper flakes, cook until fragrant then add water, scrape up brown bits, reduce heat to med-low, add flour and cook, stirring until well browned, about 5 min
Stir in broth, add bay leaves and bring to a simmer then nestle in chops, cover and transfer to oven for one hour
Add broccoli to the top of the pot for ~20 min or until tender
Remove broccoli, toss with remaining oil and season with salt and pepper
Transfer chops to serving platter, tent with foil and rest
Skim fat from sauce then simmer over med-high heat until thickened, ~5 min
Discard bay leaves, season with salt and pepper, spoon over chops, sprinkle with bacon and parsley and serve with broccoli
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Wishing everyone a great week!
Greg and Kate.
