Farmers Market , Early September

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm back, did you miss me ?? :)

I can't believe I have not posted on here since July ....  I had to make a choice between Facebook and the blog , and FB won!  At least for a while,  but the itch to write and share on here is returning .  Life has been very interesting since I last posted...    Back in July , I was working on two local farms .. working hard in the fields, and taking care of 1400 birds at one point .   Life was good, very hard work but good.   Around that time I also started working for a local caterer, catching a few extra shifts , and learning the ropes of catering.  By the time the farms ended , due to the Canadian winter creeping in.. I was offered full time , splitting my time between the kitchen , and office doing the social media and sales calls.  My how my life has changed since I started this blog lol...   Anyways , enough babbling .. I have a post planned for catching up on everything and this isn't it.   I just wanted to get a post up , and remove that writers block from my head .   Here is a few shots from the past week .  Enjoy :))  Many new recipes to follow soon

Mmmm Caramelized onions :))  

Looking South over Lake Ontario on a cold gray day 

Mmmm all local cottage pie :))  

I've been finding all sorts of new subjects to shoot 

My parking spot for hiking :) 

I woke up to this today :)  Blue skies, snow and cedars :)

Today's quick lunch , smoked breakfast sausages with caramelized onions and chips :))  

My new toy!!!   Can not wait to share with all of you .... just need the battery to finish charging hahaha :)) 

Welcome back  everyone,   the future blogs will be incorporating more nature, farms and field shots, along with lots of yummy food porn, and even a couple proper recipes lol .

Enjoy ,  feedback is appreciated !
Rich

A New Chapter begins with Spring part 4

I hope you are enjoying the farm and gardening posts, as this is one of the directions I wanted my Good Food Revolution to go in , don't worry I'll still be creating new dishes, and posting food pix and recipes.   Ill just be going a little further and showing you where all that yummy food comes from , and no its not a grocery store :)) lol   Enjoy the final post .. although this is not the end, rather a new beginning !!

Two of my re-purposed cold frames are going to be part of another little experiment .. they have warmed the ground enough that i can actually dig it up ... so I'm going to plant a few of the onions that sprouted in my pantry over winter.  

One week in , and the lettuce is showing some life !!  

One, two three everyone raise you bum in the air !! Hahahaha 

Trying some onions from seed for the first time..  One week in  

Same in the 80x20 green house..   this made my morning to see these had sprouted.  I didn't have the notes with me , but I think its spinach .  

That me! lol  ..  sure was thirsty work ,  I dug all that by hand with a shovel and fork.  

Off into the sunset I go !!!  

I hope you have enjoyed this post, and the previous three before it .. if you didn't  see them you can find them all here .   http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/search/label/growing%20your%20own%20food

A New Chapter begins with Spring part 3

Spring is finally starting to actually show itself..  its still pretty cold at night , dipping down to -10C or so ..   I keep checking my little cold frames and they are doing okay , a tad too cold for any real planting yet ... but i did try a row of romaine lettuce , directly seeded , and under a small frame.  If it works , Ill be having fresh lettuce soon :))  

I turned the bottom of a wooden shelf unit into a tiny green house, complete with grow light and Mylar walls, should speed things along nicely.  

The goats and sheep , in their winter pen.  We are building a nice big open pasture area for them next week, 

The egg layers are VERY happy its spring , so they can get out and peck around.  198 arrive next week , and the fun will begin ! 

Some of the trays of seeds that we started in the 80x20 greenhouse :)  Lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants and many different herbs.  

Making a cold frame from old green house plastic , and part of a packing crate ...  just need a few tacks and its done. Best part is .. 100% free!! lol 

Another project in my yard ... a new compost bin is in the works , right beside the garden this time. I'm having some fun , and building everything from scrap lumber and pieces... its slowly getting finished. I also made a bunch of bird feeder platforms from old cedar shingles :)   

A little experiment in my garden, last season i cut all the sunflower heads off and placed them face down in a small garden,  I want to see if I can create a sunflower patch this way .  I checked, and the birds didn't get all the seeds.. so maybe ?? lol 

I hope you are enjoying this set of posts ?  Please follow the link below to leave any comments or suggestions .    Happy Gardening Everyone :))

A New Chapter begins with Spring part 2

Life is Good !  The sun is shining !!  The birds are chirping away ! I have a new job/career :) My garden is thawed out , and starting to show signs of life !! The seeds planted a week ago in my kitchen & the big greenhouse at the Svetec's Farm has all sprouted !!

If you didnt catch part 1 ,  you can check it out here :  http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-chapter-begins-with-spring-p1.html

Cold Frame #1 , for the taller plants.. all made for recycled pieces.  This one is old kitchen cabinet doors , and a window.  Adds at least 10C during the day , more when the sun is bright :) It took about 4 days for that snow to melt.  

The chickens were happy for a warm spring day, dirt baths all round !!  lol 

The Svetec's Main Barn.  I just love old barns :) 

We even found a few carrots that survived the winter. We kept a small row to see if we can collect the seed this year .  

Once the roof and end walls were on , it was rather steamy in the 80x20 Green house.  We planted a few rows or lettuce, radish and spinach seeds.. then tried some transplants   just a test row , which was a good thing as 90% didnt survive .  

MUCH smaller scale at home.  I planted about a third of each package, this will be the earliest Ive ever started a garden, those cold frames better work :)) 

The base and the floor of the walk in cooler.  Had to call it a day to let the foam set.  This is going to be one rock solid cool box. 

A New Chapter begins with Spring p1

For those of you that don't follow along on Facebook .  I'm happy to announce that I am now a full time employee at an organic farm .  ( link at the bottom of this post ) The Svetec's have promoted me to their Bird Manager ,  Ill be taking care of all the chickens , ducks ,and turkeys ,  as well as the sheep and goats in the petting zoo area.   What a change from a year ago!  When I was chained to a desk , at a job that was slowly killing me :))  Its hard for me to describe just how happy I am.   The work is good old fashioned hard work !!  We have been busy getting ready for the new season,  planting seeds, building green houses , and walk-in veggie coolers .  My little revolution has just taken a giant step in the right direction!!  Free range Beef , Eggs and Chicken will be on  the menu all summer,a long with all the fresh organic veggies I can eat  ( Some from my own garden too )  I have so much to share I'm going to do a four part post :)

My New Second Home :)) 

The original reason for me working at the farm, we dismantled this big green house at another farm , moved it here and reassembled it.. as much as we could before it was just to cold to work.  Was a few -20C days out there.  

The Chickens :))  I took care of the egg layers for a month in January and had a blast. Will be my new full time job , 198 egg layers on two farms , plus 11 tents of pastured poultry to follow.  

Spring just wouldn't make up its mind:) We were 10C the day before.  

We also wrapped this 80x20foot greenhouse built the end walls and added an exhaust fan .  

The Walk In Cooler was a giant Jig Saw puzzle... was fun, once we got the corners figured out .  

My Own Garden...  all wrapped up for winter.  I'm building cold frames this year to get a jump start on things .  

Thank you Paul & Jenny Svetec for this wonderful opportunity :)  I'm really looking forward to this .
You can check out their website by following this link :) http://svetecfarms.com/

I hope you have enjoyed this post , comments and feedback are greatly appreciated .  Happy Cooking :) Stayed Tuned for the next 3 !
Rich



Publish Post

Wow, 50 posts... done.

Its almost like its someones birthday !!  This is the 50th post for this blog :)) Amazing.  Thank you all for dropping by.   Of course , as soon as I put some pressure on myself to write something fantastic... my brain shuts down the writing side ....  So if you were expecting some glowing report , or recap .. well I'm sorry Hahahaha!!  What Ive decided to highlight today,  is a few of the new series I'm working on.  More of a glimpse of the future, than  a view of the past.

Good Food, Cheap :
Showing how you can eat good food, even on a tight budget with tips and tricks for saving you a bundle. Whether its how to find the best bargains, batch cooking , starting from scratch or buying a whole loin and cutting it up yourself.. it all helps.  

Follow this link for a list of all the GFC posts:
http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/search/label/good%20food%20cheap

Creative Leftovers :
Something that is a constant around here is, leftovers.  This series is all about showing you how to reuse all that extra food , and turn it into something great to eat .  NO matter how great something tastes , eating it three days in a row can be a real chore.

Follow this link for a list of all the CL posts:
   http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/search/label/creative%20leftovers


Simple & Easy :


The newest one Ive started , showing you how to eat good food, in about an hour or less.  Just because you don't have much time doesn't mean you can't eat well.

Follow this link for a list of all the S&E posts :
 http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/search/label/Simple%20and%20Easy


Farm to Fork : 


This one is going to see a lot of posts this year ,  as I delve further into the whole process of how food is grown , how it gets to your table, and whats in it .  Where to buy the good stuff, and what to avoid.

 

Follow this link for a list of all FTF posts :
http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/search/label/farm%20to%20fork



Less Words, More Food : 


The title explains it all :))

Follow this link for a list of all LWMF posts:
http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/search/label/less%20words%20more%20food



Appetizers : 


Finger foods, and snacks for entertaining or light dinners.

Follow this link for a list of all APP posts:
http://richfletchersgoodfoodrevolution.blogspot.com/search/label/appetizers


There are a few other series , that are still in the idea stage .  If you have any suggestions as to what you would like to see,  or feedback on the existing series,  please , don't be shy and leave a comment below.   Thanks for making these first 50 posts a success.

Happy Cooking

Rich