Don't order new seeds till you read this.

 

I used to buy seeds on impulse but i have so many seeds I'm not getting any new ones till I sort these ones out. I used to do this all the time when I had my retail greenhouse.. But haven't for a few years .. Then I came across this article of how to organize seeds. I remembered how meticulous I was at seed saving and since I'm gonna start up the greenhouse again this year I thought Id share some of my tips. It is a real time saver.

Why Organizing Makes Sense: It’ll save you money. It's deceptively easy to overbuy seeds... Your brain will convince you you NEED more pumpkin seeds... and you’ll be sorely disappointed when you later realize you had 3 full packs from last year. Seeds don’t last forever. I mean, they can, but the environment has to be just right. Unless you're hyper-focused on your seed storage climate, they’ll degrade faster than you think. Thankfully, it's not a huge deal as long as you rotate your inventory. It will increase your growing success. Old seeds aren't as dependable as fresh ones. If your germination rates aren't great, there's a chance it due to the age of the seeds.  Are you convinced yet? I hope so. Let’s get into the nitty-gritty. How to Organize Your Seeds Step One: Categorize You can categorize by anyway that works for you but I use these: Season (early spring, late spring, fall, etc) Plant Type (roots greens, brassicas, tomatoes, herbs) Variety (cherry tomatoes, paste tomatoes, slicing tomatoes,  indetermnate and determinate etc) Personally, I organize by plant type. My categories are: Alliums (onion & shallot seeds and garlic) Salad Greens (lettuce, arugula, spinach) Large Leafy Greens (collards, chard, kale) Brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts) Bush beans Cucumbers Carrots Other Roots (beets, parsnips, radish) tomatoes Winter Squash Summer Squash Winter Greens (mache, mizuna, sorrel, kale) Trees n shrubs Herbs Flowers Cover Crops (I don’t keep hundreds of different varieties like some homesteaders. I’ve found what I like over the years and have realized that planting 16 types of tomatoes and 7 types of carrots is unnecessary for us. Therefore, I stick to our favorite short-season, workhorse varieties. Remember there are more seeds in a packet than you will use in 3 years , probably,, witht he exception of corn and maybe peas. I have a book that ive been putting garden info into since I started my greenhouse business in 2002. It is my garden bible You could also use Google Sheets or Excel to create a simple spreadsheet to track your inventory and make any notes pertinent to what happened each year. If you’re making your own sheet, create columns for seed name, where you bought it, what variety it is, quantity, and how it performed for you. I’ve tried many different options for storing seeds over the years (plastic boxes, shoe boxes, jars, envelopes), but finally settled on simple small plastic storage boxes that go into bigger boxes .  Picture above   It is a photo box but it works perfectly and the small color coded boxes make type organizing so easy,You can take  smaller boxes out to the garden when you need them instead of luggin large boxes or seed pkts that can blow away or get wet..  Just make sure they are airtight and waterproof.( in case you leave them out there for a bit) i might have done that?😳 Step Three: Check Viability This isn't necessary for all seeds, but if you have an older pack, it doesn’t hurt to do a quick germination check. (This is also a wise practice if you’re comparing seed companies and want to check germination rates— they're not all created equal.) Wet a paper towel , put seeds in,  Put towel, inside plastic bag, put in dim or dark  warmish place( depending on light requirement for germination.  with bag slightly open, keep towel moist. Seedswill germinate quickly .I have typically put mine on top of fridge. Set a reminder to check after 6 days nd everyday till germinatin stops. Step Four: Keep it Up! The hardest part of this whole deal? Keeping up with the system. I mean, it's not difficult, per se ... but you must remember to keep your inventory updated throughout the season as you add/subtract seeds from your stash and most of all: take notes as the growing season progress. The best gift you can give to your future gardening self is to write down what is/isn’t working. Where I Get My Seeds:  Canadian seed Suppliers are my go to but i have certain things I wont compromise on  They have to have a good selection of all categories- from veggies to herbs to flowers to cover crops. they have to be hardy here.   this is crucial. The have to have heirloom, open-pollinated, and GMO-free. This is huge as I want to be able to save seeds year after year. Their germination rates have to be high Pricing has to be affordable   Shipping has to be sent at approriate planting times , if ordering live plants or roots. I use T&T , Stokes,  This year a very Local young lady from Saskatoon who has started her business the last couple years Her name is Ava and here is  a link Ava seeds

HOW TO CARVE A TURKEY

I could make a post a video of me carving a turkey, but this fellow does it so well everyone uses his video.

SO HERE IT IS  From Jamie Oliver himself.

Click here 

 

Taking the Mystery out of Meat Part 2

 

This part 2 was a long time coming

My Mom taught us kids that time savers in the kitchen will result in better mealtimes. 

Boy was she right. 

Rushing to get a meal on the table for company or just the kids is a challenging experience. And only sometimes enjoyable.

Mom was a stay at home Mom to a boy and three girls, all active in sports, cheerleading or drama

. She took her job very seriously.

She was amazingly organized, all that cooking and still washed clothes on Monday,  ironed on Tuesday

Baking and mending on Wednesday or Thursday and cleaning the whole house on Fridays

Dad  was one of 8 kid,s 4 boys so they ate a lot of meat. Dad loved meat..

So Mom always said her biggest timesaver is as follows. 

TIP # 1  TAKE MEAT OUT SEVERAL DAYS AHEAD

Mom would say "If your meat is thawed, the rest of the meal just comes together while the meat cooks"

- Red meat cuts actually benefit from resting in the fridge for a few days thawed.

They will tenderize even more if left to thaw/ REST in the refrigerator.

 And bringing your red meat cuts to room temperature before applying any heat will ensure more even cooking and juicier results . This does not apply to ground meat products or poultry.

Mom would take 4 or 5 meat items out of the freezer on Friday and put them in the refrigerator, on a drip pan lined with paper towel. They would all thaw at different intervals and all but the chicken had a good shelf life in the fridge so the chicken was eaten first.

If you don't have fridge room take meat out 2 separate days Friday and Tuesday for instance.

Her go to cuts were 2 or 3 roasts, chicken, beef, pork. 

Then ground beef or pork, or sausages.

If company was coming there was always beef steak or  porkchops.  And if she didn't have time to thaw anything or was surprised, she fell back on the minute steaks or pork cutlets, cooked from frozen and smothered in onions and gravy.. 

We raised a beef every year and a pig and 50 chickens

And she grew a big family garden. And Dad milked 2 cows. Before and after work.

The chicken would be thawed for Sunday supper, so that was our family dinner. 

The beef or pork roast would be thawed in time for Monday night supper. The other roast was cooked for  Wednesday night.

We had leftover roast chicken sandwiches for school lunches and Dad's work lunches on Monday and

 chicken salad sandwiches on Wednesday. And roast beef for Tuesday lunch.

Leftover beef for stew on Tuesday supper because we all had a practice that day after school.

Wednesday Mom cooked the other roast. That then took care of sandwiches for Thursday. 

Thursday night was whatever leftovers from the week and Friday was a bought lunch at school.

 Friday night we had soup from the bones, meat and veggies leftovers and home made bread. 

Saturday mom made sloppy joes or chili with ground beef or pork. 

We made bacon and eggs for Mom for breakfast on Sundays, but she usually couldn't stay out of the kitchen and was always there to help, and clean up..

And we grazed till Sunday night supper again. 

She had no dishwasher, that was the girls job. No automatic washer and dryer, just  a ringer washer and clothelines.  And get this , NO RUNNING WATER.

 She had a big garden which we all planted and helped with the weeding. And we always had fresh milk from the 2 milk cows . That was our milk, cream  & butter..

They were the perfect couple to mentor a great work ethic.

 I feel  Inferior to my Mother all the time. But I know I could never do what she did for her family, even if I didn't have an off farm job. 

I am eternally grateful to both my parents. They were also the best Grandparents a child could ask for.

 

 The most common questions I get are: 

1. Is your grass-fed beef grass finished as well?

    Answer- Yes it is. Our beef and lamb gets certified organic grass every single day since they started eating solid foods.
    And I know this because we do not buy from other farmers and resell. Our family raises all our animals.

2. Do you butcher your own animals?

    Answer- No. We are farmers, not butchers. I am trying to get a grandchild to go into the butchery field, but no one's biting.....YET..Only 3 of the 12 have graduated so there is hope🤞
    That would be so great.  We could charge a lot less for our product.  1/3 of what we charge goes to the butcher.

3.   Do you sell your products anywhere but the Saskatoon Farmers Market at 2600 Koyl avenue?

     Answer- Yes we have an online store. It isn't as fully stocked as our Farmers Market Freezers. But I try to keep essentials there.
       Also we have a stocked farm store here as well. You are all welcome anytime..You just have to call ahead to make sure Im able to greet you .

4.  Do you deliver.

      Answer - Yes we offer free delivery to the Farmers Market for pickup. And we offer home delivery for a delivery fee.
       
 5.   Do you sell bulk beef or pork or lamb.

      Answer; yes and no. We sell 1/4, 1/2, and whole  beef. in limited quantities, usually  in the fall and winter months
       We sell 1/2 pork year round. And we do not sell bulk lamb.

 6.   What breeds are your animals. and why

          Answer; We raise Galloway beef. Galloway genetics originated in Scotland Highlands. There they grazed only on grass because they sometimes didn't see humans for days or weeks.They are genetically predisposed to  finish wonderfully on grass. Some bigger more well-known breeds will never "finish" on grass, because they were never meant to and never evolved that way. They just get bigger..
  
            Our pork breed is Berkshire. Why ? Because they have an amazingly sweet flavour and a buttery healthy fat that increases the flavour of the meat. Berkshire pigs are a quiet, playful and friendly breed. That is important because we have kids around all the time. Berkshire Pigs are the best breed to raise in a pasture setting. That is as close to their natural habitat as we can get here on the prairies. That is where they are the happiest. And we all know ... HAPPY PIGS are  TASTY PIGS.
        
           Our lamb is a mix, we are trying to get to a 50% Clun Forest and 50% Dorset or Hampshire. We feel that is the most desirable quality carcass, and they are pretty nice to work with.

  Those are the 6 most asked questions , but if you have any questions not answered yet feel free to respond to this email or and I will gladly answer them all.

My recipe for Gelatinous Bone Broth

 How to Make Gelatinous Broth

Nov  21

 

 

It’s that time of year — The kids all seem to be getting sick. The elderly are getting their yearly flu symptoms  .

 However  Les , a school bus driver and myself a Nursing aide at the  Hospital in day surgery are doing anything except hiding out trying to get them to keep their dang germs to themselves.

We have a secret weapon…

well not so secret , but the Pharmaceutical companies don’t want you to know that you can feed your IMMUNE system and it will work for you the way Nature intended.

But if you cant there is always a drug or vaccine to fall back on if that’s your bag.

With that, I’ve been getting back on the immune support train and made a batch of healthy meat broth yesterday. Plus I started some seeds today for my indoor winter greens and veg garden.

 Sicknesses aside, I love this time of year when we focus more on nutrient dense warm and comforting meals.

I was posting about it on social media and I was flooded with messages asking how the heck I can make a simple pot of chicken broth turn into gel. Here’s the thing about broth, the magic is in the gel.

Gelatinous broth is not just delicious but full of collagen, amino acids, minerals, and gut healing gelatin.

But that gel seems to be a little elusive with many making broth that turns out a bit more loose than they’re hoping for. But the benefits are still there and you might just have to tweak her and there.

 So what’s the secret? Check out my tips!

 

 

 

 

 

Broth Ingredients:

Bones and Meat : To make a gelatinous broth, you’ll need a mixture of bones and meat. Chicken, beef,  pork or lamb bones, are all great choices — Shameless plug, all are available from Catherwood Organics Premium Meats  Farm.

Including meat with some fat will enhance the flavour. And adding marrow bones will give even more nutrition.  If I have some I always add chicken feet and or wing tips, The more cartilage and tendon you use the better to really get that rich gel.

Remember, high quality organic bones and meat are important for making great broth!

Vegetables: You’ll want aromatic vegetables like onions, carrots, celery, and garlic for added depth of flavour. Sometimes I will toss in a few pieces of ginger for extra flavour and it is also a good gut spice..

Herbs and Spices: Bay leaves, thyme, and peppercorns are common choices to season the broth but in our house, I just add some  pepper . Then the broth can be used for soups or stews.  You can add herbs and spices at that point depending on the flavour you are looking for the final product.  Keep in mind what your plans are for the broth so you don’t over salt it — You can always add extra when using your broth like I do.

Cold Water: Use cold water to cover the ingredients.

Apple Cider Vinegar: This is key.  Without 1 tblsp of ACV /gallon you leave behind so much of the minerals. 

 

:Large Pot: You’ll need a pot large enough to accommodate all your ingredients and water.

Fine Mesh metal Strainer: This is essential for straining out solids.

Optional Cheesecloth or Muslin: You’ll use this to strain the broth further for clarity. I don’t do this because I’m ok with “stuff” in my broth and mine still comes out pretty clear.

Containers: Have jars or containers ready to store your finished broth.

Now, let’s get started making meat and bone broth:

 

Step 1: Add bones and water to the pot

 

 You want the right amount of water, The water should just cover the bones.

Bring to a boil for about 5 minute and then reduce to a simmer.

 Skim off any foam or impurities that rise to the surface during the initial simmer. I do this with a small metal strainer.

Once there is very little or no froth you can now add the vegetables .

THE MIREPOIX

I use whole carrots ..maybe 2 or 3..

whole celry stalks 2 – 5,

 large cooking onion cut in half or 1/4s

 

  Simmer minimum 24 - 36 hrs for beef pork or lamb.. Chicken 24 max minmum 12

     

 Maintain a  bubbly steady simmer throughout the cooking process. Not a heavy boil but I don’t have time for that weak one bubble every few seconds kind of simmer either.

Keeping the lid off can help concentrate the broth due to water evaporation but to be honest, I often leave the lid on and still always get the gel I’m looking for.

Check the water level occasionally and add more as needed to keep the bones covered but don’t overdo the water, you don’t want to dilute it.

 

Straining the Broth

 

Once the broth has simmered to perfection, let cool down a little, strain it through a fine metal strainer into a clean pot or large bowl.

If desired, for even clearer broth, strain it again through a cheesecloth or muslin.

You eat the meat. But it is pretty mushy and lacking flavour. So I only use it to put back into soups and stews. Or I feed to my chickens in winter for extra protein (Not Chicken)

 

 Storing the Broth

Allow the broth to be cool before transferring it to jars or containers for storage.

You can store it in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze it for longer term storage.

 

What do I use my broth for?

In our house, typically we simply drink  broth warm from a mug but it’s also great for making soup, gravies, and to add a healthy boost to rice, quinoa, Barley and other dishes.

 

There you have it, my quick tips for making gelatinous, broth at home. Now for those new to making broth, you won’t know it’ll gel until its cold and once warmed it goes right back to a thin consistency. And, don’t worry if it doesn’t gel — It’ll still be healthy and delicious and you can try again next time.

Betty

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TAKING the MYSTERY out of MEAT ( part 1)

What cut of meat should I cook?

Do I have enough time to make a roast for supper tonite?

How should I cook this type of steak? Chop?Roast?

What spices should I use?

How much should I cook for 20 people?

Does this meat need to be thawed first?

How long should I cook this turkey?

These questions and more will be answered in my Meat series of Blogs!

1. Does this meat need to be thawed first?

The short answer is YES YES YES!

The long answer is, I think all meat should be thawed in fridge for 2 days minimum. Once thawed the extra resting time is a bonus.  

If you want you can put a rub on it for the last 12 hrs before cooking. 

Some meats can be cooked from a semi frozen state and not lose any quality. Lamb for instance.

I have found that some lamb cuts, such as chops, are forgiving if they are still slightly frozen. However they don't take much time to thaw, usually 1-3 hrs depending on the thickness of them.

Beef with the exception of burgers should always be thawed and at room temperature before putting any heat to it.

If you have chops, steaks, cutlets, where there is more than 1 in a package, they will thaw faster and more evenly if separated at the beginning of thaw, if possible. ( dont stab yourself with a knife)

also turn over a couple times to turn the more frozen side to the top .

2. How much should I cook for 20 people?

Depending on which type of meat you're cooking the amounts will be a little different. 

Also take into consideration what will accompany the meat in the entire meal.

If you are serving a traditional Canadian meal including meat , a starch like potatoes or pasta, a vegetable dish, and a salad and a bread option you will need:

                 CUT       portion size

     Chicken-       4-6 oz

     Turkey-        4-6 oz

     Pork -           4-6

     Lamb-           4-6

     Beef ...-        stew:4-6 oz /portion

                 -        steak 5  -6oz/portion

                 -         roast 4 -8 oz

     Duck -            3-5 oz

3. How long do I cook my meat

Pork should be cooked to a temperature of 165*F 

Beef should be cooked to desired rareness

Internal Cooking Temperatures for Whole Beef (Steak)

USDA Recommends: 145°F + 3 minutes rest

• Rare: 125°F
• Medium-Rare: 130°F
• Medium: 140°F
• Medium-Well: 150°F
• Well-Done: 160°F
• 
  

Internal Cooking Temperatures for Pork (Roast, Chops)

USDA Recommends: 145°F + 3 minutes rest

• Medium: 150°F
• Medium-Well: 155°F
• Well-Done: 160°F

Internal Cooking Temperatures for Lamb (Roast, Chops)

USDA Recommends: 145°F + 3 minutes rest

• Rare: 125°F
• Medium-Rare: 130°F
• Medium: 140°F
• Medium-Well: 150°F
• Well-Done: 160°F

Internal Cooking Temperatures for Poultry (Chicken, Turkey)

USDA Recommends: 165°F

stay tuned for part 2 next blog

 BACON MAYONAISE - from My customer Irene

1 egg

1/2 cup Catherwood Organics Berkshire bacon fat liquified but not hot

1-2 tsp mustard

salt and pepper to taste

blend all ingredients except bacon fat, once blended to a smooth texture

slowly start dripping the bacon fat into the blender to create creamy goodness. 

Enjoy

keep in refrigerator up to 2 weeks

Also if you have a mayonnaise recipe use it just substitute the oil in the recipe with our bacon fat...you will have instant bacon flavoured mayonnaise.