Go East Young Traveller…

This week we travelled East of the city to visit a few farms and markets . First up on our day plans was to visit the Found Family Farm near Oshawa where Marianne and Stan Found raise cattle and pigs. John had met Marianne at the Royal Winter Fair some weeks earlier and was compelled by her passion to take this trip out East to visit her farm and some others that she recommended to see how they operate. We met with Stan who graciously showed us around, answered many questions and sold us some samples from his freezer. 

Sam, our trusty travel companion, met a friend too – a beautiful old boy named Harley who had many tail wags for her!

Also on our travels we stopped by Ken Lamb’s farm and you guessed it… he raises sheep! We met with Ken’s father Bill who showed us around the place and told us a bit about their operation. It was a very picturesque location. After purchasing some lamb samples from Bill (that we will be sharing with some friends tonight!) we headed back West for home.

A great day meeting new people and seeing new places. It doesn’t get much better than this!

B.

The Royal Winter Fair

2011 marked our inaugural trip to the Royal Winter Fair. Both John and I have wanted to go to the fair for years. Our friend Lisa was our catalyst to go this year as she mentioned that she has wanted to go for years as well. So off we went. Well, let me tell you we were not disappointed and this is definitely the first of many trips to come.

If you have gone to the fair you already know what I am talking about. But for those that don’t, here are some (not all!) of the highlights:

The Animals; Sheep – who knew there were so many different sheep. Goats – the cutest animals – John fell in love. Pigs – pigs are awesome. Cows – LOTS of cows. Chickens and Turkeys – there are so many gorgeous – yes gorgeous – different types of chicken and turkeys!

The Produce and Dairy – they have awards for everything…giant pumpkins, apples, squash, zucchini, best cheeses, best eggs. They even had a butter carver on site!

The live Bee Hive – that was cool. Did you know that in the winter the hives survive outside by not moving too much to waste energy but by moving from outside to in to keep the hive warm enough not to freeze. So cool.

The Animal Petting area – man, can those goats, sheep and llamas work you for a little piece of kibble – they are pros! They let you think that they are eating out of the palm of your hand – truth be told – it’s the other way around.

The SuperDogs show. I have seen it before at the CNE and I will go see it again. It is exciting, corny and just so much fun. I’m sure our yellow Lab Sam would have loved it to!

The shops – lots of fascinating different vendors – too many to check out in one day. I am hoping that the ‘Paw Protector’ cream that I got for Sam’s feet to fend off ice and salt this winter works well and I am looking forward to donning my new ‘coshmere’ scarf! (it was only 10 bucks!).

I am mentioning last but they are definitely not least …. The people working and volunteering at the fair. We had some of the best conversations with farmers and volunteers that are a wealth of great information. They really make THE place to go for tons of great information.

It was great day and I already can’t wait until next year. I think the only thing we’ll do different next time is get weekly passes.

B.

Recipes, Farm Trips, News, etc

Featured

We have had many many requests for recipe ideas to use with Meat Me in the Junction meats. Also some of our customers have given us recipes that they have tried with our products that they have said turned out great. This is where we will be sharing these great concoctions with everyone.

This section will also have a few stories about some of our exploration trips and things we learn along the way. Our Facebook page has more stories and pictures to peruse as well.

We hope you enjoy it!  Bria & John.