Happy international women's day

We had cake again today at the butcher. It was their 2nd anniversary. Near the Healthy Butcher there are two restaurants - one named I [heart] Sushi and the other King Shwarma [heart]. I don't understand why but when the sausage joke got tired today we started saying aloud what we all "heart". We even thought about T-shirts being printed. Needless to say DDay has a new nickname... Downward Dog (DD). We were laughing so hard today, incredible after all of us confessed of being out of it or not into the tasks at hand or generally #@@%*&! things up large.

Karin buys wine sometimes by the name. Whatever strikes her fancy, it's fun and adventurous. Today we had a wine named Monsanto, a chianti. not bad, and good for a joke. Of course it spurned a dinner conversation about seed patents and farmers having to sign contracts for seeds or who are sued for genetically modified seeds that are blown into their fields unbeknownst to them.

We were introduced to a man the other day - C. Fox. His grandfather was one of the original owners of our house. He came back today to give us some pictures of the house and his grandparens circa 1909. The house predates 1900 and was essentially suburban Toronto. C. Fox is in his 60s and it was nice to share in his memories of this space. It names a spirit that the house has always had.

I like cake.

The Ruckle Farm

I had a book sent to me from Victoria this week (dear friends Tom and Jen, bless your hearts) called From Farm to Feast.
Although I have yet to sink my teeth into it, flipping through it I came across the story of Ruckle Farm on Saltspring Island. This farm will always have great significance to me being the one farm that I had that singular meal from. Here are a few quotes from the book: "In 1973 the taxes were so high on this desirable real-estate that the Ruckles could no longer afford to keep their land by farming...the Ruckle land was sold to the provincial government at a reduced cost, with the provision that part of the land remain as a working farm with the Ruckles as stewards for their lifetime." I see parallels, only we are no longer the stewards of our land in our lifetime.

Henry Ruckle "created a mixed farm with many different types of animals, an orchard with great variety of fruit several types of grain, for home and animal feed, field peas for pigs and seed sales, nut trees, hay fields and grazing fields. Here was one Irishman that would never be caught with a single crop that could succumb to blight."

It's interesting to note that over 95% of all varieties of fruits, vegetables, grains and animals that you might have found on the Ruckle farm or his neighbours are extinct or close to it. Monocultures are naturally weak. I just wish I had the chance to taste those apples and pears. I had a pear the other day that literally blew my mind. I had to wipe the walls down. The flavour was exceptional - spicy, peppery tones with grapefruit highlights. I could just imagine what grew on the Ruckle Farm. Or how about the lamb that ate the pears on the ground or that Henry gave as a treat.

Now we have lamb, pigs and cows fed on an accelerated diet of corn and antibiotics. Where are the sunshine and smiles?
You would be foolish to think that this does not translate into flavour.

Snakes

Tonight I played the world's longest game of snakes and ladders. The game entails using a spinner to advance spaces and if you land on a ladder you go up and if you land on a snake you go down. Sometimes you make it up to the end of the game and you land on that mega snake that takes you to the bottom again. I have landed on many mega snakes but I’ve also landed on many golden ladders. The beauty of tonight’s game was that it was a game played with my children.Sloane and I celebrating our birthdays at the beautiful Brown Farm. She has got hold of what is hers...my beard

Farmer Brown was sitting on a bench.
Hurt his B____ with a monkey wrench.
The wrench was hot and he burnd his B____.
P____ all over his overalls. di didi di d. di di

P.S. I made number one! oh yah

punctuation sucks

I think of all the food I have eaten of late and I feel woosie. Yesterday was DDay's Bday - we had a prime rib for lunch and soon after loaded 6 whole cows, 4 pigs, 4 lambs and probably 20 cases of chickens. I felt like the lunch might come out of my eyeballs. Then we had cake. We had cake again today for Leeanne - who knew there were so many Pisces? punctuation sucks.

whoopsie doodle

Out of habit I place my knives when not in use blade facing south above the cutting board. This habit has searved me well and has been drilled into my head through my apprenticeship. The point being is that you always know where the blade is on you work surface. Today I deviated from this training. The blade faced in beside the board. (We were working in tight quarters) I went to remove the board and ended up removing the tip of my pinky. That now throbs as I type. This poor pinky of mine has endured more damage than I can tell you. Starting with a remarkable date with Karin some 15 years ago when I traveled through the looking glass and ended up in emerg. I lost the feeling in the last knuckle and subsequently favor it tucking it away from hot objects or steely knives. Not knowing when I’ll be injured next. It has been a long time since I’ve had such a bad injury what’s that saying about habits?
This is a picture of me and Meli and the ever-popular sausage joke. We are holding summer sausage…