Bacon Acre Farms

Bacon and Egg on a Bagel | Photo: Kelly Hunt Breakfast: To break the fast from the previous evening. Breakfast on Saturdays sometimes includes bacon at our house. Sean would eat it every day if he could get away with it, but we all know that is not good for you and since I would like to enjoy breakfast with him for many years to come, I have to keep him in check – which understandably, he does not like too much! Sean is the bacon expert in our house, he loves the stuff and when he cooked this bacon up for the first time from Bacon Acre Farms he stated that it is now “his favourite bacon” and “the best bacon that I ever bought” and of course, “get more of this bacon”. He knows his bacon people, so I have to go with him on this one. Bacon Acre Bacon | Photo: Kelly Hunt I purchased this bacon from Sharon Kodde who is one half of Bacon Acre Farms. Sharon and her husband Gerald run a farm on Elginfield Road/ Hwy 7,  just north of London. Sharon can be found selling their delicious pork products on Thursdays at the Exeter Farmer”s Market (3 – 7 pm) and on Fridays at the North London Masonville Farmer”s Market (8 am – 2 pm). You can also purchase their products from the farm gate if you call ahead of time. I loved meeting Sharon, she is so happy and has so much energy and is eager to answer any questions you have about the farm and the piggies. Pork Burgers | Photo: Kelly Hunt I also bought some of Bacon Acre”s pork burgers. These are thinner than I what you expect of a beef burger, but once I tried them, I realized they pack a flavorful porky punch! These are really tasty and I will be adding these to my summer BBQ roster. Bacon Acre product list: Sausage: Farmers Coil, Italian Links, Smoked Links, Precooked Oktoberfest and Breakfast Links Italian Ground Pork, Regular Ground Pork Bacon Pork Burgers Pork Chops Smoked Pork Chops Boneless Ham Roast Boneless Smoked Ham Roast Smoked Pork Hocks Marinated Paprika Steaks Spare Ribs (side) Schnitzel (not breaded) Black Forest Ham Bacon Acre Farms 15429 Elginfield Rd. (Hwy 7) Granton, ON  N0M 1V0 519-225-2001 email: gs.kodde@quadro.net  Read More

Bayfield Berry Farm Meat Pies

Above is a picture of a Beefsteak and Vegetable pie from Bayfield Berry Farm that I purchased at the North London Market on Friday. You need to know about these, they are delicious. They came in a pack of two for $5. I wish there were more, like right now.. at 5 minutes to 11 at night, I would like some more pie please. This little flaky lovely was filled with seasoned beefsteak, onions, carrots, peas and spices. Bayfield Berry Farm is one of the vendors that I have never met before. They had all kinds of great stuff. There was a sky high stack of various baked breads, a table of pastries (including pies!),another display of preserves and some honey. I noted that there were many gluten free breads available, I like gluten personally (what the heck?), but I know some of you need a gluten free life to keep happy and as I understand, it is sometimes hard to find gluten free products… so check out Bayfield Berry Farm”s baked goods – you will be happily surprised. On their website I noticed that Bayfield Berry Farms has a cafe that you can sit in and have breakfast or lunch when you are visiting and they also do catering. I will have to go for a visit this summer and dip my feet in Lake Huron while I am there. I set up my delicious little meat pies with some asparagus, which I think I have eaten about three times already this week and some smashed Ontario grown potatoes. It made for a delicious meal and I will be picking up some more of these for sure! Bayfield Berry Farm 77697 Orchard Line Bayfield, Ontario N0M 1G0 Tel: 519.482.1666 email: berryfarm@hurontel.on.ca http://www.bayfieldberryfarm.on.ca/  Read More

New North London Market

It has been a very busy 2 weeks. I forgot how Spring jolts us out of our winter cocoon and shakes us all awake. I have been camping, fishing, canoeing, exploring and of course fitting my work weeks into somewhere there as well. This weekend was spent almost fully in the garden, sorting things out. In fact, after I post this I plan on getting right back out there! I have been surveying my cucumber plants that I planted just before the long weekend and they look like they may have to be sacrificed . As you all know we got some mighty chilly weather over the May long weekend. It is doubly sad when you grow something from seed and then have to pull it all out, but we”ll see. My tomato plants should be okay because I planted them this week, and it has been nothing but sunny and warm – fingers crossed! Last Friday was the opening of the North London Market and I missed it because I headed up North for a little camping. This week I made sure to get there this Friday at lunch hour. I took Sean and two other friends from work with me to check it out. The market is open from 8 am – 1 pm. I apologize for the less than desirable picture, but I only had my camera phone on me. My intention was to show you just how big the market is, it was much bigger (more vendors) than I imagined it would be. First off, as you may be a dedicated local food eater – and I assume this because you are reading this blog –  I would like to say that this Market is not a Farmers Market in my opinion – and that is all a matter of my opinion. You see, there are many (many!) vendors that are selling very unlocal vegetables and fruits that they just did not produce themselves. I once again,saw the Foodland Ontario signs being used on food that was DEFINITELY not from Ontario. As long as you know this ahead of time and are aware of it,I am sure you will still enjoy it. I guess what I am saying is make sure you have your locavore thinking cap on as you head into the Market and you will do just fine. On to the good food stuff! One of the great vendors I found at the Market was Bayfield Berry Farm. As the obvious title of the farm suggests, they are from Bayfield. They were there selling freshly baked breads, pies, tarts and squares. They also had tons of really interesting looking preserves. For instance I spied some pumpkin jam! This vendor was a hit for me, so I purchased some rye bread, a raspberry pie and two meat pies that I will post about later – delish! The person who grows the Ontario Kettle Corn was there selling local popcorn, which was a big hit with one of my friends that joined me on this “Lunch Market Run”. There was also someone there selling a Garlic spread product called the “Incredible Edible Spread ”Em”, which we had to buy because Sean insisted! I asked her if she grew the garlic for it and she assured me that yes, the garlic was grown in Ontario. It is a margarine type thing, and I am a pure butter type of girl, so you know, enough said.  There were a few different flower merchants there selling beautiful flowers for your garden and I am happy to report that City Garden Project was there selling Heirloom Tomato seedlings. The awesome Jeff Pastorius was there with his booth On the Move Organics. I bought rhubarb from Jeff as well as some spinach, tarragon and oregano. He also had some local organic asparagus that he was bringing in from the Tillsonberg area. I have blogged about Jeff before, but the cool thing about Jeff is he likes to tell you exactly where the Organic Food he sells is coming from. For instance he tells you the farmers name, where the farm is located and the conditions it is grown under if possible. Jeff – if you are reading this – the asparagus was awesome! There are many other great vendors at the new North London Market. Whether they are selling local products or not, everyone was very friendly and the atmosphere there is oozing with goodness. I feel very lucky that someone has decided to make-a- go of this market because we did not have anything like this before in the north end. Time will tell how busy it will be, but the day that I visited it was flush with people. It was great to find some new products and well as see some old friends! North London Market Located at the Southeast corner of Fanshawe and Richmond intersection (behind Hakim Optical & Nash jewellers) Open Fridays 8am –  1 pm  Read More

Seedlings and North London Farmers Market Announced

Hello everyone Something really sad happened and I abandoned my blog for a while, I just could not write. But thanks for hanging in and waiting for a post – all of you are the reason I decide to take my nerdy pictures, write my insane comments and continue to spread the news about eating more local. Today, the sun is shining, it is warming up quite a bit out there and I am feeling much better, so I must get back to finding the great tasting, fresh and local food that is starting to sprout up everywhere. I also wanted to share with you this picture of my seedlings that are growing like mad. Are they not lovely and hopeful looking? Unfortunately, some of them did not sprout, I really am not sure why, some of my seeds were older so this could be a reason why they did not germinate. What you see there is tomatoes, brussels sprouts, some peppers and I think maybe some tomatillos. A note about those little paper pots I made – I wrote on the sides of them what I was growing and as soon as I watered them,my little notes quickly disappeared! Oh,I just was not thinking on that day! I will grow some other things as well, but I will sow seeds directly into the ground for that stuff, I will keep you posted over the summer. Some special things of interest, has anyone been watching Food Network”s “The 100 Mile Challenge”? It takes place in Mission, BC and it is a small community that has decided to go local for food for 3 months. It is really good and I am loving it! The idea for the show is based on the book, The 100 Mile Diet by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon and they both appear on the show. Of course, I am not as strict on myself as the community of Mission is being. There are a ton of rules about what they can and cannot buy, it is truly inspirational and it reminds me a lot of the first year I decided to start eating more local – it is like you grow a new set of eyes about food. There is also some super news for Londoners. Some of you may have already heard about this, but for those of you who have not, starting in May there is going to be a Friday Market in North London all summer long. I find this especially fantastic news because it is on my way into work. Can you say CONVENIENT?! Apparently Dave Cook, the same person who runs the Western Fair Market has decided to run a market at the North West corner of the Masonville Mall parking lot. The market will run Fridays because there are no other outdoor markets operating in the city on Friday and there would be less competition for vendors and customers. Cook said the market will have room for 60 vendors and feature local seasonal produce and baked goods. You can find all the details here from the source: http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Business/2009/04/16/9134336.html Enjoy the remains of this lovely day! Kelly  Read More