It's garlic scape season! Whether you grow your own garlic or you get it from your local farmer, it goes fast. One of the best ways to enjoy scapes is to preserve them for later use. Between garlic scape pesto, chopping it up in stir fries or salads, this year I'm going to pickle mine. Here is a simple way to preserve your garlic Scapes:

Pickled Garlic Scapes:

Ingredients:

1. As many garlic scapes as you can get your hands on! (About 10-12 per pint-sized Mason Jar).

2. 3 cups apple cider vinegar

3. 3 cups water

4. 3 Tbsp pickling salt

5. 1 Tbsp pickling spice per jar

Instructions:

1. Prepare your jars: Collect the number of jars you think you will need based on how many scapes you have to pickle. Inspect jars to ensure there are no nicks or cracks in the glass, especially around the jar rim as this can prevent a proper seal. Wash jars and bands in hot, soapy water, rinse and then sterilize by simmering in water.

2. Prepare your scapes: Rinse off any dirt, chop any hard, knobby ends off and trim the bulb end off (this is optional. You can leave the bulb end on but it might be tougher to eat and takes up extra space in the jar).

3. Combine water, vinegar and salt in a saucepan and boil over medium-high heat until salt is fully dissolved.

4. Fill each jar with garlic scapes. To fill, coil each garlic scape as tight as possible around two fingers and stack them tightly in the jar. Pack to within just over a ½ inch from the top of the jar.

5. Add 1 Tbsp of pickling spice to each jar.

6. Fill each jar with boiling pickling brine (water-vinegar-salt mixture) to cover garlic scapes, leaving ½ inch of headspace between the liquid and the top of the jar.

7. Place lids on top of jars and then screw bands on to "fingertip tight," which means tight to the point of resistance, but not so tight that air can't escape.

8. Process in a boiling hot water bath for 10 minutes. Then turn heat off, take lid off and wait 5 minutes before removing jars. You can omit this step if you're going to use them within 3 month.

9. Allow jars to cool on counter. Then store in a cool, dark place.

10. Wait 6 weeks before opening a jar to ensure best quality.

Notes

For the brine, just make sure to combine equal parts water and vinegar and adjust your salt to match (ie. 4 cups vinegar to 4 cups water to 4 Tbsp salt). This recipe calls for 3 cups of each and 3 Tbsp of salt, which I found should fill about 3 or 4 pint-sized jars. But you can adjust the amount of brine depending on the number of jars you are able to pack full of scapes!

Today I decided it was time to share why it is that we’re farming. Especially during those times when it gets hard (in the middle of a tropical storm or when an animal gets sick) it’s nice to have a good reminder of the reasons why we are farming.

When I was 8 years old, my Dad took on his dad’s farm after being laid off from his job as a welder. Having 4 kids and a fifth on the way, he had to go back to school to qualify for a grant that he desperately needed. My grandfather’s farm was pretty run down, but my Dad knew it was what he wanted to do (and did milk cows every day for 25 years!) until he retired. Needless to say we had to help with the farm chores but I never complained (unlike my older brother lol). We also had rabbits and chickens growing up, and once me and my siblings were old enough to care for them, we decided to take turns doing it. When it got to my turn, I never stopped doing it until I moved out lol. I always enjoyed caring for the animals, and my mother gave me her green thumb. And when I was living in town to study, I missed the farm terribly.

So why am I farming you may ask? Is it for the fun of it, the vacations, the paychecks…? Right! Actually it was for the maternity leave lol… just kidding.

I tried working at a desk job, which I quickly realized I wasn’t meant to sit all day (and neither are you!). Being outside has its perks – you’re high on Vit D, you’re tan looks great – and after having 3 kids I feel the best I ever felt in my body! Yep farming gives you muscles – no gym membership required.

But what we really want to achieve here is to prove that you can make a living from farming in Cape Breton. So many people think they need to go Out West because there’s no jobs here… there’s so many opportunities to create your own business that it’s a shame so many people are moving out. Plus I love being my own boss (and the boss of my husband lo!).

And like most people, we also want to make the world a better place, and the way we chose to do it is by leaving a legacy for our children, by nurturing the soil and by creating health in our community. Looking back we’re almost 10 years in the making, and even though it can be hard, we wouldn’t trade it for anything else!

Did you know that most food you buy at the store are lacking a lot of essential nutrients? Because with the industrialization of agriculture, farmers just can’t put back in their soil what they’re taking out since farms are getting bigger and bigger… But on a small farm it’s easier to nurture your soil.

With that lack of nutrients comes many chronic illnesses, and especially mental illnesses… But the good news is that it’s completely preventable (and reversible)! Here is one of many super foods you should include in your diet: Organ meat! There is so much more nutrients in organ meats (and especially liver!) such as Iron, Folic Acid, Vit B12 or Potassium. But let’s face it, I don’t really like the taste or texture of it… Unless you turn it into Paté!

Here is an excellent recipe for Liver Paté which is perfect for sandwiches, breakfast toast or even when you entertain (it’s perfect for a charcuterie board!). And it doesn’t even take much time to make!

Ingredients

• 1 lb Liver from Thyme For Ewe Farm (Beef or Chicken)

• 1 Small Yellow Onion, finely chopped

• 2 Cloves Fresh Garlic

• 6-7 Fresh Sage Leaves (or 1 Tbsp dried Rubbed Sage)

• 1 Small Sprig Fresh Rosemary (2 tsp Dried Rosemary)

• 1 Bay Leaf

• 1/3 cup Dry Sherry or Cognac

• ¼ tsp Salt, to taste

• 1/8 tsp Ground Mace

• 3-4 Sprigs Fresh Thyme (3/4 tsp Dried Thyme)

• ½ cup lard

Instructions

1. Slice liver into 2” chunks (you don’t need to do this if you are using chicken liver)

and remove any vessels the butcher might have missed.

2. Line a 7.5″x3.5″ Loaf Pan with parchment paper (this is an optional step that just

makes removing the loaf easier later; you could also use a glass or pottery serving

dish).

3. Heat 1/4 cup of your chosen cooking fat in a large skillet over medium high heat.

4. Add onion, bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, sage, mace and garlic to the pan. Cook, stirring

frequently, until onions are well cooked (about 10 minutes).

5. Add liver to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until browned on the outside and

still pink in the middle (about 3-4 minutes).

6. Add sherry to pan and bring to boil (you can increase heat to high if you want). Boil

2-3 minutes, until you can’t smell alcohol in the steam.

7. Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf, rosemary stem, and thyme stems. Add salt and

the remaining cooking fat.

8. Pour hot liver mixture into a blender or food processor. Pulse until smooth.

9. Pour into the prepared loaf pan (or serving dish of choice).

10. Once it’s cool enough to touch, make sure to cover with plastic wrap tightly across

the entire surface, or alternatively, you can pour melted lard, coconut oil, or butter

and let that cool and harden to preserve the color.

11. Refrigerate overnight up to a few days before eating.