| 10th Anniversary Celebration July 17, 2010 All are invited to come! |
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Yes, preparations for the celebration on July 17 are underway! Come and stay awhile! Bring your family and friends! We are hoping for good weather. It will be on rain or shine. A tent will be set up to for rain or sun protection. The event kicks off at 12:30 with a free BBQ lunch. Burgers, smokies, buns baked in our brick oven (white wheat buns and spelt), salads, cookies, and drinks. We may be adding foccacia to the menu for vegetarian or vegan choices. The program will start off around 1:30 with live music and stories. Have you ever wondered how we got into this business? Come hear the story of our life before Integrity Foods, the 10 year story, and the future. There will be lots of fun activities for the children! A pie auction will be held at 3:00. The proceeds will go for sun ovens for Haiti! Watermelon and more music to follow. We will go right into Pizza Night at 5:00 as usual. You are welcome to stay for that as well! Come for some fun and fellowship. More details to follow shortly! Cheers from Dora and all April 27, 2010 10th Anniversary today!! Hey! Today is the 10th anniversary of Integrity Foods!!! We had a picnic lunch with our staff at noon to celebrate the event! April 27, 2000 we were granted our license to operate. Business got into full swing after we built the brick oven in May of 2002. There will be a celebration on July 17. Check later for details on the event. There will be a free BBQ lunch, entertainment and more in the afternoon. You can stay for Pizza Night in the evening if you like. Mark your calendar! If you want to do some music, let us know!
What is happening in 2010? We are building a larger brick oven in May. It will be indoor baking with this oven. Let us know if you are interested in being part of this building project! The oven will have more than double the capacity of the existing one. There will also be a walk-in freezer and cooler in the bake house addition.
No entry for months. We have been busy with our work! April 27,2010
Friday, August 28, 2009 Where did the past month go? No news for so long? I think the weather must have intercepted it! This summer is flying by - inspiite of all the rainy days! I can't remember a summer like it. The Interlake region, once again, has been hit with record amounts of rainfall. The farmers seeded about 50% of their fields. What is growing needs sun to mature. Some grain is turning a little golden in color by now, BUT generally they are harvesting at this time. Haying for the many beef farmers in the area has been virtually impossible. Our small project of painting the exterior of the house seems so insignificant when we think of the farmers. The paint been pulled out and put away many times! We'll get it done before winter. On our small parcel of land (6 acres) the garden is growing and producing some veggies. Right now we are harvesting beans. The peas are done and we are waiting on the cucumbers. Patience! The corn and cucumbers both need more sun. The potatoes are large and juicy! I hope they keep well over winter. The cabbage is "bursting at the seams". We have made some sauerkraut and have lots more to make. Want to come and learn about making sauerkraut and the benefits of fermented foods? The flowers seem to thrive on the cooler, wetter weather; except for the many rains that have pounded off the blooms. The dahlias are in full glory! They are shoulder high, vivid colors, and deep greens. People keep asking what we do to make them look so great. Well, it hit me a few days ago that possibly they like the kelp that we feed them at planting time. I put a handful of kelp in each hole. Did you know that dahlias are edible? The petals are beautiful and tasty in a green salad - add some yellow calendula blooms and you have the most wonderful colors for a salad! The tubers (roots) are also edible. How about some dahlia stew this winter? We will need to try some when we lift them in fall. We store the roots in the cellar. The chickens are scurrying about in their pasture feeding on the grubs and grass - and the prepared grain we feed them. They are growing at a good rate and a very healthy flock. Butchering time comes in late October or so - whenever we can fit it into our schedule. The kittens are at a very playful stage and aggravating me at times. They have claimed the centre flower garden as their playground! Fast damage! When they started pouncing on the plants in the planters we took the water hose to them. Jason, our son, has been involved in many projects on the farm this summer. Come see some of his work! He made a new sign for the entrance to our farm. He landscaped it with plants, bark, and rocks. All local from right on our farm or my brother's sawmill! Jason has also made some rustic benches for the firepit. Come have a look and a sit! The fire is going all evening during Pizza Nights now as it is getting cool. Great place for conversation and comtemplation! This week has been a full one - and somewhat slow for me! I hurt my left wrist while biking on Sunday so I have taken it a bit easy with my hands. It has given me a chance to catch up on some things in the office. Other than that, we have done our usual baking week. On Wednesday we hosted a group with Friendship Force. This is an exchange of friendship and culture. We had a group of hosts with their Japanese guests. A fine pizza event here on the farm with great weather. When the bus pulls in we are in full action! Did you know we do bus tours? Yesterday we hosted our church group of 45 volunteers that had been involved in camps and Vacation Bible School this summer. Again, no rain and good times! Now the weekend is before us. It is Friday - 11:30am - the goods have been shipped off to the stores. Cornelius is off doing some shopping for Pizza Night. He was able to get some of the veggies we need at the Farmers' Market in Arborg. It is cleanup in the bakery and also baking sandwich buns for Cronshaws Pub in Gimli, cinnamon rolls, and some sunflower bread for tonight and market. Tomorrow we are off to the Farmers' Market near the harbour in Gimli. It runs from 9:30 to 2:00. Ashley and Cherese, 2 of our summer workers, have left so I may go with Cornelius - my first this summer! Judith and Rachel are very capable of managing things here and preparing for Pizza Night. Pizza Night is still on - Friday and Saturday from 5:00 - 9:00. Come on by! Bring some friends, family, or have a work party! We'll make it as good as we can for you! Linger around the fire or just hang out! See you soon! Cheers from Dora
Thursday, July 16, 2009 6:00pm We have had a full week of baking. Just now we are finishing off our baking day - baking pizza crusts to ensure an adequate supply for the weekend. Wow, what a week we have had! Two words describe the weather - cool and rainy. That is not what the farmers have wished for. Haying has begun but with frequent rains it is impossible to make much progress. Please remember the farmers in this area who already struggled with haying and harvest last year. Our extra project since beginning of June has been painting the exterior of the house. This week again it was interrupted. Minor inconvenience compared to the farmers who rely on haying and harvest for their livelihood. Pizza Night is on again - Friday and Saturday from 5:00 to 9:00. . People want to eat even when the weather is cool in July. If it stays cool, bring your jackets, toques, and whatever you need to stay warm! We will have the fire going in the firepit. Sit around the fire with a hot drink and pizza. Hot chocolate, coffee, and tea will be on. The iced mint tea - well, depends on the temperature! We find that Prairie Bison pizza hits the top of the list on cool nights and on hot nights it is the veggie. This week we are adding a "special of the weekend" - The Mexican! The spelt crust will be topped with salsa (instead of tomato sauce), black lentils, corn, red peppers, Tex Mex cheese, and fresh minced garlic on top that will roast so nicely in the wood-fired oven. Try it - or even half with another choice. You could also go for the Garden Special. Veggies ready in the garden now - onions, garlic, spinach, beets, sugar snaps (just starting), some herbs, and flowers that make for a showy, yummy piece of art good enough to eat! Come along and be our guests! Oh, I must tell, there are plenty of little kittens and bunnies to play with! Dora for all
Friday - June 12, 2009 Pizza Night is on tonight and Saturday! Come visit between 5:00 and 9:00.
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