Baby Monkey in the Garden

Hello hello hello,It's a fantastically crisp evening out here in Nicola Valley.We went for our first really nice walk today in the brilliant sunshine with our new best friend- our little baby girl Luna!!!Life has taken such a wonderful joyful little turn the past few days- we're loving how our little family is growing here. Luna Moon-Sprout Coutts-MacArthur was born just the other morning- January 28th at 3:05 in the morning- an Aquarius baby to join our little home of two Geminis and a Pisces.....We were in Kamloops a few days ago on Thursday for an appointment with one of our Midwives- Tatania. All that day Brandie had been having minor cramping going on- we weren't sure if it was dinner at a restaurant the night before and the coconut milk ice cream that we snuck into the movies, or if this was the early beginnings of labour. Tatania thought that it was just some early stage cramping that could be the beginnings of a couple of weeks preceding labour (Luna's predicted due date was February 9th).A little while out of Kamloops we decided to visit the Savannah 'Free Store' as we call it (we've been informed it's the dump- though very organized and clean). We collected a few Christmas trees for the goats (trees that folks had wild-cut), some tidy thick wire and fencing, and a couple of broken down freezers (which we'll have drained of freon, and will use for either grain storage or filling with soil and planting in as part of our 'ReUse It' Garden). Brandie's cramps at this poing starting seeming to her more like contractions.As we were driving home, I recalled how a friend had mentioned that babies always come with the moon (there's always a moon of course. She had meant a full moon- then how could you explain that there are babies born every day...). I joked that the cramps were either from the 'Luna and Larry's' Ice Cream we'd enjoyed, or labour was beginning a couple of weeks early. We were still in disbelief that labour was coming shortly.... We had a couple of friends coming for dinner that night- surely the timing wouldn't be that festivities and birthing were to coincide.The contractions were starting to come on stronger when we got home. We phoned up our other Midwife Joanna and told her how things were going. She suggested that Brandie take a bath and to let her know when the contractions were a minute long each with four minutes between them for a whole hour. Brandie got into the bath with these ever-stronger contractions. Char started timing them over a half-hour period- they were already a minute long and three minutes apart!!! Baby was coming fast. It was time to phone up Joanna.By this time my longtime school friend Tyson and our organic Farmer friend Urs from Quail's Farm had arrived. They didn't quite know what to think when I calmly mentioned that Brandie was in the bathtub going into labour and that I was casually finishing up the dinner that Char had started. 'Remain Calm'- this definitely was the most important thing that we've learned over the last nine months of reading books and talking with midwives and mothers. The night progressed. The birth tub that we'd picked up in Kamloops (just that morning, along with all of the other birth supplies) was inflated and filled with a salty brine- portuguese ocean water.... Tyson went home, Urs went to bed, the Midwives arrived, Char went to sleep.Brandie dealt with the contractions as they came- we would make low gutteral noises to keep in the 'Primal State' and keep relaxed. Brandie would sleep between contractions, and take sips from a bendy straw of water and labour aid beverage, like a boxer between bouts. Cold damp towels would be rested on her forehead to keep her from overheating. She would go from the bathroom into the birth tub- now in our living room with a roaring fire. The heat was up to thirty-four degrees and the walls were sweating.Joanna and Tatania were mostly keeping to themselves, letting it all progress naturally. Every so often they would check baby's heartbeat and make a few notes.The contractions got stronger and stronger. Finally there were some membranes that had come out- looking like JellyFish floating about. I would hold Brandie up and she would muster all of her energy to push. Joanna finally said that the next contraction would bring out baby's body. 'Baby's body?' I thought... I didn't realize that her head was already out, that the membranes were just covering her. Finally with a great push little Luna swam out into the water and came up to the surface and onto Brandie's belly, all pink and lovely! Our lovely little baby- unbelievably real- here and now! A real baby girl had been growing inside of Brandie all along!The rest of the night was a continuation of delerium. The placenta came out after a half hour of mom and baby sharing and staring at one another (causing a natural release of the Oxytocin- the 'Love Hormone' which causes a natural expulsion of the placenta). We laughed and cried and felt love radiating all about. Sometime shortly after Luna was born, the moon came radiating out in the sky from among the clouds, a half-crescent moon glowing yellowish orange.Hours went by until light crept in through the window. During that time Luna was checked all over, delicately weighed in a cloth (7 pounds, one ounce), she was measured, temperature taken and all of that. Much cleanup happened over that time- the midwives were really wonderful with leaving Brandie, Luna and I in our exhausted states and taking charge in reducing the carnage. Still over the next couple of days the house seemed as if a raucous party had happened!A couple of days have passed and we're really getting into the groove of being mom and dad. Our lives are perfectly suited to having Luna with us. Wintertime is slow on the farm, and our usual routine hasn't changed too much. We're still reading, making food and smoothies, keeping the fire going, looking after our animal friends, taking walks (no hikes up the mountain for a while), playing piano..... We haven't played any board games the past few evenings but have instead opted for watching films from the library- it's warm in the living room and we're all a little sleepy.Brandie's energy is increasing all the time. She's recovering amazingly well, and is going along with all of the changes that her body is going through. We're absolutely thrilled to be here now- with no desire to go anywhere.Life is fantastic. Our world has just been expanded incredibly. We're loving being parents.Peace and Love,Michael, Brandie, Luna, and Char Monkeys

Hello and Good Day,This morning offered us thick fat fog up and down the valley- a rare occurence out here in the Nicola. It was a wonderful treat when the sunshine ripped through it all and burned it all off- providing us with glorious warmth up on our hike to the Quiet Spot.The snow is thick all over the place- the gardens completely buried under white blankets. When we headed out to Kelowna last week for some family visiting and food deliveries the whole place here was bare and seemingly springlike. Our drive home on Saturday offered many surprises after we dallied home like turtles, visiting thrift stores and natural food stores picking up this's and those. We should have been able to make it home in the daylight, but the roads seemed bare so what was the rush? Foolishness..... Leaving Merrit and onto the #8 highway, we found that that rain that was dropping started freezing up the windshield. Eventually we started hitting patches of extremely slippery ice, upon which we would just take the foot off the gas pedal and keep the steering wheel steady. We proceeded at a crawl, eventually too slow of a crawl, as on a slight incline the truck decided that it wouldn't go any farther. How slippery could it be out there? I thought this as I stepped out of the truck, slipping right onto my tail, and proceeded to slide down the hill away from the truck!Fortunately we always have a set of chains with us (which we've only unearthed once in the past three years!) and after much head scratching, untangling, and cursing loudly, we figured out how to attach them. Amazing how much traction- and what a racket- chains offer on a slippery drive home to the farm (three hours on a usual forty-five minute drive!). There's no place like home!Our little journey offered us plently of lovely visits, expanding our ever-growing learning of the alternatives of baby raising (baby isn't even here yet, and the ideas pouring out of our friends are fascinating.). We're hearing of the successes people are having with diaper free babies (which is much more hygenic, when you consider that a diaper is a place where babies can sit around in their own waste- let alone the environmental impact!) and teaching kids at home..... We never realized the alternatives that exist for 'home schooling'- many systems (including 'Life Learning') that aren't even curriculum based- instead are about teaching your children (and them teaching you) within where their interests lie. A child's curiosity will bring their interest about in so many areas- and their learning abilities will be greatly heightened when its them choosing the subjects.... I know that for myself, I always despised such subjects as Physical Education, Mathematics and Sciences after Grade 9, Music Lessons and many others. In most of these situations I unfortunately had poor relationships with many of these teachers. Nowadays I find myself immersed in many of these areas- I love to hike and garden and do moderate physical activity. We recently acquired my grandmother's beautiful Wurlitzer piano and I've found myself captivated and wanting to play more and more- it's such a treat to work out the notes to a song, plonk around and eventually have music emanating from this grand instrument (many songs I recognize- like a mystery unfolding). I never could have imagined that learning about the dynamics of pregnancy could be so fascinating- it's all about the material we're subjected to. The writings of Michel Odent have at points gotten me so worked up and ready for 'Revolution' that Brandie and Char have had to calm me down. I had to take breaks to cool down from that particular book 'The Farmer and the Obstetritan'. I realize that I learn much much better from a passionately written book than from somebody who teaches because its their job. Of course, I did have many fantastic teachers- many of my english teachers, creative writing and journalism teachers, and drama teachers- who quite likely saved me from utter depression!So now we're blessed with our last few weeks before the Birthday date (February ninth is the prediction). We don't have too many places to go, save some water samples in town and another midwife appointment in Kamloops at some point (and a last dentist trip for me)- though nowhere for more than a day! This gives us lots of time for organizing our place and planting a bit of this and that indoors (Brandie has been planting flats with peas, mixed greens, and some pots of dandelion roots.... Wow! The salads that are being offered us are way more exciting than the usual wintertime 'Sprout n' Kraut' salads.). We have lots of great reading to do (Ina May Gaskin's 'Spiritual MidWifery' is offering lots of baby delivery scenarios), birthing films to watch, board games to play, and squashes to cook (so many different shapes and colours that decorate our upstairs!). We're appreciating our last few weeks of quietude in our house, until our new little energy bundle graces our lives.The joys of farmlife....So I wanted to mention that Rebecca Wood has extended her special New Year's price on her dietary consultations until the end of this month. Her forty or so years of experience with nutritional research and writings offer her plenty of insight with digging deep into what ails you. Her 'Skype' based consultations allow her to study digestive health through reading the signs that are offered around and in the eyes and lips. Her dietary suggestions have always proved correct for me- I especially notice when I don't follow them and wind up feeling off balance and experiencing digestive distress! Check out here wonderful website at www.rwood.com for information about her consultations, plenty of fantastic recipes, and an extremely varied and diverse selection of excellent articles ranging from 'healthy and unsafe cookware', the incredible healing properties of apricot kernels, to ways of improving macular degeneration through diet (like making sure that every day we consume some orange or yellow coloured veggies, as well as some green veggies), and much much more. We're always looking up information in her poetically written books, and are now enjoying the rich diversity offered with her website. If you should find yourself interested in one of her highly informative consultations, feel free say hello from 'Monkey in the Garden'.Well the smells of soup are wafting up the stairs to where I'm sitting here writing away. Brandie is making a lovely lunch today and my tummy is grumbling. It's good to get a belly full of warmth before unloading the truckload of Christmas Tree goat food that's waiting on the back of the truck. Those goat ladies just love their breakfast of fir and pine and bark.Enjoy the sunshine,Peace,Michael and Brandie Monkeys

An ode to Sourdough Rye and its neutralizing properties of Ergot and Phytic Acid!

Sourdough Rye Bread is amazing with its deliciously complex flavour, ease of digestion, ease of preparation, complex nutrition and excellent storability. We eat it every day, share it with friends, and it makes us feel great! We've been operating our little roadside completely organic summertime restaurant 'Monkey in the Garden' for three years now (as well as aseason at various Vancouver Farmer's Markets), for which we grow amazing organic heirloom and open pollinated veggies, fruits and herbs. Ecclectic dishes are served up all season long using the freshest, in season organic ingredients.We also bake up a wide array of baked goods using sprouted spelt flour (for the cookies and cakes and such), as well as authentic sourdough rye bread for the breakfasts, soups & sandwiches and for sale by the pound loaf. As we grind all of our flour from organic whole grains (from Fieldstone Granary in Armstrong), we get to appreciate and inspect each cupfull before it turns into that magical powder. Very seldomly do we come across any ergotized grain- usually there's an occasional split pea or lentil, or a different grain variety- Fieldstone does a great job in providing us with top quality cleaned grain!
Now you may have heard of Ergot, or not at all. Ergot is a fungus that, when the weather is just right (cool and wet), loves to spread itself throughout grain fields infecting the grain (usually rye). It has existed for as long as grain cultivation has been going on- at least 10,000 years. It has quite a remarkable history- causing the horrible affliction 'St. Anthony's Fire'.
Now just last week we got to haul a ton of certified organic uncleaned rye/spelt grain for the garden and to supplement the diets of the goats, and chickens (as well as the dogs!). This batch of grain wasn't cleaned as there was just too much spelt ratio to rye (it was being grown as a rye only crop)- it would be a hard sell to bakers lookingfor consistency and a pure rye product. This wonderous treasure (filling two freezers, two 55 gallon barrels, and four 25 gallon barrels!) is a real treat and joy! You can just sink your hands into a pile of it, and read the story of a season- the weeds that were growing there, a grasshopper skeleton here and there, lots of hullsand chaff, and Ergotized Rye! There it is, for all the world to see- Ergot- looking very much packrat poops! Finally we could inspect real specimens of the famous Ergot that we'd read so much about over the years. We can also very easily pick them out when soaking the grain for the animals.The past few years of baking sourdough rye bread has led to much interest in articles written about Rye grain- its nutritional properties, gluten content, folklore, and such. Rebecca Wood in her excellent book 'The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia' says that 'Rye is said to build muscles and promote energy and endurance, and is medicinal to the liver'. Rye also contains an abundance of vitamins and minerals including vitamin E, eleven B vitamins, protein, Iron and more. It has less gluten than wheat- but due to it's gluten content is still best avoided by people with gluten intolerances- including celiacs and some people with Crohn's Disease. Folks with 'B' type blood and who follow the Eat Right For Your Blood Type Diet might also choose to avoid Rye. For many centuries there have been flare-ups of St. Anthony's Fire all around the world, the horrible ailment that folks who consumed Ergotized Rye succumbed to- including hallucinations and often leading to gangrene of the extremities. Because of this problem and many others, the sourdough process with grain and breadmaking is extremely important. There were periods of time where populations were so hungryand poor that they were left with no choice but to consume ergotized rye. If you were milling your own flour, you could easily pick out the ergot. If, however, the only rye flour that you had to eat had been milled already with Ergot- the traditional sourdough process would completely neutralize Ergot's alkaloid substances (check out 'The Bounty of Rye' article by Jacques De Langre in Paul Pitchford's book 'Healing with whole Foods'.). Now true sourdough, yeast free bread-making does more than neutralize the effects of Ergot- which if you're buying your grain from a reputable dealer or mill shouldn't be a problem. It also neutralizes Phytic Acid. All grains, nuts, seeds, and beans, contain Phytic Acid, which when eaten binds with Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Copper, and Iron in the intestinal tract and blocks their absorbtion. This leads to allsorts of digestive disorders and nutrient deficiencies. Other ways of neutralizing phytic acid include soaking grains and beans for 12-24hours in water with a splash of something acidic (apple cider vinegar, lemon juice), and changing the water before cooking them (skimming all the foam off of beans if they're what's being cooked...). Sprouting is also an excellent technique. We like to sprout all of our spelt grain,then dehydrate it, and fresh grind it for more nutritious and delicious cookies, brownies, and cakes and such. Sprouting also lessens (and is some cases completely rids) the gluten content of grains! Nuts and seeds should be soaked overnight with a small amountof unrefined sea salt, then dehydrated or toasted. Your belly will thank you for the little bit of extra energy expended! Check out Sally Fallon's excellent book 'Nourishing Traditions' for more info on proper preparations of grains, beans, meats, pickles and more. Just for the hell of it: Here's how we make our sourdough rye bread.

Monkey's Amazing Sourdough Rye!!!
First you need to start your sourdough, and catch a culture. Mix a cup of non-chlorinated water with a cup of whole rye flour (ideally fresh ground or as fresh as you can get it for the best nutrition and flavour) in a non reactive bowl (ceramic or glass) and cover it with cheesecloth or a cotton towel. Leave it in an undisturbed clean, room temperature spot. Every day add another cup of water, and another cup of flour- between two days and a week, your flour water mixture should get bubbly and smell sour. This is your sourdough starter! You can keep adding water and flour every day indefinitely to keep your starter alive. What we like to do is mix up a quantity over a week or two, then pour it into several pint and litre mason jars with lids and rings, label them, and keep them in the fridge to set them into dormancy. I just pulled out a two month old jar of sourdough from the fridge and it worked great. Make sure you always make more starter for storing and reviving, as the longer you keep your starter alive, the better it gets (ours is now four years old- there are some in France over a century old and supposedly excellent!). So the night or morning before breadmaking, you need to make a 'sponge'. The other night I started with a litre or so of sourdough starter, and added about two litres of liquid (I used cultured goat's milk whey, though water works great). I then tossed in several handfulls of organic sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds (often I add lots of sunflower seeds), a small drizzle of organic blackstrap molasses, and a smattering of caraway seeds (which also aid in digestion and flavour). A bunch of fresh ground organic rye flour was added (maybe seven cups or so) so that the mixture was thick yet a little soupy. A cotton cloth was laid over it, and it was left overnight to get bubbly and sour. In the morning I added the rest of the ingredients- simply a small sprinkling of unrefined coarse sea salt (it's important not to put itin the night before as it can inhibit sourdough fermentation), and the rest of the rye flour- however much it can absorb (maybe another nine cups? I like to practice bread making as an art and not so much as a science....). I mix it with one hand adding flour as needed until I'm left with a sticky messy goo reminiscent of peanut butter that's lost much of it's oil. At this point, you scrape as much of it from your fingers as you can, put the cloth back over it, and leave it to rest for an hour or two or three (or half an hour).When you're ready to form the loaves- you find yourself rewarded for your patience. The beauty of sourdough rye is that it doesn't require laborious kneading like spelt and kamut or wheat. You simply set your dough onto a well floured surface, work some flour into it until itisn't so sticky, then cut it into the sizes of loaves you desire (wehave a scale and measure them out into one pound loaves for sale and gifting, and two and a half to three pound loaves for ourselves and using in the restaurant). With your smaller balls of dough, you work more flour into them and knead them for a moment until you can form smooth cohesive small loaves without too many cracks or cavities.Place your loaves into well floured (not oiled) baking dishes or loafpans, cut a slit into the top of each loaf (or design or several slits- so that as the bread rises it doesn't blow out the sides of the loaf), cover with a damp cloth, and put them in a warm, draught free spot, with a box overtop of them. That night (or the next morning-ideally six to eight hours, though longer is all right) you can fire your loaves into an unheated oven with a pan of water in the bottom (for steam), put the temperature up to 415 degrees fahrenheit for ten or fifteen minutes, then turn it down to 350 degrees and bake until they're done (around forty five minutes or when you can smell them). The loaves are baked when you can thump them on the bottom and they sound hollow. Cool your loaves completely on a rack with a cloth over them. Sourdough Rye bread is fantastically delicious when very thinly sliced and toasted with your favourite topping or made into open-faced sandwiches. It keeps very well, and actually improves in flavour overtime. We store the loaves in a paper bag inside of a plastic bag, out of the fridge and freezer- and they last for two to three weeks in perfect condition. So there you have it!
Enjoy your delicious, nutritious Sourdough Rye Bread!

Hello Hello Hello.....It's another lovely clear sky day out here in the Nicola Valley.... a little brisk- a few degrees below zero- a colder spell has been predicted for any day now...With Solstice behind us we've been feeling renewed energy flowingoutward- many more projects have begun! Mostly there's been a lot oforganizing going on in the house- Brandie and I have been clearing outour room making way for new floor to ceiling shelves and a start atripping up the carpeting! Shelves, shelves, shelves- we have shelf building projects planned until the end of time...... we have enough books for a small library, squashes on every table and couch, boxes and bags of seeds from the garden overtaking tables, buckets of grains and beans stacked on top of each other, canning jars and planting pots exploding in our 'jar shed'. In my mind's eye I can see everything adorning wall space- where to search for something will simply mean aquick scan of the shelves. Every time new shelves get erected (everyyear there's two or three), new life gets breathed into our farmhouse. As well we have our lovely goat ladies to search out food for- we have another truckload of organic carrots planned to haul, another load of hay, and any home-cut Christmas trees we can find to bring home- they love chomping on tinsel free, chemical free (no farm raised trees) evergreens- it keeps the goats dancing! Wood splitting has interestingly started getting easier since theSolstice. We amassed an amazing pile of pine beetle wood that was cleared out and cut up near Merrit. It had been like no other firewood- axes and mauls would bounce repeatedly off of this seemingly cured wood. It could only be split with wedges, which is slow, meditative work. Yesterday I took to splitting wood after a couple of week hiatus, most of the wood was splitting easily (well easier) than before, without wedges. We had also brought back a maul that belonged to my Grandpa Kydd- clearly his energy was being channeled with every swing.
We're just over a month away from the predicted Birth Day! Brandie is amazing! Every day we hike up and around the mountainside above thefarm (yesterday in some wonderful locally made mocassins that we goteach other for Christmas!) for some fresh air and excercise. Lifehasn't slowed down one bit- and Brandie's energy is as strong as ever.Her health is fantastic- all of our midwife visits go wonderfully,with lots of engaging ideas. There's seems to be endless lifetimes oflearning to be had- how could one ever find themselves bored?
There's even been some fun (!) learning adventures going on at thedentist the past couple of months. My years of being a junk foodjunkie candy chewer in my teens and early twenties have come back tohaunt me.... A tooth that had been filled in November went haywire afew weeks ago stealing many nights of sleep and transformed me into awalking grouch.... I knew that I would be faced with two options atthe dentist (with a rush appointment one hour before they'd be closeduntil well into the New Year)- a root canal or pulling- neither ofwhich I wanted.... I had my first tooth pulled in the spring (my firstjoyous encounter with nerve pains) and chewing hasn't been quite thesame. Studies on root canals have shown that they're directly linkedwith heart and kidney problems (Weston Price, research director forthe American Dental Association for 17 years did many studies withroot canals.... He found that many cases of heart and kidney troubleswere relieved with the pulling of root canalled teeth. There are somany little canals within the tooth that a dentist usually can'tscrape out and sterilize them all, and so harmful bacteria have placesto proliferate and multiply, without anywhere to escape but back intoour bodies wreaking all sorts of trouble... There's some interestinginformation about Weston Price and his research in both PaulPitchford's 'Healing with Whole Foods', and Sally Fallon's 'NourishingTraditions'.). So after the dentist offered me these two options, Iasked if the filling could be drilled out, so that any infection thatexisted could simply drain (this is what I believe had been happeningbefore I had it filled in November).... A third option was finallyoffered after I remained stubborn for a while..... Once commonlypracticed by dentists (for several centuries), my dentist cleaned outthe cavity, and packed it with Calcium Hydroxide (slaked lime)....when you have an infection, it's due to an acidic environment existing(like in my unfortunate tooth)- Calcium Hydroxide is a slightlyalkaline substance that, when packed into the tooth, raises the PH sothat the infection cannot survive. Calcium Hydroxide is a naturalsubstance used in Nixtamalizing corn (to neutralize it's B-Vitamindepleting tendencies), and was deemed a 'holistic' option by mydentist..... I still have to do more research to find out how good ofa substance it is. The reason that this isn't common practice anymoreis because it's a temporary solution- the calcium hydroxide willdissapate after a few years, and need repacking. At any time, though,the tooth could still be root canalled (no thanks!), or at worst, bepulled. So far after about a week I still have strong sensitivity tocold liquids, but I haven't had any nerve pain otherwise (whereas itwas constant before)- hopefully I'll be able to once again chew onthis tooth- we'll see. As for having to have it repacked every fewyear- this seems like a far better alternative to no tooth or a toxictooth.
Six years ago, just before leaving living in Vancouver and heading upto Sapo Bravo Farm to begin my organic farming adventures, I wastravelling for a few weeks on train in Oregon and California. I lovedto seek out farmer's markets and restaurants that offered organicfare- travelling has always been a food adventure. After a short timewithout my own kitchen, I started experiencing the worst digestiveissues of my life- I was in constant pain for days on end and wasn'tenjoying much of any of the food as I could have (or any of themicrobrews that exist around there).... Eventually I ended up inAshland, Oregon- a favourite little town of mine where I'd experiencedsome of the finest live theatre back in 1997 (they hold the 'OregonShakespeare Festival' for most of the year, every year). Quitefortuitously, there was a three day cooking and nutrition class beingoffered by Rebecca Wood. Her wonderful books- 'The New Whole FoodsEncyclopedia' and 'The Splendid Grain' have influenced me greatly. TheNew Whole Foods Encyclopedia was the first book on fruits, veggies,grains and herbs that captivated me when working at a health foodstore in Halifax years prior- I had read it front to back for it'swonderful information on the healing properties, folklore, andpreparation of so many natural delectables. Almost daily this book isreferenced here in our home- and it has always as fresh andfascinating as ever. Her teachings offer a great mix of insight,taking from eastern and Ayurvedic philosophies and a long life ofpractice.The three day classes were fantastic- I was already quite familiarwhich much of the techniques and ideas from her books- and practicingthem with her was very rewarding. After the first day, my previouslyagonizing insides were completely soothed and I was feeling totallytransformed. At the very end of the three days, I had an hour withRebecca where she did a lot of studying of my inside health through myeyes and lips, as well as some muscle testing. Her findings were lifechanging- and I can always now look into a mirror and see what's goingawry. Mine and your digestive and physical health are written right onour faces for anyone to see- if one only knows what to look for.With the muscle testing I found out some foods that were ailing me andwhich were highly beneficial. The worst three foods were wheat, sugar,and cow dairy- Aha! During my travels in the States and eating in allof these restaurants, I was always offered homemade scones, buns,breads and all sorts- always wheat based (and probably with sugar andmilk in them)- living in Vancouver I would always eat sourdough ryes,kamuts, and spelts- not necessarily because I thought wheat was badfor me (though deep down inside I knew), but because I enjoyed theseother breads so much more! Going into health food stores in the U.S.,although there were fantastic assortments of the best unrefinedingredients anywhere- you were hard pressed to find any trulysourdough (yeast free) wheat free breads, while here in Canada thesebreads are widely available. Strange.So it has just come to our attention that Rebecca Wood is offering herdietary consultations by phone or by Skype Video- and she's currentlyoffering a holiday special. Check it out athttp://rebeccawood108.wordpress.com/Her website also offers a plethora of wonderful nutritionalinformation and whole food recipes at http://www.rwood.com/If you decide to have a consultation with Rebecca Wood- feel free tosay hello from us and that you heard about her through Monkey in theGarden. I know that my daily better health is owed in part to her fineknowledge and information.
So we're going to be making a trip through Ashcroft & Kamloops onTuesday, January 11th, and into Kelowna to make some New Year's fooddeliveries coming up on Wednesday January 12th & Thursday, January13th!!! It's going to be our last trip for some time, as Baby isexpected in early February- and we're so excited and don't plan toleave the farm for as long as possible....So check out our menu, and let us know as soon as possible whatdelicious organic whole foods you'd like to stock up on. Many dishessell out quick....Look forward to hearing from you soon,
peace,
Michael and Brandie Monkeys

MONKEY IN THE GARDEN’S ALL ORGANIC MENUFor our menu we grow a wide variety of heirloom and open-pollinatedvegetables and herbs, berries, fruits, and flowers on our smallorganic farm in the scorching Nicola Valley semi-arid desert. Otherfruits, berries, and mushrooms come through trading with other localorganic sources as well as from foraging expeditions into thewild. We save all of our non-GMO seeds from our bio-diverse gardens everyyear- thus allowing for their increased adaptability to our soil andenvironment, and to assure the continued existence of these older,hardier, more nutritious, delicious, floral, and colourful fruits,vegetables, flowers and herbs.We use both Nutiva Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil and ABEA ExtraVirgin Olive Oil in all of our cooking and baking. ABEA is from acooperative on the island of Crete, Greece- this olive oil is producedon orchards inside of an ancient volcano- the fruit is unsprayed andcold stone pressed. After pressing the oil is quickly cooled overshallow rollers- never does the oil get warmer than tepid water. Bothoils are delicious and nutritious...All of our dishes are wheat-free using organic fresh ground (from ourown mill) Spelt,Kamut, and Rye flours, as well as organic whole grains and organiclegumes - quinoa, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, oats, barley; adzuki,navy, kidney and black beans; chickpeas; speckled peas, French, green,and red lentils). We only use unrefined sea salt exclusively for it’sbalance of minerals, mellow flavour, and positive influence in thebody (unlike commercial refined salts including refined sea salt whichdehydrate and kill your cells. Unrefined sea salt on the other handcontains all of the minerals we need- it has a similar composition asocean water as well as human blood. Our bodies need natural unrefinedsalts to survive and function properly.) .All grains, beans, and organic fresh crop nuts and seeds are preparedwith digestion, nutrition, and flavour in mind- always soakedovernight to remove the phytic acid and indigestible sugars. Beandishes are then cooked with kombu seaweed and epazote (both seaweedand herb help break down proteins and help digestion) with carefulattention to digestibility and deliciousness.Our breads are sourdough and yeast-free, and our baked goodies are prepared withsprouted spelt flour. All flour is freshly ground in our mill before using....All dishes are Vegan or Vegetarian (with the non-vegan dishes labeledunder ‘Goat Cheese and Whey based dishes).ENTREES, VEGGIE BURGERS & PASTA●Aubergine Nimoise ~ Seasonal favorite back by popular demand! Halvesof fresh picked eggplant, scored & roasted to creamy perfection,topped with our rich reduced garlicy heirloom tomato sauce. Serve hotwith our sourdough rye for a true French treat. Available in verylimited quanity due to poor weather & extremely decreased yeilds!● Lasagna- Fresh, handmade thin Kamut noodles create this popularfavourite- with a rich tomatoey navy and kidney bean sauce, onions,garlic, basil, zucchini, and eggplants! Wonderfully delicious!● Falafels!- Exciting persian delight with sprouted speckled peas,garlic, onions, and aromatic spices.●Baked Stuffed Potatoes- Our delicious multi coloured, desert fruitsof the earth, stuffed with sautéed hardy winter greens, onions,garlic, mustard & caraway. Baked to golden perfection, A EuropeanDelight!●Bolivian Stuffed Squash- Quintessential Winter Treat in celebrationof the harvest. Amazingly flavourful sweet dumpling style squashes loaded withquinoa, black & red beans, quillquinna (traditional cilantro/arugulatasting Bolivian herb we grow here on the farm) & toasted spices.Delicous topped with ourOaxacan Tomatillo Salsa!●Monkey's Winter Pizza - Paper thin slices of beets, carrots,zuchinni, onions, garlic, thyme, basil & heirloom tomato sauce atop afresh ground sourdough Kamut & sunflowerseed crust. Layered Succulence!●Roshtis - Grated (noodle-style) Celeriac, potato, sunchokes & leekspair up to create these delicious baked vegetable patties. Great witheggs and salsa!BEANS & VEGAN SOUPSPerfect to accompany any meal, or to eat just on their own!Savoury & Delicious, our bean dishes are all very carefully prepared.Beans and legumes should always be soaked for 12-24 hours in at least fourtimes as much water with a splash of apples cider vinegar (whichbegins a proliferation of acidophilus bacteria which help inneutralizing phytic acid). When cooking, the soaking water is changedfor fresh water. The beans are brought to a rolling boil, and asAyurvedic tradition suggests, the gassiness from the beans is sent ‘upand away’ with the escaping steam for twenty minutes, while theindigestible foam that rises to the top of the pot is skimmed andcomposted. The beans are then lowered to a gentle simmer with unrefinedsea salt, kombu seaweed (for softening and mineral enriching), wholespices, and at a point, dried Epazote herb from our gardens (a Mexicanherb to help with digesting proteins). Once softened (when a beansquishes between your tongue and the roof of your mouth), additionalingredients are added (acidic ingredients, such as tomatoes, wine,lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, should be added to cooking beansonly at this point, as they can halt the softening process, and leadto ‘al denté’ beans- digestive disasters!)and the beans continue onthe way towards a savoury, heart warming dish!We now sprout all of our beans for additional nutritional value anddigestive ease!All our bean dishes and soups go great with our delicious sourdough artisanbreads. 750ml size.● Coconut Curried Chickpeas- coconutty with cinnamon and sautéed onions● Fireside Monkey Beans- Sprouted Navy Beans are slow cooked over thewoodstove with heirloom tomatoes, griddle roasted poblano, sautéedonions & garlic, cinnamon & anise.● Lentil Dahl- Sprouted Red & French Lentils are cooked to creamyperfection with heirloom tomatoes, sautéed onions & spices.● Monkey Chili- Sprouted adzukis, black beans & chickpeas are slowcooked with tomatillos & tomatoes, sautéed onions, squash & sweetpeppers, toasted spices!● Borscht- A Bounty of Beety Blessings! The classic favourite! Loadedwith lots of delicious winter veggies, sautéed and simmered for aborscht like no other!MOUNTAIN MONKEYS AMAZING MINERAL RICH WHEY SOUPSOur Healthy Goat Friends live a happy life out here at the farm. Thesix of them have lots of room to roam, plenty of sunshine, andexcellent fresh well water. Everyday we feed them a feast of freshveggies, certified organic barley, oats & soaked rye, organic carrots, vibrantalfalfa & grass hay, fir & pine boughs (as well as bark which theylove snacking on!). They love to lick on their himalayan crystal saltblock! Our goat friends are here on the farm for us to have a healthyconnection with animals, to supplement our predominantly vegetariandiet with their lovely milk products, and for their compost thatprovides more organic matter and nutrients to our soil. All of ourgoat friends ended up at the farm by chance, theywere in need of homes from other farms and here they have a sanctuaryin the mountains with lots of fresh air and tranquility.The soups listed are whey based- Whey is the mineral rich high proteinliquid part of goat milk (the curds are the solids that make upcheese). Used as the base for soup it greatly increases the mineralcontent and is revitalizing and energizing, and imparts a wonderfulrichness and thickness to the soup.EATING WHEY BASED SOUP IS LIKE TAKING AN ENERGIZING MINERALSUPPLEMENT! THESE SOUPS DEEPLY SATISFY!All of these soups are available in very limited amounts.●Potato Leek Whey soup- Rich & delicious .... the sweet flavour of freshly dugpotatoes mingles perfectly with fresh leeks & celery in this creamyfavorite.● Curried Creamy Pumpkin & Lentil Whey Soup ~ A Hearty soup spiced todelicious perfection● Roasted Zuchinni & Garlic Whey Soup~ The unmistakable flavour of roastedgarlic meets sauteed onions & celery in this creamy creation.● Persian Whey Soup- with Red Kuri Squash, sautéed leeks, eggplants,celery, grape leaves, cumin, anise, mustard & cinnamon.● Roasted Squash Whey Soup- with sautéed leeks, tomatillos & celery- delicious!● Creamy Potato Whey Soup- with fresh dug potatoes, apples, sautéed onions,chilies, ginger, cumin, coriander, black pepper & garlic. Creamy Spicygoodness!● Harvest Medley Whey Soup- Bounty from the Harvest! with sautéedleeks, celery, tomatoes, roasted tomatillos, squash, & potatoes.SWEET TREATS!!Our desserts are made with your better health in mind. We freshlygrind our organic sprouted spelt flour, and use unrefined extra virginorganic coconut oil, fresh and preserved tree ripened organic fruits,and unrefined sea salt. These treats are sweetened with fruit andor small amounts of Fair Trade, Organic Panela (unrefined sugar withall of its minerals and vitamins intact- used in small amounts it is anutritious sweetener). All spelt, and organic nuts and seeds aresprouted and dehydrated to help break down the phytic acid andindigestible sugars, thus allowing for better mineral and vitaminabsorption, and better digestive ease.● Decadently Rich Brownie Truffles- Described by many as a crossbetween a brownie and the best chocolate truffle ever! Sprouted SpeltFlour, Cocoa Camino cocoa powder, Panela, and extra virgin coconut oilmake up these delectables.….. These moist, dark chocolate multi-bitebeauties are sure to make your taste buds smile.● Chewy Ginger Cookies~ Fresh ground organic & non-irradiated ginger,cinnamon & cloves make these clasic treats even better!●Toasted Hazelnut, Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chunk Cookies~ Who canresist the delicious choco-nutty flavour combination?●Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies~ Our own Sun Dried Cherries pair upwith Vivani chocolate chunks & sprouted oats for a delicous treat.●Kamut Fruit Turnovers~ An exciting & delicous new item to our menu!Flaky Kamut Crust wrapped around a delicious 100% FRUIT filling.Available in Spiced Pear, Pear Apple, Strawberry Apple or RaspberryApple. Comes frozen & ready to bake for a fresh from the oven treat!SOURDOUGH BREAD, SAVOURY MUFFINS & GRANOLADelicious and Nutritious! We grind all of our flour fresh for all ofour baking! After a whole grain is ground, oxidization begins- andwithin two weeks of being ground, much of the vitamins within havedissipated and the flour is on its way to becoming rancid- affectingnot only nutrient content, but also the wonderful fresh flavourstrapped within the whole grain. (For your information: If fresh groundflour is bought from a mill or farmer’s market and wrapped tightly inthe freezer, it is supposed to last for up to six months in goodcondition.)Like any whole grain, legume, seed or nut, there contains phytic acid-which combines with iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc in theintestinal tract, and blocks their absorption. Many digestivedifficulties with breads and baking lay within the preparation.Traditional cultures always soaked or fermented all grains, beans,nuts and seeds,- which neutralizes the phytic acid within and allowsfor better digestive ease along with increased absorption of vitaminsand minerals.We take care to follow suit with all of our baking- as well as alldishes containing grains, légumes, nuts and seeds. Not only do we likethe idea of increased nutrition and better digestive ease, butaccessing the complex flavours achieved through soaking and fermenting.● Sourdough Rye- Our daily staple here at the farm. Made with freshground Certified Organic Armstrong Rye, Organic Fairtrade BlackstrapMolasses, organic Sunflower seeds, unrefined sea salt and a touch ofwhole caraway seeds. Thin sliced and toasted this is a great bread forany meal.●Savoury Squash & Toasted Sunflower Seed Muffins~ A Monkey housefavorite! Densely moist, beta carotine rich muffins. Perfect as a midday snack or with your favorite soup.● Monkey Granola - Organic Oats are first soaked overnight (tobreak down the phytic acid), then dehydrated, and finally roasted togolden perfection with a vast array of our own dried fruits (apricots,peaches, cherries, apples, pears), a multitude of organic nuts (firstsoaked & dehydrated); almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts & sunflower seeds,organic extra-virgin coconut oil, and our own apple sauce! Great forbreakfast or snacktime!DELI STYLE FRESH CONDIMENTS & DRESSINGS in 250ml glass jars● Fire Powder -A blend of our own homegrown organic sun-soaked chilies,dried and ground fresh to spice up your dinner table! Caution- VeryAddictive, Very Spicy! Spice jar size.●Toasted Sesame Gomashio - Sprouted and Roasted organic sesame seeds &unrefined sea salt make up this delicious calcium rich seasoning toadd a dash offlavour to any dish. Perfect addition to any homemade salad dressing.●Cultured Pickles! Amazing digestive aids- traditional lacto-fermentedpickles are deliciously tangy and complex- packed full of enzymes,nutrients, and probiotics! We eat a different pickle with every mealto help with digestion- the brine is also excellent when sipped for anupset stomach! Always changing with the seasons!SWEET AND SAVOURY PRESERVESShelf Stable Treats for the pantry- Organic Fruits and Vegetable basedcondiments and sauces for every palate… Unless otherwise noted, allpreserves are made without additional sweeteners (Fruit only- reducedto concentrate natural sugars within) There's something perfect forcomplementing any meal of the day ....... 250mL glass jar● Peach, Apricot & Shiro Plum Sauce~ Amazingly golden & absolutely delicous.● Roasted Apricots - The favorite is back..... full apricot flavouroven roasted to golden perfection!● Black Cherry - Delicous tree ripened full cherry flavour jam packedin every jar.● Pear Sauce- Luxurious ripe pears preserved at their prime!● Plum, Pear & Double Apple Butter- Reduced to a thick toothsome treat!● Chocolate Cherry Raspberry Sauce – Whole Raspberries float amidst areduced Cherry and Cocoa Camino Cocoa sauce - Incredible alone or ontop of any dessert for an amazing taste sensation!● Pear Butter- Ripe Pears stewed down to a thick concentrated sauce.● Sour Cherry Sauce – Sour Cherries are reduced with the pits in prior tostraining, extracting their delicious almond aroma…. An old worldspecialty.● Saucy Apricots - Sun-Drenched Nicola Valley Apricots- lots ofsunshine in every jar of golden deliciousness!● Green Gage Plums- Delicous Heirloom Plums sunripened & full ofamazing flavour! Excellent sweet/tart flavour works well with sweetdesserts as well as savoury meals for dipping or saucing.●Summer Red Apple Sauce- Delightfully pink quite sweet (from perfectapples) sauce. The Summer Red apple variety originated at theSummerland Fruit Research Station!● Flamin' Baba Ganooj~ Roasted Eggplants, onions, garlic, ripe sweetpeppers & habanero chilies - Blended to creamy perfection of spicyeggplant bliss. Delicous spread or dip for almost anything!●Oaxacan Tomatillo Salsa~ Roasted tomatillos, onions, garlic, chilies& spices. Amazing addition to your next mexican feast!● Spicy Monkey Ketchup- our version of this extremely popularcondiment- a thick, blended up sauce of sautéed sweet peppers,chilies, heirloom tomatoes, onions, garlic, and celery- sweetened withapples, and spiced just right.●Ratatouille - Very rich, reduced vine ripened HeirloomTomatoes, Desert Gem Onions, Zucchini, Sweet Coloured Peppers, andbeautiful heirloom Eggplants. Amazing thick spread on toast with softgoat cheese or any savoury toppings. It jazzes up any tomato or pastasauce- transforming asimple sauce into a flavour extravaganza!● Antipasto- Rich & Thick spread for crackers & soft cheese- withheirloom tomatoes, roasted eggplants, peppers, chilies, garlic &onions, fresh shucked beans, scarlet runner beans, sautéed zucchini &onions, fresh herbs.● Apricot Chutney with Panela (unrefined sugar)- Ginger,cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and caramelized panela spice up reducedapricots and make this an excellent chutney to have with a curryfeast, or as a great sauce for stirfries, cooked grains, a bowl ofchickpeas, or panfried panir or tempeh.● Peach, Pear & Apple Chutney- with sautéed onions, garlic, chiles,and fresh roasted fragrant spices. Transforms a simple meal intochutney bliss.● Fruit Supreme Relish-With Suyo Long & Lemon cucumbers, onions,greengage and Bradshaw plums, apples, sweet peppers, D’Anjou pears,apple cider vinegar, Celtic sea salt, coriander. Fruity and Fantastic!● Peach Salsa- Full summer flavour with juicy ripe peaches, heirloomblue & yellow corn, heirloom tomatoes, eggplants, chilies, sweetonions, & fresh herbs.● Buttery Apple Relish- a mix of our favourite relish ingredientscooked down very slowly to achieve a wonderfully smooth condiment.● Sunshine Salsa - Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes (mostly Jaune Flamées),sautéed onions, celery, sweet peppers, garlic, habanero peppers, herbs& spices, unrefined sea salt & apple cider vinegar. Super flavourful &lightly spicy. Excellent for chip dipping, or as a rich zesty saucefor grains, beans, eggs, tempeh....● Curried Cherry Tomato Pickle - A delicious salty pickle foraccompanying any dish wanting strong curried flavours- with GreenCherry tomatoes, chilies, garlic, ginger, tumeric, cumin, coriander,pepper, anise, cardamom, & unrefined sea salt.●Fire Water- Deliciously Spicy Blend of 6 types of de seeded HabaneroPeppers, fresh garlic, onions & unrefined sea salt, blended to smooth,saucy perfection with de seeded & skinned heirloom tomatoes. Add alittle FIRE to your life! (114 ml jars Very concentrated)HERBAL REMEDIES:Spilanthes Olevacea- Spilanthes is a native Amazonian herb- withsimilar properties as Echinacea, though with a potency five timesgreater. It is a plant commonly eaten in the Brazilian diet- often with themilder leaves of the plant minced up into soups and salads for itsimmune boosting properties.We find that it helps almost immediately with a variety of complaints-such as canker sores, cold sores, sore throats, toothaches, as well asthe common cold or flu. We always have it on hand to help beat backany sickness that creeps up in our household.We grow our Spilanthes as an annual plant, saving seed each year tokeep this potent medicine available. It’s a lovely, lowcreepingsucculent plant, with arrow shaped leaves, and small, chamomilelooking flowers of red within yellow within orange.We offer Spilanthes in two forms:● Whole dried Spilanthes flower heads- excellent for keeping in apurse, or in the glovebox or backpack- simply pop a dried flower inyour mouth and treat it as a lozenge. Its action is long lasting!● Spilanthes Tincture- Our tincture is in a vodka base and uses onlythe fresh, potent flower heads fresh harvested at their peak potency.Simply a few drops under the tongue or back of the throat and itsaction is immediately felt. It comes in a convenient 25mL dark glassbottle with dropper.● Reishi Mushroom Tincture- an amazing adaptogen used for millenia inthe east... an excellent stress reliever and immune booster- we findthat reishi both calms the nerves while adding clarity of mind andincreased energy. An excellent anti-carcinogen, it's used in thetreatment of many cancers and tumours. Many texts recommend it fordaily use throughout life for increased longevity (likely due to itsstress-relieving properties!). Our reishi tincture is vodka based withcertified organic reishi mushroom.MONKEYS GIFT BASKETS!!!The Perfect way to share Monkey in the Garden Goodness with those youlove! A delicous & ecceltic combination of sauces, preserves, herbs &medicinal tinctures, nested on a bed of organic straw & all wrapped upin an attractive natural fibre basket. Comes with a handmade seasonalgreeting card. Great to have on hand for an ethically producedsurprise birthday or anniversary gift! Available in $50 & up sizes.Please get your order in ASAP so we can make sure to get everything you'd like!See you soon,peace,Michael and Brandie MonkeysAlso Feel free to pass our email and menu along to anyone you mightthink is interested in hearing about life on the farm and deliciousorganic edibles!!! Our Small Scale Organic Family Farming Businessappreciates all the support we can get. It helps us to keep doing whatwe love and believe in.

Monkeys Off to Vancouver December 10th & 11th!!!

Joyous frozen Greetings from the Nicola Valley
Winter has at last settled it's icy kiss upon us, putting an end tothe seemingly endles golden autumn we had been blissfully enjoying.Well below zero for almost a week now, the Nicola is running slow &freezing up solid on the banks. A fiercely cold north wind forces usto recall the etiquette of proper winter dress & we adjust to moreindoor centered projects (which there is a never ending list of)......And so one season blends seemlessly into the next.
Thankfully we utilized Mother Earth's blessing of a warm fall well....creating new sunken beds for our 35 lbs of various garlic varieties,followed by planting & mulching. Wood gathering.... a local PineBeetle removal project, that created jobs (felling & bucking up treesin a forested area near to homes) & firewood free for the loading.What a gracious gift to warm our home with! Root harvesting (mutlicoloured carrots, parsnips, celariac, turnips & sunchokes) & sandboxstorage for fresh late winter & spring food. Greens & herb gathering(turnip tops, arugula, swiss chard, parsley, thyme, tarragon, alfalfatips, red raspberry leaves, shinjiku flower petals, clover blossoms &anise hyssop) Busy right up until the last possible moment.... frozeup solid that very night & has stayed well below zero ever since!
We had a wonderfully successful show in Kelowna at Summerhill PyramidWinery. There was a great turnout with lots of excellent vendors andoverjoyed market-goers. We were voted best market display by the fortyother vendors, and awarded with a bottle of pinot noir sparkling wine(to be cellared for next year).... Lots of excellent trades & newcontacts were made!
We also came home with a bountiful truckload of wire fencing- we'relooking forward to setting up more areas for our chicken friends toscratch around in- Borrowed an excellent & very inspiring book formthe library Titled "Chicken Tractor" By Andy Lee & Pat Forman. Itexplains in detail how to graze your chickens throughout the gardens,allowing them to fertilize & cultivate the soil as they are moved fromone section of bed to the next, thus further decreasing the need formechanical implements & increasing the overall fertility of the land.Utilizing the permaculture approach of "stacking functions"....allowing the chickens access to more wild & natural foods & at thesame time allowing them to do some of our work for us! Sounds right upour alley! We are looking forward to implementing some of these ideashere in the coming season!
Today we were blessed with glorious sunshine~ Much nicer for our dailywalk. as well as for the goats & chickens who live mostly outdoors.Despite the cold they continue to bless us with lovely fresh milk &eggs daily. Fresh carrots & apples for the goats & a full spectrumlight for the chickens make all the difference in production. Thechickens have a new house mate ~ Coregan, the lovely Buff Orpingtonrooster.... one of the more docile breeds, he never chases you ortries to peck at you when you go in for a visit or to search for eggs.He is quite spectacular, tall & golden plumed & has added mightily tothe general farm ambience with his continual crowing. The goats wereat first quite put off by him & his random announcements, but haveaccepted him as part of the "family" now. The hens are quite smitten &he is usually surrounded by the lot of them. And so the farm continuesto grow.
The worms have multiplied like crazy.... fed on a healthy diet oforganic coffee grounds, yerba mate, herbal tea leaves & shreddedpaper. We are stock piling worm castings to boost our potting mix upwith next spring in the greenhouse. Amazing to watch these tinycreatures transform "waste" into gold....
On the subject of growth,we are quite excited to announce that thiswill be our last delivery trip until spring 2011, due to the up &coming birth of our baby in Febuary! Our hearts (& my tummy) swellwith delight & excitement at the expansion of our little monkeyfamily. Feeling wonderfully healthy & full of vitality....we are both,baby & I, growing at a splendid & healthy rate. What a wonderful &amazing miracle to feel such lively life from within & yet waitpatiently to meet our new little friend.
We shall roll into town for deliveries on Friday December the 10th,continuing through into Saturday the 11th. In keeping with tradition,we will be setting up our Traveling Monkey Show (complete with one ofa kind handmade crochet creations, jewlery, gift baskets, giftcertificates preserves, herbs & tincutures). Please let us know if youare interested in sharing the Monkey experience with friends & familyin the comfort of your own home. It's a great time to find the perfectChristmas gift, without the hustle & bustle of busy stores & alsosupport the continuation of environmentally sustainable, family basedorganic farming in rural British Columbia. We vote with our dollarsevery day!~
Here is the updated seasonal Monkey menu~ Please make sure to get yourorder in as soon as possible to assure you get all the delicous treatsyou desire. (Some items are in very limited quantiity!) Happy reading~
MONKEY IN THE GARDEN’S ALL ORGANIC MENUFor our menu we grow a wide variety of heirloom and open-pollinatedvegetables and herbs, berries, fruits, and flowers on our smallorganic farm in the scorching Nicola Valley semi-arid desert. Otherfruits, berries, and mushrooms come through trading with other localorganic sources as well as from foraging expeditions into thewild. We save all of our seeds from our bio-diverse gardens everyyear- thus allowing for their increased adaptability to our soil andenvironment, and to assure the continued existence of these older,hardier, more nutritious, delicious, floral, and colourful fruits,vegetables, flowers and herbs.We use both Nutiva Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil and ABEA ExtraVirgin Olive Oil in all of our cooking and baking. ABEA is from acooperative on the island of Crete, Greece- this olive oil is producedon orchards inside of an ancient volcano- the fruit is unsprayed andcold stone pressed. After pressing the oil is quickly cooled overshallow rollers- never does the oil get warmer than tepid water. Bothoils are delicious and nutritious...All of our dishes are wheat-free using organic fresh ground Spelt,Kamut, Rye, and Corn flours, as well as organic whole grains andorganic legumes - red and white quinoa, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, barley;adzuki, navy, kidney and black beans; chickpeas; speckled peas,French, green, and red lentils). We use unrefined sea salt exclusivelyfor it’s balanceof minerals, mellow flavour, and positive influence in the body(unlike commercial refined salts including refined sea salt whichdehydrate and kill your cells. Unrefined sea salt on the other handcontains all of the minerals we need- it has a similar composition asocean water as well as human blood. Our bodies need natural unrefinedsalts to survive and function properly.) .All grains, beans, and organic fresh crop nuts and seeds areprepared with digestion, nutrition, and flavour in mind- always soakedovernight to remove the phytic acid and indigestible sugars. Beandishes are then cooked with kombu seaweed and epazote (both seaweedand herb help break down proteins and help digestion) with carefulattention to digestibility and deliciousness.Our breads are sourdough and yeast-free, and our baked goodies are prepared withsprouted spelt flour. All flour is freshly ground in our mill before using....All dishes are Vegan or Vegetarian (with the non-vegan dishes labeledunder ‘Goat Cheese and Whey based dishes), and are prepared withoutsweeteners (except fruit) unless otherwise noted.
ENTREES, VEGGIE BURGERS & PASTA●Aubergine Nimoise ~ Seasonal favorite back by popular demand! Halvesof fresh picked eggplant, scored & roasted to creamy perfection,topped with our rich reduced garlicy heirloom tomato sauce. Serve hotwith our sourdough rye for a true French treat. Available in verylimited quanity due to poor weather & extremely decreased yeilds!● Lasagna- Fresh, handmade thin Kamut noodles create this popularfavourite- with a rich tomatoey navy and kidney bean sauce, onions,garlic, basil, zucchini, and eggplants! Wonderfully delicious!●Buckwheat & Bean Burgers- with lots of vitamin A rich wild greens!(gluten free!)●Oat Groat & Lentil Burgers~ Whole oat deliciousness accented withpeppery greens, cumin & anise●Sticky Brown Rice Burgers- with chickpeas, ginger, cumin, coriander,cilantro, parsley and onions..... an absolutely fantastic curry stylemonkey burger! (gluten free)●Mexican Bean Pie ~ Delicously crisp millet crust, filled with kidney& black beans, sautéed onions, dried poblano peppers, fresh pickedherbs & fresh ground mexican spices. (gluten free)● Falafels!- Exciting persian delight with sprouted speckled peas,garlic, onions, and aromatic spices.●Baked Stuffed Potatoes- Our delicious multi coloured, desert fruitsof the earth, stuffed with sauteed hardy winter greens, onions,garlic, mustard & caraway. Baked to golden perfection, A EuropeanDelight!●Bolivian Stuffed Squash- Quintessential Winter Treat in celebrationof the harvest. Amazingly flavourful squash loaded to the gills withquinoa, black & red beans, quillquinna (traditional Bolivian herb wegrow here on the farm) & toasted spices. Delicous topped with ourOaxacan Tomatillo Salsa!●Monkey's Winter Pizza - Paper thin slices of beets, carrots,zuchinni, onions, garlic, thyme, basil & heirloom tomato sauce atop afresh ground sourdough Kamut& sunflowerseed crust.●Roshtis - Celeriac, potato, sunchokes & leeks pair up to create thesedelicious baked vegetable patties.●Samosas- Back by popular demand! Available with three differentfillings wrapped in a flaky Kamut pastry crust. Even better whentopped with our Peach, Pear, Plum Chutney! ●Heirloom Potato and Pea Samosas- With a mix of our multicolourmix of different potato varieties, speckled peas, sautéed onions andspices ●Parsnip, Sunchoke & Celeriac Samosas- a creamy mix of three ofour favourite winter veggies, sautéed onions & spices, and a touch ofpear sweetness ●Roasted Squash Samosas- our incredible 'Top Shelf Blue Squash',full flavoured, sweet & creamy with sautéed onions and spices
BEANS & VEGAN SOUPSPerfect to accompany any meal, or to eat just on their own!Savoury & Delicious, our bean dishes are all very carefully prepared.All beans and legumes are soaked for 12-24 hours in at least fourtimes as much water with a splash of apples cider vinegar (whichbegins a proliferation of acidophilus bacteria which help inneutralizing phytic acid). When cooking, the soaking water is changedfor fresh water. The beans are brought to a rolling boil, and asAyurvedic tradition suggests, the gassiness from the beans is sent ‘upand away’ with the escaping steam for twenty minutes, while theindigestible foam that rises to the top of the pot is skimmed andcomposted. The beans are then lowered to a gentle simmer with unrefinedsea salt, kombu seaweed (for softening and mineral enriching), wholespices, and at a point, dried Epazote herb from our gardens (a Mexicanherb to help with digesting proteins). Once softened (when a beansquishes between your tongue and the roof of your mouth), additionalingredients are added (acidic ingredients, such as tomatoes, wine,lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, should be added to cooking beansonly at this point, as they can halt the softening process, and leadto ‘al denté’ beans- digestive disasters!)and the beans continue onthe way towards a savoury, heart and warming dish!All our bean dishes and soups go great with our delicious sourdough artisanbreads. 750ml size.● Coconut Curried Chickpeas- coconutty with cinnamon and sautéed onins● Saucy Black Beans with Tomatillos, sautéed onions, cumin & cinnamon● Fireside Monkey Beans- Sprouted Navy Beans are slow cooked over thewoodstove with heirloom tomatoes, griddle roasted poblano, sautéedonions & garlic, cinnamon & anise.● Lentil Dahl- Sprouted Red & French Lentils are cooked to creamyperfection with heirloom tomatoes, sautéed onions & spices.● Monkey Chili- Sprouted adzukis, black beans & chickpeas are slowcooked with tomatillos & tomatoes, sautéed onions, squash & sweetpeppers, toasted spices!● Borscht- A Bounty of Beety Blessings! The classic favourite! Loadedwith lots of delicious winter veggies, sautéed and simmered for aborscht like no other!
MOUNTAIN MONKEYS AMAZING MINERAL RICH WHEY SOUPSOur Healthy Goat Friends live a happy life out here at the farm. Thesix of them have lots of room to roam, plenty of sunshine, andexcellent fresh well water. Everyday we feed them a feast of freshveggies, certified organic barley and oats, organic carrots, vibrantalfalfa & grass hay, fir & pine boughs (as well as bark which theylove snacking on!). They love to lick on their himalayan crystal saltblock! Our goat friends are here on thefarm for us to have a healthy connection with animals, to supplement ourpredominantly vegetarian diet with their lovely milk products, and fortheir compost that provides more organic matter and nutrients to oursoil. All of our goat friends ended up at the farm by chance, theywere in need of homes from other farms and here they have a sanctuaryin the mountains with lots of fresh air and tranquility.The soups listed are whey based- Whey is the mineral rich high proteinliquid part of goat milk (the curds are the solids that make upcheese). Used as the base for soup it greatly increases the mineralcontent, is soothing on the stomach, is revitalizing and energizing,and imparts a wonderful richness and thickness to the soup.EATING WHEY BASED SOUP IS LIKE TAKING AN ENERGIZING MINERALSUPPLEMENT! THESE SOUPS DEEPLY SATISFY!●Potato Leek Whey soup- Rich & delicious .... the sweet flavour of freshly dugpotatoes mingles perfectly with fresh leeks & celery in this creamyfavorite.● Curried Creamy Pumpkin & Lentil Whey Soup ~ A Hearty soup spiced todelicious perfection● Roasted Zuchinni & Garlic Whey Soup~ The unmistakable flavour of roastedgarlic meets sauteed onions & celery in this creamy creation.● Persian Whey Soup- with Red Kuri Squash, sautéed leeks, eggplants,celery, grape leaves, cumin, anise, mustard & cinnamon.● Skillet Roasted Tomato Whey Soup- roasty goodness with potatoes,celery & onions● Chickpea & Potato Whey Soup- with sautéed onions, celery & toasted cumin● Roasted Squash Whey Soup- with sautéed leeks, tomatillos & celery- delicious!● Creamy Potato Whey Soup- with fresh dug potatoes, apples, sautéed onions,chilies, ginger, cumin, coriander, black pepper & garlic. Creamy Spicygoodness!● Harvest Medley Whey Soup- Bounty from the Harvest! with sautéedleeks, celery, tomatoes, roasted tomatillos, squash, & potatoes.
SWEET TREATS!!Our desserts are made with your better health in mind. We freshlygrind our organic sprouted spelt flour, and use unrefined extra virginorganic coconut oil, fresh and preserved tree ripened organic fruits,and unrefined sea salt. These treats are sweetened with fruit andor small amounts of Fair Trade, Organic Panela (unrefined sugar withall of its minerals and vitamins intact- used in small amounts it is anutritious sweetener). All spelt, and organic nuts and seeds aresprouted and dehydrated to help break down the phytic acid andindigestible sugars, thus allowing for better mineral and vitaminabsorption, and better digestive ease.● Decadently Rich Brownie Truffles- Described by many as a crossbetween a brownie and the best chocolate truffle ever! Sprouted SpeltFlour, Cocoa Camino cocoa powder, Panela, and extra virgin coconut oilmake up these delectables.….. These moist, dark chocolate multi-bitebeauties are sure to make your taste buds smile.● Honeyed Plum, Pear, & Apple Upside Down Cake - A wonderful fruitladen autumn treat for dessert or afternoon tea!● Chewy Ginger Cookies~ Fresh ground organic & non-irradiated ginger,cinnamon & cloves make these clasic treats even better!●Toasted Hazelnut, Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chunk Cookies~ Who canresist the delicious choco-nutty flavour combination?●Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies~ Our own Sun Dried Cherries pair upwith Vivani chocolate chunks & sprouted oats for a delicous treat.●Kamut Fruit Turnovers~ An exciting & delicous new item to our menu!Flaky Kamut Crust wrapped around a delicious 100% FRUIT filling.Available in Spiced Pear, Pear Apple, Strawberry Apple or RaspberryApple. Comes frozen & ready to bake for a fresh from the oven treat!●Honeyed Pear Upside Down Cake~ Thinly sliced pears & honey sauce atopa deliciciously moist sprouted spelt cake base. Even better warmed inthe oven!
SOURDOUGH BREAD, SAVOURY MUFFINS & GRANOLADelicious and Nutritious! We grind all of our flour fresh for all ofour baking! After a whole grain is ground, oxidization begins- andwithin two weeks of being ground, much of the vitamins within havedissipated and the flour is on its way to becoming rancid- affectingnot only nutrient content, but also the wonderful fresh flavourstrapped within the whole grain. (For your information: If fresh groundflour is bought from a mill or farmer’s market and wrapped tightly inthe freezer, it is supposed to last for up to six months in goodcondition.)Like any whole grain, legume, seed or nut, there contains phytic acid-which combines with iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc in theintestinal tract, and blocks their absorption. Many digestivedifficulties with breads and baking lay within the preparation.Traditional cultures always soaked or fermented all grains, beans,nuts and seeds,- which neutralizes the phytic acid within and allowsfor better digestive ease along with increased absorption of vitaminsand minerals.We take care to follow suit with all of our baking- as well as alldishes containing grains, légumes, nuts and seeds. Not only do we likethe idea of increased nutrition and better digestive ease, butaccessing the complex flavours achieved through soaking and fermenting.● Sourdough Rye- Our daily staple here at the farm. Made with freshground Certified Organic Armstrong Rye, Organic Fairtrade BlackstrapMolasses, organic Sunflower seeds, unrefined sea salt and a touch ofwhole caraway seeds. Thin sliced and toasted this is a great bread forany meal.●Savoury Squash & Toasted Sunflower Seed Muffins~ A Monkey housefavorite! Densely moist, beta carotine rich muffins. Perfect as a midday snack or with your favorite soup.● Monkey Granola - Whole Organic Oats are first soaked overnight (tobreak down the phytic acid), then dehydrated, and finally roasted togolden perfection with a vast array of our own dried fruits (apricots,peaches, cherries, apples, pears), a multitude of organic nuts (firstsoaked & dehydrated); almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts & sunflower seeds,organic extra-virgin coconut oil, and our own apple sauce! Great forbreakfast or snacktime!
DELI STYLE FRESH CONDIMENTS & DRESSINGS in 250ml glass jars● Fire Powder -A blend of our own homegrown organic sun-soaked chilies,dried and ground fresh to spice up your dinner table! Caution- VeryAddictive, Very Spicy! Spice jar size.●Toasted Sesame Gomashio - Sprouted organic sesame seeds & unrefined seasalt make up this delicious calcium rich seasoning to add a dash offlavour to any dish. Perfect addition to any homemade salad dressing.
SWEET AND SAVOURY PRESERVESShelf Stable Treats for the pantry- Organic Fruits and Vegetable basedcondiments and sauces for every palate… Unless otherwise noted, allpreserves are made without additional sweeteners (Fruit only- reducedto concentrate natural sugars within) There's something perfect forcomplementing any meal of the day ....... 250mL glass jar● Peach, Apricot & Shiro Plum Sauce~ Amazingly golden & absolutely delicous.● Triple Berry Cherry - Loaded with fresh picked mulberries,raspberries & saskatoons!● Roasted Apricots - The favorite is back..... full apricot flavouroven roasted to golden perfection!● Black Cherry - Delicous tree ripened full cherry flavour jam packedin every jar.● Pear Sauce- Luxurious ripe pears preserved at their prime!● Plum, Pear & Double Apple Butter- Reduced to a thick toothsome treat!● Chocolate Cherry Raspberry Sauce – Whole Raspberries float amidst areduced Cherry and Cocoa Camino Cocoa sauce - Incredible alone or ontop of any dessert for an amazing taste sensation!● Pear Butter- Ripe Pears stewed down to a thick concentrated sauce.● Sour Cherry Sauce – Sour Cherries are reduced with the pits in prior tostraining, extracting their delicious almond aroma…. An old worldspecialty.● Roasted Peaches and Plums- Late Season Peaches roasted up with abunch of delicious Bradshaw plums- this superb fruit combination makesthe mouth dance.● Saucy Apricots - Sun-Drenched Nicola Valley Apricots- lots ofsunshine in every jar of golden deliciousness!● Lambert Cherries in Juice- Whole ripe, unpitted lambert cherriespreserved in a thick cherry juice. They're the perfect dessert untothemselves when a bowl of cherries is just what's desired.● Lapin Cherries in Juice- Whole ripe, unpitted Lapin cherriespreserved in a thick cherry juice. Same as the Lambert Cherries, justa different variety. Yum! Yum!● Green Gage Plums- Delicous Heirloom Plums sunripened & full ofamazing flavour! Excellent sweet/tart flavour works well with sweetdesserts as well as savoury meals for dipping or saucing.●Summer Red Apple Sauce- Delightfully pink quite sweet (from perfectapples) sauce. The Summer Red apple variety originated at theSummerland Fruit Research Station!● Flamin' Baba Ganooj~ Roasted Eggplants, onions, garlic, ripe sweetpeppers & habanero chilies - Blended to creamy perfection of spicyeggplant bliss. Delicous spread or dip for almost anything!●Oaxacan Tomatillo Salsa~ Roasted tomatillos, onions, garlic, chilies& spices. Amazing addition to your next mexican feast!● Spicy Monkey Ketchup- our version of this extremely popularcondiment- a thick, blended up sauce of sautéed sweet peppers,chilies, heirloom tomatoes, onions, garlic, and celery- sweetened withapples, and spiced just right.●Ratatouille - Very rich, reduced vine ripened HeirloomTomatoes, Desert Gem Onions, Zucchini, Sweet Coloured Peppers, andbeautiful heirloom Eggplants. Amazing thick spread on toast with softgoat cheese or any savoury toppings. It jazzes up any tomato or pastasauce- transforming asimple sauce into a flavour extravaganza!● Antipasto- Rich & Thick spread for crackers & soft cheese- withheirloom tomatoes, roasted eggplants, peppers, chilies, garlic &onions, fresh shucked beans, scarlet runner beans, sautéed zucchini &onions, fresh herbs.● Apricot Chutney with Panela (unrefined sugar)- Ginger,cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and caramelized panela spice up reducedapricots and make this an excellent chutney to have with a curryfeast, or as a great sauce for stirfries, cooked grains, a bowl ofchickpeas, or panfried panir or tempeh.● Peach, Pear & Apple Chutney- with sautéed onions, garlic, chiles,and fresh roasted fragrant spices. Transforms a simple meal intochutney bliss.● Fruit Supreme Relish-With Suyo Long & Lemon cucumbers, onions,greengage and Bradshaw plums, apples, sweet peppers, D’Anjou pears,apple cider vinegar, Celtic sea salt, coriander. Fruity and Fantastic!● Peach Salsa- Full summer flavour with juicy ripe peaches, heirloomblue & yellow corn, heirloom tomatoes, eggplants, chilies, sweetonions, & fresh herbs.● Buttery Apple Relish- a mix of our favourite relish ingredientscooked down very slowly to achieve a wonderfully smooth condiment.● Sunshine Salsa - Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes (mostly Jaune Flamées),sautéed onions, celery, sweet peppers, garlic, habanero peppers, herbs& spices, unrefined sea salt & apple cider vinegar. Super flavourful &lightly spicy. Excellent for chip dipping, or as a rich zesty saucefor grains, beans, eggs, tempeh....● Curried Cherry Tomato Pickle - A delicious salty pickle foraccompanying any dish wanting strong curried flavours- with GreenCherry tomatoes, chilies, garlic, ginger, tumeric, cumin, coriander,pepper, anise, cardamom, & unrefined sea salt.●Fire Water- Deliciously Spicy Blend of 6 types of de seeded HabaneroPeppers, fresh garlic, onions & unrefined sea salt, blended to smooth,saucy perfection with de seeded & skinned heirloom tomatoes. Add alittle FIRE to your life! (114 ml jars Very concentrated)
HERBAL REMEDIES:Spilanthes Olevacea- Spilanthes is a native Amazonian herb- withsimilar properties as Echinacea, though with a potency five timesgreater. It is a plant commonly eaten in the Brazilian diet- often with themilder leaves of the plant minced up into soups and salads for itsimmune boosting properties.We find that it helps almost immediately with a variety of complaints-such as canker sores, cold sores, sore throats, toothaches, as well asthe common cold or flu. We always have it on hand to help beat backany sickness that creeps up in our household.We grow our Spilanthes as an annual plant, saving seed each year tokeep this potent medicine available. It’s a lovely, lowcreepingsucculent plant, with arrow shaped leaves, and small, chamomilelooking flowers of red within yellow within orange.We offer Spilanthes in two forms:● Whole dried Spilanthes flower heads- excellent for keeping in apurse, or in the glovebox or backpack- simply pop a dried flower inyour mouth and treat it as a lozenge. Its action is long lasting!● Spilanthes Tincture- Our tincture is in a vodka base and uses onlythe fresh, potent flower heads fresh harvested at their peak potency.Simply a few drops under the tongue or back of the throat and itsaction is immediately felt. It comes in a convenient 25mL dark glassbottle with dropper.● Reishi Mushroom Tincture- an amazing adaptogen used for millenia inthe east... an excellent stress reliever and immune booster- we findthat reishi both calms the nerves while adding clarity of mind andincreased energy. An excellent anti-carcinogen, it's used in thetreatment of many cancers and tumours. Many texts recommend it fordaily use throughout life for increased longevity (likely due to itsstress-relieving properties!). Our reishi tincture is vodka based withcertified organic reishi mushroom.
MONKEYS GIFT BASKETS!!!The Perfect way to share Monkey in the Garden Goodness with those youlove! A delicous & ecceltic combination of sauces, preserves, herbs &medicinal tinctures, nested on a bed of organic straw & all wrapped upin an attractive natural fibre basket. Comes with a handmade seasonalgreeting card. Available in $50 & up sizes.
Hope this finds you truely enjoying the delights of this season!Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Peace, Health & HappinessBrandie, Michael, Char (momma monkey) & Baby Monkey~

Fabulous Finds Artisan Show!

Hello hello hello- Happy Autumn Colours,
The sun is shining and it's a crisp lovely morning out there. We're
just enjoying some morning tea on this lovely Saturday (restaurant
free- closed for the season!) morning getting ready to head out to
visit our farmer friends up at Stein Mountain Farm for the night.
Tomorrow it's off to Fountainview Academy Farm for an International
Feast and some of their lovely music. The season has slowed down
enough for farmers to get together and share stories.
Most of the harvest is in- our rooms are filled to the brink with
bright squash colours, potatoes curing, apples and pears mellowing,
tomatillos,eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers waiting preserving. We've
still carrots, sunchokes, and parsnips waiting digging (awaiting some
good frosts to sweeten them up) up and burying in our sunken sandy
space with beets and celeriacs for the winter. There's cabbages
awaiting krauting, leeks awaiting souping (and roasting and
omeleting), more greens awaiting salading (a never-ending bounty from
early spring to late fall).
Our firewood pile is ever growing, compost is still being hauled and
layered, and more garlic is being planted. We're quite excited about
this year's garlic planting. The past few years we've always produced
rather tiny bulbs of garlic- potent flavoured and excellent keeping,
though far from decent size. This year we're undertaking some rather
heavy laboured transformation of garden space. In a patch that has had
two cover crops through the season, we're preparing sunken beds.
Traditionally used for premium crops by many indigenous peoples in
semi-arid desert regions, sunken beds have many advantages over raised
beds or simply planting right in the ground. They trap more moisture
and retain it better (water that falls on the raised paths washes into
the beds), they aren't as affected by the drying winds we enjoy out
here, compost stays in the bed and doesn't fall away (like in raised
beds), the temperature is more moderated (raised beds simply bake and
dry out in our scorching environment). In preparing our garlic beds,
we're excavating clay soil from in front of our greenhouse, and
wheelbarrowing it to the garden to create raised paths. The beds (like
giant troughs) are filled with compost, forked, planted, and heavily
mulched with alfalfa hay. Excitingly, this excavation in front of the
greenhouse is bringing us closer to our dream extension sunken
greenhouse, where the insulation of the ground will keep the
temperature more regulated and allow for earlier and later crops. We
hope to heat the greenhouse with pipes running under hot horse manure,
which circulate in the greenhouse and keep it warm. Walter Harvey from
Snowy Mountain Orchards in Cawston heated a greenhouse this way last
winter where the temperature stayed to 20 degrees celsius! and
provided him with delicious salads all winter long.
This past season we already experimented with several sunken beds in
sandy new ground (where the digging was easier- the soil had never
been amended and so we simply dug a trench and piled it high for the
raised paths, then amended in the trenches) for our potatoes, corn &
beans (and volunteer tomatillos which worked wonderfully), and some of
our eggplants and peppers. All crops did great- the eggplants and
peppers had far healthier plants and produced more fruit than those
planted in raised beds! As well the sunken beds catch extra organic
matter- leaves and such. Fun fun fun.
So we're heading out next weekend to set up at a show in Kelowna
'Fabulous Finds' at Summerhill Pyramid Winery (with the most
delicious, most energetically charged organic wine we've ever
tasted!). The show happens Friday, November 5th from 4pm to 9pm, and
Saturday, November 6th, from 10 am to 4pm. The show is described by
organizer Rio Branner as showcasing 40 of the Province's best artisans
(we're honoured to have been invited!). It's sure to be a great event,
with organic wine and hors d'oerves offered, and lots of great stuff
to check out. We'll be setting up with our full selection of preserves
and tinctures, a freezer full of delicious prepared meals, fresh
baking, and of course Brandie & Char's Mountain Mommas incredibly
diverse original hand crocheted wooly goodies (toques, scarves,
mittens, slippers, creatures).
Hope to see you there!
Enjoy the lovely changing colours of autumn.
Peace,
Michael and Brandie Monkeys

Warm Evening in the Nicola Valley

My how the weather has warmed.... the nightshades (peppers, eggplants, tomatoes) were all flowering today, hoping for summer to keep on keeping on..... We're enjoying a delayed frost with lots of treats from the garden still to munch on.
The restaurant is officially closed until the last weekend in May 2011. It was a great season, though now we're in full swing getting ready for winter.... Loads of firewood, compost hauling for the garlic to plant, cover crop planting, as well as all of the ongoing food processing. A small batch of baba ganooj was made this evening- in prior years we had more eggplants than we could handle- with this cooler summer we were left with a small fraction of the usual harvest (10% harvest on the nightshades!). Oh well- the leeks and celery, potatoes and winter squash, melons and peaches were all plentiful and delicious!