new products for this week

At Alberta Avenue Market tonight we will have a limited quantity of Wheat Bran available! We are playing around with the sifting of some of our products. We sifted some of the pancake mix.actually it was the Soft White Wheat Pasta and Pastry Flour. The byproduct of that sifting is wheat bran.  Rest assured that the whole grain flours are indeed still whole grain or as we like to say "entire grain". 250g packages $4

Also for Alberta Avenue and Saturday's City Market, we will have more of our pancake mix available. We have been receiving some great tweets about our pancake mix. People who purchased our limited quantity last weekend are really enjoying Gold Forest Grains pancakes! 1kg packages $8

Also, you might not recognize our table at the markets this week. We are getting fancy. Fancy new red plaid table cloths! We wanted to get more of a country type feel to our stand to better represent what we are all about...country, fresh, farm-milled whole grain flour.

markets this week

We are looking forward to the Alberta Avenue Market again this week. Last Thursday was the best market of the year there so far. It was great to see so many people enjoying such a tremendous market. We will have our usual lineup of flour products along with the new Pancake Mix.

City Market moves back upstairs to the main floor of City Hall on Saturday. This will be our third week at City Market and each week has been better attended than the last. Hopefully some spring weather will grace us and even more people will come visit us this weekend. Again, the Pancake Mix will be there along with freshly milled entire grain flour.

Hope to see you there!

2011 market special

For the entire market season this year we will be offering a special price for each and every market event that we attend. Here's the deal...if you purchase One 500g(1 lb.) bag of Organic Golden Flax plus any two other 1.7kg flour or grain products you will only pay $20. So, that's three bags of Gold Forest Grains products for $20. It could be a combination of any three products that include at least one package of Golden Flax.

1- Flax (normally $5) + 1 Whole Wheat Flour ($8) + 1 Pasta/Pastry Flour ($9) = $20 ($22 value)
1 Flax + 2 Whole Wheat Flour = $20 ($21 value)
1 Flax + 2 Whole Grain Rye Flour ($10) = $20 ($25 value)

You get the idea.

We also offer a convenient way for you to purchase your Gold Forest Grain products early in the day before we run out and then continue your shopping for as long as you like without having to lug your purchases around. Just come and buy your Market Special  early and we will give you a receipt for your purchases while your selections are stored waiting for your return at the end of the day.

city market - spring session!

If you can, I would love to see all of you at the City Market Spring Season! It starts this Saturday, March 12 at City Hall (Edmonton). I believe that the hours are 11-3.

It sounds as though there will be over 60 vendors at this market. I think I also heard that the parking is free? Please don't be mad at me if it isn't, but that is what I heard. The City Market is one of Edmonton's busiest markets with an average of around 18,000 people per day. That is an amazing number if it is accurate. Hopefully at least some of those customers will visit this Saturday and every following Saturday until the middle of May when the regular summer market starts on 104th St.

I know that we are excited about attending this market as a vendor. With the success we've had at Alberta Ave. Market, we are looking forward to doing more business with the City Market.

castle downs farmers market...a bust?

We attended the Castle Downs Farmers Market last night. I found it extremely interesting to see the differences in markets, both in the mix of vendors and the clientele. In fairness to the market, it was only their third week running and there is still no internet presence that would pop up on any search but it was not a good night for more than a few vendors. Situated in the Moose Lodge on 146th Ave. and Griesbach Road, it is a wonderful location for a farmers market. A lovely feel to the old building.

Even though there was about the same amount of customers come through the door last night as attend Alberta Avenue Market I could tell right away that I was in trouble. Almost nobody who came to the market was carrying their own grocery bags. Very quickly in my rookie season of farmers marketing, I was able to determine who my customers were by those tell-tale recycled nylon grocery bags. People sauntering in with their hands in their pockets are unlikely to purchase many groceries. 

From a customer's standpoint though, the Castle Downs Farmers Market is a boon! There was more than one of almost everything. A few bakers, a couple of vendors with extensive selections of jams and preserves, vegetables and produce, hemp, flour, meats, eggs. Pretty much everything you'd need for a weeks worth of groceries! Still, very few people who attended the market were there to purchase groceries. If you are a farmers market supporter, you will definitely want to check out the Castle Downs market. With such a diverse selection of premium food stuffs and very little competition from other customers, there was no fear of things running out!

It was a different customer base last night also. I was definitely out of my comfort zone with too many people who listen to 630 CHED too often. I missed my CBC Radio or CKUA friends! I actually had a couple walk past and as hubby was pulling her towards my table, she said "oh no, that stuff is organic". I got a little bit of a dirty look as they quickly detoured away. Those of you who live in Edmonton will understand my references to the radio stations. Let's just say that, as a generalization, there are people who are afraid to stray from the norm of the chemical age and those who embrace change and see the benefits of zero chemical inputs and healthful local food. 

Of course I understand that not everybody buys flour each week. I had a few lovely conversations with folks who just didn't need flax or flour yet. Will they purchase next week at this market?

I sure don't want to seem ungrateful for the couple of customers who did purchase our products. There were glimmers of hope from folks who "get it" and i will stick with this market for at least a couple more weeks. There is plenty of potential there. For local foodies, you do not want to miss all the selections offered in this compact market! 

Tonight though is the Alberta Avenue Farmers Market where customers purchase food...and I certainly appreciate seeing all those re-cycled shopping bags! We thank everyone who chooses to support our little farm. See you at the market tonight!

new grind on the pastry flour

I spent some time yesterday fiddling with milling the Pastry Pasta Flour which is made from Soft White Wheat. I have received at least one comment that the milling of this flour may be better if it were a little finer in texture. Adjusting our Meadows Mill is very easy so I just got it as fine as I could without destroying the stones. It seems to have worked quite well. The new Pastry Pasta flour grind is very fine indeed. I hope that this will help with folk's baking and cooking needs. 

Of course, you can meet with us and purchase our flour products tonight at the Alberta Avenue Farmers Market! 

alberta ave. farmers market report and straw bale house

We finished up a very successful night at the farmers market last night. I thought that it was a very good experience overall and I am still impressed by this little market. The customers that came to speak with me were very much there to buy food and were delightful to visit with. I just enjoyed visiting with everybody so much. It was also great to meet some friends like Kevin Kossowan and some new friends like Amy who is a new customer to our little farm!

I get a lot of satisfaction meeting the people who are buying our food. It makes the countless lonely hours spent in the cab of a combine, dusty and tired, all worthwhile. We are really looking forward to welcoming our new friends to our farm when we can get it presentable!

I did have a few people asking to see pictures of the house and farm. I hope that you can all understand that it is like an artist who doesn't want anyone to see their work before it's finished! Our home is still an absolute mess inside and out. Closets shelves are ongoing along with door trimming and installation. In the meantime, boxes and household items sit on every horizontal surface available!

The kitchen is pretty much complete although a couple cabinet doors are missing that will be replaced next week. I tell you what...I will take pictures of the house piece by piece as we complete things, ok? I will start with the kitchen tonight and post house updates as we go.

On the topic of the house...we are very pleased with the overall performance and efficiency. With the mild daytime temperatures above freezing and some sunny afternoons, the furnace has not come on in four days and we have not had the woodstove going at all. At night, the house drops to around 19 degrees Celsius and with the morning breakfast cooking, it gets back up to room temperature fairly quick. The passive solar design is nothing short of amazing and around supper it is too hot and we open the kitchen window a crack. The straw bale house is everything we had hoped it would be.