We got a new oven! We have been using a regular home oven which bakes maximum 6 loaves at a time. Every Friday Kenji started baking at 3am and finished at midnight (or later), and got up at 3:30am on Saturday to harvest veggies. Finally, we decided to invest in a new oven so that
Spelt sesame is one of the most popular items in our bread line-up but we had not been making for a while because sesame seeds had been out of stock at the supplier. Finally, yesterday, we got them. Since quite a few people expressed how much they missed it, we thought we should announce, ”
We cleaned up komatsuna in our green house and planted tomatoes and cucumbers. We are ready for summer! And we haven’t finished with komatsuna. They are outside, growing. Sunday is our day off (well, kind of) and we often harvest for ourselves. Last Sunday we harvested purslane and cooked for dinner. Purslane is considered “weed”
The rice plants in our garden finally look happy. We started them indoor on March 23rd and transplanted outside on May 4th. They were very slow to grow and tip of some of the leaves had started to become yellow. We were not sure if they survive or not… Now, thanks to the recent heat
Last couple of weeks, our plants (veggies and weeds alike) have been growing fast with nice mix of sunshine and rain. Summer market, farm gate sale, and delivery to Ground up and Nature spirit started. In order to keep our energy up, we made “Ohagi”, Japanese traditional sweets. “Ohagi” is sticky rice (mochi) balls coated
Announcement: We are going to have farm gate sale between 10am and 1 pm every Wednesday starting this week (May 28th). Thank you to those of you who came for pre-order pickup last Wednesday. Building a farm stand is still on our wish list but, for now, we will do what we can. We encourage
When Kenji started to bake sourdough bread, he took a sample loaf to an experienced baker and asked for advice. The baker said, “Use good quality ingredients. Flavor of bread comes from ingredients”. Kenji took the advice seriously. Currently, we buy all our flour for bread from True Grain in Cowichan Bay. (Luckily, Nature Spirit
We are not vegetarians but we like to explore vegetable based dishes. About 10 years ago, we bought a tempeh for the first time and cooked it at home. We didn’t like it at all! We thought the smell was really unpleasant. We are not sure if it was because we were not familiar with
Today, May 5th, is Children’s day in Japan. It is the day to celebrate children’s growth and wish their success. Carp shaped streamers are often displayed as carps are symbol of strength. It is a national holiday. In Japan, Sept.15 is Respect-for-the-Aged day, which is also a national holiday. It is a day for grandmothers
Have you ever eaten blacken fern? It is called “warabi” in Japanese and very popular in Japan as wild spring food. Last week we visited our friend nearby and found them on her property. She told us they are poisonous but we couldn’t help picking them. As it is normally done in Japan, we soaked
