Anna's Basket — Strawberries, Rhubarb, Honey & More!

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Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

We’re calling this a compote since it’s looser than a jam and doesn’t have any added artificial pectin. I love rhubarb here because it’s naturally very high in pectin, so it still sets up, despite using honey which is a liquid sweetener. 

I always have a few jars of this on the go at this time of year. I love that it’s naturally sweetened with honey and the kids love it on yogurt for a healthy breakfast or snack. That being said, when we’re looking for a special, sugary treat, we spoon some on to vanilla ice cream and it never disappoints! 

Letting the rhubarb sit in the fridge for a few days with the honey is an important step, so don’t be tempted to skip it!  It really mellows the tartness of the rhubarb and the two flavours marry together perfectly. 


INGREDIENTS


4 cups rhubarb chopped 
1 cup honey 
1 quart strawberries washed and sliced 
2 tsp lemon juice (or more to taste) 

Place 4 cups of chopped rhubarb in a 1L mason jar or any other container. Cover with 1 cup of honey. Place in the fridge for 2 days or so, I’ve let mine up to 5. You’ll notice that more juices start to release as it sits. 

When the rhubarb has sat and is ready to go, wash and slice 1 quart of strawberries. 
Add the rhubarb/honey mixture and strawberries to a medium saucepan and cook over medium/high heat until it comes to a boil. Lower heat to medium and continue cooking at a rolling boil for 5 min or so, be sure to stir regularly. You may need to skim some foam off the fruit with a spoon at this point. Add lemon juice and remove from heat. 

Note: You’ll be able to see that the mixture starts to thicken as it cooks. The cooking time may need to be adjusted depending on how juicy the strawberries are, so if it’s looking too runny you can cook it down a bit more. It will still be loose, but as it cools it will set up! 

I ladle the compote into glass jars when it’s still hot and store it in the fridge. You can also freeze it if you won’t use it all within 2-3 weeks, however, we never run into that scenario over here. 

Here’s our favourite way to enjoy this compote, we highly suggest adding this to your breakfast rotation. 
Yogurt Bowl: 
A scoop of your favourite yogurt 
A few spoonfuls of strawberry rhubarb compote 
Fresh strawberries or whatever seasonal fruit you like 
A handful of Red Barn Granola 
Drizzle of honey 

We have a few kids who love to add a spoonful of natural peanut butter to the mix as well. It’s really just open to interpretation. 

Enjoy!! 

Anna's Basket — Asparagus

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Asparagus Tart with Herbed Goat Cheese,
Prosciutto & Hot Honey

Asparagus is one of the first spring vegetables grown here in Southern Ontario. Seeing that first local asparagus on the shelves always brings the anticipation of long, warm summer days. It’s a versatile veggie, and while it’s lovely simply roasted or sautéed, it’s also fun to mix it up!

Come pick up some asparagus and honey and bring this app to your next get together.


INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup honey
1/2 - 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 

2 10”x10” squares of all butter puff pastry (PC brand from Loblaws makes a great one) 

1 tbsp butter
1 medium yellow onion finely sliced
1 large clove garlic minced 
Optional * 2 tbsp white wine 
300g of herbed goat cheese
1 egg
1 tsp fresh lemon juice 
1/2 tsp salt 
1/4 tsp pepper 

1 lb asparagus 
1 tbsp olive oil 
Squeeze of a lemon (1/2 tsp or so) 

6 slices prosciutto 
Flaky salt  

Combine the honey and pepper flakes and let it sit for a few hours. For best results, do this a day or two in advance. Use whatever crushed peppers you like, I used a combination of alleppo and crushed red pepper flakes. 

Remove puff pastry squares from the freezer to thaw. 

Preheat oven to 425. 

Heat a skillet over medium heat with a tablespoon of butter. Add one onion thinly sliced and one minced clove of garlic. Lightly season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté for 10 minutes or until onions are soft and golden brown. If you happen to be having a glass of white wine while cooking, deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine. 

In a small mixing bowl combine a 300 g brick of herbed goat cheese with the warm onion and garlic mixture, egg, salt and pepper and lemon juice.

Spread goat cheese mixture evenly over two square sheets of puff pastry, leaving the edges exposed so they can puff. 

Snap the tough ends off your asparagus. If asparagus is thick, slice each piece in half lengthwise. Toss in olive oil and a little squeeze of lemon juice. 

Layer the asparagus over the tart however your heart desires. 
Optional - brush edges of pastry  with a beaten egg wash. This helps the pastry get a crispy, golden edge. 

Bake for 30 minutes or until the bottom and edges of the pastry are golden brown. 

Remove from oven and top with prosciutto and drizzle with hot honey and a little sprinkle of flaky salt. Serve warm.

Note ** This recipe makes 2 smaller tarts because I like to feed a crowd. I’d recommend making both or putting the pastry side by side and making one larger, rectangular tart. However, if you’d only like to make one small tart, you can divide the recipe in half and since dividing an egg is tricky, you can stick with one egg.

Granola, and milk!

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It's been a long time coming, but here it is, our first blog post. Let's talk granola. We have been wanting to develop a granola recipe for some time now and have been testing (read: eating) countless amounts of granola recipes and variations over the past couple of years. A recipe was finally agreed upon, one that we were proud to put our name on.

A granola with wholesome ingredients and no shortcuts. 

Whole rolled oats and a mix of nuts are common ingredients to many granolas and this one is no exception. But to achieve that light crunch and perfect sweetness, we used an excellent olive oil and pure maple syrup (thanks White Meadows!). Through our experiments we tried a number of sweeteners, but nothing gave that same perfect, sweet flavour and consistency as 100% pure maple syrup. The beautifully flavoured amber syrup we use for the granola is available in our market, but you could also head down the road into Fonthill and get a tour of the maple farm for yourself! 

It was also exciting bumping into Marianne den Haan this past winter at the OFVC convention to chat about farming and life. Marianne and her family run Sheldon Creek Dairy and we are thrilled to have their farm fresh dairy products on our shelves. We highly recommend pairing the granola with this delicious whole milk and fresh berries. 

Our granola intentionally does not contain any dried fruit. We want those buying our granola to top it with seasonal, fresh Niagara fruit. The combinations shown here are strawberry + raspberry in one bowl and black currant + sweet cherry in the other. Trust us, with such beautiful fruit available only for a short while, now is the time to take advantage of the bounty!

We are very proud of this granola, and want to give you all a taste. Get a free mini cup of granola with every purchase tomorrow, Saturday only (July 18!). While supplies last. 

An introduction, hello.

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Welcome to our site, and more specifically, our blog. Here we hope to share an abundance of information in hopes of encouraging and enabling you to experience more of the goodness found right in our backyard, Niagara. We hope to share stories from the farm, recipes and information on other inspiring purveyors of Niagara farmland. 

We call ourselves The Red Barn. We've quietly transitioned from our original name of Tigchelaar Berry Farms Market but anyone familiar with our family will notice many of the same faces, the same recipes and most importantly the same strawberries. 

The incredible bounty of our region coupled with the careful attention of all who tend to this land enables us to provide something truly beautiful. Ultimately our desire is to share all that the family farm means to us. We invite you to follow us on our journey while we continue to grow and build our dreams.