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Ramblings of a Farmer BLOG

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Garlic Scapes: A Fleeting Treasure & the Perfect Pesto

6/18/2025

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Garlic scape season is here!
These whimsical, curly green stalks are the flowering shoots of garlic plants. We harvest them early so the energy goes into growing a big, beautiful bulb below. But while they’re here, they’re one of the tastiest short-season treats from the garden. Think of garlic scapes as garlic’s milder, greener cousin, like a cross between green onions and fresh garlic, with a lot of personality.

We dry them and mix them with our dried parsley and salt to make our Farmstead Salt Seasoning Blend.  Great to sprinkle on pasta, eggs, chili, or anything you would sprinkle salt and garlic on. 
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If you’ve never tried them, start with this quick pesto recipe. It’s bright, peppery, and versatile delicious tossed with pasta, spread on toast, spooned over grilled veggies, or swirled into soups. And of course, we finish ours with a dash of our house-made Mid Summer Heat chili oil for a little farm-grown fire.

🌿 Garlic Scape Pesto with a Kick
You’ll need:
  • 5 garlic scapes (chopped into small pieces without flower heads)
  • A generous handful of fresh spinach (or any greens you love)
  • Juice of ½ a lemon
  • ¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds (or sunflower seeds, or nuts of choice)
    Traditional recipes use pine nuts, but in this economy?!?  I made extra seeds to add to the pasta for some crunch.
  • ⅓ cup olive oil (plus more if needed)
  • A pinch of salt
  • A dash of Mid Summer Heat (more if you like a bold kick!)
Directions:
  1. Add scapes, spinach, lemon juice, and seeds to a food processor or blender.
  2. Pulse until everything is broken down.
  3. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while blending until smooth.
  4. Add salt to taste and finish with a splash of Mid Summer Heat to awaken all the flavors.
Store in a jar in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze in small batches to enjoy long after scape season is over.
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photo by Oleg Gapeenko
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My quick and easy, healthy go-to lunch

4/27/2025

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Upgraded Mr. Noodles

This is a quick and easy lunch for myself and Ashley when we want veggies, warmth and immune boosting meal. 
​​This simple, immune-boosting soup comes together in minutes, costs less than a dollar per serving, and can be changed up based on whatever’s in your kitchen. It’s become one of our favorite ways to sneak extra veggies into the day — and we hope it becomes a favorite in your home too.
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This can be adjusted any sort of way, each time a little bit different. 
The main ingredients I use each time are carrots, cabbage, radish, green onion, garlic, turmeric and ginger.  These vegetables are inexpensive and store for a long time making this meal cost less than a dollar per person.  Ginger and Turmeric can keep in the freezer for months.  An even easier way to prepare the garlic, turmeric and ginger is to grate them into ice cube trays with chicken or vegetable broth or water.  Once frozen take out and put in a container or baggie for and easy drop in flavour bomb. 
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How I change it from one week to the next; 
Sometimes I use home made chicken broth (will provide recipe on our next email newsletter), a hard boiled egg, left over rotisserie chicken, soy sauce, and hot chili oil. 
Ingredients:
  • 2–3 carrots, thinly sliced
  • ¼ head of cabbage, shredded
  • 2 radishes, thinly sliced
  • 2 green onions, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 frozen garlic cube)
  • 1 tsp fresh grated turmeric (or 1 frozen turmeric cube)
  • 1 tsp fresh grated ginger (or 1 frozen ginger cube)
  • 4 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
  • Optional additions:
    • 1 hard-boiled egg
    • Leftover rotisserie chicken, shredded
    • Soy sauce, to taste
    • Hot chili oil, to taste

Method:
  1. In a medium pot over medium heat, add a splash of broth and sauté the garlic, turmeric, and ginger for about 1 minute until fragrant.
  2. Add the carrots, radish, and cabbage. Stir and cook for another 2–3 minutes to soften slightly.
  3. Pour in the rest of the broth (or water). Bring to a gentle boil.
  4. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender but still bright.
  5. Stir in the green onions and any extras like shredded chicken, a sliced hard-boiled egg, a dash of soy sauce, or a drizzle of hot chili oil.
  6. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
  7. Ladle into bowls, enjoy warm, and feel nourished!

Notes:
  • You can easily swap in whatever vegetables you have — spinach, bok choy, mushrooms, or zucchini all work well.
  • This soup is fantastic for meal prep! Make a big batch and store it in the fridge for quick, cozy lunches all week long.

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best No knead bread that actually is just like sour dough

4/5/2025

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The Foolproof Bread Recipe That Won Over My Picky Husband
(And Why Store-Bought Bread Just Doesn’t Cut It Anymore!)

Remember the COVID bread-baking frenzy? I jumped in too—but my early attempts were disasters. Every internet recipe failed to impress my sourdough loveing husband, and let’s be real: keeping a starter alive felt like adopting a pet
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After years of tweaking (and a few hockey-puck loaves), I finally cracked the code. This low-knead, honey-sweetened bread is now our weekly staple--airy, slightly sweet, and perfect for everything from sandwiches to pizza. Plus, it freezes like a dream!

Why This Recipe Works
✔ No starter needed (RIP, abandoned sourdough jar)
✔ 18-24 hour rise = flavour without fuss (mix before bed, bake the next night)
✔ Adaptable: Shape it into loaves, buns, or even focaccia
✔ Local honey twist: I use Mingle Hill honey, but Willow Bee’s infused honeys 
(lemon? lavender?) would be next-level

Easy Low-Knead Honey Bread Recipe
(Makes 1 loaf—but I double it and freeze extras!)
Ingredients
  • 3 cups bread flour (all-purpose works in a pinch)
  • 1¼ cups room-temperature water
  • ¼ cup hot water (to dissolve honey)
  • 2 tsp local honey (the secret to a golden crust!)
  • ¼ tsp instant yeast (yes, that’s all!)
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp olive oil (for the pan)
  • ¼ cup cornmeal (for crunch)

Tools
  • Cast iron pan (or Dutch oven)
  • Mixing bowl
  • Plastic wrap/damp towel

Step-by-Step Instructions1. Mix the Dough (5 minutes!)
  • Whisk flour and salt in a large bowl. (Yeast hates salt—keep them apart!)
  • In a measuring cup, mix hot water + honey until dissolved. Add room-temp water, then sprinkle yeast on top. Wait 10 minutes—it should get frothy (that’s the yeast feasting on honey!).
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2. Let Time Do the Work
  • Pour the yeast mixture into the flour. Stir until just combined--no need for kneading or you can knead for one minute which is what I prefer.
  • Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let rise 18-24 hours (on the counter—no babysitting!).
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3. Shape & Final Rise
  • After the long rise, scrape the bubbly dough onto a floured surface.
  • Stretch and fold all 4 sides into a round ball (like tucking in a blanket!).
  • Pour olive oil into a cold cast iron pan, sprinkle with cornmeal, and add the dough. Cover and let rise 2 more hours.
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4. Bake to Golden Perfection
  • Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C).
  • Uncover the dough and bake near the top rack (to prevent a dark bottom) for 30 minutes.
  • Cool on a rack 30 minutes before slicing--patience rewards you with that crisp crust!
​Pro Tips & Variations
  • Freezing: Slice and freeze for toast-ready bread anytime.
  • Buns: Divide dough into 6 pieces before the final rise for sandwich rolls.
  • Honey Swap: Try infused honeys (lavender? lemon?) for a gourmet twist.

Store-bought bread? Hard pass. Once you taste this crackly, honey-kissed loaf, there’s no going back.
Tag me if you try it! @minglehillfarm
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How to make rosemary hair water at home

2/21/2025

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Making Rosemary Hair Water at home is easy and inexpensive.  This is a different process than we process on our farm, however for the at home DIY enthusiast this recipe below is a great way to support your hair, create stronger, healthier hair along with assisting in hair growth. 

At Mingle Hill Farm we harvest our Rosemary at the heat of the day from July to September.  We then dry our Rosemary in a warm but very dry dark space to prevent molding and to harness the highest oils in the plant.  Once the Rosemary is dried, we then infuse it into our hair oils, crush it into our spice mixes and teas and we steam distill it using our cooper distiller from Austria. 

Using steam distillation in a copper distiller is the optimal form of extracting the finest oils from a plant.  On average,  it takes 3 kgs of plant or flower to produce 20mL of oil.  
During the process of steam distillation, we are also creating a floral water.  This is created by the passing of the steam through the plant materials, condensing the vapor and capturing the water soluble compounds from the plant.  Our final product; Rosemary Water.   Of course this is difficult to produce in the average home, but the next best thing can be made easily on your kitchen stove. 
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Rosemary Hair Water Recipe

Ingredients: 
Fresh Rosemary
Water
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Things you will need:
A pot
A strainer or cheese cloth
A spray bottle


Place the fresh rosemary in a pot.  Use as much or little as you desire.  Fill the pot with double the amount of water.  My suggestion would be to use at least 1 cup of rosemary to 2 cups of water.  
Bring to a boil and then take off the heat.  Let cool to room temperature.  Strain out the rosemary using cheese cloth or a fine strainer.  Pour carefully into a spray bottle.  This should be used within 3 month to avoid molds.  

Enjoy the wonderful smell of Rosemary in your hair and begin feeling the benefits of herbal healing.  Works brilliantly as a perfume as well.  Enjoy.
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    AUTHOR

    Meet Emily Rozema: The Heart Behind Mingle Hill Farm
    Hello, I'm Emily Rozema, the co-founder of Mingle Hill Farm, nestled in the rolling hills of St. Ann's, Ontario, Canada. Alongside my husband, Randy, and our dedicated team, we've transformed our 11-acre property into a Certified Organic haven, cultivating over 100 varieties of plants. Our passion lies in creating handcrafted products that promote a natural and sustainable lifestyle. Our Journey to Natural Living Our venture began with a simple question: What are we truly consuming and applying to our bodies? This curiosity led us to embrace homesteading, growing our own food, and eventually crafting a range of products that reflect our commitment to purity and health. From skin care items to tea blends, spice mixes, and hot sauces, each product is a testament to our dedication to quality and sustainability.
    At Mingle Hill Farm, we believe in a holistic approach to well-being. Our skin care line is so pure that it's safe enough to eat, and our pantry products are crafted using fresh,
    ​farm-grown, Certified Organic ingredients, ensuring incredible flavors and health benefits. Join Us on This Journey Through this blog, I aim to share insights into our daily life on the farm, tips on natural living, and the stories behind our products. Whether you're interested in organic farming practices, DIY natural remedies, or simply seeking inspiration for a more sustainable lifestyle, I hope you'll find value here. Thank you for being a part of our community and supporting our family's journey towards a more natural way of living.
    ​Warm regards, Emily Rozema

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ADDRESS
2625 Mountain Rd, RR#1,
St. Ann's, Ontario

Telephone

905-745-4254

Email

[email protected]
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