The Summer of 2015

September 30, 2015 by The Branch Ranch in Workshops

Ahh, and what a summer it was! We spent many glorious, steamy, hot days under the trees by the barnyard weaving with our first year crop of weaving willow. In August and September we held several workshops, mostly to first time weavers, to share our willow obsession. Much to our surprise, many of these classes sold out and many of the participants booked and re-booked multiple workshops. We had people come from as far away as Manatoulin Island (yes, that's a five hour drive!), Cloyne, Kitchener-Waterloo, Kingston, Toronto, Uxbridge, Lake Chemong and many others from neighbouring towns and villages. There were several groups of sisters, girl's weekend gangs, gatherings of old friends and happily many new friendships were made. We had people staying in local B &B's and wonderful catered lunches from Our Lucky Stars in Warkworth. So many memories and so much fun! Thank you to all of the wonderful people who shared our little willow secret under the trees.

We have a brand new schedule posted for Xmas Workshops this November and December. Hope to see you on the farm for some apple cider on the wood stove and more fun with the Two Madame Twigs!

We're Weaving With Willow!

August 15, 2015 by The Branch Ranch in Willow

The spring rains finally arrived just in time to avoid another drought and now we are enjoying the heat of summer. The last time we checked the willow crop was well over our heads so we are looking forward to a good harvest, with fingers crossed we continue to get some rain now and then, one inch a week would be perfect!

In June we spent five days at Lakeshore Willows in Wainfleet, learning to weaving with bark and willow in a class taught by Ane Lyngsgaard who travelled with Eva Seidenfaden from Denmark to teach in Ontario, and then on to Iowa for more classes. Ane and Eva are remarkable artists and weavers who have travelled all over the world to share their talent with others. We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet these wonderful women.

Our lovely baskets after five days of weaving with Ane Lyngsgaard.

Here are some photos of the things we have been working on this summer. We hope to have some of these items available for sale at our Annual Farm Open House this November.

We made this willow donkey sculpture for The Blue Jeans and Black Tie Kick Ass Auction, a fundraisers for Primrose Donkey Sanctuary held on Friday, October 17th at the Warkworth Townhall.

MADAME TWIG presents...Summer Willow Workshops!

June 01, 2015 by The Branch Ranch in Workshops

We are pleased to welcome Lene Rasmussen of Lakeshore Willows back for a second year of classes. Lene will be a two day Gazebo Bird Feeder class and a one day Garden Globe from August 6-8th. These classes have limited space and fill quickly!

We have a number of classes scheduled for August and September this year. From one and two day Bird Feeder classes, large garden obelisks, flowers, dragonflies and more. Visit our EVENTS page for details on classes and pricing.

Harvest Survival Food - Baked Wild Rice Casserole

April 04, 2014 by The Branch Ranch in Harvest Survival Food, Recipes

Madame Twig whipped this up during a cooking frenzy while we were waiting for the snow to go away. She filled the freezers with all kinds of food so that we didn't have to think about what we are going to eat once the harvest started. Sorry, can't give you measurements on all of the ingredients, she made it up as she went, but I can tell you it is TO DIE FOR!

Baked Wild Rice Casserole

wild rice and basmati rice

1 pkg onion soup mix

1 can kidney beans, drained

frozen spinach

2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes

1/2 can tomato paste

chilli powder

hot sauce

1/2 cup shredded cheese

2 cups warm water

Sprinkle the onion soup mix on the bottom of a baking dish. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Bake, covered, for 65-70 minutes.

Harvest Survival Food - Wheaten Bread

November 18, 2013 by The Branch Ranch in Recipes, Harvest Survival Food

This is by far the easiest, most delicious bread you will ever make. No kneading, no yeast, no rising...just mix ingredients and bake. It is an Irish recipe, if you do a google search you will find variations on the recipe which use eggs, treacle or yogurt. Our recipe is ultra simple, which makes it the perfect Harvest Survival Food. Don't confuse this loaf with another Irish bread called Soda. Wheaten is a high fibre whole wheat bread that tastes great fresh or toasted with butter and jam, or the way we often have it during the harvest, with mayo, thinly sliced Balderson Cheese and a dash of salt.

Pre-harvest survival baking always includes a Wheaten Bread marathon!

Wheaten

3 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup natural bran or wheat germ

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 cups buttermilk or 2 tbsp vinegar in 2 cups of milk

1/4 cup canola oil

Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in milk and oil. Stir gently to moisten. Put mixture in a lightly greased loaf pan and cook at 350º for approx. 1 hour. Check centre of loaf with toothpick to make sure it is cooked through. Cool on rack. Freezes well.

Branch, Stick and Twig Art

October 20, 2013 by The Branch Ranch

Ever wonder why we are so crazy about Sticks? Well, take a look at our Pinterest board and then tell us you aren't crazy about them too.