The Perfect Little Gift!

Do you feel the holiday season starting to ratchet up?  Have you started to notice the increasing pace of shopping when you head to town?  Are you trying to figure out how to bless the people around you in a simple and meaningful way?

Look no further -- Brouwer Berries preserves are freshly made, preserving the delight of summer in a darling jar with health and happiness all rolled up into one.  They fit perfectly into a small gift bag, easy for wrapping and transport, and will be a treat for all your relatives, teachers, and co-workers.

$5.00/jar or buy eleven get one free

Call (320)967-4718
or e-mail brberries@gmail.com

If you live in Renville, Clara City, Prinsburg, Raymond or Willmar, you can have free delivery right to your home for orders of 6 or more jars.  That's six gifts taken care of just as the holiday season is starting!

I will also be at the COG's new store location next to Westside Liquor in Willmar on Saturday, November 29, 10:00-2:00, as part of their Pure MN Winter Festival. For more details about this event click here.

The following is a list of currently available preserves--supplies not guaranteed!  The number of jars available is listed on our website, and will be updated as orders come in, so if you'd like to confirm availability, click here.   

 Strawberry (low-sugar):  The fabulous taste of  MN strawberries is captured in these preserves made from strawberries fresh from our field.  We use calcium instead of sugar to thicken our preserves, so every bite is bursting with health and flavor.  Mix it with yogurt, top off your ice cream, or slather it on your toast, waffles, muffins or scones.   (Also available in 1 pint size jars for $7.50)

Strawberry-Cranberry (low-sugar):Tart cranberries add a tangy explosion to these flavorful preserves that will cause your sun-starved salivary glands to kick into high gear.  Set this on your Thanksgiving or Christmas buffet table as a fun alternative  to plain cranberry sauce.  Use after the party on turkey sandwiches, roasted or baked turkey, roasted or grilled vegetables, tossed into a salad, or on toast. 

Grandma’s Sweet Strawberry:  Summer delight is captured in this old-fashioned recipe for strawberry jam just like Grandma used to make it. Mix it with yogurt, top off your ice cream, or spread it on your toast. 

Strawberry-Jalapeno (low-sugar): Try some ‘heat with the sweet’ on your grilled meat, or tease your taste buds with crackers, cream cheese, and our Strawberry-Jalapeno Preserves!  Spoon it over salmon or chicken and oven bake it. Brush it over fish or meats as a glaze just before pulling it off the grill. Spread it over a block of soft goat cheese as an appetizer.  Slip it into a grilled cheese sandwich and call it a Jamwich. Set it out at a party by a bowl of pretzels. Not overly hot; this combo is formulated for Northerners:)

Strawberry-Rhubarb (low-sugar): Tangy on your taste-buds, this delightful combination is only for people who grew up in the North and have developed a taste for the piquancy of rhubarb!  Spread it on toast, top off a waffle, or eat it straight out of the jar for a trip down memory lane.

Strawberry-Chocolate (low-sugar): Creamy and rich, the chocolate enhances the strawberry to a burst of satisfying flavor.  Use as an ice-cream topping, dessert spread, or on anything you eat for breakfast, just so that you can start your day in a healthy way, with chocolate.

NEW! Strawberry-Peach (low-sugar): Sweet, juicy peaches mingle with the strawberries in this delicious concoction, while a hint of cinnamon kicks up the flavor factor to a fantastic level.  Delectable! 

Brouwer Beef, anyone?

Cereal Rye cover crop ready for cattle and crop rotation!

Excitement is running high in my husband and one of my daughters.  They are all set to welcome a pregnant Hereford cow and her yearling.  You would hardly be able to fathom the amount of preparation that has been made for these critters.  I'm not a big fan of critters, in any shape or form, but my husband loves them, and no bride on her wedding day could be more anxiously awaited and prepared for than the Herefords about to arrive on our farm. 

He began in February, watching webinars and going to workshops on crop covers.  This summer, he got to dabble in actually using what he'd learned, and spent countless hours planting and caring for the cover crops.  When a cove rcrop was doing well, he'd walk around cheerfully, whistling.  When a cover crop was doing badly, his mood also suffered.  When the crows were eating his seed, his temper erupted and he'd set the dogs on them, and the kids and I knew to stay far away from him! 

By fall, he had luscious greenery covering several acres.  He went out one Saturday with my daughter, telling me they were going to put a fence around the new cow pasture.  I had seen the area where he'd planted seed for grazing - a half acre or so - and assumed they were fencing that section.  A few days later, he took me out for a walk to "check the line fence."  It was no simple pasture he'd fenced in.  He'd created a complicated electrical wiring system that surrounded our entire ten acres, and could be zoned into strips for rotational grazing! 

Suddenly, I flashed back to the dozens of hours he'd spent hunched in front of the iPad, watching webinars.  He wasn't just figuring out how to use covercrops to enhance our strawberry growth, as he told me, he was figuring out how to use a combination of cattle and covercrops to turn our soil into the most amazing mixture of organic matter and nutrients possible, and in doing so, justify getting an entire herd of grass-fed cattle!  

Which brings me to the question in the title...Brouwer Beef?  Hmm, I might be persuaded.  What do you think?