BONNYVILLE, Alta. – Golfers try to whack balls up the grain auger or through the front of the swather. An old tractor tire has been split in half and twisted to make a unique loop-de-loop hole.
The farmyard mini golf is just one of the many on-farm attractions Lori and Vince Toker have created at their Rocky Mountain Country Get-away in northeastern Alberta.
When they parked their combine and seed drill after giving up farming a few years ago, they didn’t think they’d use them again.
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The farm machinery has since been pressed back into service, not for planting a crop, but as part of a farmyard mini golf course.
“The auger is the toughest one. It’s the challenge,” said Lori, whose family is still trying to figure out how to incorporate other bits of old machinery into the golf course.
“We want to add something new every year to make it interesting. We still have a few pieces of machinery we don’t know what to do with.”
In 2004, Vince’s love of saskatoons enticed the couple to plant an acre of the native berries.
“He’s always loved saskatoons and they’re getting hard to find around the area,” she said.
By the next year, the plants produced enough berries to get a crop and they opened their country getaway.
“I’m surprised at how many people were looking for a place to pick,” she said.
With people coming to their farm 15 minutes north of town to pick berries, they moved in a building and refurbished it for a small café, which sells coffee, jams, jellies, pies, fudge and other goodies.
The café is a destination for residents and vacationers at the nearby lakes to stop by for a snack or play mini golf or paintball.
Fun with paintball
The family’s teenage sons came up with the idea of adding a paintball course in the old barnyard. Old feed troughs have been turned on their sides and slabs from a nearby sawmill added to give the competitors some camouflage.
Old chutes, barns, granaries and wind fences act as natural barriers for the players.
“We’ve been told the paintball course is very unique,” said Lori.
Between the mini golf and paintball course is a picnic area, with a campground tucked behind them.
A combination of tourists not wanting to hear the quads roar through the provincial campgrounds and oilfield workers needing a place to live for the season gave the couple the idea to fill another local need.
“Somebody has an idea and you think, ‘hey that would work’,” she said.
Lori said as they add more facilities and attract more visitors, they hope to make Rocky Mountain their semi-retirement project.
“My husband wanted to be a full-time farmer, but this was never anything we thought of,” she said.
“I do enjoy it. I really do. People come around and they’re pretty happy.”
In summer, we often gather with good friends and food. I was tempted by this chocolate chip cheese ball recipe, so I made it to share at parties. It is sweet and can be served as a dessert or in an evening appetizer buffet.
Chocolate chip cheese ball
Beat softened cream cheese, butter and vanilla until creamy. Slowly add sugars until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
The mixture will be soft and must be placed onto a piece of plastic wrap, formed into a ball and refrigerated for at least one hour. Roll the ball in pecans. Serve with wafers.
Source: For the Breasts and the Rest of Friends, Women working together for a cure.
Using the same cookbook, our niece made these decadent and delicious brownies for my sister and brother-in-law’s 40th anniversary party. To say the brownies were popular would be an understatement. We devoured them.
Specially good brownies
Base:
Mix all ingredients together, adding flour last. Spread on a greased and floured large cake pan or cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 F (180 C). It will look under-baked.
Filling:
Combine all ingredients in a double boiler and cook until thickened. Stir well until smooth. Spread over brownie base and return to oven for five minutes. Cool and frost with chocolate icing.
Chocolate icing
Put all ingredients in mixing bowl and combine with an electric mixer, then beat until light and fluffy.
Knowing that our family would make sure we had lovely chocolate treats at the party, I opted for a perhaps less popular, but still very tasty and nutritious peanut butter granola bar.
Peanut butter granola bars
Most granola bars are laden with oil and sugar but this less sweet version features honey and protein-packed peanut butter. They make a great recess or coffee break snack and are easy for kids to make, with a little help.
Combine honey, peanut butter and vanilla in a small microwaveable bowl or measuring cup. Microwave on high for 45 seconds or until melted. Stir thoroughly.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add peanut butter. Pat into an ungreased eight inch (20 cm) square pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 F (180 C) until golden. Cool completely before slicing into bars.
Makes 16 bars.
Variations:
Stir in two tablespoons (25 mL) of powdered milk, coarsely ground flaxseed and/or wheat germ. Any dried and chopped fruit (cranberries, dates, apricots) or chocolate chips can be substituted for the raisins. These bars are also great crumbled and sprinkled over ice cream, yogurt, breakfast cereal or fruit salad or served as a granola mix.
Source: Straight A’s College Cookbook, Quick Cooking for 1 or 2.
Healthy eating
As we age, we become more aware of keeping ourselves healthy. Our bodies often give us little hints that remind us to look after our health.
As consumers, we are bombarded with information about what to eat to be healthy, fit and full of energy. Who do we trust?
Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating is a reputable guide for us to follow at any age. It was designed to provide direction on healthy eating. It is based on the following principles:
n Enjoy a variety of foods.
n Eat more vegetables, fruits, cereals, breads and other grain products.
n Limit salt, alcohol and caffeine and reduce the amount of fat you eat.
n Achieve and maintain a healthy body weight by enjoying regular physical activity and healthy eating.
The guide is available from Health Canada at www.healthcanada.gc.ca/foodguide.
The average healthy adult female 51 years old or older needs to eat seven servings of vegetables and fruit per day, six grain products, three milk products and alternatives and two meat servings and alternatives.
For a male 51 years or older, the numbers are the same with one more serving of grain products and meat and alternatives. Although we think we are eating healthy most of the time, it is helpful to monitor our diet.
The Canadian Cancer Society suggests that eating five to 10 servings of vegetables and fruit per day can help reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke.
One-half cup (125 mL) serving of broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, peppers, and potatoes are considered one serving, whereas it takes one cup (250 mL) per serving of cucumber, lettuce and spinach.
One serving of fruit would be one apple, banana or pear, 1/2 cup (125 mL) of blueberries, fruit juice, 10 grapes, two slices of pineapple, eight medium–sized strawberries or one cup (250 mL) of watermelon. One serving of dried fruit is one-quarter cup (60 mL).
Make a habit of including one or more servings of vegetables or fruit at each meal and during snack times. Certain foods that are rich in calories, fat, sugar or salt should only be enjoyed occasionally.
For more information, tips and recipes, check the website www.5to10aday.com or call 888-939-3333.
While waiting in an office recently, I came across a pamphlet, The Plate Mate, a tasty guide to healthy eating, which is produced by a team of registered dieticians at the Dairy Farmers of Canada.
It has a wheel that you can move around to show what you have eaten that day. I turned the wheel to mark the foods and amounts I had eaten the day before to see what food groups I was short of and what foods I needed to be sure I was eating.
Once we are aware of what we are eating, we will make a change. The same applies to exercise. We may think we are active, but when we monitor how much activity we do each day, we can make the necessary changes to improve our endurance, maintain flexibility and build strength.
Diet and exercise can and do play an important role in our health. Take responsibility for your health today. Check out the website www.naturallyunique.ca.
