We’re all in this together. We are the weather and the water – saving the planet begins every morning when you wash your hands, have a bath or have a shower.

​The time has arrived and people everywhere and of all ages are beginning to understand that there are individual changes we can make to save our planet. A small individual change that is easy to make is choosing a soap that is kind to the earth.

Many of us remember a time when things were more simple but somewhere along the way, the excitement of the 1960’s chemical boom infiltrated our lives. With synthetic chemicals, companies profited by convincing us that they could make our skin softer, our hair shinier and our wrinkles vanish. Through it all, we were led to believe that labs could do a better job of looking after us than Mother Nature. Today, we live with over 75,000 chemicals in the industry and only a handful of them have been tested for long-term effects on both the environment and human health.
Take a few moments to study the list of ingredients in most commercial soaps. You might want to bring your magnifying glass to the store with you because the ingredient list is so small it’s often very difficult or impossible to read. Those commercially produced soap bars contain a wide range of harmful ingredients that should be left in the science lab. These petroleum-derived commercial soaps are not good for the skin, let alone the Earth. Commercial soaps usually contain variations of many of the following:
·       sodium cocoyl isethionate (synthetic detergent)
·       parabens (hormone function disruptors)
·       hydroquinone (a derivative of benzene, banned in Japan, EU and Australia)
·       lead acetate (like other lead compounds it is highly toxic)
·       synthetic dyes (petroleum-based)
·       synthetic artificial fragrances (man-made and petroleum-based)
·       propylene glycol (derived from petrochemicals and a major ingredient in e-cigarettes)
·       polyethylene glycol (man-made and derived from petrochemicals)
·       nano particles (toxic to aquatic & marine organisms)
·       triclosan (highly toxic, banned in the US and has toxic impacts when released into water bodies)
·       phthalates (widely known to be endocrine disruptors)
·       sodium stearate (emulsifier, also used as a cheap stabilizer in plastics)
·       sodium dodecylbenzonesulfonate (synthetic detergent)
·       stearic acid (hardener)
·       sodium tallowate (sodium salt of cow fat)
·       water sodium isethionate (detergent/emulsifying agent)
·       trisodium EDTA (stabilizer, used in industrial cleaning products)
·       trisodium etidronate (preservative, a chemical that is used in soaps to prevent soap scum)
·       sodium lauryl sulphate (strips the skin of its natural oils, causing dry skin, irritations and is toxic to aquatic organisms) 
·       ammonium lauryl sulphate (petroleum-based and toxic to aquatic animals)
·       BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole, banned in the UK and throughout Europe,is toxic to aquatic organisms)
Even so called natural soap you buy in a store can have any number of these ingredients. The majority of them use man-made synthetic fragrances that also contain harmful chemicals.

The damage created by using commercially produced soap is multifold because: 
 

1. The amount of chemical waste and CO² emissions produced in the manufacturing of the harmful chemicals that go into commercial soap making are devastating to our planet. 
2. Before petroleum can be used as an ingredient, it must first be extracted, transported and refined. All these processes generate CO² and pollute the air.
3. However, the damage to our planet does not stop there. Let’s just “follow the water”.What happens every time you use commercially produced soap to wash your hands, have a bath or a shower? You guessed it! All those harmful chemicals “follow the water”down the drain and continue along their merry way where they end up polluting our groundwater, streams, rivers, lakes, oceans and their ecosystems. 
4. If that isn’t bad enough, these toxic chemicals have also been proven to move up the food chain.
5. And last but not least, our skin is our largest organ and it absorbs everything we put on it. Consequently, when we use petroleum-derived commercially produced soap, what is being absorbed by our skin is the same thing that pollutes our streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. 

 
Man or woman, young or old – who wants to help save the planet, protect our ecosystems, and guard their health? 
​

The solution is our “raison de vivre”. Our soap artists at Forest Cove Farm have spent the last 5 years perfecting the art and science of making planet-kind and skin-loving natural soap that respects both our planet and the natural flora of your skin. 
 
To awaken your senses and naturally cleanse, rejuvenate and nurture your precious skin, we have handcrafted luxurious, naturally nourishing, earth-friendly soaps with the highest quality of wholesome ingredients provided by Mother Nature. Your skin deserves the best so that’s what we make for you.
 
We have made the important choice of NOT using any harmful chemicals, colorants or artificial fragrances in any of our soap.
 
What we DO use are:

• golden cocoa butter (organic)
• creamy shea butter (organic)
• purifying clays
• organic seeds
• organic vegetables
• organically grown flowers such as calendula & rosehip
• generous amounts of 100% pure essential oils such as lovely lavender and peppermint
• 100% natural plant oils such as olive, sunflower, coconut & almond
• locally grown sun-warmed herbs like basil & rosemary

​Why do you use organic 100% pure essential oils?
They smell better than synthetic fragrances and artificial perfumes which contain chemicals that should never leave the science lab. We DO NOT use chemicals in any of our products. It’s that simple! We are focused on bringing our valued customers the best quality that nature has to offer so we do our best to source the purest, therapeutic grade essential oils for our products. Essential oils are highly concentrated and are derived from the earth itself - true botanicals that provide valuable psychological and physical therapeutic benefits. Pure essential oils are all-natural. As an example -lavender is a botanical treasure with more than 5,000 molecular compounds full of healthy properties. Lavender is also non-toxic, non-irritating and non-sensitizing.
 
 
 
How do you make your soaps?
At Forest Cove Farm we create pure natural soap with carefully selected wholesome, organic, naturally nourishing, responsibly sourced, 100% biodegradable, ethically traded, sustainable, 100% natural plant oils, rich organic plant butters, pure essential oils, organic herbs, seeds, fruits, vegetables and flowers. 
 
Once we have carefully selected our ingredients, we create our handmade skin-loving luxurious soaps by using the traditional technique of soapmaking called the Cold Process Method. We have chosen this method becauseit is the best way to protect the valuable properties and health benefits of the plant oils and other organic ingredients used to make our soap. 
 
What this means is that:

• We do notboil the natural oils.
• We do notseparate the glycerin produced during the saponification process.
• Because we do not heat any oils or ingredients with using the traditional Cold Process Method, our soap retains all the natural glycerin which is beneficial to the skin (glycerin is the good stuff and is often taken out of commercial soap and sold to the cosmetic industry).
• Our soap contains all the natural properties and health benefits of the raw natural oils such as olive oil and raw shea butter.
• The saponification process is slow and the soap needs to be aged for 8 weeks in a special room with natural ventilation. 
• Our soap is biodegradable.
• Our soap is kind to our skin and to our planet.
• We have not wasted the nutrients in our carefully selected natural organic ingredients. That’s correct …we have not boiled the daylight out of them! 

 
Saponification requires a lot more time in the Cold Process Method of soapmaking than in the “hot process” method. That is one of the reasons why the “traditional cold process method” is NOT being used by large corporations where huge amounts of soap are produced to supply global markets. 
 
How do you scent your products?
We do this the natural way with 100% pure natural aromatic essential oils. Nothing else.
 
Why are your soaps better?
Our soap bars are true real soapmade with 100% natural organic plant oils and organic plant butters like raw shea butter and cocoa butter. Our soap bars cleanse and nourish the skin instead of stripping the natural flora from the skin. They are not the harsh, petroleum-derived commercially produced detergent soap bars you find in most stores. The chemicals in those harsh bars enter your body through your skin, and also pollute our streams, rivers, lakes, oceans and their ecosystems. Our soap bars are all 100% biodegradable and are kind to our planet.
 
Which of your soaps are the most moisturizing?
Because each and every bar we make begins with our special blend of 100% pure plant oils, ALL our soaps are moisturizing. Our soap bars all respect the natural flora of your skin and they will all nourish and rejuvenate your skin. Some of our bars contain extra emollients such as almond oil, cocoa butter and raw shea butter. These luxurious butters will further soothe and soften your skin.
 
How long is the shelf life of your soap?
Even if we don’t use preservatives, our soap lasts a long time. After a few years the bars will lose a bit of moisture but will lather and clean just fine.
 
Are there ingredients from animal sources in your products?
Absolutely not! All our soap is made of 100% pure plant oils, plant butters like raw shea butter and 100% pure essential oils. 
 
Do you test your products on animals?
No, we never test our products on animals, and we also don’t outsource any animal testing to third parties. 
 
Are your products suitable for vegetarians?
Yes, all Forest Cove soap bars are suitable for vegetarians.
 
Do your products contain plastic scrub microbeads?
No, Forest Cove soap bars DO NOT contain plastic scrub microbeads.

Inside of this 25th Anniversary Edition you will discover the “SECRETS” of how to make cupcakes like a “PRO” and save both time and money! In as little as 30 minutes you will be ready to entertain your family and guests with the “WOW” effect and pleasure of delectable homemade cupcakes that disappear before your eyes. With more than 90 delicious recipes to choose from, you can celebrate with the perfect flavour for all your special occasions. And don't forget to have fun and let the kids help you decorate!
 
www.annettestevens.com
​

Eating locally grown food has many benefits for the consumer, the grower, the community and for Mother Earth. Having locally grown food available to add to meals is irresistible and “it’s good for you”! Some of the many benefits of buying locally grown food include:

• Locally grown food is full of flavor. When grown locally, the crops are picked at their peak of ripeness versus being harvested early in order to be shipped thousands of miles, stored in warehouses for days or weeks, then distributed to your local retail store. At Forest Cove Farm, our fresh produce is picked within 24 hours of your purchase and it has not travelled “a single mile”!

 

• Local food has more nutrients. The shorter the amount of time between harvest and your table, the more nutrient value in your food. Because local food has a shorter time between harvest and your table, local food has greater health value. Food imported from far-away is often older, has traveled and sits in distribution centers before it gets to your store. 

 

• Local food is good for your health. Every bite of food you eat matters. Every mile your food travels matters. Every day your food sits in a warehouse matters. Food that was not picked ripe, or that has been picked and stored for days and even weeks or that was sprayed to increase its longevity becomes inferior food. In comparison, fresh local food is full of life energy, it is loaded with nutrients, and it is so good for your health. On top of all these benefits, everything we grow at Forest Cove Farm is grown organically and nothing is ever sprayed to increase the longevity of our food. 

 

• Local food is the least expensive food your dollar can buy. Absolutely! When you do a “nutrients per dollar test”, local food is the winner by far. Local organically grown food also tastes better and keeps longer because it is fresher.

 

• Local food supports the local economy. The money that is spent with local farmers and growers all stays close to home and is reinvested with businesses and services in your community. Evidence shows that healthy locally grown food continues to be a critical factor for improving both the physical and economic health and well-being of communities.

 

• Local food benefits the environment. By purchasing locally grown foods you help maintain farmland and green and/or open space in your community. In addition, you help reduce emissions from fossil fuels used in transporting food long distances. 

• Local foods promote a safer food supply. The more steps there are between you and your food’s source, the more chances there are for contamination. Food grown in distant locations has the potential for food safety issues at harvesting, washing, shipping and distribution.

• Local growers can tell you how the food was grown. You can ask what practices they use to raise and harvest the crops. When you know where your food comes from and who grew it, you know a lot more about that food.

​
As the growing season starts and gets into full swing, you should think about how you can add more locally grown foods to your menus. By doing so you are supporting the many benefits of locally grown food.
 

​We all know the Valentine’s Day challenge that comes every year in February. What do we get our loved ones? Do I need to spend a lot of money? How do I know if he or she is going to like it? It can be hard to find the right gift for your partner, whether you’ve been together for years or just started seeing each other. To ease the pressure, we have put together lots of thoughtful ideas for you. YES, we have made Valentine’s Day easy for the love birds this year! From our creamy smooth old-fashioned fudge hearts to fresh roses, stunning floral bouquets …and more, we have what you need to “WOW” your sweetheart.

Forest Cove Flower Market is your local florist and a special place where you can experience and enjoy beautiful flower bouquets and floral arrangements along with our farm grown local flowers.

We are always honored to brighten your day with our wide selection of fresh flowers ready for pick-up or for delivery right to your door anywhere in Deep River, Chalk River, Petawawa, Laurentian Hills, Mattawa and ​Point Alexander, Ontario.

Have a Happy Valentine’s Day filled with lots of love!
…a bit more about “FLOWERS”
 
Flowers Trigger Your Happy Brain Chemicals
 
"Flowers make people feel better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the mind." ~Luther Burbank

Common sense tells us that flowers make us happy and we have always know that they are medicine for the mind. Now, science shows that not only do flowers make us happier than we know, they have strong positive effects on our emotional well-being.
 
The mere presence of flowers has been found to:
Instantly increase happiness
Reduce anxiety, agitation, and other symptoms of depression
Encourage connection with friends and family 

Flowers make us happy because they stimulateour happy brain chemicals known as: dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin.

Dopamine
Dopamine is triggered by the expectation of a reward. Flowers were a huge reward signal in the world our brain evolved in because they marked the coming of abundance after a hungry winter. Today we have enough to eat all year round so we don’t consciously link flowers with food. But the blossoming of a flower triggers the sense that something special is coming because it triggers dopamine.
 
Bright colors signaled valuable nutritionfor our hunter-gather ancestors. They balanced their diet by scanning for spots of color. They didn’t do it because they knew the chemistry; they did it because dopamine made them feel good. Today, color and variety make you feel good and get your attentioneven though you can get the nutrition in other ways.
 
Oxytocin
This chemical is often called the “bonding hormone.” Oxytocin creates the nice feeling of social trust, whether romantic love, maternal attachment, or group solidarity. We all know how hard this feeling is to find, and how easily it can be lost. That’s why we’re so eager for ways to stimulate it. Flowers help!
Flowers stimulate social trust in many ways. They communicate the intention to invest effort in a relationship. And they convey a respect for fragility. We feel the impermanence of flowers, and it reminds us that care is necessary to sustain life. Relationships can be as fragile as flowers and the care we give to plants helps us remember the care that our relationships need.
 
Serotonin
This chemical is often mentioned in the context of anti-depressants, but research on monkeys in the twentieth century made it clear that the good feeling of serotonin is released when a mammal advances its social importance. Flowers can help you do that.
Whether you grow them, buy them, or admire them from a distance, flowers can stimulate the sense of pride that your mammal brain is looking for. 
No one likes to admit they care about social importance, but if you fail to stimulate your serotonin, you end up feeling bad. This is why we’re always looking for socially acceptable ways to trigger it. Many of our social rituals exist to satisfy this natural urge in a healthy way. Flowers support these rituals.Whether you give them, receive them, or buy them for yourself, flowers help you feel important in ways that do no harm.
www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/your-neurochemical-self/201706/why-flowers-make-us-happy
 
Tips to Help You Relax, Unwind and Reduce Stress:

Experience flowers: Walk in the wild to observe the flowers or simply visit your local flower shop and take a look around. Just the sight and smell of the natural beauty of flowers will put you at ease and help you feel refreshed. 
 
Color your world: Colors really do affect our moods and colorful flowers promote optimism, enthusiasm, and a sense of uplift. Choose a variety of colorful roses, gerberas, lilies, ranunculus, alstroemeria, tulips — to put on your kitchen counter or your desk, and see your mood soar.
 
Find Peace: If you are having a bad day try flowers with soothing, tranquil colors, such as blues, lavenders and pale greens. A small arrangement on your kitchen table, nightstand or in your bathroom will let you experience the stress relieving benefits of flowers. 
 
Give yourself some joy: One great way to reconnect with joy and feel less stressed is to surround yourself with simple things that make you feel happy and loved, like a colorful bunch of flowers or a blooming plant. Flowers have the power to open hearts, and when your heart is open you are more likely to focus on the positive points in your day.

Pepper your house with small doses of calm: When bringing home flowers from your florist, have a couple of small vases and containers available so you can place a few flowers in different parts of your living space. You’ll be amazed how many small arrangements you can get out of a single bunch of flowers, and you’ll have constant reminders to ‘stop and smell the flowers.’
 
Be a friend: Do you have a friend or loved one who could use a boost? Have flowers delivered unexpectedly to their door & watch their ordinary day become extraordinary. It will make you smile, too.
 
Help others: Sometimes the best way to relieve stress and the pressures of the day, is to do something nice for someone else. Here’s an idea: Go to your florist and buy two bouquets. Keep one for yourself, then take the other bouquet and “petal it forward” to a stranger on the street. You’ll be amazed at the reaction to your random act of kindness.
 
https://aboutflowers.com/quick-links/health-benefits-research/stressless/

Roman soldiers were fed garlic for strength. Greek athletes ate garlic for stamina. The Egyptians took garlic with them to the afterlife. Ancient Chinese used garlic to aid digestion and Ancient Indian healers used garlic to treat leprosy.

The most recent studies of garlic's healing powers have reported antibacterial properties, blood-sugar lowering, cholesterol lowering, antiplatelet-aggregation and anti-tumor effects. Importantly, garlic's health benefits are best when garlic is eaten regularly and as fresh as possible.

In addition to its high selenium content, garlic also contains health-giving vitamins
such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C), thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid
and vitamin E. But there is more to this story. What makes garlic really unique is
the high level of specific sulphur compounds in the form of non-protein amino
acids including alliin, which is largely responsible for the specific flavor of garlic.

When garlic is crushed, chopped or disrupted in any way, this alliin sulphur
compound is hydrolyzed by the enzyme alliinase to create complex organosulphur
compounds. These are unstable and reactive compounds whose aroma is typically
associated with freshly crushed garlic. The main compound, allicin, is found in
crushed garlic juice and in the air above chopped garlic. Allicin has been the
substance proposed to have the unique health giving properties when studied
biochemically. Due to its unstable nature however, it has a very limited shelf life
and cannot be held constant. For this reason, to benefit from the health giving
properties of garlic, consuming it freshly crushed or chopped is best.
For garlic lovers, eating raw garlic presents no particular challenge. If you're less
keen on the raw stuff, there are plenty of recipes to which you can add garlic
towards the end of the cooking process or incorporate raw garlic and make it more
palatable. Salad dressings, crushed garlic stirred through soups or stews,
bruschetta, garlic freshly crushed into olive oil as a dipping oil or simply a few
slices added to your favorite sandwiches all help to increase your daily garlic
intake.
So, get your garlic for 2019 and reap the benefits of this wonderful little gift of
nature.

​You can shop for some health giving fresh organically grown garlic at our Country
Market at Forest Cove Farm.

​When it's time for “le réveillon” (a special French Canadian feast and family gathering on ChristmasEve), the famed double-crusted meat pie loaded to the brim with subtly seasoned meat filling and baked in a super-flaky, buttery crust,is the pie that welcomes everyone to the table. 

Indulging in a savoury slice of this delicious pie has deep roots in an old Christmas
tradition dating back centuries. Back in the 1600s when French settlers attended
midnight mass on Christmas Eve, they celebrated afterwards with le réveillon.

Le réveillon is a tradition borrowed from France and practiced in other French
speaking countries as well as in New Orleans and in every province of Canada
where the French settled. The name of this Christmas Eve dinner is based on the
word réveil (waking) because it involves staying awake beyond midnight to enjoy
a decadent meal with family.

La tourtière is a vital part of the luxurious and exceptional menu consumed at
réveillons. That is one reason why this amazing pie is difficult to find at any other
time of the year. It is also an expensive and time consuming pie to make.

Four centuries later, la tourtière remains a staple dish in French Canadian
households on Christmas Eve. Back in 17 th century Quebec, the pie was stuffed
with wild game like rabbit, pheasant and moose meat. Today, the pie is made
mostly with pork and beef. The herbs and spices used in the meat mixture has
changed but the tradition lives on.
It’s part of our heritage and Forest Cove Farm is committed to keeping the
tradition alive. Every year in December our delicious homemade tourtières will be
available in our Country Market.​

With Thanksgiving behind us, we can go back to lighter dishes and still enjoy nutritious food. Here’s a guilty-free tasty recipe that may come in handy if you want to skip the potatoes. Full of flavor, creamy and delicious.
 
Garlic Basil Mashed Cauliflower

Ingredients
8 cups (one large head) cauliflower florets
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves Forest Cove virgin garlic
2 tablespoons finely chopped Forest Cove basil
Salt & pepper (to taste)
 
Directions
Bring 2 inches od water to boil in a large saucepan with a steamer basket.
Add cauliflower, cover and cook until very tender (10 to 12 minutes).
While cauliflower is cooking, heat oil in small skillet, reduce heat to low and add garlic. Stir and cook until garlic is slightly browned. Remove from heat.
Add cooked garlic, cauliflower, salt and pepper to a food processor. Blend until smooth. Put in a serving bowl and add chopped basil. Stir and enjoy!
Makes 4 servings.

​Happy Cooking!

Thank you for a wonderful season at Forest Cove Farm. We are grateful for your continued support and wish you and your families the warmest wishes for a safe, happy, and healthy Thanksgiving.

History of Thanksgiving in Canada
 
Thanksgiving or Action de Grâce(in French)is an annual holiday in Canada. It has been officially celebrated since November 6, 1879 and occurs on the second Monday in October. It is a time to celebrate the bountiful harvest and other blessings throughout the year. 
 
According to historians, the first celebration of Thanksgiving in North American followed the 1578 voyage of Martin Frobisher who was in search of the Northwest Passage. 
 
Years later, in 1604, French settlers who arrived in Canada with Samuel de Champlain also held feasts of thanks. They formed the “Order of Good Cheer” and held feasts to share food and thanks with their First Nations neighbours.
 
During and after the American Revolution, some Americans who remained loyal to Great Britain moved to Canada. Some of the customs they brought with them included turkey, pumpkin and squash.
 
Over the years, some of the customs may have changed but the theme of the Thanksgiving holiday perseveres and with good reason. It is a special time to be thankful for an abundant harvest and all the other good things that we are blessed with and enjoy as Canadians.
 
Food for Thought
 
One day a very wealthy father took his young son on a trip to the country for the sole purpose of showing his son how it was to be poor. They spent a few days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

After their return from the trip, the father asked his son how he liked the trip. “It was great, Dad,” the son replied. “Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Oh Yeah,” said the son.

“So what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father. The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us. They have friends to protect them.” The boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “It showed me just how poor we really are.”

Too many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we don’t have. What is one person’s worthless object is another’s prize possession. It is all based on one’s perspective.

Sometimes it takes the perspective of a child to remind us what’s important.