Down on Amy's Farm

This spring I took a couple of months off of work to spend more time at home and with the kids.  One of the highlights of my time at home has been our "farm class" that I've taken them to on Monday mornings.  It's a parent-child class where we get to explore plants and animals on the farm and usually involves a craft, story time, and some songs as well.  When a friend first told me about it, I thought that I'd never have time to drive down to Ontario/Chino every week and do this but it's been awesome.  Jordyn has a new little friend that takes the class and it's been fun to watch the two of them together.  The farm also has a farm stand, tours, does field trips, and holds workshops.

 I think that the pictures will express the experience better than anything else I could write!

This mama and baby posed for their photo!

Hanging out in the garden - near Easter, we had an egg hunt in the rows

The kids usually got to feed an animal and learn about it - this week, we picked and ate carrots from the garden, saving the tops for the chickens.

There is literally nothing much cuter than piglets . . . 

The kids were encouraged to taste and try stuff - here, a variety of heirloom broccoli with edible flowers.  I saw my girls eat Rainbow Chard, Dinosaur Kale . . . all sorts of green delicious things!

She's an animal lover and natural farm girl - she loved every bit of her experience.

Before holding baby turkeys, the kids had to practice with little stuffed animals to show they could be gentle and not squeeze them to death.

Milking the cow!  We waited for weeks and this was one of our favorite days.

To visit Amy's Farm:  www.amysfarm.com

7698 Eucalyptus Avenue

Ontario, CA 91762

Here's a recipe for a healthy morning treat before farm class, school or any other adventure.  I've seen versions of this floating around on Pinterest and was intrigued by the concept - a cross between a pancake and a muffin with a decent amount of protein and fiber.  They're gluten free and filling.  I can see how they'd be easy to take and eat on the run.  The method in the original recipe called for putting all the ingredients in the blender but even with my VitaMix, I ended up with a lumpy mess at the bottom and the almond meal stuck to the blades wasn't fun to clean.

Almond Blueberry Pancake Muffins (makes 8)

original recipe on the Kitchenthusiast

1/4 cup Greek vanilla yogurt

2 T unsalted butter, melted

2 T maple syrup

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1.5 cups almond flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. sea salt

2 eggs

1 egg white

1/3 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tin.  In a large bowl, combine yogurt, butter, syrup, and almond extract.  Whisk together.  Add the dry ingredients and stir until combined.  Add the eggs and egg white and stir until incorporated but do not over mix (the batter will be thick). 

Divide the batter among the muffin tin cavities until each one is about half way full.  I got 8 muffins from this recipe.  After putting the batter in, sprinkle blueberries onto each one (I left a couple plain).

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until slightly golden and a toothpick in the middle comes out clean.  Cool 2-3 minutes in the tin, run a knife around the edge of each cup and carefully remove.  They're good warm but they'll also store in the fridge for 3-4 days.  I didn't mind them cold but you can reheat in a 200 degree oven for 3-5 minutes.