Hi everyone! I have been a little absent from this space and half present on farm projects in general this spring and now early summer. As you probably already know by now we are expecting our third child any day. He’s not here yet, but I decided to halt bread baking a little early.

NO BREAD for at least a month or two. My chickens have been eating far too many loaves of sourdough not sold. And the bigger picture is just inconsistency. My focus has been much more home-centered while I prepare for the baby and direct attention to other upcoming changes for our family and home life this year. I learned the last time around that the baby phase passes all too quickly and the pause of my own farm and career goals is so brief and can be picked back up at any time, but my sweet babies cannot. So this time, soaking up the postpartum experience has priority. It also happens to fall in summer when I can soak up my other two kids along with the sunshine and long, slow summer days. Heaven!

What does this mean for the you and Mercantile! We are still open with our regular goods. We have so much amazing LAMB for sale! About a month ago, we had 15 processed, 11 to sell directly to you and to eat ourselves. We have oodles of ground lamb and plenty of lamb chops. The ground lamb is a perfect replacement anywhere you normally use ground beef and I think has an even milder flavor than grass-fed beef, boasting just as many nutritional benefits, if not more. We made lamb burgers a couple weeks ago while our oldest had a playdate and her friend raved to her family about the dinner for days. The chops are such a treat! They grill so quickly for a simple, luxurious meal. We also have plenty of bags of bones, shoulder roasts, and leg of lamb upon request.

We have 150 yd skeins of 3-ply worsted weight yarn in two colors: a beige cream, and a dark brown with hints of heather grey. The color is the natural color of the wool and is made without the use of harsh chemicals by hand in Cleveland, MO. With the upcoming heat, it could be a great time to start a big fiber project. Something I may find myself doing soon too.

We are stocked on Golden Rule Honey. It is local and raw. I had some delivered last week and the honey guy, Brian informed me it’s been a tough year. While I have personally been savoring the long, cool winter and beginning of summer, the bees do not! He says bees thrive in dry 95 degree weather. The result has been lower honey yields and even declining populations. It’s so interesting to hear how a year markedly different from others impacts the facets of production and agriculture. We visited lots of farmer friends the Lee’s Summit Farmer’s Market last weekend and each of them described the challenges of this year’s growing season so far. Hopefully next week’s heat spell with help them and hopefully our baby will come before it arrives.

We are also stocked on 100% beeswax candles. These truly make the best gift for any occasion. They burn so beautifully and feel like a luxury all times of year.

We have a few goods from Shelti Farms still like tub teas and herbal drinking teas too, perfect for sun tea.

There is plenty of fresh flour from Marion Milling if you want to try your hand at sourdough yourself, or just want the best flour around for any of your baking needs. If I’m feeling antsy, I may write some more recipes and push them out from this platform, including my bread, focaccia, and pizza dough recipes. You can buy Eulah, our sourdough starter in the Merc any time.

Finally, we are totally stocked on Fair Share Farm Ferments as well. We have a great lineup of ferments in the fridge: Garlic Chunk Pickles, Carrot Pickles, Jalapeños en Escabeche, Sauerkraut, and Hot Sauce. Making the switch to fermented condiments is a game changer for gut health. The easiest and tastiest way to feed your microbiome lots of different probiotics from farm fresh foods and wild yeasts. These are the pickles that I use in the recipe I shared today for a classic deli style potato salad made healthy.

What about the bread?? I’m planning to take at least a month or so off of daily baking for the Merc. I’ll post and send a newsletter when I’m ready to get back at it.

Finally, I’ll be signing off of social media. I’m long overdue from a break from it. Those of you who have been here a while know that I prefer to be off but pop on to keep in touch and update about the mercantile. In these late days of pregnancy I’ve been on more than normal and it’s time for me to leave. I’m really looking forward to leaning into a full “90’s butter mom summer” sans constant cell phone attachment and sharing everything on social media. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so seen by a trend and I am here for it. Bring on the hose play, living in swim suits, hours outside in the garden and yard, kitchen creations, a messy house, dirty bare feet, and sticky popsicle faces!

If you ever have questions about what’s available for sale you can always email me. My contact information is on the website.

Au revoir for now friends!