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Wild Mother Provisions - Janet Harron Bio Pic

JANET HARRON

Founder, Wild Mother Provisions

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History
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As if I don’t have enough to do with a full-time

As if I don’t have enough to do with a full-time job, my vinegar business, a new furry family member and brother for Petunia, and a full complement of summer guests, I am now the new secretary for the Petty Harbour Museum Committee.
But I’m happy to do it. This community has so many layers to uncover, it’s going to keep my ADHD brain supplied with dopamine until they take me out of my house feet first (when I die in my sleep at 110 after cooking a big dinner for friends).
The museum is open during the summer months and we’ve just launched a Facebook page (search for Petty Harbour Community Museum) to promote the museum in general and share some of the amazing displays and artefacts.
Plus this Saturday is #historicaplacesday so the timing couldn't be better!
Speaking of history, remember the old nursery rhyme, Jack and Jill went up the hill? After Jack fell down and broke his crown, he mended his head with vinegar and brown paper. That was a genuine old folk remedy for cuts and scrapes – before antibiotics became widespread, vinegar was regularly used as an agent to combat infection, in particular those in burn wounds.
Even Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, used vinegar to treat his patients. Those ancient Greeks also used vinegar (mixed with water and honey) as a beverage but more about that in a later post!
And a little closer to home, vinegar was available regularly in pharmacies both as an anti-bacterial and mixed with other materials to make cough syrups. The Pharmacy Museum here in St. John’s has a small collection of vinegars that were manufactured or packaged in St. John’s meant to be diluted to use as table vinegar.
Interesting that historical pharmacies, like today’s Shopper’s Drug Mart, sold non-medicinal materials alongside medicines. Bet they didn’t have self-check outs though … don’t get me started …
#oldbottles
#vinegar
#pharmacylife
#vinegarfacts
#vinegarhistory
#pettyharbour
#communitymuseum
#historicplacesday
#beervinegar

Not quite ready to do #walkingtours yet but so hap

Not quite ready to do #walkingtours yet but so happy to be described as “striding through Petty Harbour in combat pants, her long silver hair flying from beneath a bucket hat.” I like the way @valhowes sees me.
#pettyharbour
#thisharbourlife
#hitofacid
#buylocal
#enjoyyourself
#supportsmallbusiness
#beervinegar
#hyperlocal

New retailer alert! Look for our #beervinegar at @

New retailer alert! Look for our #beervinegar at @kitchensinknl. Use in salad dressings, marinades, sprinkle on top of noodles, fried rice - use your imagination!
#acetobacter
#hitofacid
#brightenyourfood
#notjustforfishandchips
#buylocal
#supportsmallbusiness
#enjoyyourself
#homecookingisthebest

I’ve been re-watching Gilmore Girls since Januar

I’ve been re-watching Gilmore Girls since January. It’s comfort viewing – I’m missing my daughter, dealing with a whack of family drama, handling some major work stuff, and wondering when the hell Revenue Canada is going to get its act together and SHOW ME THE MONEY.
Winter in Stars Hollow might be magical but it doesn’t hold a candle to the real magic that is winter in Petty Harbour this year.
Last year was mild with very little snow.
This year we’ve had three (or four – I’ve lost count) snow days since end of January. And during the last few days of February it was really really cold. Like nostrils sticking together cold.
In town this would mean being confined by icy towers of grey/black sludge and dodging traffic while walking in the streets (the City of St. John’s seems to find sidewalk clearing itself an impossible hurdle).
But in Petty Harbour, with little traffic and one road in and out, the snow stays pristine.
Another big plus is the winter visitors. I don’t recall seeing any seals, sea otters or foxes on the streets of Stars Hollow.
And as for winter activities, I, like Lorelie Gilmore, love a horse-drawn sleigh. However for sheer drama, I don’t think that compares to turr hunting. This week, on Petunia’s lunchtime promenade down the wharf we spotted a few by’s in fatigues, rifles at the ready, getting into a small skiff.
“Some fun and good eatin’ … ,“ skipper said as they pulled away, headed for open water. For those not in the know, this particular sea bird has been described to me as a dark-fleshed, fishy-tasting chicken.
Read more at link in bio.
#pettyharbour
#gilmoregirls
#ismellsnow
#winter
#turr
#starshollow
#picturepostcard
#cosy
#hygge
#beervinegar

Mise en place. Well not exactly. But these are the

Mise en place. Well not exactly. But these are the essential items I reach for everyday.
No question that food prices are soaring. I think this might be the time to revisit peasant food, made from simple and accessible ingredients.
Think slow-cooked cheaper cuts of meat like pork shoulder. Beans, pulses, lentils. Soups. RICE. Instead of sugary cereal with the texture of cardboard, make porridge from whole oats. Root vegetables like carrots and cabbage and beets.
Cook from scratch - and don’t be afraid of making mistakes.
#oatmeal
#coffee
#espresso
#garlic
#seasalt
#redpepperflakes
#oliveoil
#evoo
#beervinegar
#turbinadosugar
#typhootea
#herbaltea
#koshersalt
#blackpepper
#homecooking
#honey
#miseenplace

So proud to have our Newfound Beer Vinegar on the

So proud to have our Newfound Beer Vinegar on the shelves at @andersons.nl, the best thing to happen to downtown St. John’s in a long time.
Besides being an absolute master of all things meat @newfoundlandsausageking is a truly generous guy.
On Christmas Eve 2021, when picking up a prime rib for next day’s meal, I realized I had no meat thermometer at home and absolutely NO capacity to visit another store to pick up one. So he GAVE me his.
Let’s see the butcher at Costco or Dominion or Sobey’s or Walmart do that.
#localbutcher
#newfoundland
#actofgenerosity
#welcometotheneighbour
#pantrystaple

Very happy to be featured in @enroutemag’s lates

Very happy to be featured in @enroutemag’s latest Food and Drink Gift Guide
#stockingstuffers
#foodgifts
#canadianfood
#beervinegar
#acetobacter
#notjustforfishandchips
#artisanfoodproducers
#northatlantic
#acidqueen
#sourpuss

There is an art to giving and receiving advice. Li

There is an art to giving and receiving advice. Like many people, I have struggled with this over the years. I’m guilty of offering unsolicited, unwanted advice to others (why is it always easier to know what other people should do/be rather than yourself?).
And I’ve shut down completely when others have dared to advise me.
But I’m gradually getting better at it.
Becoming an entrepreneur has been a major learning experience for me. It’s humbling to realize how much you don’t know. But one thing I have always been good at is aligning myself with clever people (who also have good advice).
Read more at link in bio.
@rocketbakery
#pettyharbour
#withalittlehelpfrommyfriends
#ittakesavillage
#beervinegar
#alegar
#entrepreneur
#femaleentrepreneurs
#sisterhood
#cleverfriends
#takingadvice
#connection
#powerofcommunity
#buylocal
#whatsinaname

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