Blog - Thompson Potato Farm - Thompson Potato Farm

Bangers & Mash Recipe

10/3/2023

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Welcome to day 2 of “Ontario Agriculture Week” where we all can celebrate the bounty of high quality food that’s produced and sold locally in Ontario. I’m releasing a new recipe every day this week to get you inspired to eat fresh. Today’s recipe “Bangers & Mash” has been one of my signature dishes on the About Cooking Potatoes page of our website for five years. Here’s one more look at this dish before it’s retired later this week:

Pork sausage, garlic mashed potatoes and easy homemade beef gravy create a delicious and hearty meal. Here is the story for this recipe that came from a massive cooking spree in my kitchen years ago: “This recipe was created with my good friend Chef Derek of Fraberts Fresh Food. I wish I could convey to you the anticipation and excitement in his voice when he waltzed into my kitchen and announced that we were going to be making Bangers & Mash. I was thrilled with the outcome of such a simple recipe cooked with one of the best! To learn more about my awesome experience cooking with Chef Derek you can visit Cooking with Chef Derek.”

Click on the PDF document above to print or download the recipe file. You can visit “Cottage Pie” and “Surplus Sweet Corn Salad” to see a few more recipes I created with Chef Derek. Bon Appétit!

Potato & Roasted Apple Soup Recipe

10/2/2023

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This is “Ontario Agriculture Week” where we all can celebrate the bounty of high quality food that’s produced and sold locally in Ontario. I will be releasing a new recipe every day this week to get you inspired to eat fresh. Today’s recipe “Potato & Roasted Apple Soup” has been one of my signature dishes on the About Cooking Potatoes page of our website for five years. Here’s one more look at this dish before it’s retired later this week:

Recipe development can be an interesting process here in my kitchen. This recipe was written because: “One day in the middle of January I was staring at my fruit bowl that contained one lonely apple. The thought dawned on me that I should work on a new recipe pairing potatoes with apples. And with that inspiration I began to cook. This recipe was created with the snow flying and the wind howling around our house so I can truly attest that this will warm both your body and your soul on a cold winter day.”

Click on the PDF document above to print or download the recipe file. You can visit “Potato & Sweet Corn Chowder” and “Mashed Potato Thick Soup” for more “souper” soup recipes. Bon Appétit!

The Hypnotic Harvester

10/1/2023

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years working at the farm, it’s that people are utterly fascinated by the potato harvester. It’s huge, it’s impressive and there are a lot of moving parts to watch. This aerial video I shot using my new drone gives you a rare insight into how the harvester works.

Our harvester is operated by my husband RJ who also has to coordinate the windrower and the truck driver while he runs the harvester. The harvester digs 2 rows of potatoes while simultaneously collecting the potatoes left in a row by the windrower. As the potatoes roll up the belts, field debris is sorted out and shot rather emphatically out of the back of the harvester. You can visit “The Wonderful Windrower” if you’re wondering what on earth a windrower is!

The Wonderful Windrower

9/27/2023

This implement is called a “windrower” and it’s something to get excited about as we rock ‘n’ roll through the fall harvest. Our windrower is operated by our son John and it plays a vital role in our potato harvest. It digs up four rows of potatoes at a time and piles them neatly into one long row where they will be collected up later by the harvester. It actually digs more potatoes than the harvester even though it doesn’t look as impressive.

Here’s a fun fact about how the windrower got its name: A “windrow” is a long line of material heaped up by the wind or by a machine. So our potatoes are piled in a “windrow” by the “windrower.” Interestingly enough, it also is the official name for the piles of snow left at the end of your driveway after the snow plow has cleared the road. Now you know!

You can visit “The Potato Windrower” to see another video of our windrower in action.

Tiny Truck

9/23/2023

I’m probably going to get in trouble for saying this but I’m going to say it anyways….look how cute our new little truck is! I was also told I’m definitely not allowed to give the truck a name. BUT, if you were to comment with a fun potato truck name (like “Tater Tot” or “Petite Potato “) I know you wouldn’t get in trouble!

All fun aside, we have been eagerly anticipating the arrival of this new truck to assist with our deliveries to local restaurants and grocery stores. This truck is a 2024 Freightliner. It’s fully automatic, can be driven with a G licence, has excellent vision from the cab, and has a walk down ramp to get the potatoes off the truck. It will carry about 200 50lb bags of potatoes and is perfect for unloading bins of sweet corn at grocery stores. It’s a most welcome addition to our fleet.

You can visit our “Photo Gallery” to see many more pictures of our farming equipment.

Fall Harvest Begins

9/18/2023

Last weekend we began the fall harvest. We dusted off our bin filler (figuratively speaking of course – the bin filler is always rather dusty) and started filling the potato storage. These are our Yukon Gem potatoes that were transported in large bulk trucks from the field to our farm. Curtis is picking out unwanted debris such as grass clumps, weeds and stones as the potatoes fall out of the bulk truck. The potatoes travel along several belts until they reach the bin filler.

Our crew pulls out every last bit of unwanted debris as the potatoes roll along the bin filler. The potato pile will fill this entire section of our storage from floor to ceiling. This is one of our two potato storages that will hopefully be full to the top by the time we finish the fall harvest. You can visit “The Potato Bin Filler” to see a video of our bin filler in action.

Freezing Sweet Corn

9/14/2023

It’s crunch time! We estimate we will have sweet corn available for approximately 7-10 more days (depending on the weather.) Here is how I freeze sweet corn so we can enjoy it all winter. I cook the corn for 7 minutes, let it cool down and scrape the kernels off the cob with a sharp knife. Then I pop 2 cups of kernels into a freezer bag. I use about 3 cobs of corn to equal 2 cups. During the winter, all I have to do is thaw one bag and add it to my soups, stews and casseroles.

If you’re looking for inspiration for new winter dishes where you can use your sweet corn, you can visit “Cottage Pie” and “Potato & Sweet Corn Chowder.” You can also serve the corn as a side dish with recipes such as “Bangers & Mash” or “Shepherd’s Pie.” Stay tuned for my new signature dish “Potato & Sweet Corn Hash” that’s coming this fall. Bon Appétit!

Sweet Corn Fields

9/7/2023

Have you ever thought about how perfect sweet corn gets to your dinner table? We start planting sweet corn in May and continue weekly plantings for roughly 2 months. This staggered planting ensures that we always have a section of ripe corn. When it’s time to pick the corn, every cob is handpicked by our team of migrant workers. They’re experts at selecting the best quality corn.

This aerial video clearly shows our different sections of sweet corn and gives you an insight into how much sweet corn we grow annually. (I promise I’ll get better at using my new drone for future videos!) Don’t miss out on our September sweet corn – it’s usually the best of the season.

You can visit “Summer Sweet Corn Salad Recipe” for a truly tasty salad made from fresh local produce that’s available this time of year in Ontario.

Summer Sweet Corn Salad Recipe

8/26/2023

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Like it or not, we’re heading into our last week of summer. This salad should add some cheer to any “end of summer blues” you may be feeling. It’s bursting with all the flavours of fresh Ontario produce that are still available in late summer. The star of this salad is sweet corn which is picked fresh daily here at the farm and available to the general public seven days a week. The ingredients include tomatoes, cucumbers, orange peppers and black beans. It’s mixed with a creamy dill and cucumber salad dressing that compliments the sweetness of all the vegetables. You cannot go wrong serving this at one last summer BBQ!

Click on the PDF document above to print or download the recipe file. I have two other sweet corn salad recipes that can be found at “Mexicana Sweet Corn Salad” and “Tater Tales Sept 4th: Surplus Sweet Corn Salad.” Bon Appétit!

National Potato Day

8/19/2023

Today is National Potato Day. May I suggest you visit one of our customers for a great potato experience? Our customers have you covered whether you’re looking for a hearty breakfast, family dining, fine dining, fish & chips, specialty burgers & fries, or a quick trip to a food truck. You can visit “National French Fry Day” to see more restaurants in the GTA who use our potatoes.

I have also included four recipes that were developed, cooked and taste tested in my kitchen. I have almost 50 original recipes posted on this website. The links for the recipes featured above can be found at “Potato Salads” “Bacon Wrapped Potato Bites” “Potato & Sweet Corn Chowder”" and “This Spud’s For You: Baked Potato Bar.” Bon Appétit!