Happy Easter from my Family to Yours
President's Blog
President, Burnbrae Farms
4th Generation Farmer
As you can imagine, Easter is a special time for our family at Burnbrae Farms – because we love eggs! My name is Margaret Hudson, and I’m the President of Burnbrae Farms, the family business that my great grandfather started in 1891.
I’m frequently asked about what it was like to grow up as an egg farmer. I’m excited to use this blog space to touch base with you twice a month, and tell you more about my family, our company, and everything I know about eggs – from recipes and tips to interesting nutrition facts. So, welcome!
I figured Easter was the perfect time to embark on this adventure, because eggs are such an important part of celebrating spring. In fact, eggs were used in historical springtime festivals and are viewed as a symbol of new life and renewal across many religions.
Our family gathers at the farm to enjoy Easter together every year, and a highlight for the kids is exploring the farm’s natural beauty. There are large hilly rock outcroppings and a meandering creek that cut through the south end of our property, which is part of the majestic Canadian Shield. The creek and falls are in full force with the spring melt, which is a beautiful focal point of our exploratory adventures. We do family crafts (a favourite is this window garden egg carton craft ), decorate hard-boiled eggs, and indulge in the chocolate ones too.
As you can imagine, being on a farm for Easter means that we have lots of great spots to hide eggs! And while we’re a big family, our egg hunt can’t compare to the Guinness Book of World Records for the biggest Easter egg hunt ever – 501,000 eggs in Winter Haven, Florida! But hey, we do our best. Just in case you are curious, yes we do decorate and hide eggs that come right from our very own hens. My daughter decorated the ones in the photo carrousel, for this coming year.
Brunch is always a favourite and this year, I’m adding a modern twist with this delicious Red Potato and Egg Salad with fresh thyme, and a fun Savoury Easter Egg Torta – with eggs buried right inside. The first person to cut into the torta and find an egg will win a prize!
Finally, the whole family sits down to a traditional Easter dinner, including turkey, ham and all the trimmings. With so many people, it takes more than one table to feed us all! And we can’t forget the pie! Pumpkin would be on the menu year-round if it was up to my son, here is a great family recipe . It is always a crazy but wonderful time.
I hope that your Easter weekend is filled with family, friends and fun. From my family to yours, best wishes for a warm and wonderful Easter.
XO,
Margaret
P.S. While you’re getting to know me…I’m often asked why the farm is called Burnbrae. It’s a great question! My great grandfather came from Scotland in the 1800s and bought 100 acres of land in Lyn, Ontario. The land was picturesque – rolling hills, babbling streams, plenty of sunshine – and it inspired him to name the farm Burnbrae, based on two Scottish words meaning stream (burn) and hillside (brae).