Roasted Corn and Poblano Chowder

Posted on September 10, 2019 by Deborah

It has been a very hectic Spring and Summer here at the Homestead, not just the usual busy gardening season (which is now winding down), but we have had a lot of excitement with the construction of a new garage as well as a 3 Season Room addition to the Homestead. Exciting, but also anxiety filled when dealing with a contractor, glad that part is now behind us! Now that the structures are up and usable it is time to get back to doing what I love, crafting and cooking!

We had a lovely hot, dry summer and the pepper … Read more...

12 Grain Bagel How-To

Posted on April 17, 2019 by Deborah

Again, necessity is the mother of invention. I was happily munching away on Costco’s Whole Wheat Bagels when a month ago, they decided to stop selling them. Perhaps I was the only one buying them, but it still irked me that they yanked them from the shelves.

So… I decided to look around the fabulous interweb for either a whole wheat or better yet, a 12 grain recipe and surprisingly there is quite a few available. I spent one morning a couple weeks ago reading through the top 5 or 6 on the google search, some more detailed than others, … Read more...

Chunky Roasted Butternut Squash and Root Veggie Soup

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Deborah

Sometimes I like to have an adult version of butternut squash soup. Don’t get me wrong, I love the pureed version, but there are times when a chunky version fits the “chilly Fall day” without feeling like you are eating baby food.

This recipe came about like most of the ones I do…..I look in the fridge and see all the leftovers and “not-enough-ofs” and go from there. Today, October 9th, in Northern Ontario, Mother Nature decided to jack up the temperature, just for fun I guess after a solid week of cold, blustery, rainy weather. It ended up being … Read more...

Alpaca Throw Blanket ~ Take II

Posted on September 5, 2018 by Deborah

3 years after I started spinning alpaca fibre for my very first alpaca blanket (Fert & Palladin Throw Blanket) that was finally woven in 2016, I am back for more punishment (?) to spin and weave a new one.

Why you ask when I already have this gorgeous one? Well, because after its first season at the cottage, I needed to wash it to put it away for the impending close of the cottage and it partially felted in my dumb washing machine. Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike my washing machine? Its mainly because I didn’t get … Read more...

Late Summer Woodland Sights

Posted on August 29, 2018 by Deborah

This morning I headed out on a solitary walk to view the surrounding flora and fauna as well as enjoy one of the last warm days of summer. The end of August had arrived and even though we have a very humid air mass at the moment that seems to be stuck overhead I could feel the beginning of a change of season.

The days are shorter as well as the shadows cast from the sun slanting farther afield. Some of the leaves on trees and shrubs are already starting to turn colour and the late summer flowering plants were … Read more...

Piñata Travel Bag Project

Posted on July 13, 2018 by Deborah

2 years ago I had an ambitious idea. Weave enough fabric to make a travel bag set for myself. These bags will be for weekend trips, I certainly wouldn’t allow any baggage handler near these beauties.

But before physically starting the project I had to sit down and design on paper (following up on the computer) and do all the math calculations for how much I would need for the warp and weft. For those not familiar with weaving, the warp is the “vertical” threads that are placed on the loom from front to back and the “weft” is what … Read more...

Smoked Gouda, Mushroom & Spinach Pizza

Posted on April 30, 2018 by Deborah

It didn’t take me long to whip up a pizza utilizing the freshly smoked gouda cheese. I kept the pizza simple with no strong ingredients to compete with the cheese and it was absolutely delicioso!

Want to make your own? Take my whole wheat pizza crust recipe here and top with a minimal amount of pizza sauce, thinly sliced red onion, tomatoes, mushrooms and baby spinach leaves. Top with grated smoked gouda and cook in a 475F oven until the edges start to crisp, flip to broil and broil until cheese is bubbly.

Enjoy!

Deborah

Save… Read more...

Smoked Gouda ~ Cheese Heaven

Posted on April 28, 2018 by Deborah

The Homestead acquired a new appliance a few weeks ago.

An electric Smoker. We should have bought one at least 25 years ago, I probably spent as much money as a smoker on store bought smoked gouda over the years.

By now you can guess what was the first thing that went into the smoker, yup, CHEESE.

I love cheese. Who doesn’t love cheese? (If they don’t, they are weird) So I googled how to smoke cheese and its pretty darn simple; add some wood chips (we used Apple) set the temperature for NO HIGHER than 90F (32C) and leave … Read more...

Growing like….weeds

Posted on April 4, 2018 by Deborah

Yup. Growing season has commenced! Things are right on schedule in the seedling world. So much so that I had to give the pepper plants a haircut to promote bushier growth as opposed to wanting to be giant bean stalk height. They have been under a grow light since they sprouted and have just gone crazy.

The tomatoes are now well on their way. I started them a full month after the peppers because last year I experimented with starting peppers early to be immensely rewarded with fruit ready much sooner and more mature plants by the time I got … Read more...

Its almost time….

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Deborah

Time for what you say?

Seed planting time!!!!!

Seeds have been ordered and delivered, planting pots and trays are out of storage and at the ready. All I need is a bag or two of seed potting medium and I am ready to roll!

Hurry up February 15th!

That is the day I start my peppers seeds. Let year I decided to start the peppers a month earlier than the Toms as they are slower growing and I have found they take longer to mature and fruit in the shorter growing season of the Northern Homestead. Boy did it work … Read more...