Tomato & Avocado Salad

Posted on September 29, 2017 by Deborah

I had a pretty good garden crop this year, especially the tomatoes. A bumper crop of the luscious round globes had me eating them in a variety of ways, especially with the extended summer heat of September. The thought of having to prepare and cook a hot meal on days where the mercury climbed above 30C had me melting into a puddle. Salads became a staple for lunches and dinners.

A favourite is this super simple and super tasty tomato and avocado salad. With so few ingredients, you are done in a snap!

Ingredients
4 Garden Fresh Tomatoes (for a … Read more...

First Garden Produce Of 2017

Posted on May 17, 2017 by Deborah

Radishes are always fast producers as they prefer the early, cooler Spring days to germinate and grow. I pulled these beauties out this morning and after a dip in a bucket of water to get the dirt off, I squirreled them off to the kitchen for further washing and get them tucked into the fridge.

If left too long in the ground and once Mother Nature heats up, radishes will bolt (go into flowering mode) and the root will then get woody. So best to harvest these ruby gems as soon as you see a large portion of the root

Cheddar Chive Cornbread

Posted on May 3, 2017 by Deborah

Today I was waffling. Waffling about whether to make cheddar chive biscuits, or cheddar chive muffins.

So I made cheddar chive cornbread instead. I know, sometimes what I think I want, I don’t want at all. The mind of a woman was clearly at work here.

Since I had just given my rapidly sprouting chive plant a trim last weekend, it was a good time to rummage through my recipe files for an appropriate dish to use some of them up.

No big fanfare here, just a simple, delicious cornbread to enjoy with a Tex-Mex dinner menu (or anytime!).

Cheddar … Read more...

Spring has Sprung!

Posted on April 21, 2017 by Deborah

Thank goodness the cold and snow is now behind us and we can look forward to (in my opinion) the shortest and BEST season we have ~ SUMMER!

I have been so busy this past 6-8 weeks, not just with work (my busiest time of year) but also ramping up my gardening chores. The raised beds have had their plastic rolled down to thaw the frozen earth and 2 weeks ago I was lucky enough to get some radishes, chard, beets and lettuce seeds sown. These are cool weather veggies and have a much better appreciation of early Spring cold … Read more...

Almost there…

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Deborah

9 months has passed since we moved and I can say that finally, F-I-N-A-L-L-Y, the painting has come to an end in the Colourful House of Frightenstein. Yes, we did the major painting prior to moving in, but there was still the kitchen, baths and all interior doors and door frames to be done.

They can now be crossed of the to-do list save for a few touch-ups after my kitchen is renovated in a few weeks. Woo!

With the bulk of the updates/fixes now done, I can settle into some serious loom time before the Northern Homestead gets opened … Read more...

Huevos Rancheros

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Deborah

If you love eggs (like I do), and if you love Mexican food (like I do), then you will love this breakfast staple. How can it be better? If you use my leftover Charro Beans as the base, that’s how.

Making huevos rancheros can be time consuming due to all the chopping/sauteing of veggies/beans, but utilizing the leftover charro beans has made for a breakfast that is ready in under 30 minutes instead of almost an hour.

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In a small baking dish (spray with cooking spray first), press a warmed 6″ flour (or corn) tortilla … Read more...

My New Planting Table

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Deborah

I love my hubby.
He is resourceful.
He is creative.
He is a very good problem solver.
and he can build just about anything.

Now that we have downsized to condo life, planning and planting my seeds for this years garden came with a bit of a dilemma. I had an enormous window sill in the living room at the house that pretty much handled all the plant pots and trays. The condo…not so much. I could use the floor I guess, but with the sectional couch in front of the window, it would be a pain to gain access … Read more...

It is that time of year again!

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Deborah

Seed planting time!!!

I am all ready to roll, well, almost. First I need all my little pots and seed starting mix which is up north currently, but we will be going to get them in a week or so, as well as my new plant table that hubby built for me. Since we moved last Spring, I lost my big window sill in the living room that held all the plant trays in the warm sunshine.

So hubby put together a long, tall, narrow table made from 2 x 4’s and plywood (very elegant looking, just you wait and … Read more...

2016 ~ The Year of the Wheel!

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Deborah

Happy New Year to everyone! Yes, it has been awhile, but how many of you had the time to try and keep up a blog AND do all things Christmas-y? Baking, cooking, shopping, wrapping, visiting, etc?

That is my defence and I am sticking to it.

I can also add spinning, knitting and weaving into the above as many of you who follow me on Facebook can attest to as I regularly post pics of FO’s or WIP’s (Finished Objects or Work in Progress) to brighten the days of those cruising on FB.

Now that the holidays are fading in … Read more...

Guacamole Grilled Cheese With Basil

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Deborah

The title of this post sounds absolutely awful doesn’t it? But trust me, it was truly delicious in a weird sort of way.

T’was the night before grocery shopping, and all through the fridge, hardly a decent damn thing was in there, save for an avocado and some cheese…(pretty good poem I have going there, I will have to expand on it at some point in the future).

I was starving, and standing in front of the fridge with the doors open surveying what little food I had left wasn’t helping quell the rumblies. So I grabbed my little tablet … Read more...