Tom-ay-toe or To-mah-toe?

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Deborah

I have oodles and oodles of the luscious red garden fruit and have been in tomato heaven for the past couple weeks. Highlights have been making Tomato~Basil Jam, Green Tomato Relish, eating them every morning with my toasted cheese and tomato sammie, as well as thinly slicing them for pizza nights. I have also spent part of this past weekend making homemade pasta sauce. Which turned out 1000% better than last year’s batch, mainly because last year I had those stupid tomatoes that wouldn’t turn colour until December, no seriously, I had tomatoes sitting on the counter at … Read more...

Mint Jelly

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Deborah

We are continuing the Jelly theme this week. Mainly because I have an overabundance of mint (who woulda thunk such a thing could ever happen!), anyone who has ever grown mint can attest to the virility of the fragrant herb.

I used to have mint planted IN the garden. Then it tried to take over the world. I dug it up in the Fall a few years ago, then spent a couple Spring’s digging/chopping out runners that were popping up all over. After 3 years, it has been eradicated from the garden. Until last year when I started one from … Read more...

Peach Jalapeño Jelly

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Deborah

Peaches are probably my second favourite fruit….right after Strawberries. Good thing one is out of season before the next comes in, otherwise I wouldn’t know which delicious, delectable delight to grab first.

I have already put away loads of Strawberry Freezer Jam, Strawberry Lemon Marmalade and bags of whole frozen berries…but now it is time for…

Peach Bonanza Season!

Chipotle Peach Jam was made first, with Peach Jalapeño Jelly hot on its heels. Less labour intensive than the Chipotle Peach Jam, as you just seed and roughly chop the peaches and chop the peppers leaving most of the seeds in … Read more...

Tomatillo Monster

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Deborah

I have a gardening success.
A HUGE gardening success.

I have effectively mastered the art of growing Tomatillos.

Last year I tried to grown them and I failed miserably. Out of the three plants that were lovingly placed in the ground, 2 died and the third one grew and grew and grew and put forth masses of flowers and continued flowering like it was the last flowering plant on Earth.

But not one Tomatillo developed.
I was devastated.
OK, not really, but it was rather upsetting.

Reason being, Tomatillo plants need another Tomatillo plant beside them in order for the … Read more...

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Posted on August 19, 2013 by Deborah

I am back from Vacation. Did you miss me? I hope so.

I love vacations. They allow you to spoil yourself with too much food, too many spirits, too many late nights and too many days sleeping in. All that spoiling leads to weight gain and a vacation hangover of monumental proportions.

Time to get back in control before I become the eighth Dwarf named Glutton.

I did accomplish quite a bit of stuff around the Homestead though. The gardens kept me busy picking and weeding, along with herbs being trimmed, washed and hung to dry. With the bounty … Read more...

In a Pickle?

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Deborah

Garlic Dills.
Bread and Butter Pickles.
Sweet Gherkins.
Pickled Beets
Pickled Onions
Pickled Radishes
The list goes on..

Who doesn’t love a good pickle?

I have added dill pickles to my canning repertoire this year. This being my first attempt at making dills , I am hopeful they will come out exactly like I envisioned them. A crisp, garlicky dill pickle to grace my hamburger or to compliment my grilled cheese. We shall find out in a few weeks after the required sitting time.

I had emailed my internet gal pal out west for her pickle recipe, but she was … Read more...

Of Ducks and Salmon….

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Deborah

Diary of Homestead Vacation continued….(see prior post here)

Salmon…. the Ocean’s gift to a healthy heart, diet and lifestyle.

I love salmon. I could eat it every day of the week. I broil it, BBQ it, bake it, steam it and have been known to skewer it. There isn’t a more versatile fish than the humble salmon. You can Cajun it. Blacken it. Smoke it. Salt Cure it. Can it. Make a salad out of it….or eat it Tartare fashion.

This fish of Omega-3 fatty acid fame has a long standing history with humans. Native peoples on both … Read more...

Chapter 2 of the Homestead Vacation

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Deborah

Diary of a Homestead Vacation continued…. (see previous post here)

…..BLUEBERRY picking!

Last year’s wild blueberry season was a total bust. I don’t think I even picked one full cup of the tasty, little blue pearls. It was such a hot, dry early Spring that then stretched into Summer and the teeny flowers of the blueberry bushes never had a chance of being pollinated. The poor plants just shriveled up and keeled over.

This year has been vastly different. We have had pretty much perfect growing conditions and I suspect we are in for a bumper crop. My … Read more...

Diary of a Homestead Vacation

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Deborah

With technical issues beyond my control no matter how much I stomped my feet in a temper tantrum, I conceded defeat to the telephone line Gods and drank a two-four of beer to drown my sorrows. Maybe not the entire two-four, but 6 is pretty close isn’t it? How about we went on vacation instead, definitely more plausible a scenario…and I can neither confirm nor deny the consumption of beer.

With nothing to do in cyber space, hubby and I dashed off to the Homestead for some well deserved R&R before his 3 week shutdown commenced mid-July. This being one … Read more...

Summer 2013 GangUp Results

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Deborah

I have issues. BIG issues. Like announcing a GangUp Challenge at the start of summer when everyone and their brother, mother, father, uncle and cousin-twice-removed goes on vacation and doesn’t have time or isn’t here to participate.

DUH.

Mental Note To Self; Do Not Hold GangUp Challenges in the Summer.

Many thanks to my sweet son-in-law who was eagerly awaiting this next challenge and had oodles of time to devote to it. Lucky him! He has way too much fun with these challenges and obviously needs to get out more.

I split mine over a 2 week period, lord knows … Read more...