I'M BACK

Wow how time has flown by........ So much to tell you. Next post will be arriving soon :)

Crafts

Good news on the Buma front. His owners came to collect him on the Tuesday. They were all pleased to be reunited. We have had him visit a couple of time since which is always a pleasant surprise.

Today I have spent the morning painting my signposts with chalkboard paint for our up and coming wedding, which is getting closer and closer every day. Ian parents arrive in 23 days so this weekend we plan on tidying up the house. washing the carpets and wiping down all the walls etc. Luckily Walmart have a sale on some household items so tomorrow will be spent buying new pillows etc. I have had my eye on a nice glass cake stand which I can't wait to pick up. It will look awesome as a center piece on my dining room table.

The garden is producing lovely flowers however the grass is beginning to take over, so a few hours in the garden is a must.

My mind has also got me thinking about making crafts that I could sell. I am leaning towards making my body scrubs and some felted soap which I could make over the winter and sell next year at the farmers market.

It's a dogs life

Two days ago we had a visitor, a young border collie unfortunately with no name. He made himself comfortable sitting on the patio looking all content and to be honest has not really moved since ... well a quick run round the garden every so often.

It is quite unusual for a dog to turn up as we do not live in a populated area so we have no idea how he arrived here. He is definitely an outside dog and he is very well behaved.  We have put a shout out on the radio and have also contacted the SPCA so hopefully this lovely dog can be reunited with his family who must be missing him so much.

I hope he does find his family... Our home is beginning to feel like a rescue center. We have two dogs, one which we adopted, a cat that we took in and a sheep that came with the purchase of our home. We have temporarily called our new visitor Bumar. We hope he enjoys his little visit.

Spring is here

What a lovely long weekend. The sun has been out all weekend with temperatures reaching 28 degrees. We have spent most of the weekend outside gardening and spending time with friends. Saturday was spent nurturing my vegetables. The lettuces are coming on well as are my peas. Even the potatoes are beginning to show progress.

Sunday was spent enjoying times with our friends. Lunch at the Cariboo followed by an afternoon of drinking and roasting wieners in the garden.

Yesterday was a day of hard work but fun non the less. We cleared out the meadow and made a new sign for our house The evening was spent relaxing in the garden sipping on coolers and watching the humming birds enjoy the homemade pancake syrup.

Maybe today I'll cut the lawn and transplant some more seedlings. Life is good!!!

Odds and Sods

I love making things from scratch. I am beginning to get two nicknames 'Susie homemaker' and 'Martha'. I love the fact that homemade thing are much cheaper and taste way much better than the processed grocery and mass produced items. I would love to open a little craft stall selling all my wares.

Here is a list of items I would sell,

Body Polish
Facial Scrub
Foot Scrub

Hemp Scourers
Dish clothes

Dog Biscuits
Dog Toys

Lemonade
Cookies in a jar

Eggs

Maybe one day it might come off. My store would be odds and sods :)

Pot Luck

Every so often at work we have a pot luck night. I decided that I would make breakfast for everyone as I am inundated with fresh eggs.  Wholemeal pancakes with molasses and cinnamon syrup are on the menu alongside scrambled eggs. Lets hope the guys like it. I'm looking forward to it.

Long May weekend

This morning was just perfect. The morning sun shone down showing how green and lush the garden was. Ducks were flying over head. The cockerels were crowing. The sheep was grazing on the long green shoots of fresh grass. The dogs were playing with their toys and I was pottering around make my pallet garden. Thats right a garden made from a pallet.

I shoveled some topsoil into the lined pallet before transplanting my broccoli and lettuce seeds. Im not sure if this is going to work but it is fun trying. Yesterday afternoon I transplanted my peas and radishes into our planter and left a nice wide space for my carrots which I think are to immature to transplant just yet. I do hope my vegetable gardens do well. It is the first real time that I have started to garden. My tomato plants have failed this year so I will be cheating and buying some from the local nursery which I can then grow in pots. I think next year I will start my seedlings in a make shift greenhouse. They have taken a long time to start sprouting and are still very small. The joys of living up North.

Wouldn't it be lovely to have a fresh bounty of vegetables at your door. Lets hope I have grown enough!!!!

Homemade Lemonade

The sun is out and the BBQ season begins. Wahoooo!. I can not wait for dinner tonight, Japanese marinated pork kebabs, Corn on the cob, potato salad and homemade bread with homemade ricotta (Deeeeelish!!!)

At the moment I am into making everything from scratch ranging from mayonnaise to bread to cheese. Today when I was browsing through the garage sales I saw two glass jars which would be perfect for homemade lemonade. On returning home I went straight into action making the best lemonade ever. The recipe follows.....

Homemade Lemonade

1 cup water
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 quarters of a cup of sugar

4-5 cups of plain or carbonated water (depending if you want a fizzy lemonade or a still lemonade)

In a small pan add the 1 cup of water with the sugar. Heat the the water until the sugar has dissolved. Take the pan off the heat and add the lemon juice. (I also added the lemon peals and let them infuse until the sugar syrup cooled.) Once cooled, remove the lemon peals and add the the remaining cups of water until you are happy with the concentration. Decant into bottles and refrigerate. Serve over ice.

A little hasty

Unfortunately my wedding dress could not be taken in as I had hoped. My friend was worried that she would have to cut the material and did not want to ruin the dress. I was gutted at first but luckily I have found a seamstress in town that can do the work for me. Phew!!!!

I am looking forward to visit the first farmers market this weekend and support my friend in selling her traditional perogies. She wants to save up enough money so that she can take her mum and dad to Europe.

Roll on Saturday for the market and Monday for the dress fitting

Wedding Plans

Everything is coming together nicely, My dress has been altered and my petticoat has been made. I have my eye on some lovely shoes which hopefully I can get very soon. The table decor is pretty much sorted too, white table cloths, brown craft paper runners with mason jars as vases for fresh flowers. I am still in 2 minds about flowers. I don`t know whether to have fresh flowers or potted plants. (We`ll see nearer the time). My friend is making a two tiered wedding cake and Ian has arranged a photographer.

The wedding aisle has been planned, a semi-circle of hay bales with the aisle running down the middle lit up with bamboo hurricane lanterns. The alter (per say) will be a table covered in a white table cloth where Ian and I will sign the register. Either side to the front of the table will be two logs with a large flower arrangement donned on top.

Our disco which will be in our barn will be decorated in white lights with ivory and green ribbons draping from the ceiling. The garden is to is be adorned with lots of fun games, horseshoes, moose knuckles, boche, mini golf and a coconut shy. I just pray that it does not rain. Only two months to go.......

Weekend fun

I had a lovely day out with my friend Claire. Spent the morning wandering around ten mile nurseries. Entered every competition at the local wedding fayre with the exception of winning a not so attractive photo frame. Chose the design of my wedding cake. Picked over all the crafts at Edgewood farms. Supported our local fire fighters by having a true Cariboo lunch (2 hot dogs with all the works). Then spent the afternoon grooming a gorgeous horse named Shadow and watching her do her stuff in the arena. Lovely day!!! Life is good :)

Friday morning

Chickens fed, dogs walked and seedlings watered. Not bad for 8.30 in the morning eh!

I can,t believe my seedlings are flourishing. The radishes are in the lead followed by the peas, then the carrots and onions. The tomatoes are taking a lot longer than I thought. I just hope they didn't freeze in the keen frost a couple of weeks ago.

My pallets are ready to go too. I'm just deciding where they should go in the garden. So much choice. Here is a sneak peak of how they will hopefully look once my seedlings are transplanted.

Unfortunately my computer is not allowing the photo to be uploaded. I will try again later :(

Lay a little egg for me...

We are back in egg production. Whoop whoop. Our chicken are on a mission. Winter saw less and less eggs so much less that I had to buy some from the store:(

Last week there was a complete turn around. I found 12 in the dog pen and around 11 in the hen house. My little chickens are working hard and so am I. The freezer is being stockpiled with baked goods and I enjoyed a good breakfast of pancakes yesterday.

Laziness

Well what can I say.....I can come up with lots of reasons as to why I have ignored my blog but mainly the fact that we have moved our whole live further north has taken quite a lot of our time up. We have spent the last three months organising the house, buying new furniture, settling into our new jobs, forming new friendships and now that Spring is starting to emerge we have been tidying the garden. The list of jobs seem endless but we are both thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

I have not forgotten my blog on may occasion I have thought about taking the odd photo of what we have had for dinner but too be honest it would have been a slap dash post. We have eaten many roasts, devoured many slow cooked meals (Butter Chicken, Beef Stew, BBQ Ribs) scoffed our way through untold hearty cooked brunches and nibbled on continental breakfasts (pan au chocolates, fruit salads). The amount of food is astronomical!!! I sort of lost my excitement with my cooking but it is slowly creeping back in.

This Easter weekend is probably the second meal where lots of preparation has been required. We have some friends staying with us for the Easter weekend from Vancouver. My excitement for cooking has come back and I am planning and cooking meals for the fun weekend to be had. Our friends should be arriving this evening and after a long 8 hour drive I though a simple spaghetti bolognaise and caeser salad would go down nicely (Yes I know we should be eating fish but spag bol rules). The big meal of the weekend is Easter Sunday. I thought a buffet style meal would be nice, baked ham, potato gratin, veggie dips and curried coleslaw followed by a blueberry pie saturated in thick whipping cream. Mmm roll on Sunday. I promise I will post pictures. 

Happy Easter

Banoffee Pie

This has to be the most easiest pudding ever to make. The pictures unfortunatley do not do it justice. You can't beat bananas, cream, caramel. They are a match made in heaven and the taste is oh so worth it. Ian and I devoured the whole pie in one evening. The best thing of all there is really no cooking involved at all.

Banoffee Pie

2 Bananas

1 Cup Whipping Cream

1 Small tin Condensed Milk

Store bought Graham Cracker base

Firstly bring a large pan of water to a gently simmer. Add the tin of condensed milk (do not open the tin) to the pan ensuring the water covers the whole tin and continue to simmer for 4 hours (Don't worry it won't explode....it would if we were boiling the tine hard).The tin has to be submerged in the water for the full four hours. After four hours remove the tin from the pan and allow to cool slightly. Slice the bananas and layer one of them onto the graham cracker base and then pour the condensed milk (which will now be caramel) over top. Layer the second banana over top of the caramel layer. Whip the cream until you get soft peaks and spread over the top of the caramel and banana. Allow pie to sit in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours to allow everything to firm up. Then get a huge spoon and tuck in!!!

German Meatballs with Beer Gravy

I saw this recipe on the Food Channel and had to have a go at it myself.  It was the beer gravy that got my attention first followed by the juicy meatball served inside a soft delicate whole onion. Yum yum!!!

I am so glad that I tried this recipe. It was a hearty flavorsome meal that Ian and I devoured in approximately 10 minutes flat. It has also given me another recipe that I can add to my repertoire.

German Meatballs

500g Ground Beef

1 Medium Red Onion finely diced

Handful Chopped Parsley

1/2-3/4 Cup Wholemeal Bread Crumbs

5 Rashers Crispy Bacon

1 Egg

Salt & Pepper

6 Medum White Onions

Gravy

1 Tbsp Butter

1 Tbsp Flour

1/2 Cup Beer

1/2 Cup Beef Stock

 

Combine the first six ingredients together and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and allow to sit whilst you prepare the white onions. Peal each of the six white onions and scoop out the middle layers of the onion leaving enough onion to support the meatball. Keep the root intact but trim it so the onion will sit straight. Stuff each onion with the meatball mixture allowing extra for the top (see picture!!!). Place all onion meatballs on a baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees or until golden brown.

To make the gravy melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour to make a rue. Add the beer and stock. Continuously stir the gravy until it becomes thick Season with pepper to your taste.

Serve the meatballs with mashed potatoes and top off with the gravy.

Pea & Ham Soup

A couple of weekends ago we had friends round for dinner and I had cooked a huge joint of ham which to be honest could have fed an army. I saved the bone and the remaining ham knowing that I would be making a pea and ham soup at a later date. And that date was yesterday. I had come of nights and I really did not want to face a full on meal. We enjoyed our soup with huge slices of posh cheese n toast (recipe here).

Pea & Ham Soup

Ham Hock ( with remaining meat intact)

Small Bag of Frozen Peas (500mg)

1 Medium Onion diced.

1 Medium Carrot diced

1 Stick Celery diced

500 ml Chicken Stock

1 Tbsp Dried Parsley

Salt & Pepper

Add a drizzle of oil to a large dutch oven and saute the onion, carrot and celery until softened. Add the chicken stock and the ham hock and simmer for approx 20-25 minutes. Then remove the ham hock and pour in the bag of peas and parsley. Continue to simmer. Meanwhile cut of the remaining meat from the ham bone and dice. Puree the soup with a blender until desired thickness and then add the ham pieces. Season with salt and pepper and serve in huge bowls.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

My first thought of this morning was Advanced Cardiac Life Support Revision versus Baking a Pineapple upside down cake. And you can all guess what one won. Instead of thinking adrenalin intravenous injections I was wanting a hit of sugar for a boost....and boy did I get one. This recipe has enough sugar to rot anyone's teeth!!!

I never really grew up eating this cake so I don't really know why I thought of it. It may have been because I had bought a huge can of pineapple rings but only really needed two rings to make the Hawaiian pizza we were having tonight.

I think I have missed out. This cake had a buttery sponge and was topped of with a gorgeous caramel flavored fruity topping. Yum. Perfect with a huge mug of tea whilst watching Emmerdale.

Some people use cherries as well as pineapple. I decided not too

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter

1 Cup Brown Sugar

6 Pineapple Rings

1 Cup Flour

1 Tsp Baking Powder

3 Eggs seperated

5 Tbsp Pineapple Juice

1 Cup Granulated Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the butter to a nine inch baking pan and put in oven until it melts (approx 5 minutes). Once melted sprinkle the brown sugar over evenly and place the pineapple rings on top. Leave to one side whilst you prepare the other ingredients.. In a medium bowl sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together. Then in another bowl whisk the egg whites until they become fluffy. In a third bowl whisk the granulated sugar and egg yolks together until they become creamy. Add the vanilla extract and pineapple juice to this and combine. Mix in the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture until incorporated, then fold in the egg whites. Pour this over the top of the pineapples and bake on the middle shelve for approx 30-35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cake rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with a blob of cream or a dollop of creme fraiche.

Pork Wellington with a Red wine and Balsamic Reduction

My foodie nerdness is coming back!!! (Is 'nerdness' a word? Well I'm going to use it anyway). I always seem to get my inspiration for cooking after working a night shift. Maybe it is the long hours that give me time to think or maybe my stomach is just craving a proper cooked meal.

I originally bought some pork tenderloin to fillet and fill with an apple an herb stuffing, but to be honest I wasn't really in the mood for that. I was racking my brain as to what to make then my thoughts then turned toward a pork wellington. I  knew that beef was the most popular choice when making wellington but why wouldn't pork work? I seared the pork on each side and encased each piece of tenderloin in a mustard spread pastry casing.  A brushing of egg yolk made for a lovely golden topping once baked.

I served the tenderloin with roasted root vegetables, wilted spinach and a a red wine and balsamic reduction. I was very impressed with my creation (and the photos that we took). It was a crispy shell with the most succulent meat within. Perfect for a dinner party. I made individual wellingtons as I'm into that but for sure you could make a large wellington. My only advise would be to let the wellington sit for 5-10 minutes otherwise the pastry will crumble away and it won't look as esthetically pleasing. (How snobby am I!!!!)

Pork Wellington (Serves 2)

1 Medium Pork Tenderloin

Whole Grain Mustard

Pastry (Recipe found here but divided by half)

Salt & Pepper

Oil

Remove any fat and sinew from the tenderloin and cut in half. Season on all sides with salt and pepper and sear all sides in a hot frying pan. Remove from pan and allow to cool. Meanwhile make the pastry and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes minimum.

Cut the pastry in half and roll each piece out into a rectangle, large enough to wrap around each of the  tenderloins. Spread a generous amount of wholegrain mustard on the pastry and place the tenderloin on top. Wrap each tenderloin up in one rectangle of pastry and fold in the sides. Place the Wellington on to a baking sheet approx 10 cm apart  with the seam side facing down, Brush the tops of the Wellington with a beaten egg and bake in the oven at 350 degrees until the pastry turns golden brown approx 30-40 minutes.To serve cut wellington in half and serve with the red wine and balsamic reduction.

Red Wine and Balsamic reduction

I did this recipe by taste so this recipe is an approximation

1/2 Cup Red wine

1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar

1-2 Tbsp Sugar

Salt and Pepper

Place all ingredients into a pan and simmer hard until a thicken sauce develops. Season with extra sugar, salt and pepper as needed. Drizzle over Wellington.

Baked Onions

We've only done and gone it. We moved to our new home and are now living the dream. We left Vancouver December 22nd and arrived in Quesnel December 23rd. The journey was long yet exciting.

Our new home was freshly painted and waiting for our arrival. We drove up the drive and ran through the door like two hyperactive teenagers. The U-Haul was quickly unpacked. The Christmas tree was the first thing to go up followed by the bed and the positioning of the sofas. We finished the evening off with white zinfandel and a plateful of bacon sandwiches.

The following two days were spent organizing and turning our house into a home. My kitchen was perfect, there was more room than I had ever been used too and I was finding it hard as to how to organize it (so many cupboards). It soon became easier and my domain was set for the forthcoming Christmas dinner. We had planned to have a good Christmas dinner as we wanted to celebrate our moving in with a bang. We didn't go for the usual turkey as we had had a traditional Christmas dinner on Christmas eve round at our new friends house. We settled for Roast beef with all the trimmimgs.

Merry Christmas everyone. May 2011 be a fantastic year for us all

I had had my eye on a recipe by Nigel Slater... Baked Onions. I thought this would go perfectly with the medium rare roast. And it sure did. I was slightly put of by the fact that you have to boil the onions first. I thought the smell would be horrendous but to be honest they gave of very little aroma. After preparing them, in they went into the oven with a good splash of cream and a twist of salt and pepper and out came this dreamy silky vegetable....Yum.

Our Christmas dinner I have to say was one of the best I have ever cooked. It was a perfect meal to celebrate our moving in.

Baked Onions (Makes 2 portions)

2 Onions skinned

Cream

Salt & Pepper

Freshly Grated Parmesan (Optional)

Boil the onions until tender Then remove from pan and allow to cool slightly. Cut the onions in half from root to tip. Place in an oven proof dish flat side down. Pour over cream until well coated. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over Parmesan and bake for 25-30 mins in a preheated oven set at 350 degrees until golden and bubbly.