Providence North

Cherry Pie Jam

2016-09-19T22:10:00.002-07:00

This is one of our favourite jams and it taste just like cherry pie filling! I make it with sour red cherries. They have a different (better for jam) flavour than the black sweet cherries. It's almost a different fruit.

This jam is made with a little almond extract added. The Almond gives the cherries a great flavour boost and is often added to commercial cherry pies. We love it! Almond is one of my personal favourite flavours and gets added to a lot of things. It really goes well with cherry. I have had a lot of compliments when serving this jam.

The first thing I do is pit the cherries. You can do this with a cherry pitter but I prefer to just use my hands. I discovered this quick and easy method when we made dozens and dozens of jars of cherry jam for sale in the orchard store in years past. Using a pitter is just not feasible for more than a few cups of cherries.

I freeze the cherries first. It is necessary to make them soft enough to push the pits out. It also helps break down the cell walls to release the juice. I learned that when making wine years ago. It works for other fruits as well, especially dry things like rhubarb.

Thaw the cherries in a very large bowl until completely soft; then, using clean hands, squish the cherries with your fingers and push each pit out into your hand as you work your fingers through them. If you can get past burying your hands in the juice and cherries, this can be fun. Collect the pits in one hand while pushing them out with the other. Drop them as you work into a small bowl at the side. This will stain your fingers red or purple for a day or so but when you tell people you have been making cherry jam, it suddenly becomes more exciting. Don't promise samples to too many people. This jam is amazing and you won't want to give it all away. You can also buy cherry pitters that do many cherries at one time, but I find them expensive and the work is slower and more tedious.

When the cherries are all pitted, I run a hand blender through them until they are all finely chopped. I have also, on occasion, squeezed out the pulp as dry as I could get it with my hands, placed it on a cutting board and chopped it, when I didn't have a blender. That works too, but the blended jams are smoother. I blend most of the jams I make. We just like the smooth jams better, personally, than ones with chunky fruit pieces in them. You can always make both kinds and label them "smooth" or "chunky", like peanut butter. We made and sold a lot of jams in our store in the orchard and most people preferred the smooth ones.

Recipe:

4 cups chopped, pitted cherries in juice

4 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 small box powdered pectin (Certo)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not multiply this recipe. It will not gel unless you make it one recipe with 4 cups of cherries at a time.

Put the 4 cups of cherries in a pot with a lot of room at the top and put on the stove at medium heat. Stir often to keep the cherries from scorching on the bottom. Add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon of pure almond extract and one small box of pectin powder. DO NOT add the sugar at this stage. Stir and blend well (I use a whisk for this). I use generic, no name pectin most often. I have used Certo and Family Value. They all work the same if making full sugar jam. Just make sure you follow the directions closely. DO NOT add the sugar too soon with the pectin. If you do, it won't gel properly.

Bring the cherries, stirring constantly, with lemon juice, almond extract and pectin to a full rolling boil that won't be stirred down. Boil hard for just over one minute. Turn off heat. Slowly add 4 1/2 cups of sugar, stirring well. Turn medium heat back on and continue to stir as it comes to a boil. Bring it to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down again. Let it boil for just over one minute a second time, stirring constantly and watching it closely so it doesn't boil over. If it reaches for the top of the pot, lift it quickly off the heat for a few seconds. Then return it to continue boiling. You may have to do that a few times as it boils. WATCH IT CLOSELY! Jam in the burners and all over the stove is a very sticky and sugary mess to clean up. It's also a waste of fabulous jam!

Pour into sterile, hot jam/canning jars. Top with sterile seals and rings. Boil in a water bath for a full 10 minutes. Remove and let cool. Remove rings before storing.

NOTE: I use bleach water to sterilize everything, i.e. jars, seals, rings, spoons, strainers, funnels, lifters. I slid into making jams and jellies from years of making my own organic wines, so aseptic techniques are a habit for me. I sterilize everything used for canning anything and for making things with yeast or bacteria culture, such as yogurt, buttermilk or soft cheese. Bleach works well if thoroughly rinsed. If you don't rinse it well enough, it will kill the yeast and/or bacteria you are trying to grow. Not as necessary in jam making, however. Still...rinse well. You don't want jams that taste like bleach either.

In the water bath, make sure you have at least 2" of water over the jars to get a good seal. Less water and you might have some jars that don't seal. Listen for the pop and make sure every lid is conclave to be sure it is sealed. They should all seal within a minute or two after removing from the water bath. Store in a dark, cool, dry place that doesn't freeze. Refrigerate after opening. Keeps for at least a year when properly sealed and stored.

If you make cherry jam that doesn't gel, just call it "syrup". Cherry syrup is fantastic on waffles, pancakes, yogurt and ice cream! Try a little in your coffee too!

Baking Winter Squash

2015-01-30T14:26:00.002-08:00

We baked our 50+ lb Hopi black squash today. It's the largest squash I have ever grown! Hubby cut it into 16 pieces, each weighing between 1200 and 1500g each. I knew it was a 50 pounder!

We wrapped each piece in foil and are baking it today. We can't get it all in the oven at one time, it's so large!

It lasted a long time and wasn't beginning to go yet. I might have lasted through Feb. We still have another, smaller one that hasn't ripened to full orange yet. I'm sure that one will be good for another month or so, maybe longer.

I added the knife for size comparison. This squash is a dark, bright orange. Does it have more beta carotene maybe? That would be a big plus. :)

We love it. We eat it as a cooked veggie with just a pinch of salt and butter. Delicious! It makes great pies, muffins, cookies, loaf and cake squares too!

This is the longest I have kept one. I think the difference is that this year, I kept it at room temperature instead of in the root cellar. It was dryer and warmer on our dining room floor all winter.

We go through a lot of squash in a year!

Bringing in Your Plants

2014-09-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

Autumn is just around the corner! It's September now. The days are getting shorter and the nights cooler. It's time to bring the houseplants back inside.

Trays for the plants have always been a concern for me. I bring in a lot of geraniums and so forth from the garden and start many plants indoors early in the spring. This year I am going to use boot trays under the plants! It's an idea that just came to me while shopping at Home Depot today. It's the only thing I could find that is big enough for this pot but it works perfectly. I can add other pots to the tray as well and use them in front of the patio doors too! I love the idea!

I planted most of my plants directly into the garden in June this year, so will have those to dig up and plant into pots with fresh soil shortly. I will have to look carefully to make sure there are no earthworms, earwigs or other insects coming in with them.

I'm buying more boot trays today!

Cannas from Seed

2014-08-25T12:52:00.001-07:00

I have successfully grown canna lilies from seed for a few years now and am always on the lookout for more canna seed. I love cannas! They are so tropical looking and perfect for filling in holes anywhere!

Dwarf Yellow

This past winter I started many different canna seeds that I received in a trade. The above pic is a few that I grew from those seed. Some turned out to be large flowering dwarf yellow ones, very nice! One tall peach, beautiful! Several tall with very small yellow flowers but large tropical leaves and, so far, one dwarf gold colour. I will put the ones with small flowers together in bare spots in the new large flowerbed at the front. The nicer ones will go into the courtyard, the pond and various pots.

I have developed a technique that usually works well. Canna seeds have a coating that has to be opened to allow water to enter and germinate the seeds. This is not so easy to do. Many seeds need scarification (as this is called) but cannas are particularly difficult. The first year I tried several different methods but the only one that worked for me was using a rasp in the drill on high speed and holding the seed to it with a pair of needle nose pliers. This year I have a whet stone that I used with success.

The seed only needs a very small and very shallow opening in the black coat to germinate. I don't want to harm the seed inside or it will not grow. After this step, I soak them overnight in warm water before planting. If done correctly, they will germinate in about 2-3 weeks in warm temps in potting soil indoors. Many that I have started in this manner in Jan-Feb have grown to bloom in the same season, even in Ontario, especially the dwarf varieties which don't need a long growing season.

One Peach Canna

Growing cannas from seed is very rewarding! I like all the tender bulbs that go into cold storage for the winter. I can put them where I need them in the spring, filling in holes and covering dying daffodil leaves as they age. Dahlias are another favourite for the same reasons.

This coming winter I want to grow more cannas. I would love to trade for canna seeds that are not yellow. I have only yellow cannas now. I would like some with red leaves and some with fancy striped leaves and some with large red flowers. If you have seeds from these varieties and would like to trade, please contact me.

Pumpkins and Squash

2014-08-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

These are the pumpkins we are growing this year! They are Halloween pumpkins but we are also growing some squash for eating.

These are our butternut squash plants, Growing fast and healthy with many blooms. Butternut squash makes great soup! We will revisit these squash when they are ready to eat in the fall with soup recipes.

These are our sweet dumpling squash plants. As the name implies, sweet dumpling squash is very sweet. They are tiny apple sized squash that are easy to fill and bake for one person. All of our squash plants are so green and healthy!

We are also growing some Hopi Black squash. It's an old rare heirloom once grown by the Hopi natives. It has a great sweet flavour and is darker with more beta carotene. It has a lovely flavour, a lot of meat and a smaller seed cavity, making it good for baking and making into pies.

We have one more type of squash growing in our garden. It's a cushaw or mixta variety, usually grown only in the deep south but we are trying it here. We only have the one plant but it's doing very well. It's large, green and healthy!

We will have all of these squash seeds for sale this winter! (Provided they produce fruit that matures and the seeds get saved properly, of course.)

We plan to sell the Halloween pumpkins in the fall and to roast the seeds. The squash seeds can also be roasted and eaten in the same manner.

We are growing these particular varieties because most of them do not cross with the others, being from different squash families (there are 4 families of squash). The seeds will be pure and we can use them to grow the same ones next year, except for the pumpkins and sweet dumpling squash. Both of these are of the c. pepo family and will be cross pollinating, so we won't be using those seeds for planting next year. We will just buy more seed next year for these varieties, if we wish to plant them again.

You can also prevent them from crossing by using the tape method described here, "Preventing Cross Pollination". It also describes simple hand pollinating which can be done to provide more squash. It's not necessary to use the tape if you are not concerned with keeping your own seed.

Squash can replace pumpkin in most recipes and many people like it better. We will post some great squash recipes when they are all ripe in the fall.

In addition to the pumpkins and squash in our garden, we are also growing some heirloom tomatoes which you can see in some of the photos above. Unfortunately, these were planted a bit too close to the pumpkins...

Growing Grapes

2014-07-17T10:33:00.003-07:00

I have learned a lot in the past year about grape culture. I read everything I could get my hands on about growing grapes as soon as we came here last summer and I have learned a lot more with experience this year.

The above is a picture of what our grapes look like now. It's about 500m of wine grapes growing on a fence in a straight line, more or less. Approximately 1/4 of them are dark purple, the rest are green. These are specifically for making wine and jelly, not for eating, as they have thick skins and seeds. The dark purple ones make fantastic grape jelly!

When we arrived here last summer the grapes were one big mess! 500m of a 10' x 10' ball, all the way down with many side shoots and lateral shoots from the ground and all over the trunks. It had been ignored all season and for who knows how long.

Grapes are pruned in the winter when they are completely dormant. This past February I cut them all back to just 2-3 large trunks each. That is all that a grape root can handle. You really only need one main trunk that divides into two horizontal pieces (called cordons) tied to a wire about waist high, but because single trunks sometimes die, it's safer to keep two or even three, growing if possible.

Early Spring Growth

The winter pruning also consist of leaving just two buds at each growth spot along the cordon. These will produce the next years long stems. The long stems are tied to the high wire as they reach it and trained to grow along it, above the grapes hanging from the waist high wire where the cordons are. Only the tendrils are tied to the wire. You can choke and damage that vine if you tie the main stem. I like to use tin ties for this because I can undo them and move them around as I check the grapes.

It's important to plant your grapes on a fence going north and south. This way you can remove leaves to give them the morning sun fully but keep the west side shaded.

The hot afternoon/evening sun will burn the grapes making them not as good for making wine and jelly. The grapes form near the buds on the cordon so they are shaded by the top vines and leaves growing on the above wire, (see pictures).

East Side of Grape Vines

Only two clusters of grapes are allowed to remain on each stem. More than that will make smaller grapes. I continually remove any others growing higher on the vine. Once the grapes form, I remove any leaves on the east side that grow to shade the grapes.

All green growth below the waist high wire with the cordons growing on it will get rubbed off or cut off as the season progresses. Nothing should be growing below the grapes. In the spring and early summer this is almost a daily job.

Every morning in the spring, less in late summer, I walk along the grapes, removing low sprouts, removing leaves shading the grapes on the east, arranging the grape clusters to hang freely as they grow, pulling the few weeds too close to the grape trunks to be sprayed with weed killer. The new strong vinegar weed killer works very well! As the long clusters develop I will also remove the few grapes growing at the tip. This will encourage large grapes on the cluster and ensure that they all ripen at the same time.

I love puttering along the grapes in the early morning. It's a quiet and stress relieving activity that I look forward to.

We Have Baby Apricots

2014-05-13T20:45:00.004-07:00

I have learned how to prune fruit trees and grapes in the past year. It's a valuable resource that I can use when I need a job in the future, maybe. In the meantime I will probably use it a lot here, where we have orchards of fruit trees and vineyards of grapes.

We also have many lilacs of various colours, all in bloom now.

Spring Is Here! What's Growing at Our Place.

2014-03-20T07:38:00.002-07:00

It's spring here! Finally! We do still have some cold nights, however, so the tender plants are indoors under lights or in front of the south patio doors for now. The hardier perennials and shrubs are starting to grow in the garden so those things are being planted out now, like primulas. Big, beautiful primulas are being sold for $0.99 everywhere! I plan to buy a lot of them. I love primulas for those small, shady areas on the north side and underneath things. I have a jug full of primulas in several different varieties, wintersewed on the balcony.

I started a lot of canna lilies from seed this year. You can see some small ones growing in the top picture. They are doing very well! I started one back in Dec. It's about 2.5 feet tall now and I assume it will bloom this summer. These were started in late Jan. Some of these may bloom this year too. I have had a few bloom from seed the first year. Cannas are great plants to grow from seed as they are very expensive to buy, but you don't know what you are going to get when growing them from seed. It's always a mixed blessing.

Canna lily seeds take some special treatment before they will germinate. You have to wear a small opening in the hard seed coat and then soak them in warm water for a few hours before planting. The first time I did this I tried many methods of penetrating the seed coat. The last was using a rasp on an electric drill while holding the seed with needle-nose pliers. That finally worked. It's very hard! This year I did it by hand with a stone sanding block.

You can also see some of the flowering portulaca that I grew from seed this year, growing with the small cannas It's for our very hot, south, rock filled bed. It's hard to get flowers in that area because of the heat and dryness and also because of the poor soil which I plan to fix this year. Portulaca will thrive and bloom their little heads off in a rainbow of colours in the poorest, dryest, hottest locations, as long as it's dry. They don't like too much water or soggy feet. They are succulents, much like sedum, which I also have in that bed. I grew a lot of these from seed thinking that I would use them for hanging baskets because they need little water, but I think I will put all of these into the south, hot bed instead. I have a new drip irrigation system for the hanging flower baskets.

Our tomatoes are all up now! It only took a few days and the seeds are three years old! I'm thrilled. I had some doubts about the viability of the seed but they have been properly stored, so I should have had more faith.

These are all heirloom varieties that I plan to sell in our seed store in the fall. Our own 'Portugal' tomato seeds are big sellers. You can see why (left)! I planted the 'Portugal" tomatoes, Reverend Morrow Long Keeper, Ailsa Craig, San Marzano, Matt's Wild Cherry and a Ailsa Craig x San Marzano cross that I have been working on for a few years.

This cross is unnamed, as of yet, but is rapidly becoming our favourite little tomato! Its a small salad tomato like an Ailsa Craig with a pointed bottom. These little crosses are so sweet! The flavor is unbeatable and they are meaty like the roma San Marzano. I don't know if we will offer the crosses for sale this year or wait another year or two to stabilize it.

I also planted some Manitoba tomato seeds. These are not heirlooms but are also non-GMO and organically grown. (Some people confuse the the terms "heirloom", "organic" and "non-GMO" which all have different meanings.) They are a strain developed for the short growing season in northern climates and are a good sized, sweet tomato good for slicing.

This is my one passion fruit seedling. I bought a package of seeds, soaked them in a little lemon juice, as recommended and planted them properly but only one came up out of about a dozen seeds. I have heard that they germinate better if planted with the very ripe fruit itself, rather than the dry seeds. I think that's why the lemon juice is recommended. The seeds need the slight acid to soften the coating. At any rate, I will have one vine, if it does well. Whether or not it will produce fruit here is another thing, but the flowers are worth growing for themselves!

I also have a small pot of Virginia Gold tobacco coming up! I am only going to grow a couple of these for seed this year in the flower bed. We don't harvest and dry our own tobacco anymore, but we used to. It's a sweet, mild tobacco if cured properly.

These make a stunning addition to the back of the flowerbed, whether you harvest the leaves or not. They get about 6'-7' tall with large pink flowers on them most of the summer. You need an especially long growing season, or lights to start them indoors very early, to get mature seeds before the fall frost kills the plants, but the flowers are worth growing!

I'm glad to see that these seeds are still viable after three years, as well!

I have a balcony full of wintersewn seeds, some of which are sprouting now. the viola johnny jump ups and the liatris/gailardia are up! The peony poppies are up in a wintersewn jug! Surprising, since they are annuals. I think I'll bring that jug in at night if it dips much below freezing again. The jug will protect them from frost but not from freezing solid. You can see my list of wintersewn seeds in an older post "Winter Sewing".

I considered planting the winter squash indoors early since that is what I did with them in Ontario, but I don't think it's going to be necessary here. I think I'll wait and just plant those directly in the garden. I'm looking forward to growing our favourite squash here this year. I hope those three year old seeds are still viable too, especially since they are so rare a variety! We grow Hopi Black Squash.

I'm going to plant my primulas and my tray of sweet William seedlings out into the garden today! I planted two urns full of pansies last week and they are doing very well!

Is it spring where you are yet?

DIY Book Sale

2014-01-28T06:56:00.000-08:00

I have written a few books in the past few years. Most are the Do-It-Yourself type. Right now I am having a downloadable book sale. You can buy ALL the books I have ever written for $18!

Here is a list of the books included:

"Make Your Own Organic Soap At Home"
"Keeping a Few Chickens At Home"

"The Providence Acres Farm Blog Cookbook"
"The Homemaker's Handbook"

- The first three are self explanatory. Clear directions and lots of pictures.

- "The PAF Blog Cookbook" is a collection of all the recipes on our blog with directions and pictures.
- The Homemaker's Handbook" is a large book of tips for the homemaker in every category of the home, with a large section on cooking and recipes. It's more like an extended cookbook. I wrote it 25 years ago but most of the information is still applicable.

You can download all of these books in one .zip file from the DOWNLOAD page of our website. (Yes, its up and running again, although there's not much on it yet.)

If you have any problems downloading the books, please let me know. Feedback on the books would be appreciated too!

Brugmansia and Datura

2014-01-25T12:53:00.000-08:00

This photo above is a brugmansia bloom, also called "angel's trumpet". I love brugmansias! I fell in love at a greenhouse many years ago in Thunder Bay. They had one about 15' tall with blooms a foot long! It was unbelievable! I have usually grown at least one since that year.

First I have to say that the pics in this blog are not mine. I don't remember where I got them. Somewhere online during my research on the subject. I apologize if I have used your photo and offended you. Please let me know and I will gladly remove it.

Brumansias (called "brugs" by growers) come in other colours. I have seen peach and yellow, similar to the one above and red ones with smaller flowers.

The plants are not hardy enough to stay outdoors all winter anywhere in Canada, unfortunately. I treat them like canna lilies, callas, glads, dahlias and bring them into the basement/garage/root cellar after they go dormant in the fall.

They do well in a large pot in the summer or you can plant them directly into the ground. If they are in a pot you can simply use a dolly to wheel the pot into the cold storage area. If they are in the ground they can be dug up, the root ball placed into a garbage bag and then stored for the winter after they go dormant in the fall. When the outside temperature is steady at the same temp as the storage area, they can go back outside to wake up in their own time when the temps are steadily above freezing. You can also bring them indoors, potted, and wake them up early if they are small enough.

It's very important that the roots do not freeze at any time! Your cold storage area needs to be cold and dark and always above freezing! The dark and cold are important to keep them domant for the winter. Semi-dryness is important too. Just a little water every month is all that's needed. Too wet and they will rot and die.

They can be grown as houseplants through the winter, if you have enough light and space but they usually attract red spider mites long before spring comes and just don't stay very healthy indoors.

It may sound like a lot of trouble to go to for one plant, but if you have ever seen a large one in person, you will understand how truly stunning these really are!

They are also extremely poisonous so be careful with the leaves and sap and wash your hands well after handling.

These (left) are my current brugmanias. You may have seen them growing in my indoor grow room in the previous post. I got stem pieces in a trade, rooted them and now have several around 2' tall. I grew them to about that height under lights this fall/winter then put them into the basement cold storage to go dormant until I can put them outside in the spring. I needed the room under the lights.

They are super easy to root in water and grow from stem cuttings. The important thing to remember is to keep the water always warm! Never let it get cold. You can often find growers in the fall who have cuttings available since they usually cut them back before bringing inside.

Datura

A close relative of the brugmansia is the datura, also occasionally called "angel's trumpet". You can tell the difference by the flower growth. Brugmansia flowers always hang down and datura bloom always stick up. Daturas are annuals that stay low to the ground and spread, while brugs are woody tree like forms, especially if you remove the suckers. Daturas are true annuals, regrowing every season from seed. It's difficult to keep them over the winter but they are very fast growers!

They come in a few colours, usually variations of white or purple and some blue, with single or double blooms.

Like brugmansia, every part of the plant is deadly poisonous! But they are are beautiful!

Winter Sewing

2013-12-10T18:15:00.004-08:00

I spent some time today planting seeds for next spring. I planted them in milk jugs and orange juice jugs and put them on the balcony for the winter. They are perennials and require a winter to germinate. This is called "winter sewing". It's a great way to plant perennial seeds that need the cold.

I cut the jugs in half, leaving them connected at the handle. I opened the jugs, poked holes in the bottom and put soil into then about 4" deep, then watered it. I like to water the soil before I plant the seeds. Then I just sprinkle the seeds on the wet soil and top, if needed, with a light sprinkle of soil.

All of these are taped closed and put outside on

the balcony for the winter. I left the little lids off the containers so they could get some rain and snow to keep the soil damp until they sprout in the spring. I put chairs around them to protect them from the wind and possible winter storms.

I have grown things using the winter sewing method before and it works very well.

I numbered each one on the outside and on the inside so the weather would not erase the number. I listed the plants in each jug on a piece of paper with the numbers so I will know what they contain in the spring.

I planted euphorbia donkey tail spurge, red monarda bee balm, husker red penstamon, purple lupins, a lot of berginia, wintergreen, hardy hibiscus, honeysuckle vine, pink alpine grass, fancy feather oriental poppies, peony poppies, indian paintbrush and pink grass together and johnny-jump-up violas for pots.

The indian paintbrush needs another plant from which to get its nutrients. It's roots wind around the roots of the other plant and take their nurishment from that plant rather than the soil. Grasses are good for this so I have planted it with the alpine pink grass. I got the indian paintbrush seeds from the alpine area where I got the pink grass seeds, often growing together. Here's hoping it works!

Winter sewing also gives me a way to play in the dirt in the middle of winter!

Soap Making

2013-12-10T14:20:00.001-08:00

I'm making soap! This particular batch is going to be used in Christmas baskets. I do hope to make more to sell in the store in the spring. I just don't know if I'll get there this year.

I make soap that is pure soap. It has no artificial colour, artificial scent, chemical hardener or chemical sudsing agent...just pure soap. I used to add scent and colour but now I just make pure soap.

It still contains all the glycerin that is a byproduct of soap making. Most bath bars that you buy are detergent, not soap and even commercial soap has the glycerin removed. It's much more valuable than the soap. It's the stuff that moisturizes and softens your skin.

The soap that I make is good for our waterways and has no phosphates. It's also good for your pets and for you! There's nothing in it for anyone to be allergic to.

The hardest part is getting the fat to make it from. Sometimes I use pure unseasoned fatty beef trimmings if I can get them. Those I have to render into pure hard fat myself. Occasionally I buy vegetable shortening at the store and use that to make vegan soap. That's what this is. This also has olive oil and goat's milk in it. Sometimes I make an oil infusion of healing herbs and use that to make soap but I didn't have the herbs for this batch.

I like to make cold process soap because it's so quick and easy to toss together. It's also smoother but has to cure a long time before it can be used. I cooked this because I want it ready before Christmas.

I used to make huge batches of it and sell it, but that was a few years ago. It felt good to make soap again! I am going to enjoy using again too!

Pizza Day!

2013-04-15T16:43:00.004-07:00

I made four different kinds of pizza today. I figured, since I was cooking and chopping the toppings anyway, I might as well use them all up. Its the prep time that takes so long anyway. The pizzas themselves throw together and bake very quickly.

All my pizzas have a lot of sauce and mozzarella cheese to start with. Some also have parmesan and sometimes cheddar, making them "three cheese" pizzsa. I did not use cheddar on any of these today, but a couple of them do have parmesan.

This one is my "Special" Hawaiian. It's my personal favourite! It has ham, pineapple, a small amount of bacon and coconut. I LOVE the addition of coconut on a Hawaiian pizza! I love coconut in anything and this is delicious! This idea came from a wood fired pizza place in Ontario, where we used to live. This is their St. Lucia pizza pie. I have made my Hawaiian pizzas with this blend of toppings since falling in love with the one they serve. (This is their website menu, if you want to get some fabulous pizza ideas: Wood Fired Pizza Pie Joint)

This is Hubby's favourite. It is simply sausage, mushroom and onion. If there are fewer variety of toppings, I put more on so it still weighs the same as the other pizzas.

This one is grilled chicken, small amt of bacon, mushroom, onion and parmesan. The chicken is cooked with onion and garlic before adding to the pizza.

This one has the most toppings and is quite a bit heavier than the other three. It's a "Deluxe" and has peppers, onions, mushrooms, sausage, bacon, tomato and parmesan. Due to the extra toppings, I had to cook it a bit longer to get all the toppings done. I think it still may need a bit more cooking.

To use tomatoes on pizza, all of the water needs to be removed. I slice them as thin as I can get them and pat them dry between paper towels. This usually removes the water, gel and most of the seeds. All the veggies are sliced as thin as I can get them. I also dry the pineapple between paper towels. You want the pizza ingredients to be as dry as possible. The ham is sliced thin too, so it cooks and curls up in the oven.

Don't overcook the bacon - leave it slightly soft and chop the sausage up into very small pieces or thin slices. Sausage can be overpowering in a pizza if there are a lot of big pieces.

I like the thin, crispy crust. The thick edge usually gets tossed out anyway, so why waste it? I also like the bottom to be crispy so I keep it thin. I make a regular large pizza crust recipe and divide it in half exactly, to make two 12" pizzas without edges. I roll it out very thin and spread the sauce and toppings all the way to the edge.

These pizzas are baked on a stone that is preheated in the oven. It's important that the stone be already hot when the pizza goes on it to get the bottom done and crispy, without burning it. I cut pieces of parchment paper for each pizza, the same size as the stone and roll the dough out to match it. I put the dough on the parchment paper and add all the ingredients. When the pizza is ready to go, I take the hot stone out of the oven and slide the pizza, parchment paper and all, onto it. (The parchment paper cooks with the pizza and does not take away from the stone effect at all.)

The hot stone with the pizza on it is then put back into the oven to bake about 12-14 mins on the lowest rack. If it is an especially heavy pizza, I might then stick it under the broiler for just a couple of minutes to further cook and brown the toppings.

I was feeling industrious today! Must be the extra sunshine! The days up here are rapidly getting longer. It is light outside now before 6 am. That will change somewhat after we "spring forward" and the time changes, but then the days will just keep getting longer until the end of June, when it starts going back the other way. In June when the days are the longest, it is light at 11 pm up here. The further north you are, the longer the days are in the summer. Likewise, the shorter they get in the wintertime. At the north pole, winter is 6 months of night and summer is 6 months of day. We are not that far north, but we are far north enough to have extremely long days during the summer months. Anyway...to make a short story long...we are starting to get a lot of sunlight now and it is very welcome!

The pizzas I made today all came out perfectly! That's not always the case. Sometimes I am multitasking and get distracted while it is baking...

Cat Training 101

2013-04-09T16:22:00.003-07:00

Princess Abby

I originally put some of this information into the last post about my cats and their homemade halters. I got so many questions about cat training that I thought it would be better to make this a single post. So much of the info that used to be in the last cat post has been moved to this one, and more added.

Shadow

We have two cats, Shadow and Abby, both dearly beloved, usually well behaved, although not perfect, pets.

Training a cat to be a well behaved family member takes time and patience. "Scruffing" is a valuable tool (Information on "Scruffing"). The very first time you scruff your cat, expect a freak out episode that you will need to hold for awhile, unless he/she is a very young kitten. We have also used a spray bottle of clean water, occasionally, for certain types of training.

I have never, not even once, had to "scruff" Shadow. I'm not sure I could now, at this size. Because Abby is a tabby and has that personality, she will always be bossy. It's the tabby nature, but tabbys can still be taught respect. (She can be amazingly tenacious!)

Biting: Cats will often gently bite to play or to let you know they don't want to do something. Even though this type of biting rarely breaks the skin and doesn't really hurt, it is "bad" behaviour and should not be allowed. (Ditto for puppies.) You can usually train your cat to stop this if you immediately turn your back on him/her and walk away at the first touch of claws or teeth, ignoring them. Cats live for your affection and approval. Scratching and biting in an angry temper should never be allowed and often requires scruffing or spraying with water. Scruffing is more effective.

It works the same for any biting. If your cat bites you when you pet her or play with her, turn your back on her or push her off of your lap and walk away. Ignore her for awhile. She will learn to keep her teeth to herself if she wants your attention and approval. Be tough!

Claws: I would never declaw a cat. Even city indoor cats occasionally have to defend themselves. You never know when your cat may get out, even just in the hallway of a building, and need to defend themselves against a dog or another cat.

Cats use their claws for a lot more than defense. They hold onto and manipulate objects with their claw tips and use them for tools. You would find it difficult to manage without your finger tips - not to mention the pain you would go through if you had your nails removed.

Cat scratching can be controlled and cats can be trained not to scratch where they are not allowed, but it takes a little time and patience. It also takes an alternative area for them to use. If you are not giving your cat a place for them to scratch that does the job, you are asking for trouble. Cats need to scratch to remove the skin that grows over their claws and to keep their claws trimmed and healthy. A good scratching place needs to be tall or long enough for your cat to get a good back stretch while scratching. They will scratch and it cannot be trained out of them, but you can train them to scratch in an acceptable location, if you have one that fits the bill.

If you live in an apartment/condo in the big city, have expensive furniture and wallpaper that you cannot abide to have scratched even a little, have no time to train your cat patiently, don't want a cat post or rough log in your living room, perhaps a small dog would be better for you.

More on claw maintenance and scratch training.

Neutering: You cannot keep an unneutered male cat indoors. It just cannot be done. You will never train him not to spray the inside of your house with foul smelling urine. It's instinctive.

Likewise you cannot train a female cat in heat to be quiet. They prance and yowl loudly, day and night, off and on until it passes. You might also end up with unwanted kittens. Female cats in heat draw all the neighborhood unneutered males, even the wild ones with fleas, ticks and disease.

Keep an unneutered cat at your peril.

Feeding and Aggression: Cats are territorial. Give each cat his/her own dish and feeding spot, not too near each other. They will very quickly learn where their spot is and which dish is theirs, especially if the dishes are vastly different. Always feed each cat from their own dish and in the their same spot every time. They will automatically go to their spot and wait at feeding time, usually meowing loudly for you to hurry and even doing little dances on the spot while they wait. They will also be nosy and have to see what the other cat gets, just to make sure it is fair. They can be so funny sometimes!

If you have a problem at feeding time, separate them visually. A large piece of cardboard between them, so they cannot see each other, will help.

Fighting: Cats usually fight over attention or food. Do not physically try to separate fighting cats. You might get hurt yourself. Throwing a blanket over them will usually stop a fight long enough for you to remove the less aggressive of the cats. Sticking a large piece of cardboard between them, from a distance, also works. Scruff the aggressive cat until he/she relaxes.

Cat aggression can sometimes be severe enough to put the aggressive cat into a separated area for awhile, until the cat learns to get along. They should still see each other and be able to communicate, just not touch. With enough time, hopefully they will learn to adjust. This separation is especially important when introducing a new cat or dog into the household.

Mousing: (Warning! Some of this is not for the faint of heart or city "Barbie Dolls".) Good mousers are born, but they are also trained. I have to say this again...cats live for your approval and affection. Even a well fed cat will still kill prey to feed their family. In most cases, that's you.

If your cat brings you a dead mouse, or any mouse, it is important that you accept the gift in the spirit it is given. Praise your cat, pet him and tell him what a good boy he is. You will see him prance around, coo and generally let you know how proud he is of himself. Take the mouse out of sight and quietly, secretly, dispose of it immediately. Let your cat think that you really enjoyed the treat he brought you!

Many times he will run outside to find another one for you immediately, he is so overwhelmed with pride and wants to do it again and again! This will become a favourite game if you treat it right!

Without this training, a cat that is well fed will often still kill a mouse that invades their territory out of instinct and boredom...maybe, but you will insure a good mouser if you let them know how much you appreciate the efforts and enjoy the food! If you scold him or just leave the dead mouse on the floor for a long period, you will eventually be less happy with your cat's mousing efforts.

Shadow went through a span of a couple of months when he thought I wanted to kill them myself. lol! We had some grand times chasing little mice around the house after he brought them to me and dropped them at my feet in the hall, almost daily. I don't know where he got that idea! lol! Cat's are very smart, intuitive and watch you for the smallest cues in how to behave in order to get your approval. It only lasted a couple of months, thank goodness, before they were dead upon arrival again. I must have overdone the praise with the first live one I got...

Many of them he eats himself and just leaves me the little green stomachs on the porch. Some mornings I would find a few little green mouse stomachs, licked clean, in a small pile on the porch. I am assuming that he brought the mouse back to the house, but it was nighttime and no one came to get his offering, so he ate it himself.

Cats are natural predators and will kill all small creatures, birds and chipmunks included. It is sad, but this is part of making a good mouser. They get praise no matter what they bring you, even if it brings tears to your eyes. Your cat doesn't understand the difference.

Cats who catch or eat mice will need regular worming. Cats get the worms from the mice. You will find the little worm casings all over their bottoms when they have worms. I have tried the common powder from Heartz for round worms. It does work to kill the worms, IF you can get your cats to eat it. Regardless of what the packaging says, I have never had a cat that would touch it, even in canned food or tuna. You also have to watch the weight and dosage with that particular stuff. You can make your cats sick if you overdose them. Shadow is particularly sensitive to it.

We use a liquid wormer now from Excel that works much better and cannot be overdosed. We can buy it at the pharmacy here in BC. The dose has to be given twice, 10 days apart, but it works well and only takes a few minutes to administer.

I have to wrap the cat with a towel, careful to enclose all four feet tightly, hold the head in my elbow and force feed the liquid down the throat with a syringe. It only takes a minute and ensures that the cat gets the full dose. They will hate this, of course, but I hope they are getting used to it. I haven't actually seen any evidence of that...

Affection and biting: Cats will learn to love attention and also like being picked up and held if they understand that they are still in control while you are holding them. If you pick up your cat, put him/her down at the first little wiggle and turn your back on him. Don't hold your cat in your arms or on your lap against her will. Repeat this a couple of times each day. It takes time and patience.

Holding your cat when she is cold to warm her helps too. Put her out in the snow for a few minutes. When she decides that she doesn't like it and gets cold, pick her up and cuddle her. As soon as she wiggles, put her right back down in the snow. Continue this a few times. She'll get the idea. Abby will now ask to be held anytime she gets cold.

Shadow loves to be picked up now and will respond by nuzzling for a few minutes, then wants down, but he will still ask to be picked up. He doesn't like to be held for a long time or anyone walking around with him. He suffers easily from motion sickness, so I don't blame him for that. I started training him to like being picked up when he was small. I didn't realize how big and heavy he was going to get! lol!

Please don't pick your cat up with a full belly, right after eating a big meal. They won't appreciate having their belly squished when it is full. Shadow will respond to that by barfing. (Just so you know...)

Getting a cat? If you decide, after reading this, that you want or need a cat (trust me, if you live in the country, you need a cat!) please look into adopting one that needs a home. If you advertise or look on Kijiji, you will see many, many cats that are under a year old and already neutered that are free and need homes. These are perfect! They are still young enough to be trained and scruffed and taught to respect all family members, with time and patience.

I think the black and white tuxedo "Jeffries" cats have more gentle personalities and make the best pets, imho. The Ragdoll cat breed are called that because they will take any handling without reacting, as a ragdoll will. This makes them the objects of cruelty more often than not and I would never have one with small children who could, inadvertently, or on purpose, tease and hurt them. Tabbies and tortoiseshell cats are bossy, tenacious and temperamental, but still make excellent pets with training. Calico cats, although beautiful, are noted for being psychotic...

This is just a generalization that I have heard from dozens of pet owners and people who feel the same way about the various cat personalities, as well as my own experience. There are always differences and exceptions based on the backgrounds of the individual cats, of course.

Most of this comes from my own experience and research I have done with my own cats over the years, some from discussions with other cat owners and vets. I hope it is helpful.

If you have a big problem with a pet, it is usually best to consult a professional veterinarian.

Buffalo!

2013-02-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

This area of the country is sometimes referred to as "Canada's Serengeti" because of the wildlife population. There is a very large, newly introduced herd of wild buffalo living down the highway from us. They cause quite a bit of trouble to traffic on the Alaska Highway during the busy season, along with the caribou, moose, stone sheep and elk.

This fellow came wandering up the other side of the highway yesterday, alone. I got as close to him as I dared. This herd is getting used to people stopping on the road and getting out to take their pictures but they are still wild and dangerous.

He's huge! Isn't he beautiful!

Making Your Own Herbal Teabags

2012-12-31T17:01:00.004-08:00

I have been growing, cutting, drying and rubbing my own herbs for years. The most time-consuming part is rubbing them and cleaning out all the tiny little stems. I have found a way to beat that, for the most part - herb bags, made from coffee filters!

They are not just tea bags but culinary bags as well. I mix all my spaghetti/lasagna sauce herbs together in one bag. When I make sauce, I just toss in a bag or two. I don't have to spend hours rubbing the herbs to a fineness and picking out the little stems. I do this for soups and stew too.

I have spent hours in front of movies in the evenings, rubbing and cleaning the culinary herbs, until I started making the bags. I never did that for the tea herbs until recently, as I strained the herbal tea anyway.

They are so easy to make!

Today I am making feverfew tea bags so that my hubby can make himself a cup of feverfew tea when I am not available. We use feverfew for headaches and it works very well. It's not a pain reliever but will lift the pressure off almost immediately. It only works this well if it is fresh and pure. You can buy it at herbal stores but, like I said, the commercial mix doesn't do much for a headache. We are both very pleased by how well our own fresh, home grown works on migraines!

It's easy to grow and very hardy. It is also a perennial and a beautiful addition to a flower bed.

I don't bother cleaning the tea herbs, as I said, so this dried feverfew is rough. I do take out the bigger stems but don't spend a lot of time on it.

I cut each filter into thirds and trim off the round edges. I then sew together three sides and leave the fourth side open to stuff in the herb. Mine are square but you can make them round, as well.

I use a simple in and out stitch, just enough to hold it together. You can do a much faster and neater job on a sewing machine, which you may want to do if you are going to be gifting these. Since they are only for our own use, this is good enough.

We remove the bags from the tea with a spoon but you can sew a piece of string into one corner for handling.

For medicinal herb tea, it is important to bring the water to a full boil, then let the tea steep for at least five minutes, ten is even better. I can usually only wait the five minutes when I have a migraine. I know how well it works.

I brought a large pot of feverfew with me, to grow as we travel and camp. It is still doing well and surviving. When spring comes I will put it out in the sun where we are camping.

Soon I will plant some purslane seeds and take a pot of that with me, as well. I will always garden, wherever I am!

New E-Book on "Chicken Keeping"

2012-09-19T10:30:00.002-07:00

"Keeping a Few Chickens At Home" is a new book that I have just finished. Like my other books, it's available for download.

This is the table of contents for the new book:
Chapter 1   Basic Introduction
Chapter 2   Egg Laying and Care
Chapter 3   Housing
Chapter 4   Feed
Chapter 5   Gardening With Chickens
Chapter 6   Pests and Diseases
Chapter 7   Hatching and Raising Your Own Chicks

You can download it, along with my other books, here:

E-Books

You can also get any of my E-Books from the tab at the top.

"The Homemaker's Handbook" E-Book

2012-06-23T09:51:00.002-07:00

I have just made public "The Homemaker's Handbook" as a free download with a donation. I wrote this book over a course of many years while raising kids, working, farming and just keeping up with life. It has 12 chapters, listed below, including the largest one exclusively about food and recipes. I hope it will be interesting reading and will have some items that are helpful to everyone.

"The Homemaker's Handbook"

A book for everyday people with tips for almost every area of day to day living including an extended chapter on cooking and recipes.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1. Cleaning Your Home
a.   Cleaning the Kitchen
b.   Polish Sparkle & Shine
c.   Walls, Floors & Furniture
Chapter 2. Organizing Your Home
Chapter 3. Children
a.   Safety
b.   Babies
c.   Toddlers
Chapter 4. Health and Dieting
a.   Health
b.   Dieting
Chapter 5. Outdoors
a.    Yard, Drive and Walkways
b.    Shrubs, Trees and Flowers
c.    Vegetable Garden
d.    Major Structures
Chapter 6. Houseplants
a.   Necessary Elements
b.   Forcing Bulbs
c.    Problems
d.   Some Common Plants and Their Care
Chapter 7. Herbs
a.   Growing Indoors
b.   Growing Outdoors
c.    Using Herbs
Chapter 8. Food Preservation
a.   Freezing
b.   Drying
c.    Root Cellar

Chapter 9. Holidays & Entertaining
a.   Christmas
b.   Autumn Holidays
c.    Parties All Year
d.   Wines for Entertaining
Chapter 10. Beverages
a.   Tips
b.   Liqueurs
c.   Water
d.   Recipes
Chapter 11. Food
a.   General Tips
b.   Eggs
c.   Dairy
d.   Poultry
e.   Beef & Pork
f.    Fish & Seafood
g.   Vegetables
h.   Pasta – Noodles
i.    Sauces, Dips, Dressing & Spreads
j.    Soups & Stews
k.   Salads & Hor D’Oeuvres
l.     Desserts
m.   Squares & Brownies
n.    Pastry
o.   Candies
p.   Fruits & Berries
q.   Cakes
r.    Frostings
s.    Cookies
t.    Breads
u.   Muffins
Chapter 12. Potpourri
a.   Essential Oils
b.   Making Your Own
c.   Using Potpourri

I have written three books so far.

"The Homemaker's Handbook"

"Making Organic Soap At Home"

" Making Organic Wine At Home"

All of these books are now availble and can be accessed here: "Providence Acres Farm - E-Books". You can also access this link on the " E-Book" tab above, just under the header.

I have endeavored to make these books easy to follow with pictures, clear directions and explanations. I intend to write more books of this type. I have started one entitled "Keeping A Few Chickens At Home" but have not finished it yet. Not that we are starting a freer lifestyle, I will have more time to write these and will finish the next one soon, I hope. These book sales will help us to keep ourselves off grid and give us both the time to write. In exchange I believe that you will be getting a great deal of value for your money! I sincerely hope you enjoy it!

Whether or not I continue to write books like this will depend mostly upon the popularity and success of the ones I have already written. If you use one of these books, some feedback would be appreciated.

Seedlings in the Cold Frame

2012-05-05T17:16:00.002-07:00

I have seedlings growing in my cold frame!
A lot of them!

These are my Hopi black squash seeds. They are doing very well. With all the rain and warm weather we have had lately, everything is healthy and growing well!

I also have a couple of striped cushaw squash and about a dozen sweet dumpling plants.

I have 62 tomato seedlings now! I have never planted that many before! They are all organic, mostly heirloom tomatoes. I planted 2-4 of each kind and I have dozens of different varieties!

These are purple hyacinth beans. I have several of them growing and doing well. These are a beautiful, flowering annual vine!

I also planted several nasturtiums coming up. They are annuals so won't go into the ground until the end of May.

They are all in the cold frame now. They can go into the garden the first of June. Our last frost date is May 24, but I always wait another week before planting out.

Planting Seeds

2012-04-12T11:29:00.009-07:00

I planted seeds indoors this past weekend. I brought up my shelf from the basement and positioned it in front of the south facing patio door. This is where all my indoor seeds grow until they get big enough for individual pots. Then they go into the cold frame. The tender bulbs get planted in the other cold frame. I have that still to do but want to get it done this coming weekend.

I like to reuse, reduce and recycle so I use plastic food containers for seeds. They work well if you cut holes in the bottom and put another food container underneath to catch the drip. (We eat a lot of mushrooms!)

Already the 'Love Lies Bleeding' amaranth is up! (see top picture) Wow! That was fast! I also grow 'Intense Purple' amaranth and love them but I don't have to plant those. They self seed all over every year. I might plant a few, just in case...

I am cutting back a lot on what I grow this year. I have just about planted every early thing that I intend to, mostly tomatoes and flowers. The tomatoes I planted this year are, for the most part, heirloom tomatoes with the exception of 'Manitoba' and 'Buckley's 51 day' tomatoes. These are the varieties I have planted: San Marzano, our own Portugal (of course), Black Krim, Terhune, Prince Borgese, Vincent Watts, Livingston Perfection, Rev Morrow Long Keeper, Giant Belgium, Aunt Lou's Underground Railroad, Chocolate Cherry, Azorian Red, Jaune Flammee, Matt's Wild Cherry, German Cascade, Ailsa Craig, Manitoba and Buckley's 51 day.

I don't plan to plant peppers this year at all. I still have many bags of them chopped in the freezer from last year.

One more thing I do want to plant are 'Collective Farm Woman Melon'. I have to plant something with a name like that! It's just too interesting!

I have one planted container on my shelf with no label. :-( I'm going to have to think about what that might be! lol! I might recognize it when it comes up, maybe.

I planted a few castor beans for the flowerbed, the 'love lies bleeding' amaranth mentioned above, and some broken coloured four o'clocks. I have some special honeysuckle vines coming up in a cold frame, as well.
I am going to enjoy my gardening this year, without the pressure of previous years when I grew way more than I needed and spent way too much time in the garden!

Over Wintering Dahlias

2012-04-06T10:52:00.009-07:00

In past years I have overwintered the dahlias in a plastic container or bag filled with wood shavings . The large roots are usually fine but I lose a lot of the little ones. New ones are usually too small to make it until spring, which is always a great disappointment! Last fall I had some little pieces and small, new dahlias that I didn't want to lose so I potted them up to grow indoors for the winter.

I kept them as houseplants, sort of, in front of the south patio door. It gets as much light as is possible to get anywhere indoors, as it faces south and has no overhang. My kitchen is also freezing in the winter, which helps.

They sprouted and grew in the pots. They didn't grow fast, but they did grow and are picking up more now that spring is here with longer days and stronger light. I had no problems with them indoors in the winter at all! No bugs, no rot, nothing. I kept them on the dry side and, like I said, rather cold. I'm very pleased with the result!

I will be "storing" my small dahlias and little pieces like this through the winter from now on!

I love my 'Keri Blue' dahlia! Last fall I added a red one with yellow centers and tips and also a dark, rich purple dahlia with white tips. I am looking forward to getting huge blooms from them this year!

They make great cut flowers!

A Wintersewing Success Story

2012-04-01T03:44:00.005-07:00

Back in January, I posted about this year's wintersowing. You can read that post called, "Wintersowing". (I'm not big on fancy, complicated titles...)

That project was a success! I only got around to planting one thing in pots, the echinacea "Double Decker" and it's up! I did plant a lot more seeds in a cold frame. I will have to check those today to see if they have sprouted, as well!

I'm so thrilled!

The echinacea "Double Decker" looks like this.

OK, now that I know it does work, I will be trying other things next winter.

I have done wintersowing before but never had much success with it. I think it's because I used shallow trays (top picture) that dried out too quickly. This year I used a soda pop bottle cut in half.

Chess Pie

2012-02-26T12:47:00.008-08:00

For those of you from the north, chess pie is an old southern favourite and it's delicious! I don't know why it's well known in the south and not so much up here. It's not like pecan pie, where the pecans are grown there and sold in huge bags, cheaply, at the side of the road. There is nothing in a chess pie that everyone doesn't have in their kitchen.

It's a new discovery for us, sort of. I grew up in the south and my dad used to buy chess pies a few times a year from Mississippi State Univ, along with their edam cheese balls, but I had forgotten all about them until recently, many decades later. It just hit me one day when I was thinking about waxing cheese balls - "Chess Pie!".

I Googled it and found the actual Mississippi State chess pie recipe online. I gave it to my husband.

I don't do a lot of actual cooking around here. I experiment a lot and play around some with recipes and DIY stuff. I do some gluten free baking and usually make the muffins, but I'm not the "cook". Hubby is, and he is marvelous at it! He's the best natural cook I have ever known, so I gave him the recipe.

He played with it a lot, making it several times over and over again. Looking up various other recipes online and comparing them all, adding ingredients and taking away others. After many chess pies that were not up to his standards (many were delicious anyway) he came up with the perfect recipe.

Most chess pie recipes out there are runny. There is a lot of discussion on how to prevent this out on the 'net. Hubby has perfected it. Preheating the ingredients, actually cooking some of them, is the key.

Here is his recipe with directions:

Chess Pie Perfected
1/4 lb butter or hard margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon yellow corn meal
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon vinegar
3 eggs, beaten

Melt butter, add sugar and vinegar. Bring this to a boil, stirring constantly. Mix together the eggs, salt and vanilla. Add the hot butter mix to the egg mix and beat well. Pour into unbaked pie crust. Bake at 325F for 40 minutes.
Serve cold or hot. Personally, I like it hot, about 1/2 hour out of the oven, with whipped cream on it.

It's so simple! I could not believe that one of the most delicious pies I have ever eaten has only these simple ingredients in it! The top of the pie cooks to a lovely golden brown, sort of like creme brulee and the flavour is fantastic!

Chess pie is reminiscent of butter tarts, but so much better! It would be nice with pecans in it, or raisins, if you like them in butter tarts, but it's just fine without either!

Handmade Hair Toys

2012-01-29T16:01:00.002-08:00

I made the decision a few years ago to grow my hair out, very long. Only recently have I discovered using hair forks and sticks and I love them, particularly forks! These are usually very expensive at stores and online, so I have been experimenting with making my own.
I have a DIY personality to the extreme! lol! I must try to make it myself before I give up and buy one and I can make so many more when I do it myself.

The picture above is a hair fork I recently made. (I wouldn't be caught dead wearing pink. This one is for a friend.) It's steel, shaped, sanded and painted by me with beads added. Here is another picture of the one above:

I have made several of these. Here is one I made for myself, in my hair. I like copper! It goes with just about everything I wear and I have other copper jewelry to go with it.

The copper wire is not as neatly done as I would like. I was just playing around with old wire I had on hand. I'm going to redo it with neater, tighter wrapping.

I also have them painted with a high gloss lacquer in dark violet, burgandy, rusty copper, burnt red. I hope to acquire other colours soon, maybe some blues and greens! I am going to experiment with twirling the paint colours or just dipping the pointed ends into another, coordinating colour!

Making things yourself is so much more rewarding and fun than buying everything, and cheaper too! I can make one to go with everything I wear and give some to friends!

The one at the top is the only one that I have finished so far. I love the way they look in the hair.

These are made with heavy, galvanized steel fencing wire. I sanded it then shaped it. After getting the shape I want, I file all the marks off until it is smooth and paint it with nail polish. Ta-da! Hair forks! Seriously, it is so easy!

World Class Meatloaf!

2012-01-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

This is a fantastic meatloaf! It's juicy and delicious with just a slight hint of cheddar flavour. It's Lloyd Gallant's recipe, developed in his kitchen.

World Class Meatloaf!
3/4 lb ground beef
3/4 lb ground pork
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup milk
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 large egg
2 tablespoon parsley
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sage

Mix well, bake at 350F for 1/2 hour covered with foil. Remove foil and bake another 1/2 hour.

This makes a great meatloaf with well browned sides and bottom!