While The Zucchini Grew ...

... we were frolicking in the 

gardens and the streets of Boston!

The gardens!

The Streets and Buildings!

Fun Bronze Installations!

We were reminded
of that terrible
event!

 

With the actual 
"Finish" line, still
painted on the street......








We are back at the homestead
and the Zucchini ..... well it didn't waste 
any time growing.

These were just babies 5 days ago!

Well, I guess I know what I'll be doing
tomorrow ..... zucchini relishing.

Till next time ....... what do you do with bushels of zucchini?  What are your favourite zucchini recipes?

Sunday Drive

A beautiful Sunday Afternoon Drive

on a Loooong Weekend!

Discovering a Barn Quilt Trail ....

Worth the drive!

"Tall Pine Tree" one of my favs!

Love this classic "Log Cabin" too.

"Rose Bud" - this might be our favourite!!

Middlesex County Barn Quilt Trail - I LOVE THEM ALL!

Yep - it's two sheets of 4 X 8

Till next time ...... scheming on how I can make my own Barn Quilt!

Boston

The Boston "Hawbah" 

from the 33rd Floor

of the State Room!!!

Here we enjoyed a fabulous

melt in your mouth beef tenderloin dinner.

The next evening - dinner was at

the amazing

John F. Kennedy

Presidential Library and Museum,

a rare opportunity indeed!

We are having a fabulous time

in this beautiful city!!

The farmer/financial advisor is enjoying his sessions

and I am happy to be a tag along.....

More to come ....

Till next time ..... I'm off to do some shopping on Boylston.

Honey and Lavender Ice-Cream

My first taste of Lavender Ice-Cream

was in Tofino, BC

I had to try making some

because I have so much Lavender,

because I love Ice-Cream,

because this is such an exotic flavour,

because - well, just because!!

I used a Martha Stewart Recipe,
slightly modified,

and it turned out quite good.

Here's the recipe if you would like to try making this ....

2 Cups whole milk
1/4 Cup dried Lavender - I used a handful of fresh flowers and "muddled" them a bit with my pestal before adding the milk.
1/3 Cup Honey

Bring this to a gentle boil, remove from heat, cover and let steep for 5 minutes (I left it steeping for at least 30 minutes). Strain the mixture and discard the Lavender.

Now combine 5 egg yolks with
1/4 Cup of Sugar.  Beat on medium-high speed until very thick and pale yellow (3-5 minutes).  Meanwhile, return the strained milk to a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.

Add half the hot milk to the egg yolk mixture - whisk till blended and pour this into the sauce pan with the remaining hot milk.  Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat till "custard" thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Immediately remove from heat.

Strain mixture (if desired) into a bowl and chill

 in an ice water bath or refrigerate for several hours.

Now get out your ice-cream maker

start the freezing (according to your manufacturer's instructions).

You can weed the front flower bed

or go about your daily chores

while the ice-cream maker churns

then sit a bit and enjoy

this treat!

Till next time ........... what's your favourite ice-cream flavour?

DIY Handsoap Dispenser

It's Saturday

and the house is getting cleaned!

Boy, does it need it ....

I noticed the bathroom soap dispenser

was getting low 

and then

I remembered the sweet dispenser that

my daughter had in her bathroom.

It was a plastic look alike mason jar.

I have a "million" mason jars and

even a nice little vintage green Ball jar.

I saved the pump from the old dispenser,

had the farmer drill a hole into a mason lid

and voila - a DIY dispenser is made....

So easy!

Everytime I see my "Blessed"

stone in amongst my little stone collection,

and next to my field stone sink,

I remember a special MGCC

friend Kathy!!!

Till next time ........... feeling blessed and enjoying my new dispenser.

Summer Salads

This time of year

is the best time

to load the fridge with

Summer Salads

for quick and easy lunches

and side dishes.

Wheat Berry Salad, Quinoa Salad, and Potato Salad

I was inspired to make these

after enjoying a lovely evening meal 

on the back porch at our friends home

last weekend.

They served some refreshing summer salads

with roasted chicken and pork chops.

It was all so delicious!

I've posted the Quinoa and Potato Salads

in the past (you can click on these links to see those recipes)

But the best and easiest salad of all 

is the one my Mom always made with

fresh cut lettuce right from the garden....

There really isn't a recipe for this

Lettuce with Cream Dressing

but this is how it's made....

In a large mixing bowl,

Pour a good "splash" of heavy cream,

whisk in a Tbsp. of sugar

Season with salt and pepper

Stir in a "splash" of white vinegar

Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking

Add some finely chopped sweet onion

and last but not least,

the secret ingredient that makes this salad

taste like no other,

"the leaf" (borage) - finely chopped

Mom always added this herb and would

send us out to her garden to get a "leaf" as she called it.

Now simply pile in some fresh lettuce

and toss just before serving!

Borage aka "the leaf"

Borage has a cucumber taste.

The pretty borage edible flower

Once you've grown a borage plant

and let it go to seed in your garden

you'll have no lack of "the leaf"

(I think it might be a weed!)

My niece uses the pretty flowers by

freezing them into ice-cubes.

So pretty in a punch bowl 

or glass of lemon aid.

Lunch is served.

Till next time ........ what are your favourite summer salads?

Gaps

Gaps

When a dear one dies or when a 

good friend goes away - it leaves

a gap in life

that's wide and deep.

A gap that you are conscious of

with every passing day,

A gap remembered

when you wake from

sleep.

But it is the gaps that make the 

pattern in the lace - the sudden

break in continuity ....

Here and there you have 

to have a blank,

an empty space - to make the

strange and beautiful 

design of destiny.

                                                   Patience Strong

Today I remember fondly and celebrate the life of a childhood friend's dear mother!  Our families

lived in the same neighbourhood, had almost the same number of children with similar ages. We all became very good friends and our mothers, although very different (mine Amish Mennonite and hers Roman Catholic), were good mothers, kind mothers, nurturing mothers, loving mothers, and raised us up the best they could. 

What a privilege it was growing up in that 'hood where we felt safe and protected, where we played, rode our bikes, walked to school together, spent endless summers in the park and on the farm, learned to skate on the village pond, helped each other with chores, had paper routes, had parents that loved us, and felt like we belonged!

In our parent's senior years we would meet each other once again on visits to the "home" in New Hamburg where both sets of parents were being cared for. It brought back many childhood memories and was such fun to reminisce.

Miriam Zettel, a wonderful caring mother and almost like a second mom to me!  You have left a huge gap, have made the lace ever so beautiful and will be missed by all!

Theresa, Liz, Charles, Michael, Peter and Tom - may you and your families be comforted during this time of great loss!

Saturday Morning Walk About

I love lazy Saturday Mornings

(even though I should be blitzing

and getting my cleaning,

weeding, and laundry

done) when I can take my

cup 'a and camera for a "walk about" to inspect

the gardens!

My little pal "Poppy"

comes along....

The rain, rain, and more

rain

left it's droplets on the

tea roses.

The Lavender is in full bloom

Hmmm - what can I make with 

it this year???

The clematis is "taking over"

the front flower bed

and climbing on everything

besides the trellis!

Some pruning needed here....

The old garden hydrangea

is blooming nicely.

I like to leave it till Fall

and pick some for drying when it's turned

a pretty rusty colour.

And speaking of rust - my sunflower

is getting a nice patina from all

the rain and dampness!

A healthy patch of lamb's ear

this year - love the dusty colour

amongst the greens.

Oh, Oh, the zucchini patch is

in full bloom and I can almost

hear the weeds growing!!!

Better get off this computer and get at it.....

Till next time - I'll be digging out my zucchini and lavender recipes ....... 

To Mint or Not to Mint?

So we got back from a two week vacation

and the garden had overgrown

as had the weeds!!! - eek.

My herb bed was really needing attention,

especially the mint (seemingly on steroids)!

I began pulling and cutting ruthlessly

but just couldn't bring myself to

throw the cuttings over the fence.

So - instead of getting some

real work done I took the mint

in and decided what to do with it. 

First I dried some of the leaves:

Wash and spin dry plucked

mint leaves. I used my lettuce spinner.

Heat oven to 170F - turn off.

Single layer leaves on parchment paper

and place into warm oven for approx. 1 hour

or until completely dried and crunchy.

This was a good time to get my
laundry done and "almost" get 
the luggage unpacked!

Store uncrushed dried mint in an 

airtight jar.

Some uses:
Steep in boiling water for Mint Tea
Crush and use in soups and stews
Sprinkle on steamed vegetables

Next - I decided to make Mint Jelly....

2 Cups firmly packed mint leaves

Chop Mint finely to release the oils

Place in sauce pan and add:

2 Cups Water

Heat to boiling - remove from heat

and allow to steep for 20 minutes.

Pour prepared "tea" into a dampened

cheese cloth lined sieve.

Allow to drip undisturbed for at least

2 hours or overnight.

(I let mine drip while I went into town

to finally get some much needed 

groceries and also to pick up some

liquid pectin)

Prepare jars and lids 

(This made approx. 8 small 125 ml jars)

Measure 1 3/4 Cup of Mint infusion

Stir in 3 Tbsp. lemon juice

3 3/4 Cups Sugar

5-7 drops green good colouring (optional)

I chose not to add the colouring

but after filling 3 jars without I 

decided to add just a wee bit (3 drops).

Over high heat bring mixture

to full rolling boil that can't be stirred down.

Add 1 pouch (85 ml) liquid pectin

Boil hard for 1 minute - stirring constantly

Remove from heat and quickly seal

in prepared jars.

This is how it turned out.

I like the one with a bit of food colouring

and I even added some of the mint leaf pulp into

the last jar - just to experiment.

(not recommended as it's too chewy but it did look nice).

Mint Jelly uses - A traditional condiment to serve with

pork and lamb or as a delicious glaze

brushed on roasted meat and turkey.

Decorate the jars and use as hostess gifts???

Well - there you have it.

I "saved" the mint but didn't get much of anything else done - sigh!

But I had fun .....

Till next time ......... mustering up some ambition to weed the rest of the garden!