A Summer to Remember

As I reminisce over the last few weeks,

I am shocked at how quickly the summer is coming to a close!

So many wonderful moments since my last post ...

Live theatre dates with friends but lack of pictures:

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Grand Magic - Tom Patterson Theatre, Stratford

The New Canadian Curling Club - Huron County Playhouse

Have I ever mentioned how much I love live Theatre?

There are still at least 3 more that I wish to see before the 2023 season closes.

Joseph - at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse

 A special blue grass? folk? concert in the historical

Detweiler Meetinghouse

brought tears to my eyes as the old songs stirred so many good memories!

"No Discernable Key"  a local band of friends!

Record breaking warm summer rains brought incredible 

bounty this year and inspired Peach Custard Tart,

Peach Pies, Mexican Street Corn Salad, focaccia bread creations, and such.

Unfortunately I have not received the inspiration to do any canning - so far!

Before we know it -  dare I say, it will be soup season - another favourite time of year ...

Most wonderful time of year

There was even some sister time at her "lake house" to do a little "quilt piecing"

for the upcoming Wellesley Fall Fair quilt!

A fun Amish buggy pattern

My favourite Lake - Huron!

Summer wouldn't be complete without the annual

visit from our Kentucky friends.

It was so wonderful to meet Becky and Marty who came along this year.

They all taught me how to play "Mexican Train" with dominos.

Have you ever played it? So fun!!!!

Summer wouldn't be complete without lots of hot tub dates with these two.

Followed by treats ...

But ... one of the best parts of summer for these little humans was,

discovering 4 little kittens!!!!

September arrived with a wonderful visit from

a long-distant Indiana cousin.

We met as teenagers when her parents visited with my parents many years ago.

Thankfully because of facebook we stayed connected and an Ontario retreat

brought her and her husband my way.

So thankful for this opportunity!

We must do this again ...

My grandfather, her grandmother's childhood home!

Many common interests ... love you Idella!
You are so genuine and lovely.
Thanks for coming.

Hopefully we can do this again sometime.

And then, suddenly, what!!!!!??? how can it be back to school time.

Grade 3!  Off she goes ...

SK for him with a send off from Spinach, the Momma Cat

Till next time ... treasuring the summer of 2023. Praying for rain to stop the horrific wildfires in our Nation. Looking forward to a Fall bus trip. Stay tuned...

July Joys

 The joy of sultry lazy summer days ...

Sunning Sully - perfect example!

Sourdough baking

(aka - heating up the kitchen)

Giving an old chair a new wings ...

Easy fix - slip cover ordered online

Yummy summer salads ....

Directly from my sun dappled raised garden ... borage for the win. 

New to me daylilies ... thank you former owner!

Mom's quilt stands coming in handy ...

And "sew/quilt" it begins ...

Striving for smaller stitches - eek! This project might take me another year?

Time spent with this little farmer ...

tractor fixin'

And then, this happened ...

she turned 6!!!!

Love her SO much.

Pictures by her momma

And these ...

The ultimate joy of finally having a summer family gathering

The traditional summer family gathering at the Freeman Farm pond!
It just isn't summer without this.

Celebrating some special twin 65th birthdays, walks down the lane, and so much delicious food!

These are the best of July's Joys.

Hope you are en"joy"ing this renewed spirit of summer 2021.

Sent to us from their vacation at the cottage ... perfection!

Until next time ... love to all and joyful summer days ahead!

Down the Country Concession

To better health and better energy!

Heading out the lane ...

Queen Anne's Lace everywhere!

The field corn is lush, green and very tall!

The Leis Home Farm lovingly restored by my SIL and BIL
The prettiest place on the road!

Our bean field looks amazing this year! Now we just need some good heat units for it to mature.

The garden lettuce has exploded - my favourite salad for lunch!

Not quite my momma's lettuce salad:

Mom's garden always had a row or two of lettuce and was served at almost every meal.

She kept it simple and delicious with some diced onion, minced borage leaf and 

a cream dressing.

I still love the cream dressing (approx. recipe):

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

several grinds of black pepper

1/4 Cup whipping cream

2-3 Tbsp. white vinegar

1 borage leaf - minced

1 or 2 slices of sweet onion - chopped

I piled on the extras today for lunch and it was so delicious:

1/2 tomato - chunked

1/3 yellow zucchini - chunked

2 Tbsp. Hemp seed sprinkled on top

several sprigs of dill - minced

2 celery sticks with celery leaves - chopped

I should be eating this for breakfast, lunch and dinner according to the abundance 

in my garden!

Till next time ...... intentions to keep the walking and salad munching as No. 1 and 2 priority! Will you join me?

A MILLION SWEETS!

What to do with a Million Sweets,

Sweet Million Tomatoes that is!!??

My patch almost literally has produced a million, or more, of these sweet gems.

The rest of my garden hasn't amounted to too much but that's

not the case for my tomatoes.

The plants grew so large and became so heavy with

their fruit that the spindly cages bent under all the weight!

I bravely stepped into the mangled mess and the plants

and cages attacked me - eek.

My flip-flops got tangled and the cherry tomatoes 

went flying as I slowly went down, hitting the hard ground

roly poly - ouch! 

The first picking went directly into

my freezer.

So easy - just wash, destem and place on parchment lined

cookie sheets to freeze.

Once frozen - put these frozen

"marbles" into freezer bags for

use in future sauces, adding

a fresh tomato taste.

The next picking - even larger, really made me think of what to do

this time......

Before

I decided to slow roast this batch.

The tomatoes and several cloves of garlic were sliced in half and

drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and pepper, and spread onto parchment lined cookie sheets.

The roasting took approx. 2 1/2 hours at 250F (stirred at the half point). Smelled so good! These can be kept in air tight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen for yummy soups or sauces.

After

Some of the fresh  ones were tumbled in seasoning and made for

a wonderful addition to the fresh veggie tray as an appetizer.
This Tumbled Tomatoes recipe was served to us by our friends in Mexico
and are so refreshing and delicious.

Tumbled Tomatoes

1 Tbsp. Herbs de Provence - Presidents Choice carries this (I picked mine up in Mexico)

1 tsp. Coarse Sea Salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 pint of cherry tomatoes

Mix herbs with the salt and garlic powder - pulverizing it in a mortar and pestal or salt grinder.

Wash the tomatoes in cold water, drain but do not dry. Place the tomatoes into a large bowl (or container with room to tumble). Toss tomatoes with the herb salt mixture until evenly coated. Refrigerate, tumbling occasionally until water is evaporated. Once water is evaporated, the herb salt mixture forms a light crust on the tomatoes. Serve chilled. This keeps for several days in the fridge. The drier and crustier the coating - the better they taste!

Now, what will I do with all the "big brother" tomatoes?
I see a few jars of stewed tomatoes and fruit relish in the next few days.

Till next time ............ Happy Labour Day everyone.....enjoy the day!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year 

to all my blog friends

and families!

I've been reflecting on 

New Year's past,

on the traditions and superstitions.

Did you, as a child, have 

any of these?

My mom used to tell me

not to clean the house on New Year's Eve,

to leave some dust and dirt

to carry over into the New Year.

I assumed to leave the dirt

in the vacuum would be O.K. - right?

Another thing I remember as a child

was waking up on New Year's Day

to a small gift from the "New Year's Baby"

I don't know where this tradition

came from but it was fun at the time.

I've read about some other traditions

and superstitions such as:

Eating good luck foods:

12 grapes - 1 for each month

Black Eyed Peas and Greens - bringing good luck

and prosperity

Leaving bits of food on your plates to carry

over into the New Year to ensure never going hungry.

Pork is a good luck food while

lobster is not (because lobsters walk

backwards apparently).

Lentils which represent coins ensuring prosperity

in the New Year.

This inspired me to make
a Kale and Lentil Salad
for lunch today...
If nothing else, it sure will
be good for my health.

Other:

Kissing at midnight to ensure affection

over the next 12 months.

Not to cry on New Year's Day - this could

bring unhappiness in the new year.

Pay all your debts before New Year's Eve

to have a "clean slate" in the new year.
(I also like the idea of forgiving all debts?)

Open the doors at midnight to let the bad

from the previous year out.
It's super cold over here right now so
don't leave the door open too long!

Make loud noises to scare away any evil spirits.

Don't do the dishes in case you

would break something which is bad luck.

(I think I'll leave the dirty dishes in the sink - no problem with that one! Leave some dirt in the house - this is the easiest one! Make lots of noise at midnight, and kiss the farmer even though he has a bad cold tonight).

What are some of your New Year's 

traditions and superstitions?

HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

I want to thank each and everyone of

you for your support over

this past year. 

I love reading your blogs and your

comments and it's been such an

inspiration to me on SO many levels!

Much happiness and health

to you and yours in 2014.....
The Lord is good!

Kale and Lentil Salad Recipe:

1 bunch Kale, stemmed and sliced

1 shallot - chopped or thinly sliced

3 Tbsp. white vinegar

1 Tbsp. honey

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/4 Cup EV Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 Cups cooked lentils

1/2 Cup crumbled Feta cheese

1/2 Cup dried cranberries

Whisk together the vinegar, honey and mustard.

Gently whisk in the Olive Oil and

season with salt and pepper.

Pour over the kale and shallot - tossing

and stirring roughly to gently bruise the kale.

Toss in the lentils, feta cheese and cranberries.

Cover and marinate for 1 hour before serving.

August Garden Bounty

My August Garden

is in full production.

Note to self, if you ever want

to really garden and preserve - take holidays

for the month of mid-August to mid-September!

The beets need thinning

(should have done this a month ago)

and the parsnips are developing nicely.

The spaghetti squash are huge

and I can't wait to roast this one.

I planted these beets for my

favourite Beet Salad

(find the recipe on the above link)
This time I sprinkled it with roasted
pine nuts - so delicious.

Just add a juicy BBQ'd hamburger

and you have a great summer

evening meal.

Till next time .................... enjoying the harvest.

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?