Organic Vegetable Soup

The farmer went to pick up a wood splitter from,

James Harrison, a local organic vegetable farmer

and brought home a nice sampling of his

delicious and nutritious harvest!

Fresh picked kale and dragon kale,

purple and deep red potatoes,

purple, red, white and orange carrots,

some heads of the best garlic in the land,

a huge leek, onion, and pretty edible flowers.

Have you ever seen such beauty?

I've never tasted Dragon Kale.

Dark purple carrots and

solid red potatoes,

packed with vitamins

and nutrients.

Pretty edible flowers

and some of James' famous

juicy garlic!

This calls for a healthy energizing vegetable soup.

Just a quick picking of parsley, thyme and sage from

my herb garden and I'll be all set!

Wonder what colour this soup will be?

Saute an onion in a splash of Olive Oil,

add in 3-4 cloves crushed and chopped garlic,

add in some chopped carrots and 2 - 3 diced potatoes.

Add fresh or dried herbs and seasoning to taste.

Pour in 4 - 5 Cups of chicken or Vegetable broth

and simmer until vegetables are tender.

Chop and add in 3 Cups of Kale and cook

for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove a few cups of the soup and blend with

hand held blender if desired - add back into soup pot.

Serve with a wee garnish of chopped green onion and Enjoy!

That soup should give me enough energy to get out of my pjs and

help the farmer chop some wood - right!!?

BTW - the soup turned out to be a lovely
slightly lavender colour - so yummy!

Till next time ...... gathering some more kale recipes .... do you have a favourite one?

Thanksgiving Blessings and Travel Privileges

What an amazing whirlwind week!

5 days in Lost Wages Las Vegas - O.K. - that was fun

and a totally new experience for us

country folks!!!

We rented a car for a day and drove to 

the beautiful Red Rock Canyon.

Stayed in the amazing Aria Resort and Casino

(BTW - nere a penny was gambled nor lost).

Did some shopping at a premium Outlet Mall!

(a few pennies lost here).

Enjoyed the Conference's Gala dinners and outings

(Carmines in the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace was worth every 

blister getting there and back!)

We saw so many beautiful buildings, fountains, and gardens.

Vegas was never on my "bucket list" but I am so thankful to have been a guest there!

And then ....

... suddenly we were back home and down the road,
at Paul and Charlene's,

at the "home place", and the table was prepared

for the Leis Family dinner!!!

What a pleasure to see everyone and enjoy this Thanksgiving Gathering.

The feast was on .......

Glennis' beautiful Beet Salad,

Gloria's Pear and Blue Cheese Salad,

Charlene's creamy coleslaw,

Marilyn's Apple salad,

An oriental salad - just to mention a few!

Charlene made a delicious Roast Turkey with ALL the trimmings, including twice baked potatoes!

Dessert was decadent as usual and Marilyn's famous Pumpkin Torte did not disappoint.

There was candied apple pie, flakey custard pie, pumpkin cookies, lemon cheesecake, fresh fruit platters and more!

The cutest Gobbler Oreo Cookie Turkeys .... made by Merlin and Angela were a hit!

A walk to the neighbour's "park in the field" ...

A pony ride on Snickers ...

and petting a new born puppy made the day perfect!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL MY CANADIAN FRIENDS, NEIGHBOURS AND FAMILY!

Till next time ........ so thankful for all our blessings and travel privileges!

Vegas Bound

The farmer/businessman and his wife go to 

Las Vegas.....

What's a girl to pack?

It's a business convention with several formal gala dinners.

Thus, packing suits, dresses, and some bling - eek!

Here goes.....

Do you lay things out on the spare bed for this process like I tend to?

Hope no one recognizes that I wore these two dresses to the last convention in Boston!

This one doesn't look quite 

so matronly?

I think I'll throw it in too even though I'll probably wear the other two again.

It's going to be super hot

while we're there, according

to the weather forecasts.

That means a sundress,

tunic top and white capris are in order.

Oh, and a denim jacket and 

sweater,

just in case it gets cool on those 

desert evenings.

Casual stuff....

3 bottoms with 3 interchangeable

tops for the days of shopping and touring?

Hmmmm - I see a purple, 

black and white theme

going on here!

Something to wear to an 

evening show?

Yep, I'll throw this in too.

My favourite white jeans,

black T-Shirt and scarf,

just in case!

Don't forget the shoes and a sun hat.

If there is still room after I've packed, I might be known for 

slipping in a couple more pairs of shoes!

I'll wear my comfy Lululemon capris,

T-Shirt and jacket for the plane ride,

dressed up a bit with a colourful scarf.

My carry-on will have one change of clothes,

my swimming suit, my purse and jewellery bag,

my laptop, camera, all in case the other bag gets lost!

I'm glad I did this little exercise - it truly helped me

to decide what to take and hopefully not overpack as I usually do.

Now to pack the farmer's suits and shirts.

This is always a challenge - especially because he tends to pack VERY last minute!

Till next time .... how do you pack for a trip? Have you been to Las Vegas and if so, I'd love to know  your travel tips for this trip?

Glow juice

Here she is ..... my latest kitchen appliance!

She is so sturdy and broad of girth

that she looks like a giant in my small country kitchen.

I finally had a chance to give her a "whirl" today.

My sweet daughter gifted me with this famous "Oh She Glows" cookbook

by Angela Liddon

and I've been anxious to try some of the smoothie recipes.

No more excuses now that I have my Vitamix!

I used one of the Yogi Juice recipes

with a few slight variations.

The Beet-utiful Power Glow recipe calls for

1 seedless cucumber - I used half.

1 small beet - peeled and chopped - I grew some candy-cane striped beets so I used one of those.

1 medium carrot - peeled and chopped.

1 - 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice - I also added lime juice.

1 small apple - cored and chopped.

I added two handsful of spinach and 1 banana.

It also seemed too thick so I added 1/2 Cup of water.

My juice came out looking green but if you use

a red beet it would be a lovely red like in the book.

This made approx. 3 servings and the fresh flavour was delightful.

The banana added just the right amount of sweetness.

The recipe suggested straining the mixture or not if you like the pulpy texture. I chose not to strain but could have used a wider straw - just saying!

Because my Vitamix is so powerful it was unnecessary to  slightly steam the beet before blending - bonus.

Now I'm hoping the power part kicks in and gives me the umph I need to

tackle the flower beds today....

Till next time - making the most of my Monday!

Niagara RV Rally 2014

A rally of Fibreglass RV's?

I would never have guessed I'd be at one of these

just one year ago!

If you've been following my blog lately,

you'll know that the farmer and I have been enjoying

our "new to us" Escape 19 RV trailer.

This gathering of all shapes and sizes of RVs at Riverside Campground

just across the street from the mighty Niagara River

brought back so many memories of using my brother's Trillium trailer

many years ago - they are classics now and some folks have

done a wonderful job of restoring these sweet little houses on wheels.

There were Bolers, Trilliums, a Compact Jr., Big Foots, a Surf Side, a Play-Pac, Tent campers, 

and of course several Escapes!!!

This sweet Coca Cola Classic by Al and Andrea was amazing

right down to every littlest detail!!

Our hosts organized an Open House/Trailer and I couldn't wait to have a peek into this sweet little trailer!

The table was set for two.

Andrea made all the placemats,

table runners, cushions, curtains, and all things Coke

from rare fabrics she has found online and elsewhere.

I felt like I had stepped into a fairy tale room - super cute!

Becky and Doug brought their Compact Jr. which they lovingly named Tweetx

Tweety Bird peeked through the window and made me smile! What a cute little trailer!

Check out this amazing quilt made especially 

for a much loved Trillium.

We even discovered that the couple who owned it

were from our area and know people that we know - small world!

There was another cool coke

themed trailer complete with a 

palm tree.

We didn't have an opportunity to see the inside, but the owners had a matching hot rod pick-up truck to tow this gem.

Another gorgeous quilt made of

homespun fabrics.

Hmm - Can you tell I was looking at the decor while the farmer was looking at all that other stuff like mechanical and such?

Our next door neighbours Mike and Sarah were SO helpful, sorting out a little 

electrical problem and encouraging us as rookie RVers!

Our hosts Alf and Mary Anne Stacey, in their beautiful Escape 5.0 Fifth Wheel,

made us all feel welcome, organized a fabulous pot-luck supper

and brought door prizes for everyone.
What great ambassadors for Escape trailers!

The potluck table included Blueberry Pies decorated with trailers - wow!

These were made by Jon who has been travelling the continent for a whole year in his Escape 17 - a fantastic photographer and pie baker!

Well, that was fun!

Till next time .......... preparing for Winter Storage - can summer really be almost over????

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!