Escape to Scapes

Our little two week "Escape" to the East Coast

has come to an end (more about our travels on a future post).

The trailer has been cleaned out,

the laundry dumped on the laundry room floor

The food refrigerated and the stuff hauled out.

There is much to do but the garden, which grew by leaps and bounds, along with the weeds,

was calling out to me.

The garlic scapes need to be pinched off - now what to do with them all!?

I think the dishes and laundry will wait while I make some Pesto out of these beauties ....

Thankfully I had all the ingredients needed:

5 or 6 garlic scapes (bulb removed) coarsely chopped (approx. 1 Cup)

Several sprigs of Dill - coarsely chopped

6 - 8 Basil leaves - coarsely chopped

Zest and juice from 1/2 a lemon

1/2 Cup of Pine Nuts - toasted and cooled

3/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients except the Olive Oil and the pine nuts into a food processor

or blender (I used my Vitamix blender).

Pulse till chopped and fully incorporated.

Slowly add the Olive Oil while the food processor is running until the Pesto is finely chopped and thickened.

Now add the Pine nuts and pulse to slightly chop the nuts.

Taste to see if more seasoning is needed.

Store in airtight containers and freeze.

To store in fridge - pour a thin layer of Olive Oil over top and it will keep

for several weeks.

Another idea is to freeze the Pesto in an ice cube tray.

When frozen remove and store frozen "cubes" in a freezer bag.

It turned out great - oh, I wish you could smell this - so yummy!

Now for a cup of tea in my beautiful new piece of pottery.

Yep, the dishes and laundry will just have to wait.

There might be garlic scape Pesto pasta to go with some bbq chicken for supper tonight?

My new Wendy Johnston Pottery Tea Cup - Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick
http:/wendyjohnstonpottery.com

Till next time ........ what are some of your favourite Pesto recipes?

This Old Barn ...

... witnessed some family love!

The Gerber family picnic,

which is typically held the first Sunday in June,

gathered in this old barn.

It's a big group and the weather was calling for rain 

so the barn floor was swept (as clean as possible).

Crown jars were stuffed with flowers plucked from the farm

beds, which are in full bloom.

Irises along the rail fence.

Peonies on the walkway.

Peeking poppies amongst the weeds.

There were lots to choose from

The weather held, the wind blew all the bugs away,

and the family arrived.

Oh, and did I mention the food?

I failed to take adequate pictures of this feast - it was amazing!

Even a wide angle lens may not have captured all the food.

The dessert table included at least 8 pies, still warm brownies, fresh fruit, rice krispie squares (of course), etc. etc.

I kept going back to the salads and yummy sandwiches.

It was a feast in true Gerber fashion.

Definitely worth lining up for!

The children patiently waited for the grown-ups to finish eating.

The wagon was lined with fresh cut hay bales

and quilts and blankets were ready to be spread onto the bales for seating!

As soon as the farmer made his move, the children clambered onto

the wagon and found their places to sit.

A conversation overheard ...

Q "Who's going to drive the tractor?"

A "Probably somebody who works here!"

Off they went ... as parents and grand parents cell phones "clicked"

Soon everyone settled in to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and be entertained with some lively music.

Dare I say - there was even a wee bit of barn dancing!!
You know who you are.

Yep, this old barn saw some family love on this day!!!

Till next time - ever thankful for barns and family picnics.

Walk About the Farm Yard

Old fashioned Lilac bush - so fragrant!

Although later than most years,

It's one of the prettiest times of year here on the farm.

In spite of it being very dry

and a frost last evening - everything is blooming beautifully.

Periwinkle blooming against the barn wall.

Lily of the Valley - taking over a whole flower bed at the back of the house!

My favourite White Bleeding Hearts Plant

Graceful Ferns unfurled and luscious green.

Hostas and Peonies - and a purple ground cover (not sure what it's called)

Fragrant White Lilac - best blooms ever this year!

I learned something new today.

My friend Margo told me that her mom always squished the woody stems of the lilacs when making a bouquet.

It helps the lilac last longer and absorb the water better.

Did you know that?

I hope my bouquet stays fresh and beautiful.

Wish you could smell this ...

Nothing is quite as pretty as a bouquet

 of Lily of the Valley!

My mom always put them into this very vase - it reminds me of her so much.

It looks so nice on the corner of the old Hoosier cabinet that was her first cupboard

and now has a special place in my farm kitchen.

Mom had so many beautiful flowers and almost always had a bouquet on her dining room table.

Well, there you have it - a wee walk about the farm yard.

Look who's waiting to be packed and hitched for a little bird watching "Escape"!

This post was inspired by Vee's recent post, Anneliese's recent post, and especially Marg's "Happy Place" post!  I sure appreciated their inspiration this week! There is much work to be done and we are waiting for the warm rains predicted early in the week before edging and mulching the beds.

Till next time ............ stopping to smell the lilacs while they last!

Backyard Feather Music

The hills trees are alive

with the sounds of birdies ....

Indigo Bunting - so excited about this one.

I am loving my back yard these days!

Flocks of finches

Red Breasted Grossbeak

The elusive Oriole sits on top of the old apple tree

and sings like a Robin who's had voice lessons - so beautiful!
I just can't seem to get a picture of him .... maybe tomorrow.
The hummingbirds are swarming the feeder - it's wonderful.

The rhubarb is growing by leaps and bounds and I can't wait to make Lovella's "Roasted Rhubarb Scones" this weekend!

Loving Spring and all it offers! So thankful ....

Till next time - looking forward to some more birdwatching in a few short days at MacGregor Point with dear friends ...

Pat's GermanTorte

We recently celebrated a milestone birthday at our house

with one of our favourite cakes.

The first time my sister-in-law, Pat, made this cake we were all in awe!

We sometimes beg her to bring it to special family gatherings.

  This cake is a combination of white cake and chocolate cake which is sliced into alternating layers and iced with the most delicious icing!

Just make sure you have lots of eggs and butter on hand before starting.

The recipe below is for a large slab cake.

I cut the ingredients in half and made a smaller round cake.

Hint - don't cut the filling/icing part in half - it's just too good!

White Cake:

6 eggs - separated

1 Cup Sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

6 Tbsp. water

Pinch of Salt

1 Cup Flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Beat egg whites till stiff - set aside

Beat egg yolks, sugar and water till fluffy and light

Sift flour, baking powder and salt and mix into the egg mixture

Add vanilla

Fold beaten egg whites into batter

Pour into a greased and parchment paper lined 9 X 13 cake pan

Chocolate Cake:

Same as above but with the addition of 1 Cup finely ground nuts and several scoops (4-5 Tbsp.) of cocoa powder or 1-2 oz. grated dark chocolate added to the flour (Pat always uses cocoa powder).

Bake both cakes at 325 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool

Split both cakes horizontally and spread filling/icing between all layers – alternating the white and chocolate cake layers.  Use remaining filling to ice the cake.

Filling/Icing:

6 Tbsp. Flour

2 Cups Milk

2 tsp. vanilla

Bring the above ingredients to a boil – stirring constantly till thickened.  Cool.

Cream together 2 Cups White Sugar

1 lb. unsalted butter – softened.

Add the butter and sugar mixture to the cooled pudding and beat till smooth.

Sprinkle with cocoa powder and chopped nuts (optional). Slice and enjoy! Cake leftovers should be refrigerated.

Till next time ......... now scoot and enjoy this last day of April 2015 - May here we come!

Today is the farmer's 65th Birthday!

How can the years have passed so quickly?

On the weekend we purchased his birthday present

Something to replace the very old and tired BBQ that has served us so well for years (and years)...

It was time!

He put it all together and even read the instructions while doing so.

Have you noticed - he's camera shy to boot!

The steak was marinading in my favourite marinade

and just waiting to test out the new equipment.

Favourite Marinade

This is my “go to” marinade. I often cut the recipe in half when bbqing one large or two smaller steaks - just for the two of us.

½ Cup Soy Sauce

½ Cup Sherry or Red Wine Vinegar

3 Tbsp. Vinegar

2 Tbsp. Cooking Oil

2 Tbsp. Sugar

½ tsp. Ginger (I use 1 Tbsp. fresh ground ginger)

¼ tsp. Garlic Powder (I use 3-4 crushed cloves of garlic)

¼ tsp. Pepper

Wisk together above ingredients and then pour over steak.  Marinade steak for 8-10 hours in the refrigerator.  The recipe also suggests that after removing the meat for grilling – pour the marinade into a small saucepan.  Stir 1 Tbsp. Cornstarch into 2 Tbsp. Water.  Add to marinade and cook over medium heat until it boils and thickens.  Use this to baste meat during last part of cooking. We rarely do this part.

Here it is and no parts were left over - always a good sign.

What am I saying - he's a farmer and farmers know how to put things together.

The steak (it's a very large steak) looked a bit small and lonely on the grill 

with only a small packet of sweet potato and onion's on the side.

I think he loves his new BBQ and I can envision many wonderful feasts to come this summer.

Perfection! Just like him.

We are truly blessed with many good years and delicious food ...

(and a new BBQ that works)!

Happy Birthday Jim - love you!

Till next time ... enjoying the taste of Spring and Steak.

Grammie Sewing Day

There's snow on the few daffodils that finally bloomed

sew so it's a great day for doing some more 

Grammie Sewing ...

I am not an expert sewer but these are made with all straight seams and are a great "wanna be" expert Grammie sewer project. Please don't judge - thank you!

With the lots of left over flannel fabrics from some of my other projects,

I decided to make some burp cloths. One can never have too many - right?

Cotton pre fold diapers .... 

I had no idea that these would be so hard to find!

After much sleuthing I found some at a sweet little specialty baby shop. Cheap they were not but I had my heart set on them for this project.

This is how I made them ...

The diapers and the flannel all need to be pre washed - an important step because otherwise they will shrink and not look so nice (not that it really matters in the end but I like to prewash my fabric).

Cut the flannel pieces 7 inches wide and approx. 22 1/2 inches long (the length may need to be adjusted a bit because all cotton cloth diapers are not created equal).

Fold under long sides by approx. 1/2 inch and press.

Fold over the top edge by 1/2 inch as well (leaving bottom end in case it needs adjusting.

Pin the top edge under to hold it in place, adjust and cut the bottom edge - pin into place as well.

Put a few pins in on either side of the long edges to hold them in place.

I just eye-balled where it should go to cover the center double fold of the diaper.

Now you're ready to go to the sewing machine!

I found it worked best (after breaking my machine needle on the first burp cloth) to use the walking foot on my machine to accommodate the varied thicknesses of the fabric.

Sew down both long edges with 1/4 inch seams - catching the folded under tops and bottoms as you go.

Now just sew across the top and the bottom.

Try to sew it straighter than mine - eek!

top view

back view

That's it .... easy peasy!

That was a fun little project on this snowy Spring day.

Till next time .....  packing them into the suitcase that's headed West in a few short days.

Can't wait to get there!!