Don't Count Yer Eggs......

A handful of days ago, I was delighted to recognize the tulip leaves which were beginning to emerge from beneath the winter accumulation of leaves, gently-used straw and rabbit poop, with which we had amended the perennial border along the fence. My eye had noted the garlic planted last October had started to peek out of the soil, and the crocus plants, which had been greening up for some time, had finally started to sport their unopened blooms.  I giddily rushed outside with a spoonful of our salvaged honey, to offer to the foraging girls I saw emerging from the hive in response to the sunshine.  Mentally, I started ticking off the list of things I needed to tend to and clean up during the weekend. I'm all for leaving seed heads standing for the birds in the fall and winter, but when the promise of spring is on the wind, you have to admit it looks messy. I ruffled the leaves of the parsley plants that had made their dormant way through the winter in my make-shift greenhouse - despite the wind's valiant efforts to strip the plastic off of the support beams on several stormy days - and felt the smile spread across my face.

We went out to Chilliwack for a second round of property viewing Saturday morning, having heard that there might be some small amount of snowfall for the Lower Mainland over the next few hours.  I crossed my fingers that the driving would be unaffected, and the snow would abate.

The snow seemed rather insubstantial that morning, but for the drive home along the highway it gusted and limited visibility. The rabbits were happy with the some extra grain and sunflower seeds, and only one water bottle was frozen by the time we got home.

But the snow didn't stop.

By Saturday evening, the white stuff had been coming down in earnest. That's my track out to the bunnies in the snow.

By Sunday afternoon, the neighbor's little Miniature Pincher had to literally bound through the drifts to bark at me.

And it hasn't stopped.....

Right now, I'm just checking the water bottles regularly and tapping off the branches of the blueberry bushes before accumulation snaps them off.  An unexpected surprise this 'late' in our coastal year, but I guess those chores will have to wait.

Kitchen experiments

I treated myself to some Meyer lemons from the store a couple of weeks ago, and had been using them slowly until this weekend.  Appreciating them for the treat that they are, I tried to make the most out of my purchase.  I made a couple of apple crisps, and some zucchinni lemon bread.  I also saved the seeds, and am trying to start plants both in soil and in dampened paper towels.

 

 

 

I used some of the rind to make citrus vinegar, along with some clementine rinds provided by Adrian's co-workers - and a couple of limes that were squeezed for hand-cut salsa.  I've just decanted and strained the citrus vinegar and will be using it as part of a home made cleaner when I finish the last of the Windex in my cupboard.  I've dried additional citrus rind for use as a simmering mix (to scent and humidify the house), or to add to sachets and scent my sheets and drawers of clothing.  The last two lemons will be skinned, and the rind dunked in vodka for some homemade citrus extract - it can be buddies with my vanilla bean extract.

 

We both have come to appreciate Korean food, and love kimchi.  We've enjoyed our home made, traditional sauerkraut over the past few months, but the 'Krautchi' cross that I attempted turned soft, and lacked the crunchy cabbage texture that we like. For now, I've switched gears and turned to a fermented daikon radish 'kimchi' - known as 'Kkakdugi'

We had a taste yesterday after I made it, and have high hopes for enjoying a different ferment with our meals, to change things up from the Saurkraut.  I have the jar out on the counter for monitoring and a mild ferment, and then will cap it and move it to the fridge when we like the amount of sour taste. 

The daikons were peeled and cubed, rinsed, patted dry, and sprinkled with salt and sugar (this encourages some release of the vegetable's juices, as with kraut).  After 30 minutes, I drained and held the juice aside.  Diced garlic and ginger were added, with several green onions, some fish sauce, and hot pepper flakes.  There are a ton of recipes on the net for reference and optional ingredients.  The whole shebang went into a jar, and I weighed down the daikon with a water-filled jar, then covered the whole thing with a clean towel to sit and mellow.

 

Another two items I have been meaning to replace forever - Nutella and nut butter (this is Honey Almond Butter with Sea Salt - doesn't that sound gourmet?) Both are quite easy to make on your own.  There are fewer ingredients (like 3), and though they need refrigeration and the consistency is a bit granier, I'm quite happy with the results - and Adrian was pleased to have them for breakfast this weekend. 

Tastes Like Cabbage Rolls...

Much like the 'cheater' casserole I worked up for the taste of Greek Dolmades without all of the work, I've now made two attempts at a casserole version of Cabbage Rolls.  Adrian tells me that these two dishes top the list of his favourite weeknight dinners.

On this day, I was making Cabbage Roll casseroles as well as a batch of pasta sauce for the freezer - onions, carrots, celery, garlic, dehydrated zucchini and tomatoes from the garden (rehydrated overnight in tomato sauce), herbs and spices, ground pork and beef bought on special, and diced canned tomatoes also bought on special. Everything was cleaned chopped, sauced, browned and cooked up en masse, and what didn't get used in the casseroles went into the pot with some extra diced tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, sage, and dried garlic powder, then was frozen in blocks to quickly feed guests with minimal prep work.

 

 

The meat and vegetables for the casseroles, with rice added.  Adrian said he would be fine with less meat and more rice and vegetables.  This time, it worked out to a little under 1/4 pound of meat per serving, but I will adjust to make the meal less expensive and less dependant on grocery store meat. I'd like to try this with ground rabbit as well.

 

I browned the cabbage to encourage some deeper, sweet flavor, and for ease of layering in the dishes.

 

Cabbage, sauce, cabbage, and there you have 24 servings for the freezer, with no questionable ingredients.

Chilliwack?

I've been teased by a few people about the fact that I haven't posted anything in a while.  I've been carried away with schoolwork and looking for our new home - realtors everywhere have been extremely frustrating to manage (and, really, are you supposed to need to manage a realtor?), and I must say I've spent more time than I like to think about searching city websites, calling, emailing, and generally leaving messages for people who are supposed to be 'in the know' about city zoning, bylaws, and specifics regarding the properties involved.  I've become quite adept at viewing city maps and tracing property lines visually on Google, to determine whether that's a 'slight slope,' or a cliff at the back of a house.... I want questions answered before waste time or fall in love with an unsuitable place!

This past weekend we drove out to Chilliwack (about an hour and a half outside of Vancouver proper), to have a look at several properties.  Unfortunately, the owner of the home we were most interested in pulled out at the last minute - because she had company coming (hunh?) -  so our main interest went unseen.  We're trying to lock in a viewing for next weekend.

 

This house was the front-runner of the day, meaning that out of the 6 properties we saw, it was the only one that we would consider useable and liveable.  Still, at $600,000.00 and 3 hours worth of commuting each day to work, we're not jumping on board just yet.

 

 

The view over the fence at the back of the property - the remnants of the neighbour's corn harvest, and a peek at the misty mountains in the distance.

 

This is me looking back at the house (center), with Adrian and the realtor walking towards me - the neighbouring houses to either side are closer than I would like, but huge, established cedar hedges around front and sides of the 'yard' allow for quite a bit of privacy.

 

 

The inside of the aged but clean and fairly sound barn - this is one of two sides, with a divider wall down the middle, a tack room, and a small workshop area.  Decent cement floor with foot-high cement sides for the exterior wall footings.

 

 

The barn's inhabitants watching me take pictures out of their back loafing area.

 

The second-story hay door to the barn's loft area, which would probably hold 100 bales of grass and straw.  I just wanted to get in there with a broom for the cobwebs, and several vats of whitewash. This is also a  view of the back of the house, with an enclosed back porch/mudroom (12x19), featuring a huge single-pane window to ensure it receives lots of light (and on that day, a fair amount of the cold.  Useful during the mosquito season, and for company's coats and shoes, but not really liveable in the fall and winter).

 

Still the view from the barn loft - the back of the garage (larger building on cement slab, with 220 power - summer canning kitchen and entertaining space?), and a smaller shed with metal sheeting for the roof and walls.  Dry and clean, but I'm not sure of its intended purpose.  The property boasted several areas of concrete that weeds and grass were attempting to retake.

 

The chicken coop/garden shed, with what appears to be a stolen Federal Parks and Recreation sign hanging over the door.  A few broken panes of glass in the windows, but this has definitely served to house chickens - ask me how I know.  Behind the flag pole is a hazelnut tree (bonus!) and a severely-pruned apple tree.  This grassy yard, bounded by cedars, is likely where the septic is located.  Unfortunately, the history of the septic system is not documented - but the realtor knows a guy *wink wink.*

 

 

Excited by the viability of the outbuildings and the outdoors space, we went inside to find a combination of renovated and non-renovated living spaces....  The kitchen was decently outfitted with cabinets and an island with good storage, where stools could be added for a few people to pull themselves up to eat.  The dining area (table at front) would likely only seat 6 in the space afforded.  Some of the light switches served no purpose/were faulty/were wired to burnt-out-bulbs.

 

Several well-built and sealed hatches opened up to show a crawl space filled with cobwebs which was floored in dirt.  I would definitely want someone down there to assess the area.

 

The owners had installed new flooring, and hookups for a surround-sound stereo system, but the intended area for the TV was oddly positioned right next to the propane stove (which had obviously just replaced a wood-burning appliance).  I don't favor putting expensive electronics directly beside a heat source.

 

The laundry room and water treatment area were newly-outfitted, though I didn't think to check which way the doors opened.

The two bedrooms on the main floor where acceptable though small, and a 9x9 'office area' led off of the smallest of the two.  The listing, however, noted an additional 8x10 and 13x11 bedroom, which we found through a small door, up a, well I would say extremely-angled, narrow, staircase.....and that's where the renovations had stalled...

 

Hmmm.

 

The search continues.....

 

Molasses Spice Crinkles

I made some cookies last night, so that Adrian could take some to work on what promised to be a cold winter day, and we could have something 'seasonal' for guests this evening.  There's something about cloves, ginger, and cinnamon that just makes me feel a little happier on a snowy day.

Molasses Spice Crinkles

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cloves
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon (most people like cinnamon, so I'm a bit more generous)

Sugar for dusting (about 3/4 cup - I throw the remainder in my tea the next morning.)

Preheat the oven to 375.  I'm lucky enough to have a stand mixer, so I throw the butter and sugar together and let them get acquainted while I gather the other ingredients.  I have made these by simply creaming the butter and sugar in a large bowl as well.  Either way, do not double this recipe - it will be too difficult to manage the dough. Just make two batches - the dishes are already dirty, and you're going to be monitoring the oven for a while.

Once the butter and sugar are fluffy, add the eggs and molasses.  Beat until smooth,

In a separate bowl, measure the dry ingredients and give them a stir.  This, I drop into the mixer by the rounded spoonful, but you can add it in several portions to the wet ingredients until the flour is blended in.

This is where the fun starts.  I have a 'tablespoon' cookie scoop to make measuring out the dough easier for me.  The original recipe suggests that this recipe will make 10 dozen, baked 5-7 minutes. My scoop gives me 3 1/2 dozen fairly chewy, moist cookies - baked for 9-10 minutes, and allowed to cool.  I scoop the dough, roll it in a bowl of dusting sugar (you can get fancy and play with food coloring and demerara sugar if you want things to be more colourful), and bake them 8 to a tray. If you intend to freeze some for baking later, skip the sugar dusting, and later thaw fully to ensure the sugar will stick to your dough before baking.

If you made 10 dozen, these cookies would be smaller and more brittle like a gingersnap.  I've tried to duplicate the giant cookies that some coffee shops sell - the danger is always that you will burn the bottom of the cookies without sufficiently cooking the middle.  You could try playing with the oven temperature. ** Remember** the crinkles don't show up in the oven - that occurs as the cookie cools on the tray out on the counter. 

Play with the size and level of chewiness that you like.  Finish the dough and do a test run - or 2 or 3, to determine what size of cookie you like, and what the ideal baking time is. 

The Kraut Craft Continues

Well, Adrian and I have decided that my newest attempt at making sauerkraut was a success - hitting the two week mark in the process was the key to taking the bitter edge off, and the flavour has continued to mellow.  We've enjoyed a bit on the side of most of our recent dinners, especially anything meat-heavy, as the kraut is supposed to aid digestion.  Yesterday I packed two more jars of kraut with a twist - one is flavoured with julienned apple and celery seed, and the other is a nod to kimchi with none of the pre-soaking normally involved in the kimchi-making process (and no fish sauce either).  Krautchi?  I've flavoured that jar with garlic and shallots from the garden, and red pepper flakes from the store. The water-filled jars on top are sitting on whole cabbage leaves, holding the vegetables under the cover of the brine, and both jars are draped with a clean dishcloth when I'm not taking pictures.  The casserole dish is there to catch any spills as the fermenting process takes over.  The original kraut is currently residing in the fridge, to slow fermentation.

 

The new krauts should be ready to try by the time we finish our purple cabbage kraut.

 

Krautchi on the left, and you can see the apple peel and flecks of celery seed in the jar on the right.

 

We'll experiment with additions and vegetable combinations, and find what works best and tastes best for us.  I have some mustard greens in the garden that I would like to add to a ferment - if they survive our current drop below zero under their floating row cover. Horseradish leaves would add some interesting heat as well, and I've already promised to use some daikon in the next batch. 

 

Fermentation is a traditional way of storing food where canning and refrigeration are not available. Traditionally, many cultures have fermented vegetables, dairy and meats in all kinds of interesting ways. Cheese, miso, coffee, tea, and chocolate are all products of fermentation.  Recent studies show that sauerkraut contains a greater number of anti-carcinogenic nutrients than cabbage (and other brassicas) which are eaten raw or cooked.  What's important to me, is that I know that it tastes good and I feel good about preparing and eating it.

As I did all of this cutting and mixing and crushing, I had water boiling on the stove to prepare a new batch of kombucha.  We're on and off again with our morning consumption of a swig of this vinegary-tasting 'healthful' brew, but the kombucha mother keeps working, so I keep making it, and we keep trying to remember to drink it in the rush to get ready in the morning. 

I like the kraut better :)

A New Book to Add to the Library

One of the bloggers I have been following for a few years has self published, and I would love to add a copy of her book to my personal library.  She has an impressive array of informative links on her site to a range of homesteading and self sufficiency sites and references, and I've learned a lot from her thoughtful, honest, and sometimes self-effacing posts.  She and her husband have slowly been rebuilding their home and learning about the realities of trying to provide for themselves and their animals on their land in South Appalachia.  She actually has her rain catchment system connected and functioning, and a wood cook stove in her kitchen.  I can hope and dream!

Leigh was the first blogger that I've followed who actually published a comment on this blog, and I have to say that it gave me a bit of a thrill to hear from someone I've been following for so long.  She has a wonderful blog, 5 Acres and a Dream, and I've been learning about her efforts to re-mineralize her soil and grow food for her animals rather than being completely dependant on the feed store. 

By posting this entry, I've got a chance to win her book in a draw - but I intend to add it to my collection either way! I encourage you to go have a look at what they've accomplished. You might just be inspired.