Carpe Diem Acreage

You Know Its Cold When....

2012-01-19T08:46:00.000-08:00

#10 - The warmest jackets and boots are dug out of the closet

#9 - After saying goodbye to someone it is followed with a "Keep warm!"

#8 - You just want to stay in bed under the covers

#7 - The house begins to make loud cracking and popping sounds

#6 - You can't close or lock the outside doors because of the frost surrounding them

#5 - The dog doesn't want to go outside

#4 - The extension cord you use to plug in the car is frozen stiff (to heat the oil pan or the car won't start)

#3 - The ice is forming inside your windows

#2 - You have to bring some of the animals into the heated garage from the uninsulated barn

#1 - The eggs you pull out of the nesting boxes are frozen solid (and the coop is insulated and has a heat lamp)

Yes that is -38c! (-36.4F)

But life here continues on as usual... schools, shops and businesses remain open. We just dress a little warmer and the topic of most conversations is the cold.

New Years Eve, the Year, and Another Cracker Recipe

2011-12-31T17:04:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we are already at the end of 2011!

We had a quiet Christmas - just the four of us and my parents. Husband has been ill for most of the holidays and is just beginning to be up on his feet and moving around again. The kids have both been working at their jobs over the holidays and really haven't been home much. Son works at McDonalds which is funny since he hasn't eaten at a McDonalds for about 6 years... and still doesn't. Daughter is working at a gift store and worked 11 days straight before Christmas and then right back again on Boxing Day.

2011 seems to have been a year where no matter what we did we couldn't seem to get ahead. With the terrible winter and summer we didn't manage to get the barn finished, many crops in the garden didn't produce and it was just a downer in general for our moods. Financially the year was also a strain due to the renovations on the rental house (after being left in very rough shape by the last tenants). And now it has been sitting empty for the past 6 months for the renos and listing. Hopefully it will sell quickly in the new year - it is in a good neighbourhood and is looking nice now, so I'm optimistic.

Over the past few days I have been working on getting some year end paperwork completed, and Husband has been working on a new budget for 2012.

Tonight will be a quiet one as well, as both kids are working (Son on a midnight shift and Daughter babysitting for the neighbour). I have been baking crackers for this evening snacks. I've tried a new recipe from 50's Gal blog, but something was missing from the ingredients she listed so I adapted it somewhat...

Cheese Crackers
1/2 c butter
2 cups cheddar cheese (I used medium but sharp would be better)
1 1/2 c Flour
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t paprika
1/3 c milk

Put dry ingredients into a bowl and cut in the butter.
Add milk and combine and form dough into a ball
Roll out dough on a floured surface until 1/8" thick and cut out
Place crackers onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
Bake at 325F for 15 minutes
Remove and place on rack until cooled

I wish you all a very wonderful New Years Eve - be safe and if you are going out make sure you have a designated driver who is not drinking.

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST FOR 2012

Crackers

2011-12-20T08:52:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been focusing on baking crackers. In an effort to save some money (though purchased crackers are not expensive) and, more importantly, continue to eat healthy I decided to try out some cracker recipes. They are so easy to bake with ingredients everyone has on hand, I don't know why people even bother to buy them.

These were made with rye flour and should be like a swedish crisp bread, but the recipe needs some tweeking as it was too sweet tasting for my family and didn't get very crisp. They were definiately not to our taste, but the chickens enjoyed them very much (nothing is going to waste here!)

Herb Crackers mmmm buttery and yummy. The recipe was found here when I did a google search for recipes.

Ingredients
1 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of margarine or butter
1/4 cup of milk
1/2 teaspoon of dried basil
1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme

Directions
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, basil, and thyme. Mix in the butter or margarine until the mixture is crumbly. Add the milk and stir until it forms a solid ball.
Knead dough on a lighlty floured surface.
Roll out the dough to a 1/4 inch thickness and cut into cracker sized pieces. Makes about 24 crackers.
Bake at 400 for 10 minutes, after 10 minutes turn them over and bake for another 5 minutes.

The best crackers EVER!!!! This recipe comes from Mrs Lyle and was posted the Mother Earth News website with their cracker recipes.

Delicious Homemade Crackers

makes about 50-60 crackers

2 c. all purpose flour (I prefer unbleached)
3/4 c. whole wheat
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp (or more) cracked black or freshly ground black pepper (opt.)
1 c. seeds (flax, sesame, poppy, sunflower combo is fantastic)
1/2 c. butter (unsalted is best, imo)
3/4 c. milk (more or less)
1/2 c. to 2 c. finely shredded cheese (opt.), parmesean is delish
salt

Mix dry ingredients except seeds, cut in butter. Mix in seeds and cheese (if using). Add milk, squeezing with hands, to form into ball.
(Add flour if too wet, more milk if too dry.) Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled. Divide into thirds and roll out with rolling pin on floured
surface of wax paper to about 1/16 of an inch thick. Sprinkle with salt and roll to press onto dough. Prick with fork all over
to reduce uneven bubbling during cooking. Use pizza cutter to cut into shapes (diagonals are good) or tear into rough-edged pieces the sizes you
desire. Bake in pre-heated oven, 325 degrees on lightly greased baking sheets/pans or, preferably, parchment paper.
Turn crackers over after 10-15 minutes and bake another 5-10 minutes or until lightly golden. Cool.

Winter Photos 1951

2011-12-05T13:42:00.000-08:00

When my mother-in-law passed away we were left with boxes of photographs. Husband's sister said we should take the photos home, pull out what we wanted and she would go through the leftovers at a later time.

Last night instead of watching television we decided it would be fun to go through one of the boxes. Many photos were of our wedding, the kids, sister-in-laws wedding and pictures of modern time, but there were also a stack of pictures ranging from the late 1920s into the 50s. I though I would share 2 photos that I liked.

Husband grew up in a small village in the interior of British Columbia called Little Fort (previously called Mount Olie). His family came to the village in the 1920's and his sister still resides there. I find it interesting that he and his sister attended the same one room school house that his grandmother and mother attended. The school closed a few years ago and I have to wonder how many small one or two room schools there are nowadays.

These photos are stamped Feb 2 1951 and that winter must have been quite severe for someone wanting to capture them on film.

This first photo shows a snowplow on the street in front of the community hall. Husband said the hall burnt down and another built in its place, which was also consumed by fire shortly after being buit. The third community hall built on the property is further back from the road and still stands.

I love this photo of a woman hanging laundry in the snow. I assume this photo is of Husband's grandmother, but I'm not sure as it is difficult to see her face. I guess this picture gets me thinking that I have a clothes line that I use in summer, but I never hang out laundry in the winter and always use the dryer... I think I should try it sometime!

Vintage Finds of the Week

2011-12-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

I love to look for vintage items by browsing through the thrift stores. I think it is so much fun because one never knows what will be found. Usually I walk away with nothing, but today several items found their way home with me.

With Christmas fast approaching I am always on the lookout for a tablecloth large enough to fit my dining table. I found this vintage print one which is 80x58 and just fits! I quickly placed it on the table for size when I snapped the photo hence the fold lines. I'm very happy that there are no stains or holes!

On Wednesday we are hosting a Christmas party for Husband's office executives. I've been wondering what to make for appies and this will help. A box of Bridge Set cookie and sandwich cutters. I have no idea the age of this set but am really happy that they are in the original box which I keep and make sure it remains in good condition (if you happen to know the era of this item please let me know!). Later today I will be looking for some fancy sandwich/canape recipes

I have been looking for a serving tray for a long time and have never came across one that I particularly liked, but this lovely mid-century modern teak tray fit the bill.

Great Kitchen Design

2011-12-01T14:18:00.000-08:00

I am in need of reorganizing my kitchen. I have a huge kitchen with lots of counter space, but sensible organization of my cupboards is lacking and I have been wanting to do some sorting/reorganizing for quite some time.

Yesterday I came across this great video from 1949 which has really gotten me inspired. There are some wonderful ideas here. I wish I would have seen this before we designed the kitchen as I really want that hole in the counter top for scrap depositing for compost and chickens. Somehow I don't think Husband will allow me to cut a hole in the counter top now :(

I have some things to think about and a project for the weekend. I know I can get the kitchen to work better than it currently does.

I Like to Call it Suelze

2011-11-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I'm fooling anyone, but the German word Suelze just sounds so much better than headcheese!

Anyway, when we had the pigs butchered we got everything back including the head, heart, feet, fat, etc, etc, etc. so I decided to use it all! (I was also donated extra parts from the other people that shared in our pig venture, because they don't have the stomach to deal with it)

I was at home today so I dug out some parts from the freezer and began cooking. I looked through my vintage cookbooks and online to find recipes for headcheese, but found they varied so much in regard to spices and preparation methods, so I just headed out on my own (Oh! no pun intended)

If you are the queasy sort, you may not want to continue reading....

--------

1) Boil 1/2 pig's head, feet, tongue and heart in the largest pot I could find in slightly salted water for about 3 hours

If it looks like an ear, it's because it is.

2) After boiling, remove head, feet, tongue and heart from water and place in a separate bowl. I then put the bowl in the cold garage to cool down.

3) After cooling comes the time to pick through the items for the good meat and put it in the food processor and I chopped it rather coarsely. I think most people would it a very gross experience, but I actually found it rather interesting (luckily I don't gross out easily). Most of the meat is in the head and the heart and tongue just needed a little trimming. The feet have virtually no meat, but rather bring the gelatin to the dish.

4) Place the meat into a smaller pot and ladled some of the first cooking liquid into the meat (about 4 cups - I'm not sure as I didn't measure). To the mixture I added one chopped onion and approx 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar. I then added one of the pigs feet back in.

5) Add spices - I used salt, pepper, a lot of sage and about 1/2 t of chili powder. Boil until the onion is cooked.

The meat mixture being brought to a boil

5) Remove from heat and remove the pig foot then pour into a loaf pan. Put in fridge to cool and set.

Mixture in the loaf pan

I unmolded from the pan and it was not a firm as I expected - more like a pate.

The Suelze turned out very good, but it is very rich so you can't eat a lot of it. It is very tasty eaten with some crackers.

My morning

2011-11-17T10:04:00.001-08:00

Look at what greeted me this morning...

At least 2 feet of snow (60 cm) and it is still snowing. Of course this has to arrive while Husband is out of town.

Company Jump - Tribute to the Andrews Sisters

2011-11-11T13:44:00.000-08:00

Today is Rememberance Day and we had tickets to see Company Jump - Andrews Sisters Tribute which was being performed in our city.

Husband and I (and the kids too) are big fans of the music from the 1940s and we usually have it playing in the house via Sirius Satellite Radio's '40s on 4' channel. I think there was only one song played at this evening's performance that I didn't recognize, otherwise I was able to sing along (silently of course!).

Anyway, this was a wonderfully entertaining performance featuring music of the era and a lot of comedic banter. If you are a fan of the Andrews Sisters or 40s music and ever have a chance to see Company Jump, I urge you to go! It is well worth the cost of the ticket.

Soup recipe and Immersion Blender

2011-11-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

Winter is fast approaching and we had snow over the weekend again.... but this time it stayed :(

With the colder weather I feel like making soup to take the chill away. I rarely make soup in the warmer months, but it is soooo good at this time of year.

I tried a new recipe to use up the last of the red tomatoes from the garden. This recipe is from the Nourishing Traditions The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon. If you haven't seen this book/cookbook you really must as it is chock full of recipes and information on cultural diets, nutrition, and ingredients. It is super interesting!

Tomato-Dill Soup
Serves 6

2 medium onions, peels and coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
3 T butter
8 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 cups of chicken stock
1/2 t dried green peppercorns, crushed sea salt or fish sauce
1/4 c snipped fresh dill
piima cream or creme fraiche

Saute onion and celery gently in butter until tender. Add tomatoes and stock, bring to a boil and skim. Add crushed peppercorns. Simmer about 15 minutes.
Puree soup wint a handheld blender. Thin soup with a little water if necessary, and season to taste. Stir in the dill. Simmer gently about 5 minutes, ladle into heated bowls and serve with cultured cream.

I didn't have an immersion blender as the one I had received from my mother-in-law (a 1980's vintage model) began smoking the last time I used and I promptly put it in the trash. I didn't use it much anyway as it didn't have enough power to make it worth the effort.

After several months of debating whether I should purchase a new one, I finally broke down and came home with a Kitchen Aid model. In the store I really looked over the various models which ranged from $10 to $80. Of course the Kitchen Aid was the most expensive, but upon closer inspection I could see why. The blade was twice as long as the other models (giving more cutting/blending surface), the motor power was adjustable, and in general it just seemed much sturdier. I would rather spend the money on something that will work properly and will not have a planned obsolenscence. So far I have been extremely happy with my Kitchen Aid stand mixer and I hope the blender will give me the same good results.

So far I have used it for blending the soup in the above recipe, smoothies, hummus, and chopping/blending kale and cream a dish for last night's dinner. (If you like kale this dish is awesome... I will post it another time after I have translated it from German)

Saturday in Pictures

2011-10-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

Last day of the pigs. They had their "appointment" today.

The geese don't mind the snow

The new flock of ducks. The mallard is on the far left.

The geese decided that the fences are down and they are allowed in the garden.

Quickly harvesting the leeks. Also picked the kale, carrots and parsnips.

The Plymouth Barred Rocks in their new pen

Poultry

2011-10-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

Our freezer is full. The meat birds and one goose were brought to the mobile processing unit yesterday. Husband and I had to get up at 5:00 am to get the hens into some cages to bring them to the processor. With an hour's drive we were the first to arrive at 7:30am only to be met by a friend who was the second to arrive. It was quite a surprise running into her there as she drove into town from McBride - who would have thought we would have made the appointments on the same day.

The unit was interesting and full of stainless steel - since we were the first people there we got a tour! I was very happy to see on one of the signs "Make sure to treat the animals humanely"

Upon arriving home Husband went out to feed the geese and the gander promptly nailed him. He was bitten quite hard. I think the gander was afraid he was next in line for processing. Of course when I went out the gander was as gentle as usual with me (goose love).

I don't think that I mentioned that we sold all of the Americauna chicks that we hatched in the spring. Our intention was to keep them, but after having the Plymouth Barred Rock and discovering how calm they are, we decided that the flighty Americaunas are not our preferred breed. So, I placed an ad on Kijiji and sold them all for $10 a piece about 2 months ago and I am still getting inquiries from people wanting to buy them.

We have been in a quandry as to what to do with your old laying hens. I mentioned it to one of my clients and they said that they would take them even though they are already three years old. Once they build their henhouse I will deliver the hens and Lucky.

The Barred Rock are great and the rooster (the other 3 went to the processor) has begun crowing. It sounds so funny sort of like a muffled trumpet. We have one teeny tiny hen in the batch and she is about a quarter the size of the others, but she is tough as nails and is always the first to the food and water.

Tomorrow I will be cleaning out hen house and outside pens and moving the Barred Rock into the side where the old layers are to get them settled. The have not begun laying yet, but at least they will be in the side with the nest boxes. The old layers will go on the other side until my client's are ready to accept them - it shouldn't be a problem without the nest boxes as they are only laying 2-3 eggs a day with the darker days.

At the end of July the fox ate Donald our drake Khaki Campbell. The duck hens seemed so lost without him, so I began looking around for another drake. On Kijiji someone had advertised a FREE Khaki drake, but to get him I would also have to take a Mallard hen. They joined our flock at the end of September and seem to be doing very well. At took a liitle bit to get them acquainted with our existing hens, but they get along rather well now.

Leeks; the Forgotten Vegetable

2011-10-23T17:44:00.000-07:00

Our leeks did very well this year. Obviously a vegetable that likes lots of water.

I have never seen such large leeks grown here before

Tonight's side dish is Braised Leeks from the "Nourishing Traditions" cookbook by Sally Fallon

Braised Leeks

6 medium leeks

2 cups beef stock

1 cup grated Gruyere cheee (which I don't have so I will use some Parmesan)

Trim ends of leeks and split lengthwise. Rinse well and set ina pyrex pan. Bring beef stock to a boil and pour over leeks. Bake at 350 for about 1/2 hour or until the stock has reduced and leeks are tender. Sprinkle on cheese and melt under broiler for a few minutes. Serve immediately

I'm Back

2011-10-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

I know that I have been absent for quite some time. It has been a busy and stressful summer. First off, we have had the most rainy summer I have ever experienced. This led to numerous ~~problems~~ situations that we have had to work around:

First off we did not get the barn finished as we had intended as our property is mainly clay and to try to work around in the mud was just no fun.

With the barn not finished our animals have had to reside in makeshift pens and were shuffled several times to different areas. Husband did finish the portion of the barn that hooked to the hen house, so we were able to get some permanent quarters for the geese and ducks. The old duck half of the hen house was taken over by the new laying hens (Plymouth Barred Rock). The upper portion of this 'barn section' can now house the hay, and we managed to get most of that out of the garage (yeah! more room)

The pigs have been moved three times now. One earlier post shows what should have been their permanent pen. Unfortunately with the relentless rain the entire area became a huge mud pit with the muck reaching the pigs bellies in some places. We worried that they would become ill or get some kind of foot disease, so we moved them once again.

Most of the garden didn't get weeded on a regular basis because it was just too wet and the water was sitting in the pathways. A lot of our garden plants did not produce this year because of the weather, yet some did surprisingly well.

I seem to have made quite a bit of jam this year - grape, black currant (from our gardens) and apricot (from a coworker's brother who lives in the Okanagan).

We had several sets of visitors over the summer. My penpal from Germany and her husband came to stay for a few days during their holiday to BC and Alberta. It was so great to finally meet her!

It took me three months to get our rental house finished and it was listed for sale last Friday. With that complete I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief. I think that has caused me the greatest stress - trying to get the house repaired, painted and updated (Thank you Dad for all your help!) and the continual discovery of more damage caused by the last tenants not noticed on their departure.

We managed one day as a family holiday in which we travelled to Barkerville. We all love visiting the historic gold rush town of Barkerville.

Husband and I also managed to get away to Kelowna for a few days in September. It was a holiday for me but he had to work. We drank lots of great Okanagan wine. I know that most people don't associate Canada, or specifically British Columbia, with wine but we actually produce top quality wines in the Okanagan region. I did a lot of walking around the hotel, downtown and the lake. The weather was surprisingly good - rain overnight, overcast in the mornings and sunny and warm in the afternoon.

Husband also started a new job over the summer. He has more stress but will not be out on the road as much which is a good thing because I always worry.

So that was about it for my summer (or lack thereof). Hopefully next year we will actually get some sunshine. Now onto winter....

First Snow

2011-10-21T17:35:00.001-07:00

Yes, you read that correctly. We had our first snowfall this morning. Luckily it did not stay and the sun came out in the afternoon.

I thought the pigs would be interested in the snow being such curious creatures, but no they were much more interested in the pail of donated apples

Grapes!

2011-09-09T14:28:00.000-07:00

With our wet, cold summer the garden hasn't been doing very well. The peas, beans, carrots, potatoes, zucchini and leek are growing in abundance (obviously liking all the rain) and the rest of the produce growth seems pretty stagnant.

The one huge surprise is GRAPES! Though in our climate we have to cheat so the vines are in the greenhouse. Husband planted them and this is the third year of growth. Last year I think we shared 5 grapes between the family. But this year we will have a bumper crop! Grape jelly is soon to be on the way...

Posted on Homestead Barn Hop #27

I'm gonna kill that fox....

2011-09-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

I am so frustrated that I couldn't sleep last night and ended up crying this morning.... maybe it's hormones, but most likely it's that damn fox!

He's been around a lot over the past month sneaking off with the odd hen. Well I thought it was only one or two hens until I actually took count down by the hen house and we appear to be missing a lot of hens. Then a few weeks ago our favourite rooster, Cockzilla, went missing one evening. We searched and searched, but I knew when he wasn't on his roost by 6:30pm that he was a gonner.

Last night Donald, our drake Khaki Campbell duck, went missing. The three remaining duck hens were wandering around aimlessly without him leading them. Donald NEVER leaves his girls so I know that fox got him as well.

I like fox, but this has to stop, as I can't continue losing my livestock. Son and Husband are prepared to shoot him if they see him on the property. Until then I have to keep all the poultry locked up (no free ranging) which I hate to do.

Rain and Rentals

2011-07-24T17:25:00.001-07:00

While the rest of Canada and a large portion of the US are experiencing heat waves, our province had had weeks and weeks and weeks of rain. There has been a lot of flooding and several highways have been closed at times because of washouts.

My garden desperately needs to be weeded, but the soil is so wet it is hard to get in there and the pathways are filled with water. Considering the rain, I was very pleased to see that our strawberry plants are loaded with fruit... if only we could get a few days of sunshine we will have a bumper crop.

The weekend's weather was better (meaning no rain) and husband has been working on the barn build again. The barn was started last autumn but it seems we rarely have time to work on completing it. Plus working in the muck is not very inspiring.

I haven't been doing much on the acreage over the past couple of weeks. My time has been devoted to cleaning, repairing and painting our rental house. The last tenants left a mess and quite a lot of damage. It was very disappointing, and I am getting the house ready so it is in good condition to sell. After years of having rental properties we are done.

In the Kitchen

2011-07-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

This morning has started as a very dreary day. As I look out the window the rain is pouring outside, but luckily when I went to feed and water the animals it had slowed. The past few weeks have been very wet and the highway north of us has been closed for 2 weeks due to numerous slides and washouts over a very long stretch of the road. They just reopened for a small portion of traffic and today it is expected to get another 100mm or so rain (heavy rain fall warning).

So a wet dreary day means I can do lots of work in the kitchen....

Yesterday I purchased some beef bones, so I roasted them in the oven and began cooking them last night. I have them simmering on the back of the stove again together with some onions, celery leaves, bay leaves and peppercorns this morning. It should make for a nice starter for tonight's dinner. I added a splash of vinegar as that is suppose to help draw out minerals from the bones.

I'm not sure what else I'll add to the soup - maybe some barley together with carrots, celery and potatoes. Perhaps some lovage from the garden for extra flavour (I'll go out and brave the rain)

I know I will have to bake some bread today and most likely I'll also start up some more yogurt.

I purchased some organic almonds and soaked them overnight in water with some salt. First thing this morning I drained them and placed them in my food dehydrator. I have been reading that we should soak our nuts before eating them so as to neutralize the enzyme inhibitors and break down the gluten so digestion is easier. Husband can not tolerate nuts though he loves them, so perhaps by soaking he will be able to eat a few. We can only give a try and see (and hopefully he won't end up with a bad stomach ache.)

I have to take Daughter to the shopping centre later, so I was thinking to pick up some chinese cabbage and put some Kimchi to ferment. I enjoy Kimchi and haven't made it for a while. I already have the Daikon radish and all the other ingredients so I may as well make it now. There are so many variations of Kimchi - here method that I use, but in addition of the cabbage I also add Diakon radish and carrots cut into matchstick strips...

Afternoon Update: Below is my completed Kimchi waiting to begin the fermentation process on the counter

Wednesday in Pictures and Commentary

2011-07-06T09:12:00.000-07:00

Foxglove - my favourite flower but unfortunately doesn't grow in our climate. So what is doing in the flowerbed? Well, Husband started some foxglove seeds last year and they all died off with the exception on a couple which I planted in front of the house (south facing) to catch the heat. It grew but did not produce any flowers. In it the fall I didn't pull it out and the deep snow must have kept it fairly insulated. This spring it started to grow again and now it has flowered! I love it and so do the bees!

The front flowerbed has finally filled in with perennials - it is looking rather pretty with all the pink flowers!

The new permanent pig pen is finally complete! The pigs are loving it as there is greenery (almost completely mowed down now) and lots of space to play.

This morning's collection of eggs. Look at that huge one in the middle!

Old Cookery - Steamed Pudding

2011-07-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned previously in posts, I love collecting old cookbooks, reading old recipes and trying them out too. Oh, and eating them doesn't hurt either (as to which my waist can attest and that's not a good thing)

Last week I decided that I really wanted to try baking an old English type steamed pudding. I have never eaten one before and really didn't know much about them or the cooking method. So I searched out some old recipes then read about the methodology online.

What I found was there are two types of steaming methods:
1) to place and seal the ingredients in a bowl and then place in a pot of water with lid and boil
2) to place and seal the ingredients in a bowl and then place in a pot with boiling water and bake in the oven

I also discovered that even though the recipe is called 'pudding' it is not like pudding as I know it (a custard like consistency), but rather a very moist cake. There are many types of pudding moulds and even pudding moulds with lids. The ingredients must remain sealed so as to prevent any outside moisture from getting in.

I still have a number of jars of mincemeat left over from what I canned last year so I searched for a steamed pudding using that ingredient. I figured there must be something....
and of course I found it on the 18th C Cuisine blog:

Baked Mincemeat Pudding

2 cups mincemeat [I used homemade, brandied mincemeat]
4 eggs
1/2 cup [1 stick] butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Optional: chopped nuts, about 1/2 cup [I did not use]

Cream butter and sugar; beat in one egg at a time. Sift dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture. Fold in mincemeat and nuts, if using. Butter and sugar a baking dish [charlotte mold works well] and pour batter in. Cover with a piece of greased paper to fit top of dish. Set dish into another larger dish and surround with boiling water [bain marie], place in moderate oven [350ºF] and bake for at least one hour.

Continue to check for doneness by inserting a broom straw in the middle--if it comes out clean, the pudding is done. Remove from water bath and allow to cool before running a knife around the edge and slipping from the pan onto a serving platter.

Can douse with more brandy and flambé or serve with dessert sauce [Sabayon: 1 egg yolk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup Marsala. Whip over a boiling water bath (Bain Marie) until thick. Serve over pudding slices.] Pudding texture and taste improves with age.

So, here is a photo of my completed pudding which took 3 hours in the oven to set. It may not look like much but is tasted very good - rich and dense but not too sweet. My family loved it. As a bonus it was actually very easy to make - I was rather intimated to try it as I have not tried steaming anything before. The ingredients came together quickly, I sealed the glass bowl tightly with tin foil, put in a second pan with water and let it bake. Simple!

This week I'll be making Rhubarb Steamed Pudding.

Canada Day

2011-07-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day!

It's Canada 144th Birthday!

My family's usual Canada Day festivities are celebrated at the large park downtown where there is live entertainment and FOOD. Yes, booths featuring foods from many different nations. Unfortunately, today's weather was hit and miss with rain and Husband didn't want to go. Daughter volunteered to do face painting for the Multicultural Society and she spent most of the afternoon at the park. Son and I decide to dine on Philipino food this year.

Husband hit the lumber store and the began expanding the henhouse to accommodate that new chickens and geese. He also started putting in the fence for the place where the pigs will go (if you remember we only had a temporary pen for them).

I visited the local thrift store and bought 3 pairs of jeans and a pair of dress pants. I always have trouble finding pants that fit, so to find 4 pair in one day is amazing! A skort and a glass juice jug also came home with me.

You Don't See This Very Often...

2011-06-28T21:59:00.000-07:00

Over the past two years or so I have been collecting vintage cookbooks. What I like are pre-1960's books because I like to see the thrift and old cooking methods that were once employed by homemakers of the past.

I recently visited the local Value Village and came across an older book published in 1968 - "The American Every Day Cook Book in Color". I originally picked it up because it looked old, but bought it only because it was authored by Marguerite Patten.

If you are unfamiliar with Marguerite Patten she is a British home economist who has authored around 170 books. Durring the Second World War she assisted the British government's Ministry of Food in educating the public in rationing and invented nourishing recipes from the foods available at the time.

So, of course I needed to have this book in my collection even though it was published in the 1960's. Upon looking at the recipes there were many things that struck me as being from before the '60s such as this recipe for Mulligatawny soup (and you don't see this very often)...

I don't know about you, but I have never seen a recipe requiring you to simmer a small lamb's head in any modern cookbooks. In fact, I'm not sure if my butcher even stocks small lamb's heads... maybe I'll ask next time I visit the shop.

Anyway, the book surprised me with the thrift and use of ingredients(?) that nowadays we no longer use or would even think of using.

Moisturizers

2011-06-23T16:50:00.000-07:00

I have extremely bad cracked heels and have suffered this condition for the past several summers. Once I begin wearing sandals and open backed shoes my heels split, bleed, and develop deep cravasses. I have tried everything including very expensive moisturizers containing urea (yes that means pee - luckily a synthetic one in this case) especially developed for split heels. Nothing has worked so far, and I continue to suffer.

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to a BubbaTanicals podcast and he mentioned that the best thing to moisturize skin is petroleum jelly. Duh, of course I forgot to try the least expensive method! Well I ran out to the store and purchased a big tub for the paltry sum of $2.99, and guess what.... IT WORKS. I slathered it on my heels and then put on some socks and within a couple of days my heels have healed!

I don't think I would use petroleum jelly for moisturizing anything else as it is very thick and greasy. I'm really not familiar with the product and I didn't even use it when the kids were babies. But for my heels that is the way to go!

For that past year or so I have been moisturizing my face and hands with coconut oil after reading about it on Crunchy Chicken. I think the jar I purchased was around $12.95 and it has lasted me over a year now. I was surprised that the oil is actually semi solid and then melts at body temperature (of course on a hot summer day it turns to liquid). I've been really pleased using it as it is not too greasy and fairly light on my skin. Unfortunately I haven't noticed any wrinkle reduction as Crunchy experienced :(

Coconut oil appears to have a lot of health benefits and is antimicrobial.

My jar of coconut oil is almost out, so I purchased a new jar from the health food store. Imagine my shock to find that a year later the price had doubled! I guess it is another victim (or perhaps I should say we are the victims) of global food inflation. Still it is cheaper than a lot of other commercial moisturizers and a lot better for you.

Posted on Homestead Barn Hop #18

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-22T14:08:00.001-07:00

Its much more fun to drink from the hose....

Pasty Bums (and it's not mine!)

2011-06-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

I'm not feeling particularily well today so I'm taking it easy with the farm chores. I did notice this morning that our new chicks had some pasty bums, and of course that needed to be taken care of right away.

If you are not familiar with Pasting ,or sometimes called Sticky Bottom, it is something that happens to new chicks that are under stress, have improper temperature, food or water. Their poop can harden when stuck to their butts closing off the vent and then they can not longer eliminate. If they can't poop they will die, hence the need to clean them right away. The pasty butt also entices the other chicks to peck at them and you really don't want that to happen either.

The video below shows you how to clean their little bums with warm water. Depending on how hard the poop is, it may take a few minutes before it is soft enough to remove. Obviously with chicks that are only a few days old you have to be extremely gentle.

I don't get grossed out with poop so I did this with bare hands (mind you I did wash VERY well afterwards!), but if you have a problem with poop you may want to wear some surgical gloves.

Posted on Homestead Barn Hop #17

Interview

2011-06-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

Well, if you are interested my podcast interview is available to hear on The Northern Homestead blog. Jason conducted the interview using Skype so I noticed there were some delays in my responses - just the nature of technology, I'm not really that slow :)

It was a lot of fun speaking with Jason, but as in any conversation that flows things seem to get left out, or could have been expanded upon. If you have any questions or want more information on anything we spoke about make sure to leave a comment.

New Chicks

2011-06-16T17:22:00.001-07:00

Our new chicks arrived via Westjet from Frey's hatchery in Ontario. We ordered 25 Barred Plymouth Rock to replace our current laying flock ( they sent 27) and 25 Frey's Specials for meat birds (28 sent) and all arrived healthy and sound.

We now have an assortment of little yellow and black balls of fluff. It seems strange to see yellow chicks as we have always had ones that were 'chipmunk' coloured - brown with stripes.

Podcast Interview

2011-06-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! I'm being interviewed this morning for a homesteading podcast by Jason over at The Northern Homestead. Once he has it up on itunes I'll let you know.... hopefully I don't sound like a dork.

Life and Death on the Farm

2011-06-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we hatched another six Americauna chicks. This was our second chick hatch this year (or perhaps I should say ever) and we increased our hatch rate from 33% to 70%. Unfortunately one of the chicks died immediately after hatching.

The other morning as I went into the garage to water and feed this second batch of chicks in the ~~Rubbermaid container~~ brooder box I found that one had died. It appears that it was smothered by the other chicks while they slept. (another of our existing hens died this way after we introduced them to the hen house a couple of years ago)

It is always unfortunate when one of your livestock dies, but it is the way of the world - all are born and all must die one day (us included)

I have really been enjoying the pigs and geese. They have such wonderful personalities, and the pigs are extremely curious and playful. A far cry from their fearfulness when they first arrived at the acreage. The geese are just lovable.... when free ranging they just want to be where ever we are. They especially like to follow me (all the animals love me because I'm the 'food lady')

I'm beginning to wonder how I'll be in the autumn when it is butchering time. Daughter has named all the animals. I know we shouldn't name our food, but then we talk about them all the time so its easier if they are all named. I'm not unfeeling or uncaring and I so enjoy the animals, but in my head I know they will be food for us one day. So many people can't imagine butchering and eating an animal, but we are practical people. I would rather know that the meat I am eating came from an animal that was raised properly and humanely, and that it had a happy life. Purchasing a plastic wrapped styrofoam tray of meat where you have had no connection with the animal and have no history of how it was raised seem unnatural to me. Though we have also purchased meat that way for a long time, I prefer to shop at our local butcher and buy free range beef, chicken and turkey that he brings in from local farms.

Here is a photo of the ducklings we hatched out last week. Out of the nine eggs only four hatched. We have decided to sell them, so if you would like to add some Khaki Campbell ducks to your homestead just let me know :)

Living Small

2011-06-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

This video was featured on Yahoo News this morning and I thought it was so inspiring!

Housing sizes have increased phenomenally since the 1950's when the average family home was 900sq ft compared to today's average floor plan of about 2200 sq ft (in North America). As you can see from the video that much space is not really needed.

I love the fact that this family focuses on what they have, and not what is missing. What a wonderful attitude.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

Ducklings!

2011-06-07T22:08:00.000-07:00

27 days ago I put 10 Khaki Campbell eggs into the incubator and this morning the eggs began to hatch! I candled the eggs at day 7 and found that one was not fertilized - the white shells make the candling so much easier than the green or blue chicken eggs from the Americaunas that I hatched this year.

So far we have two tiny ducklings! We had the chance to actually witness duckling #2 hatching. I still can't believe how a living creature can emerge from inside an enclosed egg - a miracle!

Tomorrow morning I will transfer these babies to a brooder box and give them something to eat and drink. And of course make their photographic debut!

Sadie's Horse Bean

2011-06-05T20:28:00.000-07:00

Today I planted some Sadie's Horse Bean seeds(?) that I ordered from Heritage Harvest Seeds early this spring. The description in the seed catalogue caught my eye and I decided I really needed to try these. I hope June 5th is not too late to plant these, but I wanted to wait until the ground warmed up some, and this year things are taking a little longer than usual.

When I opened the package I was in awe of how big and beautiful these beans are....

Here are a few left over, some of the beans were white, some purple and pink with spots as well these these brown speckeled beans.

From the seed catalogue:

A beautiful heirloom runner bean that was grown in the same family for over one hundred years! Huge beans have to be seen to be believed and come in a gorgeous mix of colors including pink mottled black, lavender mottled brown and pure white. The pods are also huge and can be eaten as a snap when very young. This bean is truly one of the most ornamental vegetables you can grow. The vigorous vines are covered in a mix of white and red flowers all summer long and also attracts hummingbirds. Simply breathtaking! (110 days for dried beans) Pole.

So I really hope that the Sadie's Horse Bean grows. I have them planted at our 'crazy' garden next to a large trellis. This is the spot were all things can grow and get out of control if it wants to, and we have horseradish, rhubarb, peppermint, english mint, chives, lovage and also wild flowers growing.

Posted on Homestead Barn Hop #15

Trip to the Feed Store

2011-06-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I was told about a feed store waaaay on the other side of town from me. I never knew about this particular store, but was told I should check it out as their prices were pretty good. Before making the long trip out there, I decided to call first and compare prices to the store where I normally purchase our feed. Well their prices were not only pretty good - they were PHENOMENAL! He even carries dog food made in British Columbia made with BC ingredients at (get this!) a third of the price of what I currenty pay for dog food (which is not even local).

So this morning Husband and I set out to the feed store with long list in hand....
250 kg of pig grower
2 large dog food
1 bag hen scratch
8 bags layer feed
2 bags medicated chick starter
2 bags unmedicated chick starter
1 bag grit
4 bales of straw

We calculated that we drove home with 3/4 of a ton in the back of the pick up truck (good thing its a big truck), and for all of that we paid $387.68

If I purchase 2 bags of dog food and 8 bags of layer at my regular store I have already spent around $255.00, so I'm very pleased to have obtained so much feed for a very reasonable price, plus the owner was extremely nice and knowledgeable. It is defininately worth the gas money for the trip out.

So I think we are set in the feed department for awhile and I'm all prepared for our new hatchlings and the chicks which will be arriving in 2 weeks.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-01T18:57:00.001-07:00

Garden Work

2011-05-29T21:43:00.001-07:00

Husband took the week off to work in the gardens and around the acreage. There is always so much to do in the spring and clean up the mess after the snow has melted. It is hard to imagine now that only three weekends ago we still had snow covering most of he garden.

Some things that Husband (and some by me) accomplished:
•Tilled the garden
•Brought tomatoes into the greenhouses
•Hooked up the electrical wiring to the barn
•Installed one of the iron gates at front of property
•General clean up of propery
•Put in bedding plants
•Weeded beds and berry garden
•Planted garden
•Built planter boxes
•Fixed fence around garden
•Planted flower beds and boxes

Garden freshly tilled

Large greenhouse waiting to be planted

Small greenhouse with two variety of tomatoes. (The white cloth is the row covers for the cabbages)

Husband had better luck starting some of the tomatoes this year. The Purple Russian only produced one plant and a few fruit last year. I manages to save a few seeds, and this year started five plants.

Glacier tomato plants all died last year. We had a few seeds put away and were able to start five plants this spring. We are keeping our fingers crossed that all will survive and fruit.

The chicks are three weeks old and it was a nice weekend so I brought them out into the sunshine. Right away they lay down and stretched out their wings to sun themselves.

Gourmet Dinner at Home

2011-05-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

This was a long weekend for Canadians as today was Victoria Day celebrating the birthday of Queen Victoria (for our country's British heritage)

Husband, Son and I spent most of the weekend outdoors weeding, cleaning and getting the gardens ready for planting. We took breaks to talk to the pigs helping them get used to us and their new environment. The neighbours also brought their young children over to spend some time with the goslings and to see the piglets... there's nothing cuter then seeing toddlers with animal babies!

Daughter had a project to complete this weekend for her Foods 9 class - to cook and present a gourmet meal. How wonderful to come in after the garden work, have a hot shower and then be served a beautiful meal. Here are the photos documenting her meal... and it was delicious!

Table Setting

Appetizer

Mozzerella and Sweet Basil Bruschetta

Main Course

Savoury Chicken Bake

White Wine Asparagus Risotto

Cucumber Yogurt Salad

Dessert

Diabolic Cheesecake with Sliced Strawberries

The Pigs Have Arrived!

2011-05-22T22:36:00.000-07:00

Thursday afternoon Husband and I drove to the next town to meet up with the people who were selling the piglets. We waited in the Co-op parking lot not knowing who we were meeting, or what they were driving. As we waited Husband made a comment wondering if this is what drug dealers feel like when they're waiting to make an exchange.

After about 25 minutes a silver pickup truck roared up next to us... they has obviously seen the dog crates in the back of our truck with which to transport the pigs.

They had a wire dog crate containing six piglets as they were meeting another buyer as well as us.

Pigs were grabbed by their back legs and ferried over into our crates. We expected a lot of squealing but only one protested... probably because they were fast asleep by the time they arrived at the Co-op.

When we got home and hour and a half later the pigs were fast asleep again. After getting the pig ark filled with hay Husband began to unload the piglets into their new pen, only to have one escape between the fencing slats... they were a lot smaller than he had anticipated when building the fence. So we ran around trying to catch her, looking like a bunch of maniacs I'm sure. Once caught and secured, we had to fix the fencing so that they wouldn't get out again. When all four pigs were in their new home Daughter had names for them all within a few minutes. We now have Boris, Delicious, Bacon and Miss Piggy at the acreage.

The pigs are very skittish but are beginning to slowly get used to us. Son was even able to scratch one's back as he fed them today.

So, our adventures in pig raising has begun!

Posted on Homestead Barn Hop #14

Home Tour

2011-05-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! Our home tour is up on the Home Sweet Home blog... check it out here

A Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2011-05-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

Husband was 'down south' on the weekend and brought home a present for me...

... a big box of rhubarb. Now, husband's favorite is Strawberry Rhubarb pie, so it makes me kind I'd wonder who the gift was really for.

Filling for pie (enough for 2 large pies)
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c cornstarch
1 tsp cinnamon (or there abouts because I don't measure)
1/2 tsp nutmeg (as above)
8 c rhubarb cut into pieces
4 c slices strawberries
mix all together and fill pie shells and then top

Pie crust (enough for 2 large pies and tops)
6 c flour
2 tsp salt
2 T sugar
Mix in a bowl

1.5 c water
1.5 c lard
Boil in a pan until lard is melted and stir vigorously into the flour mixture

Divide into balls and roll out.

Can't wait until I can bake these pies with our own strawberries and rhubarb! Everything tastes so much better from the garden!

Goslings

2011-05-16T16:57:00.000-07:00

Since we picked up the goslings it has been raining. Hey, at least the snow is gone now (other than the odd patch) and we have some green grass!

Sunday afternoon was a beautiful 22c and Son and I took the goslings outside on the lawn to get some fresh air and stretching...

...and the odd nibble of grass. I'm surprised at how fast they can run... only a few weeks old and they can out run me (though most things probably could) They like to follow and we have to watch our step lest we squash them.

At this stage the goslings are so adorable, but we have to remember eventually they will be Christmas dinner.... hard not to get attached though.

Mice

2011-05-14T08:27:00.001-07:00

This year we have had an influx of mice We noticed it when the snow melted and saw all sorts of tunnels in our new grass, plus the small gnaw marks on our shrubs.

We also see them around the yard and scurrying to hide under he front deck. Kaiser, our dog, tries to catch them and when they disappear he takes huge long sniffing breaths trying to discover where they went.

Daughter let out a scream the other morning when she got out of the shower... a mouse was in the hallway just outside the bathroom door. I have had two traps set up but no luck yet.

Poultry

2011-05-13T09:35:00.001-07:00

We are amassing poultry this week.

The chicks we hatched are now a week and a half old. Of the 16 eggs (I miscounted them as 17) six actually hatched and another ten formed but didn't develop all the way. Daughter was brave and opened up the unhatched eggs.

On Wednesday I placed another 16 Americauna eggs and 10 Khaki Campbell duck eggs in the incubator. I'm going to turn the egg more often to see if that will increase the hatch rate.

The kids and I went out to the farm I visited last week to pick up our three goslings. They are so cute and just want to be held.

And where should all these babies end up? The garage of course!

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

This is so cool! The above portion of the post was written and uploaded from a new app on my iPhone (there really does appear to be an app for everything!) Now I can actually blog while I'm out and about!

The video above is from the day we brought the goslings home. As you can see they just want to sit in Daughter's lap.

Today I ordered 25 Barred Plymouth Rock and 25 Frey's Special Dual Purpose from Frey's Hatchery in Ontario. I just found their website yesterday quite by mistake as I was looking a the Northern BC Poultry and Small Animal website. I was pleasantly surprised when I called them this morning as their prices are very reasonable (rather good in fact!)

Posted on Homestead Barn Hop #13

Field Trip

2011-05-04T19:22:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I travelled out to a farm close to my area of town to visit a lady whom I met via the Alberta Chickens Etc forum. It was a great visit! I got to see her various breeds of chicken, a variety of ducklings and chicks. goats, geese, llama, dogs, cats and exotic birds. So much fun!

I learned a lot and got to ask questions of someone well acquianted with chicken breeds and hierarchy. She suggested we nurse Cockzilla back to health (he was looking much better today by-the-way) let him completely grow his feathers back, then remove Lucky and reintroduce Cockzilla to the hens. If all goes well then to cull Lucky out of the flock. Her reasoning is that you don't want to get rid of a rooster with a good temperament and keep one that is a brute. I feel much better now as both Husband and I really like Cockzilla and didn't want to have to kill him.

I also got my fill of goats (or almost). Two of her goats are so friendly they just kept coming to me for head rubs and eventually just leaned their bodies against me. The smell of their pens brought me back to my childhood spending time at the neighbour's goat pens.

Unfortunately her goose eggs did not hatch yet, so I had to come home empty handed. I did see the large African Geese and was slightly startled as to how noisy they are.

The time went too fast.... three hours later I had to get home, though I could have stayed longer for more wonderful conversation with her and her husband. It was so nice to actually speak to people who have such similar interests and opinions as I. They also told me about a small group of hobby farmers that get together every so often and the next time they have a meeting they will invite me along.

Cockfight #2

2011-05-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling bad. Really guilty and bad. This morning I went out to the hen house to let the birds out, feed and water them. I always open up the doors to let them into the outdoor pen first and I noticed that Cockzilla didn't come out.

I went into the hen house and saw him cowering in the corner on the floor. He wouldn't move when I tried to shoosh him out, so I pick him up. He was completely battered and bloody. All his new feathers were picked out, one eye swollen closed, covered in blood and I think he may have a broken wing - he looked half dead. I'm almost crying as I'm writing this as I feel so guilty for putting him and Lucky together again. I never would have thought that they would fight like that at night in the dark. I assumed that once Lucky had asserted his dominance yesterday while they outside that would be it - chickens working things out themselves.

I can only feel for poor Cockzilla - first losing his number one status somehow over the winter, and then having to suffer being beaten up. I know it is farm life and the animals have to make their own pecking order - it is not up to us to decide just because we may favour one over the other - but I hate to see an animal hurt or suffering.

He is now back in the large brooder box in the garage. He was drinking when I left for work this morning. I don't know what we'll do... He can't go back to the henhouse, perhaps the most humane thing is to cull him. I hate the thought as I really like him,. I'm very sad.

The lesson I've learned is only one rooster in the flock.

More stuff...

2011-04-30T21:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel lonely as I don't have any friends with the same sorts of interests as me. I can talk to my family and of course my blogging friends about livestock and gardening, but I miss having any face-to-face meetings. Throught the Alberta Chickens Etc site, I have been emailing with a lady who lives in our community and I'll be visiting her farm this Wednesday. I'm so excited as she has chickens, ducks, geese and goats. I love goats, but Husband is totally set against ever having one on our acreage. I'm hoping to establish a friendship with her... so far so good via email!

She is in the process of hatching out some African Goose eggs and I will be purchasing three goslings from her should the hatch work out. I may be coming home with some new friends on Wednesday afternoon!

We've had two chicks hatch this afternoon/evening! They are so adorable. Daughter actually managed to catch the first chick hatching on film and I hope to post it soon once she has a chance to download it.

The neighbourhood fox was around yesterday and I managed to sit about 1.5 meters away from him and take some photos. Hopefully once our geese are grown they will be keeping him away from our property.

This is the last post of the April blog challenge - 30 posts in 30 days! Yeah! I have to say I'm actually surprised that I was able to accomplish it. As you can see I have four posts today as I was so busy with work I didn't have time the last few days - but it doesn't matter- I did it!

Cockfight

2011-04-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

As you will know from earlier posts our rooster Cockzilla has been residing in our garage for the past three weeks so that his half naked body had a chance to recover.

In the past weeks his feathers have grown back in and we decided today that perhaps he could rejoin the rest of the flock. I had the hens and Lucky our other rooster outside to range, and Husband brought out Cockzilla.

We suspected that a cockfight would happen, and it did, within just a few minutes of 'Zilla rejoining, he and Lucky squared off.

Unfortunately Cockzilla was not the winner which is too bad as he is certainly the better rooster. He is the one who always looks out for the hens and is gentle with them, while Lucky is rather a brute. After the fight Lucky kept between Cockzilla and the hens; he wouldn't let 'Zilla near them. Husband took a screaming Lucky and put him in the brooder box, to give Cockzilla a chance to reacquinted with the hens. I'm not sure what our next course of action may be....

Lucky in brown in the left corner

Cockzilla in the grey approaching

Cockzilla pounces

I am happy to report the fight was over quickly with noone injured, though Cockzilla did lose a couple of feathers.

Tree Repair

2011-04-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

Today was the day to repair my broken fruit trees before the sap begins running. All three apple, the cherry as well as the Mountain Ash had branches snap off due to the heavy snowfall this winter. I went to our local Art Knapps Plantland and picked up some 'artificial bark' which is meant to repair tree wounds (first aid for trees) I applied the formula to the areas where the small branches broke off and to any parts where the bark was damaged.

While I was out I also stopped by the local hardware store to purchase white hockey tape which is used to wrap/bind branches about the thickness of your thumb back to the tree trunk. The hockey tape is fabric and has some stretch to it so that as the tree grows there is a bit of give. The hockey tape should stay on for about 2 years to give the branch time to adhere back onto the trunk.

One apple tree before repair

Apple tree after repair

As we were out with the trees Husband took a look at the lilac that we planted last year and was rather surprised to see the during the winter the mice had burrowed to it under the snow and had chewed away all the bark around the base of the plant. Hopefully it will survive.

Post added to Homestead Barn Hop #11

We have created Life!

2011-04-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

Husaband woke me up this morning to say three of the eggs in the incubator are hatching! I had a look and can see little cracks where the chicks are pushing out. He said he can hear cheaping coming from the incubator every once in a while too.

Three out of seventeen so far. We really were not expecting any to hatch as we had no idea if any of the eggs were fertilized.

Acreage Happenings

2011-04-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

Not too much to report....

We had some beautiful weather over the weekend. Husband has been cutting down some trees and brush around our property lines, so that he can eventually build a fence.

Cockzilla is still living in our garage and in the last 2.5 weeks he has grown his feathers back in. We figure he can be released back to the 'girls' next week. He's living in the brooding box and Husband put wheels underneath so that on sunny days we can roll him outside to soak up the sun. He is actually very calm and seems to like it when we go out and talk to him.

The snow is FINALLY melting! We still have about a foot in the yard, but it feels like spring is upon us. The flowerbed in front of the house (south facing and against the house) has the daffodils up and ready to bloom soon, and the tulips are on their way up. I've been debating whether or not I should get out the hummingbird feeder as they should be arriving soon.

I keep turning the eggs in the incubator, but a bad smell is coming up when I remove the lid. Obviously an egg has gone bad. We candled the eggs again last night but it is difficult to a number of the egg's progress as the shells are too thick for the light to shine through. We'll find out Sunday or Monday if any successfully hatch.

After months of the ducks barely laying eggs (only one every day or two) I have finally been presented with two eggs each day, for the past two days. The ducks are Khaki Campbells and the breed are prolific layers, so I have actually been a little worried. With the warmer weather they have definately put on a bit of weight and are looking very healthy. Once they begin laying regularly again, and can get out in the pond so Donald can 'do his thing', we will try incubating some duck eggs.

24/7 Shopping

2011-04-26T17:24:00.000-07:00

I brought Daughter to the walk-in medical clinic, which is located in a strip mall, and the only place to get medical attention on an Easter Sunday (other than the emergency room.) I have to say I was rather surprised to see so many vehicles in the parking lot as I drove up. In fact, it actually took my small brain a rather long time to figure out that the vehicles were there because all the stores in the mall were open! On an Easter Sunday!

I am shocked to come to the understanding that going shopping on a holiday appears normal. Personally I would rather spend time with my family than visit the retail gods - I can go shopping any other day of the week. I also feel bad for the employees who are pulled away from their families on an Easter Sunday... I guess the Easter Bunny comes extra early to their homes and Easter dinner must be a very quick affair.

Is Christmas Day the only day in the year in which stores are closed?

Husband says the stores wouldn't be open if people didn't demand to shop on holidays or just didn't go to the stores on a holiday. Supply and demand... but I have to wonder if the demand is actually there? Does the consumer demand the shops to be open, or do the shops being open entice the consumer in?

I remember when shops closed at 5 or 6pm every night other than Friday when they were open until 9pm. No shopping on Sundays, Mondays, or holidays. (Some of the smaller independent stores in town are still closed on these days.) People scheduled and shopped when the stores were open, and that was that. But... these days consumerism is king. You just have to look at the advertising, the sales, the 'you must have this' item. People shop for many other reasons than the actual need for the product; boredom, emotional rewards, whatever. I find it strange that they can't put those needs into a different form. Purchasing 'stuff' for no real reason is destructive - it wastes resources and energy, wastes people's money, adds to landfills, and takes away from our families.

I shop, everyone shops, but can't we plan it around our family time and make use of of our holidays in a more constructive manner? Honestly I think the 24/7 shopping mentality (and ability to do so!) is very destructive to our society as a whole.

I Was Going To Go for a Walk....

2011-04-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

I was going to go for a walk this evening and get some good stress relieving exercise, but have since changed my mind. Earlier today I walked over the the neighbours house a few doors down for a quick visit. As I was walking I heard 3 big bangs... like gunshots.

Upon returning home both Husband and Daughter asked "How was your walk home?"

While I was out another neighbour phoned to tell us a cougar was spotted one road over. I don't know if that was what the big bangs were about, but the timing was about right.

I think I'll stay in this evening.

Baking

2011-04-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

It seems we have been baking over the past few days....
Daughter baked cupcakes at school and brought one home for me on Thursday. Isn't it cute? She even sculpted the little bunny herself out of marshmallow fondant that she made. She's obviously much more artistically talented than me (and has more patience!)

Son busied himself baking Churros on Friday. The only time we have eaten Churros is at the park on Canada Day where we frequent the international food booths. He has made them before and the tasted BETTER than from the food booth! This time they were a little doughy in the middle as I think the fry oil was a little too hot baking the outside faster than the inside. He felt terrible that they didn't turn out proper, but they still tasted yummy and disappeared quickly.

I baked some hamburger buns and forgot them in the oven.... needless to say they were a little browner and a little crispier than usual.

I also made three loaves of Banana Bread using a new recipe which incorporates yogurt into the batter. They turned out really moist.

To compliment our Easter dinner this evening I had planned to bake a chocolate cake with raspberry filling and whip cream. I was just about to start when Daughter woke up and complained of not feeling well. Upon looking at her swollen and speckled tonsils I hurried her to the walk in medical clinic instead. She has strep throat, is achy and sore and now on antibiotics.

Dessert ended up being Rote Gruetze (using the thrawed raspberries that were meant for cake filling) with whipped cream instead.

Vintage Nutrition for Healthy Happy School Children

2011-04-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

I have a collection of vintage homemaking and cook books and I find them immensly interesting. Some of the information and cleaning tips/products are outdated, but then you come across a gem.

I've been perusing my 1947 "Food, Nutrition and Home Management Manual" a Home Economics Circular put out by the Province of British Columbia's Department of Education. I picked up this book for a mere $7.00 at a used bookstore in Vancouver this past November (well worth the price!)

Here is the gem I came across:

Unit II. Nutrition.
Rules for Healthy, Happy B.C. School Children.

1. Eat food slowly and at regular intervals.
2. Eat cooked cereal with milk for breakfast frequently.

3. Drink 3 to 4 glasses of milk daily.

4. Drink 4 to 6 glasses of water daily.

5. Drink no tea or coffee until 20 years of age.

6. Eat eggs three or four times a week, and meat not more than once a day.

7. Eat plenty of fruit.

8. Eat raw vegatables at least twice a week.

9. Eat daily a vegetable in addition to potatoes.

10. Eat milk desserts rather than pastry.

11. Eat very little candy. (Only after meals.)

12. Aid the digestion of food by doing the following:-

(1.) Exercising two hours each day.

(2.) Bathing a least twice a week.

(3.) Keeping windows open at night.

(4.) Sleeping as many hours as the following table indicates: -

Age. Hours of Sleep.

5-6 13

6-8 12

8-10 11 1/2

        10-12                                11
        12-14                                10 1/2
        14-16                                10
        16-18                                  9 1/2

Wow, isn't that common sense and practical knowledge? But I wonder how many parents/children follow these 'rules' nowadays. Eat fruits and vegetables, not much candy, milk desserts instead of pastry - we know that, but do we adhere it it?

I especially like the 'exercising two hours each day'. In 1947 I think this would never have been a problem for kids as they were outside playing everyday. Now with television, computers and video games exercising (playing outside) is a huge challenge. My own children have been much better at getting outside since we have moved to the country, but they can easily become absorbed into TV. There are so many organized sports where kids go a few times a week, but really, how often do they go outside to play on their own or with the neighbourhood kids? It no longer happens these days, and it is a real shame. Some of my happiest times as a child were to play make believe or make up our own games with the local kids and we were outside for hours until our mother's called us home (called with their voices and not cell phones ha ha)

Sleep is something that I nag my kids about because they are "so tired" every morning. I know they're not getting near enough sleep as they drag out bedtime every night. They are old enough to know when to get to bed on their own, but still manage to stay up late.

It is pretty funny that bathing and sleeping with the window open aid in digestion.... maybe there is something I'm missing?

Anyway I thought I would post the rules as I found it so interesting.

Post shared on Homestead Barn Hop #10

Heritage Pigs - Part 3 - The End

2011-04-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

In the continuing saga of the heritage pig search....

Berkshire - The Berkshire pig is also known as the "lady's pig" because of its smaller size and is a friendly and curious breed. This pig is known for its excellent meat which is heavily marbled and flavourful. The pig is black with white points on its snout, feet and tail. The Berkshires have good mothering instincts and litter of 8-10 piglets. Rare Breeds Canada lists eight breeders of Berkshire in Canada.

So, that is it for rare breed pigs in Canada. Five. Five rare breeds of pig - Tamworth, Red Wattle, Large Black, Hampshire and the Berkshire. Oh, and don't forget the two Gloucestershire Old Spot located on Vancouver Island.

I find it very sad that so many breeds are becoming extinct because one or two breeds have become the predominant producers of bacon, pork, and lard, and all others have been thrown by the wayside.

The reason I want heritage pigs (and other animals and plants) is preserve the diversity of livestock which is dwindling worldwide. They are part of our history - a living history of the farm. They are what our grandparents, great grandparents and forefathers owned, bred and consumed.

Genetic diversity is so important to the environment and also to humans as a species. If the diversity of plants and animals is wiped out - in reality, then so are we. It may take a while, but it will happen. Eventually.

Strawberry Shortcake

2011-04-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

I purchased some strawberries while I was grocery shopping on Monday. I was inspired by 1940's Experiment's Mock Cream recipe 2 which looked sooo good.

I baked the biscuits using a recipe from the latest Hobby Farm Home magazine and they turned out perfect! Light and baked up nice and high, but best of all the dough was done in no time. I used whipping cream instead of the mock cream. Yum!

This is diet isn't it?

Classic Shortcake Biscuits

2c flour
1 T sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c butter
1 egg, beaten
2/3 c milk or cream

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Sift together dry ingredients. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine egg and milk; add all at once to flour mixture. Stir just to moisten. Lightly flour your hands and form dough into six biscuits. Bake on ungreased baking sheet for 10 minutes until golden on top and firm to the touch.

Tangled

2011-04-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

I pulled out my knitting the other day to continue working on my latest sock project. It came to a standstill because of a tangle. This is not an ordinary little tangle, no it is a monster tangle in a 100gram skien.

This is after two days of unwinding, weaving, rolling and getting frustrated.

The worst part of this is that I have a ball winder! My tiny brain just refuses to use it for sock wool because I figure sock wool never tangles. Why? Stubborn I guess. Next time I'll know better.... yeah that is what I said the last time.

Weekend Happenings

2011-04-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

Saturday was our 17th wedding anniversary and we had planned to go out to dinner to celebrate, but I ended up working all day and I just didn't want to have to go back into town. So instead we had a lovely BBQ of babyback ribs, potato salad and roasted peppers.

While I was away over the day, Husband found a tool hanger which he installed on the side of the hen house. I now have my scraper, shovel and pitchfork all in one place right where I need it!

We love our morning coffee and before I rushed off to work Saturday I noticed the electric drip coffee maker wasn't working. AAAaaagggghhh, nothing frustrates me more than our throw away consumer products! This coffee maker actually lasted for about 2.5 years so I guess I can't be too upset, as usually a coffee maker will last me 6 months. The silly thing is the machine works in the mornings only - its not like we have it on all day. So we decided that is it now; no more automatic drip machines, we would look for an old fashioned perculator. Do you know how hard those are to find??? I remember as a kid everyone had a heavy glass perculator that sat on the stove. I went to Northern Hardware, as they have almost anything you could ever possibly need, and they had one flimsy glass perculator and a metal stovetop one. I took the glass one up to the counter and the salesman convinced me it was not worth purchasing. He suggested the old type of electric perculator - I didn't even know they came in an electric variety. He said he has owned his for 6 years(!) and would never go back. All I had to hear was the 6 years and I was SOLD (even with the $60 price tag).

Here is our new electic perculator. It takes the same length of time to brew coffee as the automatic drip, but in comparison the coffee is really hot and actually stays that way.

Yesterday was cold out and Husband's back was bothering him again. He did some puttering around outside. I did laundry and hung some out to dry, then gave the kitchen a good cleaning.

Last night we candled some of the eggs in the incubator and it appears (to our novice eyes) that something is growing! Yeah!

I ran out of chicken feed yesterday, so this morning I'll have to run into town to pick some up. I hadn't planned on going into the office today (saving me a trip to town), but I guess I have to go now anyway. Today's plan is to clean house and take photos as I have been asked by the girls at Home Sweet Home to do a home tour on their blog. I'll let you know when my guest spot appears.

Why Our Kids Don't Have Cell Phones

2011-04-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, I can hear the outcry already...

Contrary to public opinion, we are not bad parents for not allowing our teenagers cell phones. Our kids, 16 and almost 15, have never had their own cell phones and we don't plan on allowing it in the near future. For a while they did have my old phone to share for a few months to take when they went out. The phone was on a pre-paid plan and I quickly learned it was a huge waste of money and the experiment ended in short order.

Both Husband and I have cell phones for our jobs as it's essential equipment for both of our lines of work and we are both on call basically 24/7. Believe me sometimes I wish I could smash the things, but for us it's a necessary evil.

Son used to ask quite often for a cell phone, but has given up over the past few years. I think he realizes that should he need to use a phone, he can usually borrow one from a friend.

Daughter on the other hand is still pestering us for one. She sees all her friends have cell phones and thinks she needs one too. Perhaps it is the texting that is so alluring. Though a couple of years ago she had some friends over and she became extremely frustrated because she wanted to do something fun, and instead the girls sat around texting on their phones and pretty well ignored her. A double edged sword; you can't have it both ways.

Our reasoning for denying the kids cell phones - it is unnecessary, and an unnecessary extra expense. Both of our children have good heads on their shoulders, and should they need to get in touch with us they will almost always be able to borrow a phone. I know a lot of people purchase phones for their children citing it as a security measure, but I'm confident that we have taught our children how to handle themselves should trouble arise. I don't always wear rose coloured glasses and I know that issues can arise that children can't handle, but will a cell phone truly help when Mom and Dad are far away? I'd rather have kids that are independant and can think things through themselves, and I'm proud to say it has worked well so far!

We also want our children to be social and be able to communicate with others face-to-face and in a proper manner. Social media and texting is fine to an extent - but it is not fine when kids lose basic communication skills. I can't get over how many people can't even answer a telephone properly, or know how to really speak over the phone anymore (and it is not just children!)

Husband's Projects Around the Acreage

2011-04-17T15:33:00.001-07:00

Husband usually has several projects on the go or in his mind that he is planning for the near future.

Yesterday, he worked in the large greenhouse fixing the roof ridge pieces that broke from the heavy snow, but the plastic will have to be replaced at a later time. He did manage to find an entire roll of poly in the storage box, so that saves us from having to buy more. He also wants to build up the boxes on the floor of the greenhouse so that we can add more soil as last year we found it wasn't deep enough.

He is already planning the construction of our third greenhouse which he's been talking about since last year.

The next big project is constructing the pig ark and fencing (once the snow is gone). He wants to build one like this but to hinge one section of the roof so that we can lift it for easier cleaning inside the ark.
The design can be found here.

We have also been talking about building a root cellar. We don't have an adequate space in the house, garage or crawspace, so we are considering going the old timers route and digging into the ground, building a 'box' that can be buried and accessed from one side. It needs to be investigated and planned some more, but should be doable fairly close to the house.

Other then the above he also has the garage full of bedding plants for the flower gardens and has started a lot of the vegetables... now waiting for the third week of May or so for the garden planting

What We're Reading

2011-04-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

I currently have a huge stack of books from the library piled in the kitchen in a basket beside the fireplace. The books mainly cover rare farm breeds, pigs, ducks and square foot gardening. Can you tell where my mind is?

SON: Just finished reading Dick Proenneke's "One Man's Wilderness, An Alaskan Odyssey" and really enjoyed it.

If you don't know anything about Dick Proenneke or haven't seen his video journals on PBS, he is a very interesting fellow. He retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin by hand on the shore of Twin Lakes in Alaska. The first summer he scouted for the best cabin site, and cut and peeled the logs he would need for his cabin. He then returned the next summer to finish the cabin where he lived for over 30 years.

Son is currently reading "Crazy Man's Creek". Here is the book description from the publishers website:
In Crazy Man's Creek, author Jack Boudreau tells of the characters who have "caught the fever" in the rugged McGregor Mountain Range east of Prince George. Long recognized as some of the toughest bush in British Columbia, it was home to many who chose to lose themselves.

Once there, life included confrontations with grizzly bears and raids by wolves. But if men were to snap, it was the long cold winters and the deafening silence that did them in.

DAUGHTER: Has finshed reading the "Hunger Games" series by Suzanne Collins for the second time.

ME: I'm reading "BEEF: The Untold Story of How Milk, Meat and Muscle Shaped the World" by Andrew Rimas and Evan D.G. Fraser. I'm only a few pages in, but so far a rather interesting look at how human civilization has been shaped by the cow.

HUSBAND: Husband is not a reader in the sense of sitting down with a novel and enjoying it. He does read rather regularily magazines such as Garden Railway, Mother Earth News, Harrowsmith, Canadian Gardening, Hobby Farm and Hobby Farm Home.

Post shared on Barn Hop #9

Fuer Unsere Deutscher Leser u. Leserin...

2011-04-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

Ich sehe das wir jeden Tag mehr und mehr besucher bekommen aus Deutschland (Bremerhaven, Cuxhaven, Hamburg, Buxtehude, Muenchen usw)

Herzlich willkommen auf den Blog ueber unseren Leben in noedlichen British Kolumbia. Mein Deutsch ist zeimlich gut - bitte sagen Sie "Hallo" oder schreiben Sie ein Kommentar.

Und fuer meine Brieffreundin die jeden Tag besucht "Hallo Ute!" :)

Serendipity

2011-04-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

"Serendipity denotes the property of making fortunate discoveries while looking for something unrelated, or the occurrence of such a discovery during such a search."

Last night while driving home from our dance class, Husband and I were talking about cleaning and disinfecting the chicken coop prior to introducing the new chicks (should they hatch! I'm being positive!) We were wondering what to use as a disinfectant, as neither of us really know what to use to disinfect an entire hen house. We were considering the use of Detol, it that would need a lot of cleaner and I am hesitant to put the animals around a cleaner.

Later in the evening during my blog reading I clicked a link on a comment link left on another blog and low and behold(!) there were instructions to disinfect chicken coops the natural way - with vinegar! Now that is serendipity!

Check out The Prairie Homestead's post on Naturally Disinfecting the Chicken Coop

Heritage Pigs - Part 2

2011-04-13T22:25:00.000-07:00

Well in continuation of my heritage pig search this is now post #2.

This year we are getting the mixed breed weaner pigs which will be ~~butchered~~ disposed of in the fall. I still would like to own and later breed a heritage pig, but like all animals need to find the right one in temperament and traits for our circumstances.

Could this by the breed for us?

Large Black Pig - another domestic pig of England and the only one which is wholly black in colour. The Large Black is a docile pig perhaps because their large ears flop over the eyes partially obscuring their vision. They are known to have good mothering instincts with litter of 8-10 piglets. They are good for novice keepers and are a low maintenance grazing pig and is a hardy outdoor breed. I have looked at the Rare Breeds Canada website and there are several breeders around Canada and I know of some in BC as well. Now to find out of there is enough genetic diversity around...

Hampshire - This is another easy to handle breed originally exported from England. Another pig excelling in motherhood with litters of 8-10 piglets. This pig does well in any environmnet and is a good forager. It is predominantly black with a white saddle and is a lean breed. Rare Breeds Canada only has one breeder of Hampshires here.

Red Wattle - I already know this breed is not for us as this is a very active breed. It has ruddy hair and a fleshy wattle attached to each side of the neck. It originates from the United States and typically weigh 600-800 pounds but can reach 1500 pounds. Rare Breeds Canada only lists one breeder in our country.

Little Bits of Stuff

2011-04-12T10:35:00.001-07:00

The past couple of days have been cold and windy. The sun is shining (but still windy)this morning and I'm going to go for a walk before heading into town and the office.

Our Boxer, Kaiser, is very puzzled as to why there is a rooster living in our garage. He always walks over to the brooder box, lifts his nose and takes a good long sniff, then has a funny look on his face (yes Boxers can do that!) The garage is attached to the house close to the kitchen. It is definately a different experience to be eating breakfast at the table and hear the rooster crowing 'inside' the house! :)

On Sunday we also put 17 Americauna eggs into the incubator. I really don't know if they are fertilized or not, but I'm giving it a try anyway. I guess in 3 weeks we will either have chicks running around or not.

Of course the incubator is in the garage, along with all the bedding plants Husband started, and the rooster. I guess the garage is an all purpose room which also houses the Bobcat, tractor, freezers, and sundry items. Hmmm, I wonder if I'll ever get my car parked in there...

I see we have had a number of new follower over the past week or so. Thank you for visiting our site and welcome!

Fox

2011-04-10T22:06:00.001-07:00

Daughter took this video of the fox who happened to visit about an hour or so after we put the chicken and ducks away. We are pretty sure that the fox have a den across the road, but we haven't seen one all winter.

Rooster Spurs

2011-04-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

Today was spent working on the chicken house. We let the birds free again for most of the day and they enjoyed scratching around in the mud. We had to isolate Cockzilla as both roosters are molting at the moment, but 'zilla barely has any feathers left and the hens are picking at him - poor guy :( He is now in the brooder box located in the garage until he get some feathers back and begins to look at little healthier.

The other day I noticed that both rooster's spurs located on their legs have grown very long. So I did some investigating into how to remove or trim them. So we decided to use our rooster Lucky as the test subject.

It turns out that there are two ways:

1) Using pliers at the base the spur, press down until you hear a crack and then wiggle/twist them off. The drawback in this method is that underneath the outer sheath is still a sharp spur. A few drops of blood will be spilled.

2) Use a hacksaw, dog nail clippers or Dremel to cut of the spur. Careful not to cut it too short or it will bleed. Also the spur is fairly brittle when being trimmed.

Either way, the spur will grow back or continue to grow.

We decided to do the clipping method so that later the hens won't be injured when mounted (it is springtime after all!)

Well, I am pleased with the video and it even appears as if we know what we're doing! This is the first time for trimming spurs and it really was pretty easy.

Rising Food Prices / Victory Gardens

2011-04-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been hearing a lot about rising food prices and it is expected that Canadians will be paying 7 to 8% more for food within the next few months. Surprisingly we have already had an increase of 40% since June 2010 according to economists at the TD Bank. It is a small creeping up in prices that seemed to go unnoticed by me, perhaps it is because we still have a lot of garden produce put away and I don't purchase many pre-made food items.

World food prices are at an all time high this year. It appears that the cause for the increase are emerging markets in some countries placing a higher demand on luxury items including meat extending upward pressure on global food stocks. Commodity ingredients like wheat, corn, sugar and vegetable oil, which have gone up as much as 50 to 100 per cent over the last year.

"With the United Nations blaming higher crude oil prices for pushing global food prices to an all time high, Canadians have been spared so far because of cutthroat grocery store competition and the high loonie making the cost of imported goods cheaper." according to a Globe and Mail report

Tim Hortons (a Canadian coffee and donut franchise) announced this week that it will be increasing prices. A large coffee is going up 7 cents which equates to a 4.5% increase in anticipation of world coffee prices rising over the next few months from $2.90 to $3.05 per pound. Other restaurants will be increasing prices as well, if they haven't done so already.

In my opinion the best way to combat these high prices is to look back into the past:

I think this is an excellent video showing how to start a garden and what is possible. One just has to put in the elbow grease to save money and eat healthier. Anyone can grow some type of produce. Even apartment dwellers can grow a bit of lettuce in planters if need be.

For a lighter touch to this post I came across this film about eggs. It is kind of corny, but also kind of cute.

A Favourite Soup Recipe

2011-04-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

Oriental Mushroom Soup

5 cups chicken broth
4 t finely chopped ginger root
1/2 lb various sliced mushrooms (about 2 cups)
2 T soy sauce
1 t sesame oil
8ox firm tofu cut into small cubes
1 green onion thinly sliced

In a saucepan combine broth, ginger root and mushrooms and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil.

Place tofu and green onion in individual soup bowls. Add soup and serve

From: Cook Great Food by the Dietitions of Canada

My family loves this soup and it is quick and easy to make. It is the only thing Husband will actually eat tofu in (and likes it!)

Kids and Self Sufficiency

2011-04-06T15:28:00.001-07:00

One of the things that I value from moving into the country is that my children have the opportunity to learn skills, learn about gardening and where their food comes from, learn how to cook, and learn about how to look after animals.

These days it is sad that children are in so many activities to keep them busy; from piano lessons to soccer, but they seldom have the chance to learn real skills that can benefit them in their later lives. It isn't their fault - it is society and large corporations which want us to be dependant in all aspects of our lives.

I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to learn and observe my parents gardening and cooking, and when I was a child they had chicken, ducks, rabbits and the occasional pig and goat. I can say I lived a rather spoiled life and hated having to haul wood for the woodstove in the cold winter and deep snow (I know my sisters will attest to the hatred of wood hauling as kids), but in the end I can look back and feel confident that I have the knowledge to at least try to keep myself somewhat self sufficient. That is also what I want for my children - that should they need to do something, they will have the skills or at least have seen how it is done, and will feel confident to try it.

Son is 16 and has always enjoyed bushcraft and making things. I was a very proud mom when he made his own rabbit snares which were successful. He is not afraid to get into the kitchen and bake or cook whatever he wants to - finding recipes on the internet or in our old faithful Amish cookbook. Last week he decided to try making a small woodstove out of tin cans. Below is the result: Daughter doesn't have quite the same drive, but she understands the various garden plants and gets disgusted when her friends can't tell the difference between radish and strawberries. Though sometimes she isn't happy to do things, like when we butchered the roosters, she showed up with rubber gloves on to help "I'll help but that doesn't mean I have to like it". She also bakes the best chocolate muffins.

I'm proud of my children - they are practical and can think things through logically. They have never been afraid to step up and try new things. They will grow up to be self sufficient.

I was a Brownie (Girl Guides) leader for four years and during that time I loved taking the girls to camp. It was a chance to teach them how to light a match, how to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner and then wash up the dishes and sweep the floor. Outhouse cleaning was also on my list of the things for them to try. Okay we did do a lot of fun things to, but it was a chance for them to learn skills that were not being taught at home.

Of course Scouting and Guiding are somewhat focused to skill teaching though the outlook has changed over the years. It saddens me that enrollment in these organizations has dropped such a great deal because kids think it isn't 'cool' enough for them.

Some schools are now planting gardens and letting the children use the produce to cook their own meals. How awesome is that? They get to learn several skills in one shot. Unfortunately I don't think any of the schools in my community do it, but a friend who's a teacher in Nova Scotia does it in her school.

What are we missing? How do we bring other children to self sufficiency? How do we teach them skills that will follow them their entire lives? Unfortunately the recent tragedy in Japan and other disaster areas must bring us to some awareness that at times we can't rely on 'just running out to the store' to get what we need.

PS. I know my parents read my blog, so to them I say "Thank you for the way you raised us and I love you"

Piggies!

2011-04-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well my weaner pig issues seems to have been resolved! Yesterday someone responded to the ad I had placed on Kijiji.ca (used more here than Craigslist). They just had 7 piglets born on April 2 and will be selling four of them to us. They will even deliver to the next town on May 19th so it will save us a 3 hour drive (one way)!

Apparently the piggies are a cross of Yorkshire/Landrace and Berkshire. I'm so excited!!!!

Now we'll need to hurry to get a pen and fencing up once the snow leaves the area for the pigs.

Homemade Tortillas

2011-04-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

Living in northern BC we are not really that '"in to" Mexican food. Though we do like it, there is only one Mexican restaurant (read Taco Shop) in town. We can purchase tortillas in the grocery store which I occasionally do to make wraps or quesadillas.

The other day I was thinking of making chicken quesadillas for dinner and had the light bulb moment of "how hard can it be to make tortillas?" So I found a whole wheat recipe ('cause we're whole wheat kind of people) at Allrecipes. They were very easy to make, even though perhaps the roundness of the tortilla was lacking - I never could roll out anything round! I found that the balls of dough that were moister were easier to roll out. I will definately make these again as they really were easy.

Stop the presses!!! I just remember we have another taco shop in the mall - it is a chain restaurant (if you can call it that) so I'm not sure that counts.

Below is the photo documentation of my tortilla making process...

Freedom!

2011-04-03T16:01:00.000-07:00

After a long winter the birds have been let out of the pens to free range (?). There is still too much snow for anything, but you can see in the top photos that they have managed to find a small patch of ground. I spread out some food for them to scratch at. The ducks are having fun putting their bills into a puddle just outside the outdoor pen. I went to check on their pond, but is it still frozen.

The girls look like their having a 'chat' inside the hen house. With the longer days and sunshine the egg production is finally increasing again. A big difference from 6 eggs a day to 18!

Forums and Websites

2011-04-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

This week I joined two really good Canadian Forums for farming/homesteading. The first is Alberta Chickens Etc and the other is The Journey. I'm hoping to learn a lot from these sites as the participants are very knowledgeable. The Journey is currently looking for new members to the forum and is holding a contest this month so you may want to check it out. I also came across Beyond Factory Farming which has some really good information. You will see I have added some of their buttons with links on my sidebar. This site is really in line with what my family believes in regard to farming and food raising methods. For interesting nutrition information have a look at Weighty Matters a blog written by a Canadian physician at a bariatric medical clinic. Well, I'll leave you with these sites to read, and I'm off to the Farmer's Market! I am really having trouble with Blogger lately, and once again I can't get it to format properly. Even when I manually enter the html codes it still just does what it wants to, so I apologize for not having any paragraphs (how Canadian of me :) ) I also decided to pump up my blogging since I have been pretty lax lately, and have joined the Ultimate Blog Challenge which I will write 30 blog posts in April.

Assessing Winter Damage

2011-04-01T08:18:00.001-07:00

I walked our around the acreage where I could (as we still have a lot of snow) to have a look at how things fared over the winter. The heavy snowfall has caused some damage expecially to the large greenhouse. We expected that the plastic would not hold up. It has been on the greenhouse for two years and the poly does breakdown eventually with sunlight. The main ridge pole on the roof broke in several places so Husband will have to repair it once the snow is gone and we can actually reach the greenhouse.

I decided to check on the apple trees that are still half buried, just to see if they were perhaps budding. And yes, there are some buds appearing on the ends of the branches.

Unfortunately I also spied two of the lower branches still in the snow had broken at the base. This is only on the tree closest to the shovelled walkway, so I don't know yet how the other apple or the cherry tree have made out.

I'm hoping that I will be able to repair the branches later. Something new to learn... I found some instructions here.

So far I'm not sure if there is any other damage, but as the snow goes down there may be things appearing.

Heritage Pigs - Part 1

2011-03-31T08:43:00.000-07:00

We will be adding some weaner pigs to the acreage this spring.... I am determined even though I am having a really difficult time finding any. Who would have thought that this would be such a difficult endeavour. I have everyone I know looking out for piglets for me (I figure it's not what you know, but who you know). I have been in contact with a lady through the Alberta Chicken Etc forum from Tatlayoko Lake - she may have a couple of piglet for me, though I won't know for sure until later in April. Should it pan out, I'll be driving down to Williams Lake to pick them up... but that is just fine by me. I will consider myself lucky to be able to get some pigs!

I have been doing a bit of investigating about heritage breeds of pigs. One day I would love to add some to our little acreage for breeding purposes (though I'm not sure that Husband is in the same mind). I'm amazed that the two breeds (Gloucestershire Old Spot and Tamworth) I'm interested in, are either not available in Canada, or are in such small numbers that they are very closely related.

Gloucestershire Old Spot - I found a farm on Vancouver Island who had brought two in from the US, but has been unable to find a sire, or import semen. She has in turn cross bred them to Berkshire and Duroc pigs and the resulting pigs do retain their spots.

The GOS is a very early English breed and is sometimes known as the 'orchard pig' as they traditionally grazed on orchards and ate the fallen apples. Old Spots tend to be very calm, good-natured animals, another trait that makes them desirable to homesteaders and small farmers.

Tamworth - The Tamworth is listed on the Rare Breeds Canada website as on the critical list with less than 100 registered animals. I have found some breeders around, but again, most cross breed as there is a shortage of genetic diversity with the the pigs have too many common ancestors. In Canada, many farms had a few Tamworths until the 1960’s. Regulations against keeping pigs in barns with dairy cattle, new systems of grading pork and the introduction of confinement rearing systems contributed to the decline of the Tamworth in the last 40 years.

Tamworths are the oldest breeds and is the most direct decendant of the European wild boar. The Tamworth is a very hardy animal. Its background as the forest pig means that it is ideally suited to outdoor production, even in rough woodland. A rugged and thrifty animal particularly suited for grazing, salvaging crops or following behind grazing cattle.

Seeds

2011-03-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

With a wonderfully warm and sunny weekend, Huband and I pulled out the box of vegetable seeds to assess what is need for this year's garden. Some are left over seeds from last year and some that we saved ourselves. We also looked over our gardening notes and have decided on certain plants which failed or did not produce and that we will not try again.

I have tried again and again to put a list of the vegetable varieties here, but Blogger refuses to let me make a list which formats properly, so I have given up.

Spring is coming....

2011-03-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

The days are getting longer and warmer. We still have approximately 1 meter (3 feet) of snow in the yard, but spring is breaking through anyway! Below you will see a crocus blooming outside of our diningroom window - it is close against the house and between the wall and the bank of snow. Amazing!

Warmer days mean BARBEQUE!

A lovely dinner on the grill consisting of steak and roasted veggies, accompanied by garlic bread.

Birds

2011-03-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I saw four very large shining white birds flying against the sunny blue sky. It took me a minute to realize that I was seeing Trumpeter Swans. Swans over-winter a bit north of here, and I have seen them on the rivers, but never flying. It was quite a sight.

A short time later, I witnessed a beautiful mature bald eagle circling overhead.

Today Husband and I broke down and purchased an egg incubator... the Hova Bator 2362n. At $219 it wasn't cheap (cheep - ha ha - pun very much intended)

Isn't she a beauty?

We have been thinking about this for some time and will try to hatch some of the Amercauna (chicken) and Khaki Campbell (duck) eggs.

Complaints and Updates

2011-03-08T08:07:00.001-08:00

Okay, okay, I'm getting complaints that I haven't posted anything to the blog in such a long time. Not that I haven't thought about it, and I certainly don't want to ignore it, but I have been so extremely busy with work that I really only have had time at home to eat and sleep. Needless to say I'm very worn down and have felt ill the past couple of days.

So here are the updates:

Weight Loss - Husband and I have both lost about 13 pounds since January 1st. My exercise goals unfortunately have falled by the wayside over the past three weeks. I have managed to get out and walk the last two days as it was only -7c and sunny. I have to admit it was wonderful to get some fresh air and for the stress relief (desperately needed).

Weather - Snow, snow, snow, and, oh, did I mention snow? Last week we had tremendous amounts come down and that is the talk of the town. Here are some photos taken Feb 28th (since then it has snowed at least another 15 cm (6 inches):

The sundeck (snowdeck?)

Front of house

One of the greenhouses just peeking out

The side of the house with my car

Cooking - I have purchases a few Cleaning Eating magazines and have been cooking their recipes. I often don't like the flavours of 'diet' recipes or they often use unhealthy food alternatives, but these recipes are nutritious, low calorie and extremely tasty.

Animals - all doing well. We have discussed adding some pigs to the acreage this spring and will raise some extras for friends and family (you can guess what that means - and it doesn't mean as pets) We will have to finish building the pole barn and get some fencing done once the snow is gone - but it looks like that will be awhile. I would also love to add a heritage breed of pig that we could perhaps breed in the future.

Garden - Husband is dreaming of plants. He's planning on building a new system for starting the seeds in the garage. He wants to build a multi-shelved trolley on wheels in which the grow lights are mounted above each shelf. Hopefully this will take up less room in the garage and he can wheel the plants outside to harden off.

Extras - Husband and I finished the intermediate class for ballroom dancing at the end of February. It was lots of fun as always. Now we need to practice all the dances we learned so we don't forget them. I'm planning on making a playlist on iTunes so that we can let the music run and dance in the livingroom once a week. Last week we started East Coast Swing (jive) lessons.

Kids Playing

2011-01-19T20:44:00.000-08:00

It is 8:45 in the evening and a winter storm warning is in effect with 20 cm expected. The snow must have started a short while ago and large flakes are falling from the sky.

The kids (16 and 14) are outside playing together (which is amazing in its own right). They are dressed in snow gear, have headlamps, and are digging tunnels in the soft dry snow. They are then coaxing the dog to follow them through their tunnel mazes which are crisscrossing through the back yard.

I forget how nice it is to watch the kids playing. Now that they are older it doesn't happen very often - they are usually off doing their own thing. I'm a proud mom.

Weight Loss, Goal Setting and Stevia

2011-01-07T08:18:00.000-08:00

Well here we are at the end of the first week of 2011. We, as many people, have our New Year's resolutions (or goals as I prefer to call it). I think goal sounds much more like something that is achievable by following a set plan, whereas resolution (to me) is something I might want to work towards without much intention.

Husband and I have set a goal to lose weight (okay, now who hasn't done that), but our goal does have a plan attached. My plan is to lose 35 pounds by December 1, 2011 and I have carefully set out how I will achieve this loss. I have a written plan, and also a journal in which to make myself track progress and be accountable everyday. Now that I have put that out there publically, I guess I had better achieve this goal!

Do you have any goals with set written plans for 2011? If not, you may want to write them down...

Harvard University conducted a study in the 1950's to see how many students had taken the time to set goals. While virtually all of the them stated they had set goals, when the question was asked how many had written down the goals the percentage dropped significantly. In fact, only 3% of the group surveyed had actually put their goals to paper.

Fast-forward 30 years later...the same group was surveyed. Guess what? The 3% who had written down their goals were worth more (financially) than the other 97% combined.

Husband likes to drink sugar in his coffee and to have it on his cereal. He already cut out drinking the 'evil' sugar laden soda pop and cut down on the sugar in his coffee late last year and managed to drop 12 pounds (Cheers and clapping). I have purchased a natural sugar substitute for him in the form of Stevia to help him along the way and to make his coffee more enjoyable.

Stevia is a plant grown in western North American and into South America, and is related to the sunflower family. The extract is taken from the sweet leaves and is up to 300 times sweeter than sugar. The availability varies from country to country, and I found that my local health food store has carried it for an number of years. In Canada it is considered as a dietary supplement.

The other day I also saw it in my local grocery store with the natural food products. It came in either liquid or powder form. I decided to purchase the powdered form, and did some cost comparison before finally buying stevia in a canister shaker which cost approx $12.00 for 112g. There was also a box of stevia for just under $12.00 which I originally looked at. Upon closer inspection I found it contained small individual packages of stevia and the entire weight was only 28g! Obviously the cost was for the extra packaging and not for the actual stevia itself.

Seasons Greetings

2010-12-24T15:48:00.000-08:00

Seasons Greetings

Over the past year I have noticed that I many more followers to our blog. In fact we have just received over 10,000 hits.
I want to wish you and your families and loved ones a very Merry Christmas.

Last of the Holiday Rush

2010-12-23T13:37:00.000-08:00

The last of our holiday rush is over! Gifts have all been purchased. Groceries have been bought and put away. Now all that is left is to give the house a quick clean, then sit back and relax.

Husband's sister and family will be arriving tomorrow around noon. We are really looking forward to spending the holidays with them.

Christmas eve my parents will come and we will all have a fondue dinner, then open gifts from them. We are German so we still celebrate Christmas eve, but have now 'Canadianized' the season as well, and will open the rest of the gifts Christmas morning. A tradition turkey dinner will accompany Christmas day and my parents will return for for the meal as well as a friend who would otherwise be alone for Christmas.

Simple Things

2010-12-18T08:36:00.000-08:00

Up early on a Saturday morning. Having a coffee, sitting by the fireplace and looking out the window. Watched a moose standing across the road eating his breakfast of willows. It was wonderful watching him. Life doesn't get better than that! Its the simple things that make us happy.

Boots

2010-12-08T12:16:00.000-08:00

Now that winter is here I decided that I would really like to wear more skirts in the cold weather. I do have to dress up for work and I usually wear pants all winter due to the cold, and also because I have never in my adult life been able to find dress boots that fit my calves.

I'm sick and tired of going out to Christmas and New Year parties wearing a dress with snowboots and carrying my dress shoes in a plastic grocery bag to the event. (You ladies who live in northern climates know what I mean! I'm sure you have done it before too!)

Trust me, these boots look lovely with evening wear ;)

I finally did a search online for wide calf boots and guess what I found? A company specializing in wide calf boots! http://www.widewidths.com/ has all sorts of boots in wide calf, extra wide calf and super wide calf and I found a pair I thought looked great. I measured as instructed by the website and ordered them. A week and a half later the boots appeared on my doorstep thanks to door-to-door delivery! I was a little nervous at first, but they actually zipped up.... all the way up! [Cue the angels singing and the Hallelujah chorus] I honestly couldn't believe it! The quality is nice and I'm very happy that I can finally dress up in winter!
This is the boot I purchased. I thought it had a classic look and shouldn't go out of style. It is the Ros Hommerson Ella boot in super wide calf.

Homemaking Book

2010-11-28T17:03:00.000-08:00

In an effort to become a little bit more organized for the upcoming year, I have decided to for go the usual planning calendar that I normally buy (and only use for the first four months of the year) and make myself a homemaking book.

My homemaking book is personalized for the things that I want to keep track of. I took an old binder which I recovered with some leftover fabric and sewed a small pocket in the front to hold my fountain pen.

It was very simple to sew the cover:

1. Open the binder and place face up on the wrong side of the fabric

2. Using a pen trace the outline onto the fabric

3. Using a ruler make the outline bigger by 1 cm

4. Cut out the fabric

5. Place the binder face up on a new section of the fabric and trace out the each section of the cover (without the spine) plus an extra 3 cm to use as a hem (must cut 2 fabric flap sections)

6. Using a ruler make the outline bigger by 1 cm (other than the 3cm hem)

7. Cut out the fabric

8. Get out the sewing machine

10. Zigzag stitch the hem portion of the inside flap and zigzag the middle section of the larger fabric cover at the spine

11. Turn over the 3cm hem with wrong sides together and sew

12. **Pin all pieces wrong sides together and sew with a 1 cm seam allowance

13. Turn inside out and iron

14. Place binder inside the cover

** If you want to add a pocket on the front cover you must do it now before sewing all the pieces together.

Here you can see the inside flap and how the binder cover slips in.

I purchased heavier paper to put in my homemaking book because I write mainly with a fountain pen and I need thicker paper so I doesn't bleed through. I then proceded to section my book with purchased cardboard tabs and made up my own pages with vintage images and fonts.

Though it seems like a lot, some sections only have one or two pages or combine page. Sections in my book include:

Calendar
To Do List (now and someday)
Shopping List
Weekly Menu
Diet and Exercise
Housework schedule (still needs to be worked on)
Correspondence

Future blog posts

Gift giving ideas
Books to read
List of books read
Movies to see
Beauty and Fashion idea
Vegetable garden journal
Flower garden journal
Party planner

Photos of some of my pages:

The great thing about a homemaking book is that everything is one place and easy to find. Plus I can add and reorganize

sections as I see fit and not what a commercial calendar/personal organizer thinks I need to keep track of.

Winter Storm

2010-11-17T14:24:00.001-08:00

We took a mini vacation/family reunion and spent a few days in Vancouver to visit my sister, and other sister who was visiting at the same time. Of course Vancouver weather is usually very mild, and it didn't disappoint us with being warm and rainy.

October and the beginning of November have been unseasonably warm this year, but as we arrived home we found a bit of snow on the ground.

This morning though winter arrived. We have had snow warnings (15cm) and strong wind warnings (70 km/h) which began last night. This morning our power went out and didn't come back on until 12:30pm. Luckily I had an emergency water supply tucked away in the garage so that I could give the birds water this morning. Since we are on a well water once the electricity ceases, so does the well pump. I sat by oil lamp light in the kitchen and stayed warm with the gas fireplace writing some letters before I finally ventured out.

Since we had just gotten back from Vancouver I didn't have any fresh groceries in the fridge and I spent yesterday working until late. So I drove out to the local grocery store only to find that the entire northern part of the city was suffering from the power outage. I had to go right into town to find an open store and I was a little nervous with the wind and snow.

The school officially closed at 1pm (due to lack of power) and I had to go pick up the kids. The highway was terrible with the snow blowing across it and it was very difficult to see - it was much worse compared to when I drove to town. I just went slow and we made it safely.

I fear that the power may go off again today, so I have refilled our emergency water rations and filled up some large pots as well. Now that I have my fresh groceries we should be good for quite a few days... just in case.

Remember

2010-11-10T19:21:00.000-08:00

In remembrance of our Veterans, military personnel and fallen soldiers.
To honour of them and their families.
To say "Thank You" for dedicating your lives in the service of our country.

In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields

Raw Milk Controversy

2010-10-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

I had planned on a completely different blog post for today; that was until I saw this morning's local newspaper with the following story. I will let you read it first and I'll put in my 2 cents worth after....

Milk battle on between owners, Northern Health
October 22, 2010

Bernice Trick
Citizen staff

A group of milk-cow owners in Hixon is fighting Northern Health for the right to consume the milk they produce, despite it being unpasteurized.

Lesley McConnachie, owner of Hunny Do Ranch, where the milking cows are kept and cared for said, "Northern Health has ordered the members of the group to cease and desist the practice of packaging and distributing the raw milk to the members."

McConnachie has letters from George Abbot, when he was minister of health services, and an official in the Attorney General's department, saying the province's Milk Industry Act does not prevent consumption of milk by owners of cows, or anyone who has direct care and control of a milk cow.

"When we showed the letters to Northern Health, they just said "Those people are not our boss."

"In the two years we've been doing this, no one (in the co-operative) has become sick, and besides that, it's not exactly a spreadable disease," said McConnachie, who sees Northern Health officials "as big bullies".

Gred Thibault, NH manager of public health protection, showed much concern for the Hixon people who are consuming raw milk.

"We know the risk of unpasteurized milk to contain illness-casuing bacteria is very high," said Thibault, citing food poisoning and salmonella as common illnesses caused by raw milk.

"In farm-animal environment, you'll also find ecoli, parasites and crytoporidium that cause people to become very ill, ususally with cramps and diarrhea," said Thibault, adding those who seem to at most risk are young children, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems.

"It's true that not every squirt of milk will be contaminated, but as a health inspector for 24 years, I can pretty well guarantee if you go from drinking store-bought milk to raw farm milk, you will become severely ill within a month to three months.

"I've got the follow-up data from my field experience that shows individuals drinking raw milk will become sick.

"They may call it the flu or something else, but I've been able to trace it back in many, many cases to unpasteurized milk.

Recognizing the problem, in the early '90s the federal goverment brought in legislation requiring pasteurization of all milk products."

He added that "studies show there is no added benefit for pasteurized or unpasteurized milk, but the potential for illness is greatly increased with unpasteurized milk."

He says the Hixon group is good at creating loopholes to continue marketing milk products like butter, and suffice to say that an inspection visit to the ranch milking barn did not score well with NH environment officials.

McConnachie is baffled why the officials care if members consume milk from their own cows.

"It's pretty well known that people consume what they want - alcohol, tobacco, raw sushi, spinach - and nobody says a word about that. I just want Northern Health to leave our members alone," said McConnachie.

"This all started with one cow, and it just grew from there. Today we have eight milking cows," said McConnachie who provides the pasture for grazing, and is ultimately responsible for the milking, distribution and daily care of the animals.

But the share mambers are in contact with the ranch and their own cows, often helping with the feeding, watering and the clean up, said McConnachie.

Now for my comments:

First off I want to say that we are not part of the Hunny Do Ranch cowshare members, nor do we currently drink raw milk, though we did investigate the program about a year ago and completely agree with the health benefits of drinking raw milk.. Both husband and I grew up in environments in which we did drink raw cow or goats milk at various times during our childhood and teenage years.

We as individuals need to begin thinking for ourselves, and not believe everything presented by the various milk marketing boards and milk producer associations (remember this is a business and no one wants to lose potential revenue). They are taking away our individual choices and freedoms by outlawing the sale of raw milk.

Milk has been drunk by humans for millennia and I fail to believe that it is unhealthy unless pasteurized (pasteurization has only been around since 1864 so isn't is amazing that the human animal is still alive considering raw milk has been drunk for centuries before this discovery?). This is a natural food which is illegal in Canada and many other countries, yet the governments condone 'fake' foods full of chemicals, fillers, flavourings, colourings, preservatives etc. It just doesn't make sense to me.

I also have to wonder why Northern Health is all of a sudden so concerned about a few people in the area drinking raw milk, when the general public purchases and consumes a variety or products from grocery stores that have been recalled by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, yet unless you actually go onto their website the public usually doesn't hear about the recalls. Perhaps Northern Health should put their efforts into warning the general population at large about foods that could be harmful to those that unknowingly purchase those products.

I personally believe that raw milk is very healthy due to the enzymes and healthy bacteria that are present and not destroyed by pasteurization. We live in a society in which everything is so sanitized and sterilized that our bodies can no longer cope with, and fight off various diseases... eat a little dirt - its good for you ;) I feel this is why, according to the above article, the inspector is finding that some people become ill after consuming raw milk - they are getting diarrhea because their bodies are not accustomed to to the various enzymes/good bacterias that humans should be ingesting. Obviously milk must be gathered and produced in a clean environment from cows and goats that have been kept in good conditions with proper nutrition so as not to be contaminated by e-coli or bad bacterias.

I noticed one glaring mistake in the article as follows "the federal government brought in legislation requiring pasteurization of all milk products". This is not true, as in Canada we are able to produce and purchase raw milk cheeses. From the Health Canada website: "Raw milk cheese is made from raw milk. While raw milk is not allowed to be sold in Canada, raw milk cheese is allowed for sale. This is because the way raw milk cheeses are manufactured and produced helps eliminate any harmful bacteria that may be present in raw milk. "

The article in the newspaper has really infuriated me, and husband and I have been discussing writing a letter to the editor in support of the cowshare program and Hunny Do Ranch. I am going to investigate the feasibility of obtaining a cow for milk and see if the cost and time involved would be something that we could handle. Perhaps Northern Health has pushed us into it... let them try to ban me from drinking milk from our own cow!

For more information about raw milk and to make your own informed decisions, you can google 'raw milk' and come up with various websites with pros and cons.

I would also recommend listening to the Darcy's podcast from Stumbling Homestead who just happened to post a raw milk podcast this morning (wow, what great timing!)

And here are some other websites:

A CAMPAIGN FOR REAL MILK

Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund

2010 Harvest

2010-10-04T22:04:00.001-07:00

22 lbs (10 kilos) of sauerkraut

14 quarts (14 litres) of mincemeat

7 bags of carrots for the freezer

2 litres of fermenting carrots

2 litres of kimchi

13 jars of nectarine jam

12 pints (500 ml) of pears

13 quarts of dill pickles

12 pints of bread and butter pickles

12 pints pickled hot peppers

12 pints pickled green tomatoes and hot peppers

18 pints of salsa

Lost count of peas and beans canned and frozen

12 pints of canned corn

6 bags of tomatoes for the freezer

12 quarts of canned tomatoes

12 pints of canned cherries

2 bags of cherries for the freezer

7 bags of cabbage for the freezer

5 bags of shredded zucchini for the freezer

I still have to work on the leeks and pumpkins

I'm not sure how many potatoes we have - probably around 50 lbs (22 kilo). Our potatoes did not do well this year, I think because of our extremely hot summer they didn't get enough water.

Plus we ate a lot of fresh vegetables from the garden this year.

Vegetables we planted that did not do well (mostly likely as they were early varieties that were fooled by the heat):

Radish
Mustard Greens
Arugula
Spinach
Swiss Chard
Turnips
Corn (that is a challange as it is in our climate)
Kale
Beets

Rainy Day Blues

2010-09-25T16:50:00.000-07:00

Actually I'm not really blue, but it has been raining all day and I have a bad head cold. So I'm taking it easy today. Husband I went out this afternoon and did our grocery shopping plus looked around for a crock with which to make Sauerkraut and Kimchi in.

Tomorrow I'll be making mincemeat with our green tomatoes to can for future Christmas baking. I'll also be making dilled carrots and then freezing the what is left of the carrots. And preparing the cabbage for sauerkraut. We have not yet built a cold storage room so right now everything is still in the garage which it cool, but it is definately not an optimum produce storage area.

During the week I canned cherries, canned pears, made dill pickles, made nectarine jam, canned corn off the cob and baked 2 fresh peach pies. Husband was in the Okanagon and brought home several boxes of fruits which don't grow in our area, so I had to get busy.

For my birthday Husband had bought me a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer which I love, and today we bought the extra attachments to go with it (food grinder, pasta maker, fruit & vegetable strainer, slicer & shredder)! I couldn't believe our luck as the package of attachments was on sale for $100 off the original price!

This is my mixer above - the Kitchen Aid Artisan in silver.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

2010-09-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

As most people with gardens, I have an abundance of zucchini that I need to use up.

We like zucchini bread and I wanted to make a chocolate version, but I couldn't find any healthy type recipes so I kind of made up my own. It is really good and not too sweet. This recipe make 4 loaves which I need for my family as they eat it like crazy. So without further ado, here is the recipe....

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

3 c sugar
5 duck eggs (I realize most people don't use duck eggs so use 6 chicken eggs)
1/3 c oil
1/3 c apple sauce
4 T water
2 T vanilla
5 c shredded zucchini
3 c flour
2 c whole wheat flour
1 c unsweetened cocoa
2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
2 t ground cinnamon
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Grease four 4x8 loaf pans

In a medium bowl beat together sugar, eggs, oil, apple sauce, water and vanilla until well blended. Stir in zucchini.

Add dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide batter between the four pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick near the centre comes out clean.

Cool in pans for 10 minutes then remove from pans. (If you don't let them cool first the bottom of the loaf will rip off when removing)

The Sly Fox

2010-09-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

I love to watch the wildlife in our area and since we have been living here we have often observed a fox coming to visit our property. We know that she/he has a den across the road from us and it usually comes to check out the compost, but we haven't seen it for a about year or so.

The other day as we were working on the pole barn, Son came with a wheelbarrow full of gravel to pour into the holes. As he dumped it, the hens and one of the roosters came running towards us. We thought that they must have figured to was food that we were dumping - that is until Daughter yelled "A FOX!" We looked up to see the fox standing 20 meters away from us with one of our ducks in its mouth. We ran at the fox brandishing our shovels and screaming like a mob of angry villagers.

Luckily it dropped the duck and ran. She appears to be okay other than walking with a limp. We put the birds immediately back into the henhouse enclosure. That night I realized that I didn't remember seeing one of our hens (she stands out as she is a very silvery colour). The next morning I checked and sure enough she is missing. The night before we also had a hen die which had seemed fine all day - perhaps the fox had tried to get her and she managed to get away. I had looked her over and she seemed fine, but perhaps had internal injuries or died of shock?

Now the fox just keeps hanging around. The other day it walked up the driveway, sat down and scratched at its fur. It then walked over to our kitchen window and looked in at us. The dog was barking and going crazy, but the fox seemed completely unperturbed. He continued on along the side of the house and at this point Husband ran outside to scare it away. He was yelling, a shoe was thrown, and the fox just trotted away not frightened at all.

Later that same evening as Daughter went to feed the birds, she saw him hanging around the hen house. She grabbed the water hose and sprayed him full force!

The day before yesterday he was back. So cheeky! He came up to the front walkway only 10 feet away from our front door, sat down and again scratched at his fur and began grooming himself. Daughter ran out and scared him away.

I'm beginning to get a little frightened as this is a wild animal with obviously no fear of humans. I don't know too much about fox or if they can become aggressive towards people, but I think we may have to do 'something' about him.

Erecting Poles for the Barn

2010-09-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

Husband has been wanting to build a pole barn since we finished building the house. Finally, the long wait is over and construction has begun.

Yesterday he rented an auger for the Bobcat and dug the 2 meter holes (6 foot) that the poles will sit in. Today he used the Bobcat to maneuver the poles into place. Unfortunately, this morning Husband found a hen in one of the holes - she was totally covered in mud after spending the night alone in the pit. She gladly jumped onto the stick that Husband put down for her and seemed none the worse for wear as she was lifted to safety (other than being really dirty).

The videos below document the erection of one of the poles (I had to split it up as I needed to move around the equipment). The back of the barn will attach to the hen house (the off white building in the background) and the barn will house equipment, travel trailer and such.

In the video Husband is driving the Bobcat, Son is moving the poles, and you can catch a couple of glimpses of Daughter as well.

Now that the poles are all in place (12 poles in all), they must be levelled and the holes filled in with gravel. The poles have already been pressure treated with wood preservative so that they don't decay in the ground.

Acreage All Sorts

2010-08-30T08:28:00.000-07:00

Weather: Last weekend the temperatures began to cool off and we finally received more than just a short drizzle of rain. I can't believe how quickly it has changed from a super hot summer to cool and fall like in just a couple of days. The leaves have begun changing colour and even the mice seem to know autumn is on its way. The great white hunter (aka Son) has been trapping the mice families that are trying to move into our garage and crawlspace. Daughter seems disgusted and wants us to just catch the mice and turn them loose in the 'wild'.

This morning we received our first frost.

With the rain the forest fires have be brought under control and the choking smoke that was plaguing our city (as well as others) has finally dissipated.

Garden: Most things are growing well and I have been picking beans, peas, tomatoes and peppers like crazy. We will have to assess our produce at the end of the harvest to see what seeds did well so we can re-order in the spring. Some things we did not have luck with this year namely radish, spinach and beets. I think it is perhaps because we ordered short season varieties and then the hot summer pushed them into seed right way.

Some of our produce picked one evening after work

Preserving: Needless to say with the garden producing like crazy I in turn have been preserving like crazy - pickling, freezing and canning. I have also made salsa and relish.

Pickled green tomatoes and peppers

Perfect pearls of pea perfection (just a little alliteration for you)

Dog:

Who's that conehead?

Kaiser was once again at the veterinarian. He got into a fight with the neighbour's Bull Mastiff and he was on the losing end. Kaiser is not a vicious dog, he just wants to play with everyone but doesn't understand that not everyone wants to play with him. His front right leg was bitten quite severely and became infected after a few days. He now has a drain tube and is on heavy antibiotics. We are seriously investigating and researching electric dog fencing.

Wildlife:

Moose: The moose have been out again at night. We noticed their tracks going on the path between the garden and berry garden. They stopped to have a look at our produce but continued on their way - I guess the fence around the garden helped after all. The next night one was back and walked over the berry garden fence and through the berry bushes and out again. Luckily it didn't squash any of our strawberry plants or berry bushes.

Grouse: We have been seeing quite a few grouse around lately. Usually they are in a flock of 4-7. This one was on the road - she stopped and stood still thinking I couldn't see her while her friends took off into the bush.

Bear: The bears are out in full force. Since April there have been over 700 reported sighting within the city. The expect that in fall there will be quite a problem because the hot dry summer has dried up their food source of berries. Now they will be coming into town to look for other goodies to eat - garbage, fruit, and whatever else takes their fancy.

I spoke with a lady that lives in our area and she said to watch out as there is a grizzley in the area. I hadn't heard about it, but now I wonder if that was the bear my neighbour across the road saw the other day. She telephoned us to say a HUGE bear was in her yard and was heading across the street to our property. We never did see it, but I waited for 30 minutes befdore heading out for my daily walk.

Pioneer Week Challenge: Well it wasn't a huge success this year, but I did okay. Obviously we cooked at home other than one day when we had Indian takeout. I didn't purchase anything other than a few groceries that I needed, and a pair of Birkenstock shoes to wear in the house as my feet were killing my from standing in the kitchen at length. I combined all my trips into town to cut on my fuel consumption.

Pioneer Week

2010-08-22T13:46:00.001-07:00

A new Pioneer Week Challenge hosted by Crunchy Chicken. I've been so busy I almost missed it!

Pioneer Living Rules (as reposted from Crunchy's blog)

1. Food: During Pioneer Week, you must make all your meals from scratch. This isn't really as hard as it sounds particularly if you start now. That's right, I'm letting you prepare meals ahead of time to freeze if you won't have time during the work week. But, anything prepared ahead of time must be made from scratch.

2. Energy usage: Keep your energy usage low by keeping the A/C (or heat if you live in the other hemisphere) low or off, use only one light in the house at a time (or at least turn off the lights when you are not using them) and line dry your clothes. Since you'll be doing a lot of cooking at home, try to coordinate when you are using the oven to take advantage of baking and/or roasting items at the same time. I don't expect you to unplug your fridge or freezer, so don't worry about that.

3. Conserve water: Since we don't all lug our water from the stream for home use, we'll have to do a few things to help conserve water. Besides taking shorter showers (5 minutes or less or take a military style shower) and flushing less often, you can create a great reminder about water usage by turning the water off on most of your sinks so when you go to use them nothing comes out.

4. Transportation: Walk or bike as much as possible. This will force you to support more local stores if you can't drive across town. If this isn't feasible, then drive or take public transportation. Most importantly, try to combine trips and if you really don't need to go out, stay home!

5. Rethink your entertainment: Instead of spending the week passively watching television or movies, try to engage more with the people you live with or neighbors within walking distance. Get the family back into playing games, music or just sitting around talking and telling stories. If you aren't in the mood for socializing try picking up that long lost craft hobby or start a new one.

6. Watch your wallet: Think of this as a Buy Nothing Week. Since you'll be pretty much eating at home all week, you don't really need to buy anything, now do you?

RAIN

2010-08-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

It RAINED for about 10 minutes this afternoon!!!!!!

I was in the grocery store and that is all everyone could talk about.

Who knew one could be so happy over just a little rain?