Tuesday 28 August 2012

Super-Easy Harvest Recipe

Here is a delicious salad made almost entirely from garden items! I made this last night for supper and even my "I'm not a rabbit, don't feed me salad" husband loved it!


Chop up 2 cucumbers, 2 tomatoes, about 1/2 " of a cheese block, and 1/4 of an onion. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1 Tbsp ranch dressing. Mix it up and enjoy!

Saturday 25 August 2012

Today's Harvest

I decided not to dig up my potatoes until my husband is available to help me lift it all, and since he didn't want to go out in these high winds, I just took baby to the garden for a "mini-harvest". We got a full bag of apples (they must be finished now, I'm sure!), rhubarb (the rhubarb is definetely done and starting to die for winter), and SURPRISE, some peppers!! I honestly don't know what we'll do with them since we don't like spicy food. So if anyone has some recipes for turning these peppers into something not-so-spicy, let me know!

Tuesday 21 August 2012

Solar panels

Well I finally did it! My husband let me have $40 and I used that to go solar-panel shopping. As a woman I felt the lure of shoes, skirts, and hair accessories, but think about it: if you think something big is gonna happen, or if you are one of those who think 2012 is the end of the world (I don't), or if you just want to be safe rather than sorry... why would you buy shoes when you could buy solar panels? Shoes won't produce electricity or heat your house in winter or provide light to your plants when growing anything is impossible.

In my opinion wind power is a better way to go (more productive, and cheaper to assemble) but if you have the extra money, make an investment in your survival, rather than your looks!

Sunday 19 August 2012

Today's Harvest

Already this summer I've gotten dill, rhubarb, raspberries, and just yesterday pulled up a few (not all) of my potatoes. And I had already processed some of the green apples, but now they're fully ripe and ready for picking. I left only a few on the tree, and this is the rest that I harvested.

Saturday 18 August 2012

Make a Wood Clock

I remember a beautiful wooden clock hanging in our house and thought I could make one myself with all the wood slices in our garage. All those rounds of wood just sitting there, and not a thing to do with them. Well, no longer! Here are instructions on how to make your own clock out of a wood slice, if you happen to have a felled tree:

You will need:
- sandpaper
- enamel
- a foam brush
- a wood burner
- a drill
- a round/oval slice of wood
-polyurethane
- a DIY clock mechanism
- batteries
- a way to hang the clock

1) Sand the surface smooth
2) Apply enamel to the hands of the cloth. Allow it to dry completely, then do it once more.
3) Cut out some numbers and draw an outline in their appropriate places. Then trace over
them with a wood-burner
4) Drill a hole in the center of the clock
5) Apply a coat of polyurethane to the clock. Allow it to dry, then do it once more.
6) Turn the clock onto its front and insert the clock mechanism in the drilled hole
7) Attach the hands on the front of the clock
8) Insert the batteries, set the time, and hang it on the wall

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Perfect Harvest Recipe

Perfect Harvest Recipe

If you're like me, sometimes you get in a rut with the same recipe over-and-over again, especially when you have one particular vegetable that grew particularly well. For me this year, it's potatoes. So I asked my Colombian friend if she had any good potato recipes, and she gave me a recipe for "Papas Churriadas" which uses entirely garden ingredients (except for the spices), so it's a perfect recipe for harvest time!

First, boil some potatoes until tender, but not falling apart. We used 8 potatoes to feed 4 adults and 4 children. Set these aside, drained.

Next, make a "guiso" (pronounced gee-so) which is a base for most Colombian dishes. Shred 6 onions and 4 tomatoes and put in a pan. Add "Triguisar" which is a spice you can find in International food stores. If you don't have an international food store near you, you can substitute roughly a tablespoon of cumin and a teaspoon each of garlic powder and turmeric (or to taste). Let the "guiso" reduce on medium-high heat until thick.

Add up to 1/2 cup milk and 4 pieces of shredded toast (or hard breadsticks, crackers, or any other hard grain product  you have handy). Let it simmer for about 10 more minutes and take off the heat.

Use this topping on your potatoes as a delicious sauce (althought it tastes good on rice and chicken too!)

Friday 10 August 2012

Making Corn Oil

If you want to make your own organic corn oil (if, for example, you have a big corn harvest and have no idea what to do with it all) and you have made the Fruit Press that I shared with you awhile back, combine the two and do this!

http://www.ehow.com/how_5040521_make-corn-oil-home.html

Wednesday 8 August 2012

As Canadian as Apple Pie

I have canned so much raspberry jam, I'm done! The neighbour can have the rest of the berries until the end of the summer. The apples are just coming ready, so I found two recipes:
1) Homemade pectin from green apples (This is so I don't need to buy any more pectin for my canning next year);
2) Canned apple pie filling from ripe apples (A fairly simple recipe but the hard part is peeling, coring, and slicing the apples, made easier if you have an apple-corer).

The recipe for canned apple pie filling can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/canned-apple-pie-filling/detail.aspx

Monday 6 August 2012

The Fruits of Our Labour

If you're on my facebook, you would have seen a picture a couple days ago of one of my harvests. The garden is ready for harvest for some items. However I don't think I'll get any cucumbers this year because they started a bit late. So far I've gotten raspberries, rhubarb, and dill. The tomatoes are a good size but still green. The carrots and potatoes will be ready on time, and the onions are a bit small. The green onions were ready months ago!

I'm making wine from my raspberries as we speak (but I won't be able to tell you the results for several months).

Wednesday 1 August 2012

Raspberry Wine

I've been searching for more raspberry recipes after my husband cried "NO MORE JAM!!!" and I believe I've found it! Keep in mind all the recipes I post are not tested - I test them along with you! Let me know how yours turns out, if you decide to make it.

1) Boil a gallon of water
2) Put 4 lbs raspberries in the "fermentation bucket" (a container with
an airtight lid). Mash them a little.
3) Pour the boiling water over the mashed berries. Place the lid on
until the contents cool.
4) Add 3 lbs sugar and 1/4 oz yeast and stir. Close the lid, leaving it
to sit for 5 days. Stir three times per day.
5) Strain the raspberries from the liquid through a cheesecloth, pouring
the liquid into a 1-gallon jug.
6) Seal the jug with a cork or airlock and set in a warm, dark spot for
three months.
7) Siphon the liquid into wine bottles and seal with corks. This wine
does not require further aging although some people say it tastes best
after aging for one year.