The lasagana of love.

My lasagna has been the foundation of some my most epic friendships. I’ll be never forget blessing a fellow Kinette with a couple meals when she was recovering from the birth of her first child. She was overwhelmed and a simple meal meant more than I could have imagined to her. It morphed us from acquaintances to friends to certified besties.

Lasagna is clearly a favourite foood of mine. It’s my go to for pregnant girlfriends too tired/sick too cook, new moms, newly mourning, and a full harvest crew. It nourishes the soul and the body.

Food is more than the nutrients we derive from a meal. It’s a celebration of senses. A time for family bonding. It can elicit a memory with a single whiff of scent or mouthful of flavour. It connects us to so very many celebrations and family gatherings.

I could try to put together my recipe but honestly, I’m a cook by feel not by recipe kind of gal and this lasagna is carried love more than anything else.

Who you calling chicken??

This month we decided to diversify our place a bit….into chickens.

Kelly and I thought the kids could use a project that teaches them responsibility and possibly makes a wee bit of side money. So we are now in the business of laying hens.

We bought a 10 × 10 ft shed, insulated it and got our feeders etc. We built nesting boxes and a roost from scrap lumber around the yard. Our neighbour sold us 15 laying hens and off we are to the races.

The ladies have settled in nicely and are laying 8 or so eggs a day. We gave our first dozen of eggs to grandma this week and we are enjoying eggs for breakfast!

So far the kids love excitement of picking eggs everyday and all are hens are still here, so I’d say our venture is a success so far! We have 30 chicks that will be arriving in a month and that will be a whole new adventure raising them up to lay on the fall!

Grandma Lois’ Sweet Pickles

I’ve been blessed with an abundance of pickles in my garden. Our favourite way to preserve them is to make my mother in-law’s Sweet Pickles. It’s a great no fuss recipe that you don’t even need to use a canner. It’s not fancy, but trust me these pickles are tasty!!

Cucumbers galore.

 First wash your Cukes. I just use a veggie brush and water, but I’m not the food safety police. If you want to feel better about dirt bugs etc, feel free to wash your cukes however you please.

Slice those cukes!

Slice those cukes up! I like a medium thickness about 0.5 cm thick slices. Too thin and you have a soggy pickle, to thick and they don’t fit your sandwiches…Fill up a big margarine container (the 3.8 kg size) or an ice cream bucket up 3/4 full with sliced cukes. 

My fancy dancy pickle container- the Co-Op margarine tub.

In a 1 L measuring bowl (or whatever bowl you like) mix up the pickle juice.   You’ll need:

4 cups sugar

2 cups vinegar

1 tbsp pickling salt

1 tsp mustard seed

1 tsp tumeric

1 tsp celery seed

 Note that the salt and sugar doesn’t completely dissolve. Just mix vigorously and pour over the cucumbers. It will dissolve over a couple days  in the fridge. 

Pickle juice. Pickle Juice. Pickle Juice.

Pour over your cucumbers. The juice will not cover all the cucumbers. Pop them in the fridge. Have no fear, they will shrink down after a day or so.  Mix them every day to have them all covered and cured. Let them cure about a week and then dig it! I like to transfer a small amount into a mason jar for easier storage in my kitchen fridge and store the rest in my spare garage fridge. Enjoy!

Grandma Lois’ Pickles

10 cups slice pickles – give or take. 

Juice:

4 c sugar

2 c vinegar

1 tbsp picking salt

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp mustard seed

1 tsp tumeric. 

Slice cucumbers into an ice cream bucket or 3.8 kg margarine container.  Mix together juice. Pour over cucumbers (it won’t cover all of them). Refrigerate. Mix daily. Let cure 1 week in the fridge.  I do NOT recommend canning these pickles afterward, they get very soft if you do. Store in the fridge. 

 

 

 

 

Take your pick, grass fed or conventional beef- both are healthy choices!

Grass or Grain Finished- Beef is a great protein source!

A peak into what our farm is about.

Here is a video we put together letting the world know what we do at our farm. Enjoy. Got questions?? Ask!

Shredded Apple Cakes

It’s a rare day that I am home alone and catching up on paper work and house stuff. Ah, the sweet bliss of a quiet house! Anyhow, I had an apple that had a really nasty bruise and was feeling snacky and thus, my Shredded Apple Cakes were born. My photos are crappy, but hey, I’m new to this I need to “Learn to do by Doing” so, here’s my recipe:

1 shredded Apple

1/2 cup almond flour

1 tsp agave nectar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp butter

Mix together apple, almond flour, agave & cinnamon. Heat a skillet on medium-high and melt butter.

Form 4 small cakes. Cook on medium about 4 minutes per side.

I topped them with a wee bit extra shredded apple & cinnamon. Delicious. I’m thinking I won’t be hungry for lunch,as it was a very big snack 🙂

What I ate Wednesday

Here is the lowdown for my meals today.

Breakfast

2 slice Silver Hills Little Big Bread
1 egg
Coffee with 1 tbsp evaporated milk & 1/2 tsp Splenda brown sugar blend

AM Snack
1 Fig bar since my yoghurt at work went funky

Lunch

Homemade tomato soup with pasta & beef, tuna stuffed bell pepper & 1 Lindt Ball (not shown)

PM Snack
Cheese string & Chicken Cup o Soup

Supper

Burger party on romaine lettuce with tomato & 1 slice marble cheese, homemade sweet potato fries & ketchup.

Overall, not a bad day, but I could have done better only veggie intake.

What I ate Wednesday

In a pledge to make better choices I have tightened up my nutrition. Here’s my eats for the day.

Breakfast
Protein Oat Pancake & Coffee

AM Snack

Greek yoghurt & Strawberries

Lunch
Chicken breast, Mediterranean veggies & quinoa

PM Snack
Apple, 1 tsbp peanut butter & raisins

Supper

Brown rice, chicken breast, cucumbers, red peppers & tomato topped with a wee bit feta cheese & 1 tbsp tzatziki on the side. Yum!