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~ For people who are passionate about respecting the earth, walking in nature, observing wildlife, local diet, making do, repurposing, organic gardening, foraging for wild plants and fungi, natural health, scrumptious healthy cooking, renovations, DIY, crafting, raising children simply and mindfully, taking time for stillness, and living in harmony with the seasons.

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Monthly Archives: August 2012

ahhhh…. Lucy

27 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in Lucy

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

dog, dog with head stuck, funny dog, Lucy, Lucy's antics, silly dog

I just had to share what Lucy just did that gave me my belly laugh of the day. While I was baking in the kitchen (chocolate zucchini muffins), Lucy was busy pushing her toy ball around. It holds her evening portion of kibble and she loves to push it and eat the kibble as it escapes from a small hole in the ball. The ball makes a rumbling noise on the hardwood floor so I can usually hear her working away at it until she is done.

After a while I realized that the cabin had been very quiet and I wondered what Miss Lucy was up to. I glanced over at her cushion in the living room and there she was, lying there like nothing was out of the ordinary… a huge smile on her face… and the bathroom garbage lid stuck to her head! I burst out laughing and ran for the camera. Of course she held the pose until I was finished taking the picture, then she let me carefully remove the lid from her head.

Ahhh… Lucy! Each day I feel so blessed to share my life with such a loving and crazy companion!

 

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the patio gets a new look- phase 2

26 Sunday Aug 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in cabin living, refinish, restore

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

deck project, patio, patio project, planter box, rock garden, rocks, stain, stain deck

Since my last post on the patio projects, Brian has built a beautiful large planter box and replaced some of the front deck with trellis and I have scrubbed and stained the deck. I thought I would share some of the pictures with you so that you can see some of the work that has been taking place here all summer.

Since June, we have repaired, scrubbed, stained and renovated the entire front deck (the patio is attached to the right side of the deck). I will share all of the before and after pictures with you in the coming week in a series of posts.

Below is the planter box in progress. For most of the patio and deck projects, Brian was able to salvage odds and ends from the shed and rarely had to buy new wood.

The planter box was built to my specifications. I wanted to be able to put two large plastic pots inside so Brian measured the pots and built this custom planter box to match the trellis beside it. This box also serves as a half-wall which closes in the ‘outdoor room’ quite nicely and adds a bit more privacy when sitting at the table. By this time next year the boxes will be overflowing with flowers and tall ornamental grass, adding even more privacy.

Next year (phase 3), I plan on sealing the concrete with a warm honey color, adding two comfortable lounge chairs for the chiminea, and adding lots of large and medium pots for herbs and flowers to the patio area. I am also on the look-out for a large, circular outdoor rug.

Here is how the patio looks today:

To the left of the patio area is the right side of the front deck and it includes an interesting arrangement of rocks as a focal point. Here is what it used to look like just two months ago (this is what you look at while sitting at the patio table). Notice the old, faded deck stain which gave the cabin a sad, neglected look…

The rocks are piled quite high to high a gap in the boards. Brian decided to remove a few of these boards and install more trellis to match the patio trellis. He also kept going when he got to the cedar tree and added trellis to the decking behind and beyond the cedar. This was a lot of work and was tedious to install but was really worth it. It really makes the area feel cleaner as you no longer have to look at the uninspiring view under the deck. I also removed the metal fencing from around the cedar.

In progress…

Below is the final project as it looks today. Once the trellis was in place I no longer had to use so many rocks in the arrangement and I think having less improves the look. The dark stain on the deck adds a very nice crisp contrast to the cabin and it makes the rocks stand out more instead of blending in with everything else around it. I put a bright red pot on the right side of the rock platform and plan on putting a splashy water fountain in the main area of the rock platform (phase 3). I will also be adding some rock garden perennials in the the crack and crevices of the rocks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYLvcs47I68&t=12s

These improvement to the deck and patio area cost very little money and a reasonable investment of time, creativity and elbow grease. With just a bit of effort, we have transformed an open and exposed, uninspired area of concrete into a cozy outdoor room that we use constantly now for meals and evening fires.

In a few days I will show you the improvements we made to the herb and tea garden, the creation of a ‘Zen deck’ and the freshening up of the reading lounge…

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the Baking Beauties best gluten-free cinnamon buns

25 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in cook, whole grains

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

baking, buns, cinnamon, cinnamon buns, gluten-free, wheat-free

This recipe comes straight from the Baking Beauties blog. I first discovered the Baking Beauties on facebook. They specialize in gluten-free baking and I am always on the look-out for wheat-free treats. These cinnamon buns were a hit! Although the batter was heavy and sticky, the buns rose and looked beautiful and they tasted delicious.

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Bun

2 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (see note)

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1 tablespoon rapid rise yeast

3 tablespoon white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon guar gum

1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix (dry) OR dry milk powder (I used the milk powder)

1 teaspoon baking powder

4 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup milk

1 egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

2 tablespoon oil (I used Canola)

1 teaspoon vanilla

NOTE: 4 cups superfine brown rice flour, 1 1/3 cups potato starch (not flour), 2/3 cup tapioca starch. Combine all ingredients in a large zipper-top bag. Shake until well blended.

Topping:
Over low heat, in a small saucepan, heat 4 Tbsp. butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp. corn syrup, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 2 Tbsp. whipping cream and a pinch of salt. Stir to incorporate. Remove from heat and pour into the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan (I used a pie pan, but pans with straight sides work better).

Filling:
Combine

2 tablespoon. butter or margarine, very soft

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1-2 tablespoon cinnamon

NOTE: Once thoroughly blended, you may add 1/2 cup re-hydrated raisins or pecans (optional)

In the bowl of your stand mixer, mix all dry ingredients until combined. Set aside.

Put water and margarine in a glass measuring cup and microwave just until the margarine has melted. Remove from microwave and stir. Add milk, stir. Add other wet ingredients and whisk to combine.

With the stand mixer running (using the paddle attachment), pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Scrap down the bowl if you have to.

Allow to mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.

Take a piece of plastic wrap and lay it out on a slightly damp counter top, so it covers an area bigger than 8″ x 16″. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of sugar on the wrap. Lay ball of dough on top of that. Gently lay another piece of plastic wrap over the top of the dough. Pat the dough down into a roughly squarish shape. Lift and reposition the top plastic wrap whenever you need to. Roll the dough out (with the plastic wrap on top) to a square approximately 8″ x 16″.

Remove plastic wrap. Spread filling mixture evenly across dough’s surface. Leave 1 1/2″ along one long end without any filling, this is where your cinnamon rolls will be sealed.

Starting along the long end, use the bottom sheet of plastic wrap to lift the edge of the dough and roll it up, forming a long cylinder. Start with the edge that has filling on it, that will be the center of your finished rolls.

Using a long piece of dark thread (light colours can be lost in the dough), cut the long “cinnamon bun log” into 8 pieces, about 1 1/2″ wide. You can do this by placing the thread underneath the roll, crossing it at the top, and pulling the threads so they cross each other, pulling it through the dough. This way, you won’t be squishing your dough down by cutting with a knife. Place rolls in prepared pan, with cut side up. I like to push the rolls down to about 1″ high.

Allow the cinnamon rolls/buns to rise in a warm, draft free place for about 30 minutes, or until nearly double in size.

Bake in preheated 350 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are a nice golden brown.

Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before inverting on a serving tray, and let the syrup run down over the rolls.

These are best served warm, however, I had great success with reheating them in the microwave for a few seconds when they were a day old as well.

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Lucy gets quilled… again

20 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in cabin living, Lucy

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Tags

dog, Lucy, needle nose pliers, porcupine, porcupine quills, quilled

Last week my poor wonderful dog, Lucy got quilled for the second time.

The first time she was quilled she must have barely touched the porcupine as she only had eight quills in total- three in her nose (pictured above) and five in one of her front paws. The quills were not very deeply embedded so I like to believe that she was simply curious, went in for a tentative sniff and then quickly learned her lesson. She avoided the next porcupine we encountered on the side of the road a few months later so I naively assumed that she was safe from porcupine enounters.

Then last Tuesday evening when we were out for our evening walk, Lucy went leaping gracefully through some tall grass as she so often does. On her third landing she suddenly started yelping and running out of the grass. I thought that perhaps a coyote had nipped her and was chasing her (we run into them often but the encounters are never threatening) so I went running towards Lucy with my hiking poles ready to defend her. As Lucy came running towards me I saw that she was holding her body posture very awkwardly and that the entire inner parts of her front legs and her chest were covered in porcupine quills! It was quite gruesome and she seemed to have morphed into some kind of spiky X-men character. She must not have smelled the porcupine in the tall grass. Perhaps the wind was blowing away from her… And judging by the location of the quills, she must have landed right smack on top of the prickly animal. Lucy looked confused and in pain as she limped toward me. Lucky we were not far from home and we slowly made our way back to the cabin.

As we walked home I was wondering if I would be able to take out the quills myself. Last time Lucy was quilled, she was very jumpy and it took me almost two hours to trick her into letting me get close enough to pull the quills out. I was amazed and so proud of Lucy when this time around when she came right over to me and let me snip the tips off of the quills with a pair of scissors. Then she stood very still (she was actually trembling and probably in shock) while held her with one arm and quickly plucked out all of the quills from one of her legs with needle nose pliers. I gave her a few minutes to rest and walk around, then I called her again and did the other leg. After another short break I pulled the quills from her chest area and after a thorough body search found a few quills on the inside of her back legs.

Unfortunately I did not take a picture of her before pulling the quills out. It did not even enter my mind this time around. As soon as I saw Lucy’s quills my only thought was to get them out as quickly as possible. In total I pulled out 141 quills and found 2 more the following day. Since then, Lucy has been more careful on our walks and keeps to the wide path a lot more and she completely avoids the patch of tall grass where she encountered the porcupine!

I’m happy to say that Lucy is doing great! She was tender for a few days but there were no signs of infection and she recovered very quickly. She’s even started leaping again… but she has been keeping to the path where the grass is much shorter!

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Saskatoon jam

13 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in cook, Pigeon Lake, preserve, wild berries

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

berries, jam, picking berries, preserves, Saskatoon Berries, Saskatoon jam, wild berries

This year the Saskatoon berries in my backyard are huge and plump! B and I got on ladders yesterday and picked three full basketfuls. I froze them for smoothies and pies and made a small batch of tarts for immediate enjoyment. I like to freeze the berries one layer at a time on cookie sheets and then place the frozen berries in large ziplock bags. This way they don’t stick together or freeze into one large lump and I can easily reach in for a handful of berries any time for smoothies. Last weekend I picked Saskatoon berries at one of our many beaches here on Pigeon Lake. There were many ripe berries and as these ones were a little smaller in size, I decided to make this jam with them.

Saskatoon Berry Jam

4 cups Saskatoon berries

3 cups raw cane sugar (less if, like me, you prefer the jam a little less sweet)

1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh or bottled

Place Saskatoon berries in a large pot, add the lemon juice and cover with the sugar. Heat on medium-high heat and stir until the mixture begins to bubble. Allow mixture to boil hard for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until it thickens. Pour into hot, sterilized jars to within 1/4 inch of the top. Yield: 2 half pints and 1 small jar.

Serve on toast, pancakes, crepes and waffles. Enjoy!

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millet pancakes with wild strawberry jam and wild blueberries

07 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in cook, preserve, whole grains, wild berries

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

breakfast, brunch, millet, millet pancakes, wheat-free, wheat-free pancakes, wild blueberries, wild strawberry jam

I have been busy milling various flours at home, including soy, black bean, spelt, brown rice, jasmine rice and buckwheat and experimenting with each of them. Today I tried millet for the first time and decided to use my classic buttermilk pancake recipe to see how the flour behaves (beautifully) and tastes (quite mild, actually). Served with wild strawberry jam and the blueberries found on the morning walk, it was a lovely way it start the day.

Millet Pancakes

1 egg

1 cup millet flour (or whatever flour you want to try)

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon raw cane sugar (or honey)

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients until well mixed. Ladle onto a preheat griddle (medium heat) and flip over when the pancake starts to bubble. Serve with your favorite jams, jellies and syrups. Enjoy!

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