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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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Category Archives: appreciate the seasons

homemade toffee

28 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in appreciate the seasons, sweets

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candy, holiday sweets, homemade toffee, sticky candy, toffee

toffee

During an interview, I once heard Michael Pollan say, “Eat junk food- just make it yourself!” Here is a great opportunity to make and enjoy candy in it’s purest, old-fashioned form. Sticky, flavorful toffee with only four ingredients!

This recipe comes from my friend, Maris’ family Christmas traditions. I first tasted this homemade toffee while living with Maris in Banff, Alberta over twenty years ago. She had made a big batch of toffee and offered me a few pieces. I had never tasted homemade toffee! It was so delicious, sweet and smooth that I just couldn’t help myself and kept sneaking to the refrigerator to steal a few more pieces. Of course I had to get Maris’ recipe and since then have incorporated toffee-making as one of my own holiday traditions. These are wonderful to add to gift bags or brought along to potlucks where a handmade candy treat would be savored and appreciated!

 

toffee2Toffee

4 cups brown sugar

1 cup syrup (such as Roger’s)

1 cup Eagle Brand condensed milk

1 cup butter

Melt butter in a large pot then add the remaining ingredients, mixing well. Bring to a boil then lower the heat and continue to boil slowly for 30 minutes. Pour into a shallow 9″ x 11″ baking dish lined with parchment paper. Allow toffee to cool to room temperature then place in the refrigerator for at least an hour or two. While still cold, cut into bite-sized pieces and wrap in wax paper or colorful candy foils (the ones lined with parchment paper). Keep refrigerated until ready to eat or give away. Enjoy!

toffee1

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mini-gingerbread houses with Erin

25 Tuesday Dec 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in appreciate the seasons, handmade

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decorating with candy, Erin, gingerbread houses, graham cracker houses, mini gingerbread houses, sprinkles

gingerbread houseI love it when my friend Erin drops by as she always comes with a new craft or cooking idea for us to try together. Yesterday, she and her brother, Mitch came over and we spent time chatting, drinking hot chocolate and making toffee together (recipe will be shared in the next post). After Mitch left, Erin unpacked the bag that she had brought with her. To my surprise and delight, she pulled out two tiny gingerbread houses (actually, they were made from graham crackers and held together with sugar syrup) and all of the supplies needed to decorate them with!

gingerbread houseI immediately ran to my own cupboards and pulled out a nice selection of sprinkles…

gingerbread house suppliesWe put on some Christmas music and took our time decorating our miniature houses. Below is Erin’s little creation:

gingerbread house3Here is my little cabin:

gingerbread house2These sweet little houses are displayed on my dining room table and in a week or two, Erin and I will make a special date to gobble these up. Such a fun way to spend an afternoon! Happy Holidays everyone!

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Luminaria… holiday magic at the Devonian Botanical Garden

10 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in appreciate the seasons

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candlelight, candles, Devonian Botanical Garden, family outing, garden, garden in winter, holiday, Japanese garden, Luminaria

luminaria4Last night I attended ‘Luminaria‘ at the Devonian Botanical Garden. I had been meaning to take in this special event for years but somehow had always been busy on this particular weekend and missed it. This year I decided to book my tickets in advance so as not to let that happen again! I am so glad that I did as this was a very special holiday event that will now become a personal tradition.

luminariaLuminaria is held in the Japanese garden. If you have ever visited this particular area of the garden in spring, summer or fall, you will appreciate the peaceful winding paths, the gentle hills, the rocky waterfall, and the shelters and mini temples along the way. Now imagine all of this in the dark, covered in a thick blanket of snow and lit up by hundreds of flickering candles…

luminariaImagine barrels of crackling bon fires here and there on the paths where people can gather around to warm up… complimentary hot apple cider… ice sculptures…. and two small groups of live carolers to fill the night with song.

luminaria2There was a great turn out of people of all ages. It was quite exciting to share the evening with so many other visitors, yet the garden is big enough that it never felt crowded. I also appreciated how organized the event was, from the park-and-ride in Devon (which we took advantage of and did not have to wait any time at all for), to the many easily identifiable volunteers who directed the visitors, took the tickets and served the cider. There was also a first aid station, a special table where one could buy a candle for a special loved one and a craft sale on the way out in another building. With my two admission tickets I received a complimentary ‘free admission for two’ ticket for the Devonian Botanical Garden the upcoming season.

luminariaThe most enjoyable part of this evening was its simplicity. Instead of garish electric Christmas lights flashing, inflatable Santa’s swaying and endless advertisements to keep one shopping for that perfect gift there was just the gentle flickering of candlelight outdoors on a dark winter’s night in a beautiful natural garden. The only sounds were the cheerful songs of the carolers and the hushed voices of friends and families sharing in this special time. In my mind, this is what the holiday season is about… unplugging, quiet time for reflection and contemplation, and opportunities for reconnecting with the natural world. It was truly a magical evening.

luminaria5

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making Christmas cards with E

24 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in appreciate the seasons, handmade

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card-making, Christmas, Christmas cards, handmade cards, holiday cards, Stampin' Up

 

 

A few weeks ago, E came over for some knitting by the fire. We are both beginner knitters so after only an hour or so, our hands began to cramp up. We decided to take a break from the yarn and knitting needles and go downstairs to the craft room to make some Christmas cards. We brought down our tea, a plate of freshly baked cookies, cranked the Christmas music and got straight to work.

E decided to do a forest theme for the front of her card. She used different sizes of tree stamps as well as different colors of ink layered on top of each other to give the effect of trees in a forest.

To follow the tree theme, she cut out this cute little stamp of a car carrying a Christmas tree home, which she had colored in with markers. Below is the front of the finished card.

And here is the little Christmas touch added inside… Love it!

Meanwhile, I was making a small batch of cards for myself. I began by cutting out little squares of white card stock, then stamped a pine cone in dark brown ink over a background of pine needles stamped in a lighter green ink. (Note: these stamps are from the Definately Decorative Pines set from Stampin’ Up.) I adhered each of the white squares onto a slightly larger deep brown square using double-sided tape.

Next, I prepared the red card stock by cutting each 8-1/2″ x 11″ piece in half, then scoring each of these in half and folding them. I stamped “Peace on Earth” on the inside and let this dry a little. Then I stamped the pine needles in green ink over the front and adhered the pine cone squares with thick mounting tape.

It was a fun and productive day and now we are one small step closer to being ready for the holiday season. Tomorrow I will spend some time writing a personal note in each card and will send them next week. Hmm… what’s next?

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autumn passing

24 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in appreciate the seasons

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Autumn, autumn leaves, fall, field, lake, leaves, Lucy, rubber boots, woods

 

 

Winter is nearly here but before I get too excited about skiing and snowshoeing and dark cozy evenings by the fire I wanted to share a few autumn moments here around the cabin.

Just a few weeks ago we were surrounded by gorgeous walls of yellow as the leaves of the aspen poplar trees began to change color. Then a few days of strong winds blew all of the leaves to the ground. Each autumn it shocks me just how intensely bright and beautiful these leaves become.

As the grasses and woods turn brown, Lucy has suddenly become perfectly camouflaged. She is back to her joyous leaping through the tall grass and chasing the spruce grouse.

Below is the view of the lake from the cabin. In spring and summer I can’t actually see the lake because the trees leaf out and block the view. I don’t mind as I love the privacy and I can still smell and hear the water all summer long. I also spot many kinds of water birds as they pass through this time of year. Last week we had a large group of swans at the water’s edge.

October is my favorite month of the year. I love the warm colors, the smell of leaves decaying (nutrition for next year), the sights and sounds of migrating birds by the hundreds… I love warm sweaters, wool socks, crackling fires and long scarves. I also love the early darkness as I can reacquaint myself with the stars and moon.

The outdoor projects are done for the summer, the garden has been harvested and put to bed for the winter. I am spending more time indoors now, reading, writing and getting back to my yoga practice. These changing seasons remind me to be grateful for all that I have and to look forward to more beauty and adventures in the new season to come.

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the season for jams and jellies…

01 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in appreciate the seasons, cook, preserve, wild berries

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berries, canning, gooseberry, highbush cranberry, jams, jellies, jelly, preserves, raspberry, rosehip, syrup, wild berries

Since early August I have been been busy picking berries as they ripen in the wild and preserving them in jams and jellies.  I love making preserves! I love the process of turning berries into little jars of sunshine, the satisfaction of a cupboard filled with preserves and the way the entire house smells like pie when the jams and jellies are cooking. I also love giving these jewels away as gifts as it is rare to enjoy wild berry preserves unless your lucky enough to find them at the farmers market or you pick and preserve them yourself.

Above is this year’s gooseberry jam. Click here for the recipe.

Here is this year’s rosehip jelly. One batch set beautifully and the other did not. I will simply label the watery one as ‘rosehip syrup’ and use it for pancakes and waffles. Click here for the recipe.

This raspberry jam is not from wild berries but from fruit from a dear friend’s backyard. Click here for the recipe.

Here is some high bush cranberry jelly in progress and below is the final jellies, just in time to serve with Thanksgiving turkey. Click here for the recipe.

I have also made apple butter, apple jelly and two batches of chokecherry jelly. I will post those soon with the recipes. In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying this beautiful season!

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saying goodbye to summer…

21 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in appreciate the seasons, cabin living

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bat, bee, breakfast, butterfly, echinacea, lavender, oxeye daisy, patio, rain, storms, summer, white wine

Yesterday was the last day of summer and I thought I’d honor the turning of the wheel and say good bye to the passing season with a few photos:

Goodbye to spontaneous wild flower arrangements in tin cans…

Goodbye to long, luxurious breakfasts on the patio…

Goodbye to butterfly visitors…

…encounters with little brown bats…

…and hard-working bees…

Goodbye to the dramatic storms, hail, tornado watches and booming thunder…

Goodbye to freshly picked herbs and medicinal teas…

…and goodbye to glasses of chilled white wine after a long day’s work in the blazing sun.

This has been another memorable and productive summer at cabinorganic! Thank you for sharing in my adventures and I look forward to many more projects, recipes, moments of wonder and adventures to come!

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at last… things are growing in the garden!

15 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in appreciate the seasons

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arugula, aspen, aspen buds, nature, plants, snowdrops, spring, tulips

With the very warms temperatures over the last four days, things have suddenly burst into life here at the cabin! The tulips are blooming…

The snowdrops are blooming (and are almost done)…

My baby arugula that I started from seeds indoors is now ready to be added to salads…

The aspen buds have opened and suddenly the trees along the trails are a brilliant green… Spring has arrived in all of her glorious color!

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a few moments in mid-April…

17 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in appreciate the seasons

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April, easter wreath, hiking, icicles, snow, snowdrops, spring

Today, I thought I’d take time to appreciate the changing seasons and share some photographs taken around the cabin over the past few days…

As you can see, winter is still hanging on. We received a lot of snow over the weekend and as the temperatures stayed just below freezing, it didn’t just melt away.

Here is a dark-eyed junco (below). Junco’s are part of the sparrow family and they are just returning from spending the winter in a warmer climate.

This is the only time of year that I brush Lucy’s fur as she does not shed very much (until now). Usually all of her time rolling in snow, swimming in deep water and running through tall grass keeps her fur fresh and clean. In April, I put the balls of dog fur in the suet feeders for the birds to gather for their nests.

Exciting! Just yesterday I noticed the first snowdrops pushing up through the ground.

Cross country skis have been put away in exchange for hiking boots and poles. Spring is just around the corner!

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it’s beginning to look a lot like…. Christmas?

05 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by Delena Rose in appreciate the seasons, Pigeon Lake

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April, Easter, snow, spring, spring-cleaning

So there I was yesterday, enjoying the reasonably warming temperatures so welcomed in April… In the mood for some spring-cleaning chores, I tidied and swept out the garage, then washed and vacuumed the interior of my truck. I kept eyeing the herb and tea garden in the front as it was entirely free of snow but as I had other projects to attend to, I decided to save it for another day. There was a spring in my step as I daydreamed about this year’s garden and all of the exciting plans we have for it…

Then… this morning, I awoke to THIS:

Actually, it’s all good! In central Alberta, Canada this is quite normal (we’ve even had snow in July in the past!) and I am happy for more moisture. I’ll start some seeds indoors soon and that will give me something to grow while I wait for the weather to catch up.

Happy Easter, everyone! Keep warm!

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