Welcome dear family and friends. It’s so nice to have you back. I hope you join me in embracing a new year full of endless possibilities. Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? Our family started a fun, possibly new tradition on December 21, 2024, which was the darkest day of the year, it was Winter’s solstice. Each of us took 10 little pieces of paper and wrote an “actionable” wish we desired for 2025. Then we all put our wishes into our own little red paper cup.
Each night, we would take one of the wishes out and without reading it, we would burn it in a pot. On New Year’s Eve, each of us had one wish left. This wish, we opened, and read out loud to the family. We all laughed over the ones that were left for us to read. (Mine was a wish to spend more time with each of my children!) Then we all trooped outside into the bitter cold and inky darkness; the last night of the year. As our final wishes burned, it was exciting and rather magical. I imagined the golden flames were transforming our wishes and handing them over to our Universe’s higher power, which I felt knew exactly how to help us bring them to fruition.
Dreams and wishes come true!
Also, there was something mystical and powerful about starting this ritual on the darkest day of the year and taking our wishes every day closer to the light. With this thought in mind,
New Year’s Day was truly a fresh start.
I plan to take all of the ashes from our pot and dig them into the garden. Perhaps, the secret to growing a bumper crop of vegetables is planting them above our wishes!
And so the New Year has begun. Harrison flew back to his new home in Vancouver. Alyssa returned to her relatively new job locally. And the kids returned to school. Life hums with music, bounces with basketball, and strokes by with swimming practices and running commitments at the gym. With the kids so active, it’s nice for me to make dinner earlier in the day. That way, all I have to do is put a casserole dish in the oven, make a salad and I know we have a nutritious meal to come home to.
Shepherd’s Pie has always been one of our family’s comfort foods so I thought I would share my recipe with you. I’m not surprised that our family enjoys this dish, since it originates in England and Ireland, which is where our ancestors hail from. I believe lamb was often their source of protein though, however I use ground beef. If you want to make a vegetarian version, you can easily use lentils instead of the meat. If I don’t have very much hamburger, I will also add lentils to extend the protein quantity, as I’m feeding three teens now. It’s nice to have these quick, easy dinners to make in the winter and I find it freezes well too. It’s also relatively frugal, which is one of my goals this year; to live more simply and mindfully with regards to our pocketbook.
Okay, ready to cook? Here’s my Easy Shepherd’s Pie recipe: I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Let’s hit the kitchen.
Shepherd’s Pie….a perfect winter meal
Ingredients:
Meat Filling/bottom layer
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 lb of beef hamburger/lamb or lentils
2 teaspoons dried parsley leaves
1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves -minced
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1 cup frozen mixed peas and carrots or mixed vegetables….I love peas. I know weird hey as many people don’t but my Irish Grandma, Flossie Kilfoyle Clark said, “eating peas puts hair on your chest!” (I think this meant it made you stronger at least I hope that’s what she meant)
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels….optional….this makes the pie sweeter
Potato Topping:
6 Large russet potatoes or 8 medium
1/2 cup butter
1/4 to 1/2 cup of milk….the greater the fat the better
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
Dried Parsley to sprinkle on top
Instructions
Make the Meat Filling and get potatoes cooked
(Cut the potatoes into cubed chunks and place into large pot of boiling, salted water. Cook until tender. When the potatoes are cooking, make the meat filling below)
Saute the onions in oil. Add ground beef/lamb or soaked lentils. Cook well. Add spices and cook until well combined
Add the worcestershire sauce and the garlic. Add the flour and tomato paste. Once it thickens add the broth and vegetables.
Bring everything to a bubbly boil and then simmer for around 5 minutes.
When the meat filling is simmering you can drain your cooked potatoes, mash them, add the butter, milk, garlic and salt and pepper. Sometimes I add a few tablespoons of sour cream too.
Finally, pour the meat filling in a large casserole dish and top it with the mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with parsley and if you want some parmesan cheese too.
Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 30 mins
While the Shepherd’s pie is baking, make a green salad. I often serve the casserole with a piece of my sourdough bread too…..of which I will be sharing an updated recipe with you soon as I’m getting really good at making it. See picture of a yummy loaf below.
Enjoy!
(I’ve been meaning to share this recipe for almost 2 years…..hence the date stamp on the photos, ha! Finally, finally have got it up on my blog…..see, some of my wishes are already coming true.)
Above is a pic of one of my sourdough bread loaves…..I promise I will get my latest recipe on my blog soon as there is nothing like sourdough bread to go with a plate of Shepherd’s Pie.
And along with a plate of comfort food, I thought I would include the “Happy New Year’s,” video I made today of our kids, Will, Kathryn and Victoria playing a celtic tune they learned last year. Since Shepherd’s pie heralds from the U.K. it seems appropriate to share it at the end of this post. So without further ado, here is The Second String Trio, our kids playing; “Si Bheag Si Mhor,” A Celtic Fiddle Tune, which they call, “So Big, So little.” We have to thank Will’s cello teacher for suggesting they play this. She even found the music for them. Thank you M for all you do!
Finally, they played this piece and several more at our little town’s garden tour last spring which raised money for the Hospice House.
I hope you enjoy it and the magic of wishes made at this time of the year allow all your dreams to come true. I’m a GREAT believer in wishes and dreams coming true. All I have to do is look at my three youngest and I know magic exists in the world.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
The words “be safe, have fun,” keep reverberating through my brain. They were the last things I said to my two kids, who left on adventures this week. My son Mitchell, who will be off on a grand adventure to Australia at the first of March, left on a west coast road trip this past week. Seeing Portland, Oregon has always been on his bucket list and saying goodbye to his best friend in Victoria before he goes to Aussie land, was a must. Then our sixteen year old daughter Grace, joined her school jazz band this morning, as they traveled down to Moscow Idaho’s big jazz fest.
I hope they both enjoy their journeys.
Saying goodbye is never easy for me. If you have read many of my posts, I may have shared a bit of my past and how my Dad was killed in a truck accident when I was young. Who knew, as I sat on his lap, while he drank the last of his morning coffee, that I would never see him again. While that may be morose, the knowledge that we may never see our loved one after they walk out the door, has settled deep in my bones. I have to resist clinging, but with a quick hug and a jaunty wave I say, “be safe, have fun.” Inside, I’m tearfully praying, “Bring them back to me.”
But the truest part of me knows, they are okay. They will always be okay.
So…..
I let go and trust.
What else can a mom do?
Mitchell as he heads off on his Oregon, Vancouver Island/West coast trip
And what do Buddha Bowls have to do with all of this? Well, I was thinking about how Siddhartha Gautama, who was later referred to as, Buddha, the one who is awake, was born into a royal family in a small kingdom on the Indian-Napalese border. He left all his wealth behind to adventure into the world and discover what was the meaning of life. He wandered the country side, like a traditional holy man of the day, seeking the Truth. He became very adept at meditation under various teachers, and then took up ascetic practices. This was based on the belief that one could free the spirit by denying the flesh. He practiced austerities, to such a strict degree that he almost starved to death.
I wondered how his mom felt as he left home?
What words of wisdom did she impart?
Also, while I don’t know this for sure, I wonder if he too, like many holy men of his day, carried an empty bowl, trusting that he would be fed. There are certainly pictures of Buddha carrying a beggar’s bowl.
As my children head out into the world, on their adventures, I visualize light surrounding them and a full bowl in their hands. I’m trusting my gut, knowing that I can’t hold on to them. They are their own people. I must let go, to allow them to find their own truth; their meaning of life. And while they are away, I will prepare my Buddha bowls and smile, knowing that wherever they travel, they will be fed.
If Buddha’s mom knew that her son would become a spiritual teacher and become enlightened, would it have been easier for her to say goodbye I wonder?
And thinking of being filled and enlightened, I hope you will now join me in my kitchen. We can make a cup of green, or ginger tea, and you can help chop the vegetables so we can make a bowl brimming with goodness; a blissful thing to behold and eat. We need nothing more in our day. Oh and we can chat about what we really, REALLY need in life?
And as we chat I will tell you what I have learned about the Buddha bowl.
Apparently, I’m coming to the party late, or rather, for years now, I was throwing a party for my family and didn’t realize a Buddha themed party was going on around us. Years ago, I took a course called, “The Pursuit of Excellence,” which was a three part, intensive course, put on by the Concept Training Corp. The second part of the course was called, “The Wall,” which took place on Orcas Island, off the coast from Seattle. It was there, that I discovered, Tai Chi, Buddha bowls, and the power of vision boards. That was thirty years ago, long before the trend of Buddha bowls became popular. Then Seventeen years ago, I was invited to visit the Birken Monastery, outside of Kamloops, B.C. for a weekend with my sister C, and her whole yoga class. It was there that I discovered Buddha bowls again.
An image from the Birken Monastery near Kamloops, B.C.
Since then, I’ve been making Buddha breakfast bowls, and lunch and dinner ones; in the morning having oatmeal, fruit and nuts and seeds, and mid day and for dinner, mixing brown rice, or noodles, a bit of stir fry or fresh, raw veggies, pieces of avocado, or a few slices of orange, a sprinkling of nuts and seeds and calling it my “Wall,” dinner or my “Bliss” bowl.
Anyway, a Buddha bowl is comprised of ; something made of grains or starch, such as rice, quinoa, noodles, or sweet potatoes. Then a smattering of protein, such as beans, chick peas, tofu, or meat. (and no, as I will explain later, a Buddha bowl does not have to be strictly a vegan one, although that would be most Buddha- like) And then you add colourful vegetables, raw or lightly steamed, your choice. Finally, you top the whole works with seeds, nuts, avocado for some healthy fat, and some sort of drizzly sauce. Let your bowl be a thing of beauty. Many bloggers have done a piece on Buddha bowls in the last few years. I found one that I really liked called the “Healthy Maven,” and she wrote her Ultimate Buddha Bowl Blog, almost 31/2 years ago. Check out the link to her blog as her Buddha bowl is perfect with lots of greens in it. YUM!
Many people now, who do Instagram like to share what they eat. I know when my son Harrison made a Buddha bowl during the holidays, he was pulling his phone out. Who knew it would be hip to show what you are eating.
Here is a snap of Harrison’s breakfast Buddha bowl
So while making a Buddha bowl is easy, I think the hard part of it, and the thing that sometimes is lost in translation for many, is the idea to eat slowly, mindfully and with a grateful heart. Also, the bowl need not be brimming over. As I watch our little Kathryn eat, I realize that she eats so slowly that by the time the rest of us have finished our meals and are looking for dessert, she is full and has eaten only half of the contents in her bowl. She eats carefully and seems to relish each bite. Oh to watch her eat tomatoes and avocados with such a beautiful smile on her face, inspires me to chew slower.
Savour the flavour.
Kathryn, last summer, looking at a bowl of peach cobbler and ice cream
Certainly when I was on Orcas Island, hitting the proverbial wall, the facilitators from the Concept Training Corp, were ahead of their time, reminding us as we ate in silence, “to contemplate each bite and be grateful for the food.” I think many of the people at this work shop had big issues with the food over that long weekend, as it was sparse. Many pointed out, when we came out of the silence part of the course, that they had paid big bucks for the course, many traveled far, and they didn’t appreciate sleeping in frigid, boy scout cottages, on rough, wooden bunk beds. And the breakfast oatmeal and rice and veggies for dinner were not cutting it for many. Most people hit the wall with regards to their comforts in life. But not me. Nope! I was in my element. The limited food allowed me to think clearer and the silence allowed me to find deep peace. Trusting others however is when I hit my wall on Orcas.
Harrison making another Buddha bowl over ChristmasOn a bed of rice, there was vegetables, chicken, and some avocado slices
Years later, when I traveled with C to the Buddhist Monastery, I found that the two healthy meals a day, inter mixed with meditation and yoga allowed me to focus on my inward journey. And when it was meal time, I was heightened to the food’s texture, flavour and colour. I was also intrigued later to learned that the monks, while they preferred to eat a vegan or vegetarian diet, were thankful for any contribution that people offered them. If meat was given, it would be cooked lovingly and eaten with the same reverence and gratitude they held for their vegan or vegetarian fare. They blessed all food that was given to them and they were thankful for each mouthful.
Ever since the Wall, I ve enjoyed a bowl of oatmeal each morning with some apples and cinnamon…..being ever grateful for each bite
While our older children may scoff inward at our habit of saying thanks before our meals, as they search for their own ideas of spirit and God, I know that being grateful for the food we are about to eat, is an important aspect of allowing it to be used well by our bodies; to nourish and to bless.
My sister’s birthday party reminded me that less is more…beans, rice and veggies is all we need
Last November we went to my sister C’s house to celebrate her birthday. Her husband D put on a wonderful spread, even though we said we were just coming for afternoon tea. D had been simmering beans all morning and had a big pot of rice, colourful tortilla chips, and a vegetable platter all laid out beautifully in their kitchen. The meal was served in simple white bowls.
My sister J, and in the background is my husband David enjoying his Buddha Bowl of beans and rice…veggiesMy brother in law B, who just celebrated his birthday a few days ago my sister C’s family dog, Coco…I think they call her Coco bean….she was sleeping when I took this picture and she just looked up…isn’t she a sweetie…my daughter Victoria would say, “all you need in life is a dog!”We made these crazy little instruments made out of wood and elastics and C is trying to blow the tune to Happy Birthday on her’s….happy Birthday C!What a wonderful Buddha Bowl birthday meal we had at C’s party last while this isn’t the greatest picture…if you look above C’s head, hanging above their fireplace is the windchime I made for C’s birthday…J and I were finishing it off on the car ride to their place…good memories!!!…the round bits are bracelets that C gave to me…and the header is from our birch tree.
Anyway, THAT meal, inspired me to pull out my mother in law’s old, brown, bean pot. Under my brother in law D’s suggestions, I now soak our beans, (usually pinto and black beans, but navy beans are great too) the night before. In the morning, I rinse and drain the beans and pour them into the bean pot. Then I saute onions, garlic, green peppers, and add a bag of frozen tomatoes, from our last summer’s harvest. Add a few cups of water, and some cumin, a few pieces of dried chili pepper, some barbecue sauce, a bit of apple cider vinegar and some brown sugar. I add that all to the bean pot and cook it all morning at 300 degrees in the oven. I check it every hour and stir often. As it thickens, I add more water until the beans are nice and soft. Later, I make a pot of brown rice, a big green salad, pull out a bag of tortilla chips and I have dinner and a lunch for the kid’s thermos the next day. Another Buddha bowl type dinner!
It’s all we really need in a day.
And although Victoria put her dinner on a plate, it looks great in a bowl!
So whatever you fill your bowl with each day, I hope your heart is filled with loving kindness and compassion. For without those, in my opinion we are truly empty. And the next time you see someone on the street, think of Buddha’s empty bowl and give something to that stranger, it doesn’t have to be much, even a smile, for that stranger is is my son, or my daughter.
And before I close, as I often do, I wanted to share a video of George Harrison singing, “Give me Love~give me peace” For some reason when I think of Buddha, George’s music comes to mind. I hope you like it as much as I do.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
I know it’s a lot of food all in one place but we need serious comfort food around here.
It snowed last night.
Again!
Now, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate living in a climate where there are four seasons, but this year, I’ve had enough snow. I’m done with winter. I want the snow to melt, for the sun to warm the air, and for some buds to start forming on our trees.
Anyone that isn’t buying into global warming, and the fact that we may have gone too far damaging our Mother Earth, isn’t living my reality. Nor are they recognizing what’s going on all over our planet; sea levels are rising, there’s unusual flooding, the glaciers are melting, storms are raging, and then there are the droughts. In my part of the world winter is going on and on. We are ALL experiencing extreme weather conditions.
At least where we live, we only have to deal with snow storms and icy conditions in the winter, flooding in the spring, forest fires in the summer and then comes fall. That’s the season where we pull up our socks, so we can do it all over again.
Yeah, it’s much worse in other parts of the world so I shouldn’t complain. But watching this winter go on and on, when in the past I would be doing my spring garden clean up, just gets me thinking about how fast things are changing climate wise.
As I popped another chew-able Vitamin D, I picked up our local newspaper. Reading the article on the front page, made me smile and brought a tear to my eye.
I love living in a small community where the big story is “Men brave icy waters to save deer.” As it turned out a group of Okanagan men jumped into action just in time, to ensure a deer didn’t meet her demise in the icy waters of Okanagan Lake.
That story warmed my heart and while I’m still annoyed at the lingering winter weather, I’m happy that I live in a little town where first, a story like this makes front page, and second, there are good citizens who will risk their own lives to save a helpless animal.
I think I can endure winter a bit longer. Maybe this is yet another letting go moment. I mean there isn’t anything I can do about the weather conditions. I can either be grumpy about it, or find something good about it and today, I’m going to smile. It may be winter but there is goodness here.
With that perspective, I looked out at the snow gently falling, like soft angel feathers and I felt sheltered. I took a deep breath and relaxed a bit more into this season; a bit more into this moment.
Besides shifting my perspective, I also am choosing to make our family a warm meal so when they come home tonight we have some comfort food. Since it’s Friday, there’s not a lot in the fridge but with some creativity I can come up with something. (Lately, I like to stretch as far as I can before going shopping; to see how inventive I can become with what we have in our fridge and cupboards and you know what?–there is always something to make to feed our family.
Tonight, in an effort to eat Vegetarian, which helps our planet , I’m spinning our normal meat based, “Shepherd’s Pie,” and using some “Yves Veggie Ground Round.” This is a hamburger- like product and is a good source of protein and low in fat. It’s also really cheap compared to hamburger. I buy a large package, which has four small packages inside. We get three or four dinners for a total of ($10.00) which is amazing. The big news is that eating vegetarian meals helps our planet…see link above. It’s also been known to fool meat loving individuals in our family. When they have to ask me, “is this meat, or your soy thingy,” then you know it’s good.
If you are looking to drop hamburger from your family’s repertoire, but want to ease gently into a plant based, I’d recommend trying the Veggie Ground round.
Come on into my kitchen and we can whip up dinner tonight. I’m thinking the menu will be “Shepherds Pie, a spinach salad, and some cornbread muffins. And for dessert, a mixed berry coffee cake. My sister J brought a bag of frozen raspberries from her harvest last summer, and I have a few blueberries still in the freezer. Making comfort food in the winter, makes me happy.
Let’s get cooking….
Shepherd’s Pie
Ingredients
2 packages of Veggie Ground (The package I buy has four small packs and I use two small packs)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion chopped
4 tbsp of flour
1 cup of beef broth, (you can substitute this with a vegetable broth…I buy the organic jars from Costco)
11/2 cups of mixed frozen vegetables
Ground pepper
3 cups of mashed potatoes, (I make mine with lots of garlic and some dill)
Garnish with paprika
Directions
(Peel potatoes, cook them and mash them)
In an large iron skillet, sauté the onions in olive oil until lightly brown, add the veggie ground and break it up, cooking it well. You can season here with pepper and a bit of salt.
Add the flour and mix well, cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Add the beef broth, frozen vegetables and season again with ground pepper.
If your potatoes are mashed, don’t forget to add a nice seasoning…we like to add some dill or garlic to our potatoes.
Now fill a large casserole dish with the veggie ground round mixture and top with the mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbling hot.
This recipe feeds 4 to 6 people but when I add salad, and cornbread it feeds eight. If our older kids are home, I would just add a bit more ground round and mashed potatoes.
Cornmeal Muffins
Ingredients and Directions
Mix 3/4 cup cornmeal with 1 cup of milk and set aside
Sift together, 11/4 cup flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/3 cup sugar, set aside
Stir into the cornmeal/milk mixture, 2 beaten eggs, and ½ cup of melted butter(cooled) or vegetable oil and 2 tbsp of liquid honey. Now add the liquid to dry ingredients.
Don’t over mix, it’s okay if there are a few lumps.
Fill prepared muffin pan, filling each cup to ¾’s
Bake in preheated oven 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges
Eat immediately with some butter….yum….or later with some jam.
And now for dessert:
Berry Coffee Cake…this is a recipe that I’ve made for years and it’s always great but lately, I’ve been making it with coconut oil and I’ve noticed there are never any leftovers. It is a bit more dense but worth the flavour.
Ingredients
1 cup of frozen berries….blueberries or raspberries work best
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup butter…or coconut oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
11/2 tsp vanilla…or you can use some coconut extract and some vanilla…it’s great together
11/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2/3 cup milk…I used some almond milk and it turned out great
Directions
Toss Blueberries with cinnamon and set aside
Mix coconut oil or butter with sugar until creamy, add eggs one at a time.
Mix dry ingredients
Add alternatively the milk and the dry ingredients to the oil and sugar mixture, then fold in the berries
Put in a prepared bundt pan
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden and toothpick comes out clean
Cool in the pan to allow the berries to set before removing from pan
Once cooled, flip the bundt pan onto a rack and allow it to cool further.
Finally, place it on a serving dish and sprinkle with some icing sugar, or a lemon glaze.
On Friday nights we like to watch “Planet Earth” episodes with our kids on Netflix but I’m thinking they might like to see the following video first. We can make a difference on this planet by the choices we make every day. Today, I’m choosing to settle into the season a bit deeper, to make a vegetarian meal for my family and to get our family talking about the ways we can walk the earth a bit more gently.
Check out the video below. Maybe you can share it with your family and it will generate some meaningful discussion.
“Whoever hath a seed time of grace pass over his soul, shall have his harvest also of joy.”
~William Gurnall~
I won’t lie, the first day of fall was not a joyful one for me. It’s not that I don’t love the autumn season, for I do. Ah, the cooler days with the fresh smell of apples ripening in the air, the crunch of leaves under my feet and the scarlet reds, brilliant yellow and oranges, are normally a welcoming delight for me.
It’s just that this year, I didn’t feel like I’d had enough summer.
Forest fires burned relentlessly, throughout our province, without any sign of abatement due to the hot and dry weather we experienced. For most of July and August I would wake early to the acrid smell of smoke, drifting through my slightly opened bedroom doors. I knew before even rising, from the dim light filtering through the curtains, that instead of crystal blue skies, I would find a grey and white blanket heavy above me, choking me from the beauty of summer, making me feel like I was swimming under water, unable to catch my breath.
Grace sitting on a picnic table during our camping trip…you can see the haze of smoke hovering over the lake
And what made it even worse was being imprisoned with our young children, in fear of damaging their lungs due to the poor air –quality, we spent our days pent up inside our often blistering house. The air conditioner, which we had installed after the staggering hot summer of 1998, the summer I had been pregnant with our now 18 year old son, decided to work intermittently this summer.
Usually on the hottest of days it would decide to freeze up and we would be left sweltering, like hostages in the worst of prisons. Purchasing a new one was out of the question, since we were about to send that same 18 year old off to University and like some rich parents (we’re not!) of entitled kids, (he’s not) we had agreed to pay for his school expenses.
One night in summer I woke to the smell of burning wood and when I glanced outside, the moon was full and almost orange from all the smoke in the air
So on those days when the fine particles in the smoke were most toxic, the kids and I spent hours inside playing every board game in the house, reading countless books until our eyes were red and sore and figuring out which puzzles had the most missing pieces. Occasionally, feeling trapped and isolated, I would turn on the television and catch a bit of National news, and that’s when a heavier oppression hit me; our interior region was making National headlines.
News stories, showing forest fires ablaze and people fleeing their homes for safer ground, not knowing if they would have a home to return to drifted into our family room, like the smoke in the air around us. Compounding my depression over the conditions we were living under, a thick layer of guilt grimly covered me.
We were having a good summer compared to them.
Then if I clicked the remote just five channels over to capture images rolling from CNN, real fear encompassed me. Concerns that, “Rocket Man,” whom the United States President, Donald Trump, called the dictator, Kim Jong-un, of North Korea, would catapult one of his intercontinental ballistic missiles, this one armed with nuclear weapons, and our world would erupt into war, ending life as we know it.
Well, let’s just say life period.
So yeah, summer wasn’t great and I’m not greeting fall with higher expectations, since fall leads to
winter, when our valley is immersed in inversion type weather systems, where we are permanently
trapped under dark cloud and experience bitterly cold days.
I’m not ready for that yet! I didn’t get enough sun yet to keep me going through our darkest months.
Wait though, our eight year old son William, and his six year old twin sisters, Kathryn and Victoria,
have all come running into the house now and are excitedly calling my name. “Mommy, Mommy,
you won’t guess what we found in the raspberry patch?” Pardon me as I put down the lid of my
laptop and see what they want.
Sliding my reading glasses down my nose, I peer at their animated faces and see that my curly,
blonde headed Will is holding something cupped in his hands. The little girls, are glued next to him,
as if they are all one unit, holding this single item up for perusal. “Remember how you thought there
was a squash growing under the raspberries?” Will said, and I answered “yeah?” “Well,” they all
chimed in together, “it wasn’t a squash.” And then they extended a perfectly round, luminous, orb,
circled with tiny rivers of green towards me.
Suddenly, looking at our children’s shining, exuberant faces, and then down at the round and glowing
cantaloupe they were holding, I was reminded of the goodness of earth and the abundant lessons
always springing forth; from the ground and from the innocent joy of our children.
Behind the children and to the right, you can see the cantaloupe plant..which I thought was a squash, growing out under the newly planted raspberries….the seed must have been in the compost mixture I used to top up the raised bed….unexpected gifts from the earth and answers to a prayer to bring hope to dim season
Maybe this fall is going to be better than expected
Please join me in saying goodbye to summer, as we sip the last of the ice tea and make some cheese
enchiladas. If you want an easy meal, this is it! At this time of year, I’m really busy roasting and
freezing tomatoes, making apple sauce, blanching and freezing the last of the beans so this quick and
easy type dinner, fits the bill perfectly. Also, as you may know from reading my blog, our
son Harrison recently left for University. While I’ve been sad to see him go, since he was a meat lover
and would often groan when I would make a veggie dish, it’s nice to be able to make something
more of us love without the negative vibes. Sorry Harry….but something good comes from every
season in life. (we miss you in every other way!)
Our vegetable loving Victoria next to her garden…the bees love her zinnias!
I hope you too are looking forward to fall and the goodness that comes from each season.
Now let’s make some enchiladas…….
(Years ago, I was an accredited La Leche League leader and this recipe was found in one of their books, “Whole Foods for the Whole Family.”)
Cheese Enchiladas
Ingredients
Sauce:
3 tbsp of oil
1 to 2 tbsp of chili powder
2 tbsp of flour
2 cups water
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp sea salt
Bean Filling:
2 cups cooked pinto beans
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup chopped black olives
Tortillas
8 flour (see recipe below to make from scratch)
2 tbsp oil
Toppings
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp chopped onion
Directions:
If you really want to stretch your budget, use dried beans. To make 2 cups of cooked pinto beans you need 3/4 of a cup of dried beans. This little bag for $2.00 has enough dried beans for MANY meals!
Combine sauce ingredients in saucepan; mix well. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes
Combine filling ingredients in bowl, mashing beans and mixing well. Fry tortillas briefly in oil in
skillet. spoon filling onto tortillas; roll to enclose filling. Place seam side down in shallow baking
dish. Pour sauce over enchiladas; top with 1 cup shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20
minutes, spooning sauce over top occasionally. Serve with topping of yogurt and onion. May
substitute shredded sharp cheese for cottage cheese, sunflower seeds fro almonds or green olives for
black olives. Or if you wish omit olives, wheat germ, yogurt, or onion.
This is a quick, nutritious, and EASY meal, not to mention inexpensive for a crowd. Make the sauce
and filling ahead of time and you can make it easily when your family gathers. Put some rice on,
add some tortillas chips and you have a delicious meal for those you love.
The last watermelon of summer, and a smattering of summer corn, all adds to this change of season meal…well this is a meal for all season but boy did it taste good sitting outside on the last of summer
Will and his corn. While this crop would probably do better directly in the ground, we still harvested many ears of corn from this little 4×4 crop space…plus we now have seeds to try it again next year
If you want to take it to another level of being sustainable, make your own flour tortillas. (also from the recipe book above)
Flour Tortillas or Chapathis
Ingredients
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder (opt)
1/4 to 1/2 cup butter or oil
1 cup warm water
Directions:
Combine dry ingredients in bowl. Work in butter or oil…this is optional as well. Add enough water
soft, pliable dough. Knead lightly on floured surface.Divide into 6 balls, let rest, covered for 15- 20
minutes. Roll into thin circles, between sheets of floured, waxed paper. Bake in ungreased, heavy
skillet, or griddle, until brown specks appear on cooking side. Cook over and cook on the other side.
These store well in fridge or freezer. Makes 16 servings.
Sadie and I… aka Sweet Girl at the end of summer
“You carry Mother Earth within you. She is not outside of you. Mother Earth is not just your
environment. In that insight of inter-being, it is possible to have real communication with the
earth, which is the highest form of prayer.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh~
Thank you for coming to visit me today.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Welcome to my homestead! Gates are a big things around here lately. They keep things in and they allow others to move through them with ease. I hope your summer’s gate is opening gently.
Gates allow us to enter an new experience…sometimes that experience is AHHHH! the chickens got out!
I don’t know about you, but summer is flying by in my part of the world. Before August arrives though, I thought I would give you an update on what’s been going on around here and also share what may be around the corner. If you dropped in for a piece of my Broccoli and Three Cheese Quiche, scroll down to the bottom of the page, but I hope you come back for a longer visit next time.
If you can stay….
Come, let me pour you some sun ice tea and join me for a visit.
After this picture was taken, David secured our wobbly front yard chairs, finally ’cause we have been eating outside a lot this summer and these are my fav chairs to sit in, the arm rest holds a glass of ice tea perfectly!
Well, back to the visit,
I have to ask you,
do you like chickens?
We love our chickens!
Sadie, (always in the middle of all the pictures) and Clara and Annie check out some lavender which I put in their nest boxes
“Sadie, (aka, Sweet Girl), Cocoa, Clara and Annie,” are a huge part of our family, much to the dismay of our Siamese Cat, “Ryukki.” Ever since they moved into our back forty last year, he doesn’t meander as often into the back garden. No, now he seems to prefers sitting on the deck, perusing their activities from above, like a king on his cushion. When he does venture passed their coop, he haughtily holds up his head, his tail flicking, as he ignores their existence.
But, just like us, I think he finds them intriguing.
And while we love our chickens, the challenge with chickens is that they don’t co-habit well with a garden. At least in an orderly fashion.
Oh no!
Their favourite activities are digging holes and having dirt baths, scratching up worms but in the process preventing seeds from germinating, and then there is the bathroom issue, ahem, they go WHEREVER they want.
Our girls digging along our cedar hedge. In the summer time they love sleeping under these bushes
No chickens are not ideal if you are wanting a well groomed garden and certainly not a good idea if for instance you enjoy walking barefoot in your yard.
The other thing about chickens are once you get them, it’s a bit like that book I read to my kids, “If you give a mouse a cookie, he will want milk to go with it,” etc.
Once we finally decided to get chickens, we had to have a brooder box, a little water font, a small feeder, then a coop, then a larger run, a bigger feeder, then a water font, and then it’s winter and they need a heated water font, and a heat lamp, well, you get the idea.
Who would have thought that they are high maintenance critters.
ALSO,
If you have chickens, and a garden, you may need a fence, or a larger run for them.
All through winter as I kept my chickens alive in our back forty, despite our very cold, often 20 and 30 below weather, I thought about the challenges they pose as I trudged through the snow with their fresh water and food. What to do about my love of chickens and my love for a garden?
So this spring before we planted the veggie garden, I knew we had to do something to keep everyone happy. Especially after reading the book below last winter I knew we had to set things up differently.
(The book above, “Free -Range Chicken Gardens,” by Jesse Bloom, is an informative book with beautiful photos. Reading it last winter made me think chickens and gardens go together harmoniously, but setting both up takes some planning.)
You see, I wanted to let them have some freedom and exercise but knew they would mostly need to be “cooped” up so I finally came up with a plan to add an extension to their current roomy coopy cottage.
The only other big problem was that I started working at my gardening gig the day after Earth day (April 23rd) and our family was extremely busy with various family commitments and activities. Then the kids got sick, which I wrote about a few posts back, “layering faith.” Add to that, I also wanted to build additional raised beds and get my little kids involved in gardening this year.
After David and the boys ripped up the plants above the pool this spring, since the retaining wall is falling apart and has to be rebuilt, he got working on building new raised garden beds. While he did this, I prepared the garden spaces I did have, I moved my strawberries to two of the new raised garden beds and then I planted my garden.
DAvid putting his new chainsaw to good use
Some of the stumps weighed several hundred pounds
And this project is NEXT now that the chickens have their new run
The little kids and their garden beds
Sadie likes to get into every photo…it’s uncanny how she creeps into pictures!
Early July, the raised beds are just starting to grow
The whole time we were out doing projects in the yard our girls/chicks were looking out through their hardware cloth walls and saying, “Bok, Bok, Bok.” I would let them out for short stints to run around the yard, nibble grass and dig where they were allowed. I always had the garden hose, with a dynamite spray head on hand if they got into my newly planted garden.
I let my green onions return for the 2nd year and as you can see in the foreground they are turning to seed….I love collecting seeds. This is a picture of the garden next to the pool in early July…things are just coming up
Did you know chickens are smart! They knew exactly where they were allowed to roam and quickly caught on that mom’s garden beds were OFF LIMITS. And yet, they could be found glancing at me to see if the rules had changed as they tried to casually wander, “pluck, pluck, pluck,” into garden territory, only to be shocked and offended when a spray of water hit them. I would be standing there, garden hose in hand, yelling in my mom voice, “No chickens in the garden!” They are just like my kids, I don’t know how many times I’ve told them to close the gate after themselves so the chickens don’t get out! and they always act like they never heard this request before as we are madly chasing the chickens around our side and front yard.
Finally, most of the projects were completed and David bought some framing lumber, some hardware cloth and got down to framing. But it was slow going. (THE cool thing is that Harrison, our 18 year old has been working at Home Depot so we are there a lot dropping him off and picking him up)
The plan was to build another 6′ by 6′ run at the end of their current coop and you would think, no big deal.
I didn’t think it would take long but it took forever to find a few free days to get the framing done.
This spring….
We had birthday parties.
On May 20th the twins turned 6 years old
And we had concerts….
Victoria and Kathryn playing at their year end concert
The theme for the Country Fair was Fiesta so Will wore a Canadian flag and a Sombrero…since we are celebrating Canada’s 150 year old birthday this year…and well a Sombrero says…party like nothing else…the little girls had Mardi Gras beads and fancy glasses for their Fiesta costume…Grace went as a teenager…enough said
And then there was the Country Fair at our cool historic music school. Will played cello, the little girls played piano and Grace sang beautifully with her choir.
Then there were…..
Visits from family. Auntie B and Uncle J…and puppy, Dugan. Wish you were closer~
Soccer games, this is Harrison’s last year playing with the North Okanagan soccer group
And more soccer….
Victoria hamming it up for the camera
All the little kids played soccer this year.
Oh, then there was a graduation. Our son Harrison completed grade 12 and is off to University in September.
Alyssa and Mitchell (our older kids on the Island) sent their best wishes and our oldest son Clark was working on this day but the rest of the gang was here, David and I with Harrison,Grace, Will, Kate and Tori
Congratulations Harrison!
And as if this weren’t enough, we had more birthday parties….William turned eight!
And wanted to go and climb some walls for his birthday experience
Oh and then there was the year end ballet recital….
Victoria and Kathryn danced to the song, “It’s a Small World.” (Year two of dance)
Then there were the final year end school activities….
At the beach…I relented and bought them a ice drink with vanilla ice cream in it
Bittersweet…the year end wrap up for the kindergarten class. Welcome Summer! When they return to school they will be big grade one kids
And around this time was also Grace’s grade 8, RCM piano exam, my gardening gig wrap up, somewhere in all there was Mother’s day and Father’s day and at the beginning of July, my grad reunion back in my hometown of Creston and FINALLY, a BIG 150 birthday celebration for Canada.
Happy 150th Birthday Canada….our flag on our deck
.
It was a activity rich spring and early summer, hence my lack of blogging. I find it hard to live life fully, and blog about it. I would REALLY like to meet real life bloggers who are actively writing. I would ask, “Where in the heck do you find time to write?”…and then live the life you are blogging about?”
Did I mention that during this entire time I was also writing with a group of lovely women at the historic old Caetani house…which is a mecca for the arts?
Yep! but hold your breath for my memoir or first novel.
FIRST…..
We need to build a chicken run.
Throughout all the activities and projects we had on the go, our beautiful chickens were patient.
Of course they ARE spoiled chickens, even if they are mostly cooped up. I bring them treats from the garden; kale, lettuce, swiss chard, spinach, lemon balm, and now that we are into berry season they are eating luscious strawberries and raspberries. Then every night they get a bedtime snack which varies but their fav is sunflower, pumpkin seeds, and Cocoa LOVES raisins.
When David and I returned from Creston, and my grad reunion, he finally got down to business. Once he starts rolling with a project, he puts every waking hour into it and recently he was able to attach their addition, which he mostly built and painted in the garage.
It would have been easier had our property been level but everything is on a slope and he had to build up the area with landscape ties before securing the addition.
Okay, drum roll please…..
And here is how it turned out….
Here is their new addition…the roof is a lovely lattice work top which allows the sun to shine on our chickens….and offers a bit of shade too (the wood parts are white washed so they are protected and the top was a sage green stain)
Now they have extra space and yes I wish I had pictures of their expression when they checked out the expanded real estate. Did you know chickens can smile? “Bok, Bok, Bok.” In the mornings I find them enjoying the first rays of the sun and digging their beloved holes in the dirt.
One of my raspberry bushes hedges is beside them and then I’m also growing some pumpkins next to their run.
Here’s a peek through the plum trees at the new run. In time the trees with give them more shade which will be lovely on a hot day
Well, now that the run is built, our next project is to take down the old landscape tie walls above the pool. Since we have chosen to build a river bed rock retaining walls, like many of the other walls throughout our yard, it’s going to be a big project. When it’s done, I can see herbs, perennials, and vegetables all growing lushly. I even have a day dream of watermelon and cantaloupe growing in this bed, since it gets full sun and there is good irrigation. Wouldn’t it be cool to be down at the pool and have guests over and ask them if they wanted some watermelon and then just going and picking one off the vine?
I will keep you in the loop on our progress. It’s going to take the rest of the season to accomplish this wall and probably well into fall too.
But getting back to summer and chickens. We have been really lucky to have such great layers and what to do with all those nutritious eggs? Well, vegetable quiche of course.
Every day we usually get 3 or 4 eggs which is not tons…but keeps us in eggs for baking and the occasional quiche
I have made several quiche over the last few months and they are delicious. The texture is beautiful and I find the combination of broccoli and cheese perfect. Who doesn’t like cheese with broccoli? Also, they are such an easy thing to make the night before and you can easily warm them up for dinner the next day. Perfect for summer. Just add a salad, some fruit and you have a wonderful meal. But here is my warning. Don’t expect……
ANY
leftovers!
Wahhhhhhh!
But it’s all good, since everyone is smiling before dinner and it’s a light meal when it’s boiling hot outside, like today and you want something but nothing too heavy.
The only thing a bit time consuming is making homemade pie crust but I have found a no fail, always flaky recipe for pie crust.
Come on….
Want to join me in the kitchen and we will make some pastry? I use the Tenderflake lard and the recipe is on the box.
It’s perfect every time!
Pastry for two pies (You can always freeze one of the quiche if you want to as well)
Ingredients
2 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 pound of Tenderflake lard
1 egg, stirred slightly
1/2 tbsp of vinegar
A bit under 1/2 cup of cold water
Directions
1. Mix the flour and salt
2. Cut the lard in with a pastry blender until the shortening is pea size pieces
3. Crack an egg in a measuring cup, stir, add the vinegar
4. Add cold water to make 1/2 cup
5. Stir the liquid into the flour mixture, but mix until the dough is forming a ball, don’t over mix
6. Take ball and break into 2 portions. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour
7 Pull it out and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, being mindful not to use too much
flour, sprinkle it on a flat surface and roll the dough evenly. When rolled out transfer to your pie
pie plates
Broccoli and Three Cheese Quiche
Ingredients (double for 2 pies)
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 chopped onion
3 – 4 cups of broccoli
4 eggs
1 cup of half and half or whole milk
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp of dried dill
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Saute garlic and onions in oil in a frying pan. Add broccoli, salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes
While broccoli is cooking, stir eggs and half and half together in a bowl
Once broccoli is lightly tender, place it in the bottom of your prepared unbaked pie crust.
Add the egg and half and half mixture to the broccoli, then sprinkle with the cheese. I put the cheddar down first, then the mozzarella, and finally the Parmesan on the very top….add then sprinkle the dill and you are ready to bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.
Ta Da!
That was easy hey? And it’s a good thing as it gets eaten in a blink of an eye around here.
Dig in!
Well that wraps up my update. Before you go, want to hear an old song that I remember being played on the radio when I was a child? Warning, it may linger with you…. It reminds me of long days, warm sun and lemonade. I hope you enjoy listening to “A Theme from a Summer’s Place by Percy Faith.” Click the hyper-link if you can click below.
Until we meet again, may you be well, peaceful and happy.
Thanks for coming to visit today. I’m sorry I’ve been in ex-communicado. In the last month, A LOT of stuff has been going on at the homestead.
Of course, Easter came and went. The kids above, William, Victoria and Kathryn with their eggs they decorated and my classic bunny cake in the fore ground….this was coconut though so it was even yummier than usual. (I will do a blog post about my coconut cake baking of late)
Then,
A month ago, on Earth day, I started working at my gardening gig.
I love it!
I love being around the plants, the people and the staff who work there.
It’s a perfect fit for me since I’m a green ambivert. I get a real high being and talking with people, especially about growing plants and helping them select flowers and veggies for their garden. It takes me into a BLISSFUL state.
You know you have found your calling when time flies and you are in BLISS.
But I also love when we have time at the garden centre to meditatively maintain the plants and the crowds have slowed down. Making the garden centre look great is also a blissful process.
These cute planters are made by one of my co-workers…she’s very creative and they were perfect for Mother’s Day!
Yes, all was well at first but ya know, when you are running the ship all year round and you take a bit of a leave, the balance shifts and the ship starts to list. When at I’m at work, the house work isn’t kept up, groceries aren’t purchased, healthy meals aren’t produced AND eaten. Then we are scrambling to take kids to school or pick them up at the end of the day and take them to their activities or in our older kids cases; THEIR jobs.
Yes JOBS.
Now it feels like our whole family is working outside the house. So grateful for the work!
Of course, like Murphy’s law the week that I start working, our oldest son Clark, who has been working part time at his Science centre job since finishing his degree last June, also gets another job. And this landscaping gig is full time and GREAT. Also, it will provide the financial boost he needs to start law school, which hopefully he will start in the fall. Fingers crossed, still waiting to hear if the ONLY law school he applied at will accept him. A whole other story! But hey, I’m holding the vision and having faith… that everything will work out there.
Anyway we are happy and excited to see more money roll in but of course my number 1 helper for driving little kids around and pitching in around the house and yard is GONE now 7 days a week. Yep, he’s been working now over 21 days straight since he has kept his weekend job going as well.
Clark helping dispose of all the stumps and roots from the plants we dug up in our beds….some were 200 hundred pounds….here are only a few
Oh, and yes, then there is also our 18 year old son, Harrison, who will graduate from high school soon and decided he needed to start looking for a job a bit before summer and beat the hordes of kids who will all be looking for summer employment. Thankfully, the first place he applied at hired him but interestingly enough his job started just a bit before I started working too. OF course! His dad is thrilled though since his part time job is at Home Depot. This massive store has to be my husband David’s favourite place to shop.There is something about being around tools, lumber and all that hardware that puts a smile on his face.
So we were happy for Harrison, even though now that he is working, it adds another twist tp our already busy schedule. But since he will be off to University soon, and can use the money from his job to offset school expenses we will be thankful. With the gain there is a loss and in this case my lawn mower, and number two cook and bottle washer in the kitchen has left the building to carry lumber and plant material to people’s cars. BOO!
So with everyone working, and our usual busy list of kid activities and school affairs, the ship was listing badly and although we weren’t drowning, I had my eyes on the lifeboats.
Then the storm came.
It was three weeks ago when I woke up out of the dead of night to hear a seal barking. Odd. Was that in my dream? As I came more fully awake, I realized it was coming from the twins room. I grabbed my robe and went to investigate. I found our tiny Kate,one of our 5 year old twins sitting up in bed barking with a terrible croupy cough.
Oh, I have heard that before. Funny none of our older children ever had it but when our 6th little one was a toddler he had several very scary croupy sessions. One night we flew him to the emergency room extremely worried we would lose him as he was turning blue trying to catch his breath. I kept thinking that I had worked so hard to finally bring him to earth and then we lose him at 18 months….. but in all the in and out of the car and the cold night air flowing, by the time we got to the hospital, while he was still coughing his colour was better.
Kate turned to me with panic in her eyes and I knew it was critical. I swooped her out of her upper loft bed, wrapped a big comforter around her and flew out our master bedroom door to our back deck and into the cold night air. Please let her breathe, was what I was thinking. As I held her close, her little body wracked with a loud barking cough. I could hear tiny gasps of breath wheezing through so I told her to take little breaths. “Little breaths Katie, little breaths.” The night air hit me like a freight train and I shivered as I held her close, pulling the comforter around her shoulders and neck. I was praying and praying that the coughing would ease and she would be able to breathe easier.
If you have ever experienced such a moment with your child, you know you pray with all your being. In my case, I was just thinking, let her live and I will be a better mom. It’s scary out there in the dark night air and not knowing if this will be enough to open up her airways. Thankfully, after what felt like hours and was really only about 1/2 hour her coughing eased but I kept her out for another 1/2 hour more until the coughing was just intermittent. Finally, I stood up with her bundled in my arms and took her to my bed. My husband hadn’t woken up at all but he has been known to sleep through all of our 8 babies crying, even the twins, so I wasn’t surprised.
I got the vaporizer set up beside my side of the bed and putting Kate on the outside of our bed, I had her face in the flow of cool air. I crawled in beside her and held her close. Somehow we drifted off to sleep. When she woke up, while she was extremely tired, the worst was over.
Or I thought!
Although she recovered, a few days later William came home coughing from school and for about a week he was under the weather but he pushed through school for a few days and then seemed to recover over the weekend. Then he returned to school but while at his first day of swimming lessons with his class, he crashed and that day his fever spiked. When I picked him up after school at the end of the day he was laying in the school office’s sick room, burning up with a fever. He kept saying to me, “I had to push through” I felt so bad because he was one sick little boy.
For two days I nursed him with Tylenol and fluids but when he didn’t improve we took him to the Dr. It was then that we discovered that his virus had turned into a bacterial infection and he was promptly put on antibiotics. Also, they wanted a chest X-ray. The next morning, I got my sick little boy dressed and I took him down to the X-ray clinic only to find out their power was out and we would have to come back.
Do you ever feel like the world is against you? Well, this was one of those times. Everything felt like it was ready to collapse. Later that day I roused him again and finally we got his x-ray done but you know your child who has TONS of energy normally, is really sick when he is quiet and listless.
Of course William wasn’t the only one sick at this point. Grace, our 14 year old was battling what we discovered was the same virus which by the weekend had worsened and when we took her to the Dr. we found out she had a throat infection and was also put on antibiotics….and William’s x-rays confirmed our worst fear; pneumonia!
I still find it interesting that Will’s infection manifested in his lungs and Grace’s in her throat. Sadly, she had been chosen to sing for a voice scholarship at our music school and she could hardly talk, let alone sing so she missed that opportunity. Why do things like this always happen?
The other kids also had varying ills; sore throats, runny noses, tired, and over all we were all falling apart.
Oh, on top of all that, did I mention that my husband David had to go out of to work for a few days AND our washing machine decided to stop working. Yes! Don’t you love it when things really fall apart?
Because that is when your faith is really TESTED!
Thankfully, my employers were so understanding and even though it’s their busy season my boss kept saying to me, “babies come first.” I was able to focus on nursing my children, making sure they took their medication, they were hydrated and once they turned the corner which was days, I was able to ease them back into eating food. Mostly smoothies at first and I made a chicken and noodle soup with ginger and on another day a minestrone.
I must have traveled from the kitchen to their rooms about 50 times a day but by the end of the week they were able to get out of bed and lay on the couch in the family room.
When I wasn’t nursing sick kids, I was sterilizing our house. I went around and washed down door handles and bathrooms and I scrubbed our house with sudsy soapy water with vinegar…everywhere. When the kids finally were feeling better, I was exhausted but I went to work for the weekend as David was able to take over. Our washing machine was still broken though, so we had to take loads of wash to the laundry mat….oh that weekend was fun.
Minestrone recipe coming soon….it was sooooo good!!!
Although I felt like I was fighting something, there is power in having a purpose, and also being out in the fresh air, albeit mostly cold as it’s been such a rainy and wet spring, (I think this has been part of the problem as we need to all dry up!!!) that kept me going.
So while I did have to put my family in their life jackets and we got in the life boats for awhile, we
never drowned.
William starting to mend and was very hungry….check out the quote on his shirt…empowering our children with their own mantras and building layers of faith is an important way to give them life long tools
There was even a day at the end of the week when the kids were watching movies in the family room that I was finally able to get out and fill my two, newly made raised beds with the LASAGNA gardening method. David had built one and then another 4×8 raised garden beds and it was my job to fill them.
It’s really a fun way of creating lovely garden soil for your plants and instead of just bringing in a truck load of top soil, it’s a lot easier and more in line with how Mother Nature makes rich hummus.
I started by laying a thick layer of newspaper in the bottom of the bed to cover the grass and then I laid large pieces of heavy cardboard on top of that. I made sure to water each layer as I went. On top of the cardboard I put about 6 inches of chicken bedding. The last time I had cleaned out the chicken house was at the end of November. All winter we used the deep litter method; where you just keep laying down a fresh bed of pine shavings and the chickens dig that in with their manure.
After laying down the newspaper and cardboard I watered it really well…note nearby hose…
Time to really clean out the chicken run and coop…here is Sadie in the run, she loves to get underfoot and get a pet
I thought I would be cleaning out their chicken house long before May but it had been so cold that I kept putting it off, plus the bedding helps to keep the chicken’s warm. Cleaning the run and coop was perfectly timed with building the raised bed as this dirt/ pine shavings/ chicken manure, although not composted, was good fill for next to the cardboard.
After that layer, I mowed our lawn which was really long with all the rain and I added the lawn clippings on top of the chicken run material. Then I added the dry leaves I had kept from last fall and after the leaves, I added another layer of newspaper, just ’cause I had it and I wanted to bring the worms to the surface…..since they love wet newspaper. To top off the bed I had some aged compost and finally I added a few bags of organic dirt since I would be planting right in this bed.
You can see some of the layers in this picture
Although the ideal time to make a lasagna bed is in the fall, you can do it any time as long as you make sure you are planting in aged compost or soil as I did this spring.
Once my beds were ready, it was time to dig up my old strawberry bed that was getting old and needed to be refurbished. Plus, with my cedars growing tall beside the old strawberry beds, they really needed more sunshine so moving them to an all day sun location will allow the strawberries to produce sweeter and more abundantly. So I dug up the newer plants in the bed, (which were created from the runners from the mother plant) and moved them all over to the raised garden beds.
I was able to get 32 plants in each bed so with two raised beds we now have 64 strawberry plants. Although we will be taking off the blossoms this year to allow the energy to go into the plant, next year we should be able to get .5 to 1 lb of strawberries from every foot of garden…which means 32 to 64 pounds of strawberries next year. So worth the effort to make these beds!
As I was layering in all the garden waste, and planting the beautiful strawberry plants on top, I was thinking about life. Being out in the garden always gets me reflecting on my life and how I walk my path.
I was thinking about the last few weeks and how I have had to draw on my layers of faith that I have been laying down my whole life.
From my childhood, I learned many Bible stories and how to love God. I learned how Jesus came to earth to be able to experience this human condition (really tough at times even in 1st World countries) and how God so loved us that he was willing to let Jesus die on the cross for us. (If you are turned off by words of God or Jesus, hang in there ’cause I’m making my point…this for my daughter Alyssa and others who may feel the same)
On the days when I think I can’t go on, what keeps me going is a bible verse I found as a child on a bookmark in my mom’s Bible. It read,
“I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:13 of the New King James Version
Surely, as a young widow of 40 with 4 daughters to watch over, my mom had to use that verse daily to get her through the first few years after my dad died and I have found great comfort and inspiration in using it as well. On my darkest days, I recite it with each breath. Just as my little Katie was gasping for air when she had croup, I breathe it into my soul and it sustains me.
But for me, my faith is multi layered and I often think of my Buddhist teachings as well; reciting more wise words;
“What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create.”
Knowing that my mind is powerful, when I stay present and focus in on what I’m thinking, what I’m experiencing, what I believe and what I want to achieve, it moves me forward with intent. I am grateful that I learned early in my life that I am not alone, that God always walks with me, and I have been given powerful tools to create a rich and meaningful life.
But the inspiration does not end there.
Oh no!
I think of Mother Teresa and her endless compassion when I parent my children and her loving words come to mind,
“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
When I recite those words, I think of the peace that emanated from Mother Teresa and how her kind, love and compassion still vibrates on this earth. Those vibrations touch me and fill me up.
Then there is my admiration for Mahatma Gandhi and his humanitarian heart. He was the one who said,
“Religions are different roads converging to the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads, so long as we reach the same goal …”
Throughout history and even now there are wars being fought against people’s varying religions and beliefs. Each person thinking that their way of looking at the world is right and just. I think this is one reason I have layered my faith because there isn’t just one right faith. (in my humble opinion anyway)
I think this is also the reason a few of my older children have chosen to turn away from religion as they see so much contradiction in the world. How can people who claim they are religious, hurt others, or make judgement calls. They just don’t get it…and I see their point of view but it’s sad ’cause having faith is a powerful tool in life but we don’t have to use it against each other. We need it to lift us up.
Why can’t we all just come together and make one big lasagna, full of delicious ingredients, creating a diverse and fertile soil for everyone to thrive in. Anything to get us through our days and to keep us connected with each other. Anything to bring peace to this earth. Let peace, hope, faith, and love be the layers we need to build humanity’s soil.
In the last month, with sick kids, a broken washing machine, and everything else, it all adds weight to our boat, somehow I was able to get through it all and I can only say that it was my faith that pulled me through.
Somehow I’m able to reach down to my gut and my heart grows immensely, like the Grinch’s heart once he realized the true meaning of Christmas, it expands and I become a super person with endless power, knowing ANYTHING is possible.
In the end, AND IN THE END,…...all shall be well.
And while we are all still feeling like we are fighting a virus, I hope the worst is over. I hope the sun shines soon, that we all warm up, that the floods that are plaguing many parts of our country abate. That the people in power leading our countries wake up and realize that we aren’t playing a game, the only people who win in the end are the ones who, like the Grinch realize it’s all about sharing and being loving.
I have to hope and pray, and hold the vision that I have the power to change the world. At least in my little part of it anyway. For now in my homestead the kids are healing, the washer has been repaired (albeit is leaking…another issue for another day) summer is only around the corner. To keep me going though, something I have dreamed of for several years has come into my life.
I worked late on Mother’s Day, so when I came home the kids had already eaten their dinner and were in their jammies. When they heard my car drive up they yelled, “mommy!!!!” I settled in the living room and while I ate my dinner, Grace played a mini concert for me on the piano and then the kids brought me in a huge big gift wrapped box in paper they had decorated with flowers and hearts. Each child had taken a side and were thrilled to show me their creations. It was too pretty to rip through but they really wanted me to open the gift so finally I tore through the paper and found……drum roll please…..
A VITAMIX!!!!!!!
Finally, one of my long held dreams has come true. Oh, I know, it’s a material thing but if you put me in a tiny house tomorrow with only a few items, this would be one of the only things I would want in my kitchen.
Plus the side benefit is that we get to make smoothies and rather than juicing and losing all the good pulp fibre…we can eat it.
The next morning after I returned from driving the kids to school, I speedily ready through the quick start instructions and figured out how to make a green smoothie…. which I promptly did.
Yum, yum, yum!
When the kids came home I had a berry/banana/yogurt smoothie ready for them…….with a ton of spinach too and they didn’t even notice it!
So in the end, some valuable lessons were learned this spring. That anything is possible if you hold onto your faith. That dreams come true, and that sometimes you have to ask for some help. Not an easy thing for me. The circle of people outside of my immediate family were there for me; .my employers, my co-workers, the kid’s teachers, our family Doctor, my sisters.
All shall be well!
And before I close my blog I wanted to share a song by George Harrison, “Give me love, give me peace on earth.” The lyrics from this song lift me up, “give me hope, help me cope, with this heavy load, trying to touch and reach you with heart and soul.”
I’m grateful for faith!
And if you watch that video…hang in there and watch the subsequent one that follows, another fav of mine, I cry when I hear George singing, “My Sweet Lord.”
I hope your life is good right now. That your days are easy, that the sun is shining and you are well, but if you feeling like you are drowning, you are not alone. Be gentle on yourself, eat well, get rest when you can, count what blessings you have in your life, connect with others and layer a little faith into your days.
All shall be well!
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
It feels like weeks since we connected. How is life in your part of the world? The 2016 year is quickly coming for an end in my part of the world and I have so much to tell you. I went to pick my daughter Alyssa up this morning from her country retreat, where blissfully she is writing her novel, and I told her that I would give ANYTHING, to have endless peace and quiet in which to write.
Our daughter, Alyssa, thrilled to be starting her winter writing retreat in the country
Okay, mom, how fast can you go so I can start to write?
When you love to write, the words bubble gleefully to the surface, linking effortlessly into an exact image only the heart recognizes, and anxiously you search for a pen, pencil, ANYTHING, to capture that elusive essence into a lasting impression. If you are unable to, as I have been lately, those thoughts have to be suppressed. When that happens I am frankly, irritable.
In one breath, I would love to have the peace and time to write but then, if I didn’t live in the midst of chaos, life constantly flowing and changing, creating experience after experience, each one deeper and more powerful, I wouldn’t have anything to write about. Such a quandary, this life.
Are writers ever happy? Maybe that is why so many of them are internally tortured. And yet, at last when pen is in hand, we are blissful. So finally, I am here, sitting in my favourite chair, laptop waiting expectantly for brilliance to appear on the page. Then you know what happens?
Nothing of any significance.
My fav chair, although I rarely get a chance to sit down…today I got a new book from the library..don’t you love the library!!!
At least to my literary inward critic.
But here I sit and so I’m going to share some of what has been going on around Lakelin Reach. Did you know that is the name of our homestead? Years ago, I took a Feng Shui course at our local College and discovered the importance of giving one’s home a name. After all, it’s filled with energy just like people. And so, since our house often sounded, (and still does) like a music school, with our oldest playing piano and flute, and our younger boys playing violin, cello, guitar, sax and oh, you couldn’t miss the drums, we thought it would be an appropriate name. As you know from some of the pictures I post, our place sits above a beautiful lake and Lakelin, is Celtic and means, “Lake Song.” “Reach,” is a destination. Reminds me of the Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote that I love, “Life’s a journey, not a destination,” and so as a family we decided Lakelin Reach, would be a fitting name for a place where our much of our life experience occurs….in our home. Have you given your home a name? Do you ever leave the house and say goodbye…or greet it upon returning?
Today, as the afternoon wanes and soon, I will collect the children from school, I wanted to share a tiny glimpse into life at our home and also I really wanted, at last to share the most amazing, easy vegetarian meal. The last of my Meatless Monday meals….at least for now.
Falafals!
Have you tried them?
Do you love them?
I made these weeks ago for my meatless Monday final recipe but since then I think we have made them weekly as they are easy, healthy and delicious!!!
Alyssa had a friend from London visit and while Mark was here we made them, that is when I realized this simple dish is great when you have guests over as well. It makes a lot and you never have to worry if there will be enough food for everyone. (must be a big family thing)
Alyssa with her friend Mark, who she met when she was in London
As we move into the season of eating, I’m even more determined to feed my family vegetarian choices, for environmental reasons but also for health reasons. This is the time of year that most people indulge in too much sugar and other treats. so knowing my family are getting a lot of whole foods and vegetables makes me feel more comfortable with all the holiday baking we choose to do and partake.
But before we move into the kitchen, come and sit with me and we can chat a bit more. How was your November? Did it fly by as fast as it did in our house; a virtual blur of activities. The weather was mild for this time of year, so between several birthday celebrations, mine on the 8th, and then a few others scattered throughout the month, oh and then Remembrance day too, I was out in the garden performing my last bits of fall clean up. Having the chickens free range in our back 40, makes a bit of a mess but it’s so worth it.
Did I mention I love our chickens? We spent a bit of time getting them ready for winter….. all warm and toasty. David built panels for their run and we purchased a heated water bowl. We also hung a light to extend their day light hours and I strung a string of Christmas lights on the front side of their coop too. Chickens love Christmas too and this is their first winter on earth so I wanted them to enjoy this time of year too. Yes, decorations start early around here.
Since we have three children who have birthdays this month, Grace’s 14th, is actually today, I try to get our Christmas decorations done at the end of November.
Happy Birthday beautiful Grace….this year we made a candy cane ice cream cake
This year, David took a few days off to get some much needed work started on our attic conversion and I was able to convince him to take me up to the mountains to search of our Christmas tree. Clark took time off from studying for his LSAT exam, (which was on Dec 3rd) and Alyssa made some eggnog lattes and we headed up to a nearby provincial forestry site, where we had a permit to cut up to three trees.
We headed up the mountains but hadn’t traveled very far past the forestry permit area before we started to see potential trees. Lots of them. I think it helped that it hadn’t snowed much yet which made it was easier to see the trees, also to access them. David stopped the van and we all got out on an explore to find just the perfect tree for our holiday celebrations. As we searched, I trimmed the bottom of the large trees to collect fir and cedar boughs to hang around the house. They smelled so fresh and fragrant.
Me in awe….love trees, love the forest, love the country
Alyssa gathering greenery….oh so fragrant!
In the past I have felt bad about cutting down trees, and a bit worse after my daughter reminded me about all the carbon offsetting that occurs when one cuts down a tree. (Remember during my road towards minimalism a year and a half ago, I practically gave away our fake large, pre-lit Christmas tree?)
As we were touring the area, I felt better when my husband David said, “why don’t we take the little fir cuttings we receive each year from our rural district on Earth Day and come back to plant them close to where our Christmas trees are located. I felt a bit better and also it’s something we can do with the little ones. (When I was talking to my brother in law B about my feelings about cutting down trees, he did remind me that the trees are chipped afterwards and their mulch used to create new earth)
It was magical in the mountains. Quiet and peaceful, with only the sound of the occasional winter bird breaking the heavy silence blanketing us. This year, not one vehicle past us, not even a logging truck, even though it was during the work week. Finally, we found a few serious contenders and we carefully assessed them, judging shape, colour and size of each tree. We narrowed down our choices and finally turned inwards, to connect with that intrinsic feeling you get when you know you have found, “THE TREE.” You know, like Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold in the movie, “Christmas Vacation,” when his family finally comes upon their tree and a light is glowing all around it, proclaiming, “I’m the one.” Unlike Clark, we did bring a saw..
David and Clark, who are both way over 6 feet…and our TREES!
We ended up with two beautiful 10 foot trees and somehow, David and Clark crammed them into our Honda Odyssey. Did I mention we have 8 foot ceilings in our house, except for our vaulted foyer, but we weren’t putting our trees in that location. (We would have to do some pruning)
As the last branch was tucked inside the van, Alyssa brought out the themos of eggnog lattes and we opened the box of Tim Horton’s Christmas donuts we had purchased for the event, and we raised our mugs to our two Christmas trees and to the occasion of being together this early holiday season. This is a special year for after two years away teaching in London, Alyssa is home for Christmas.
I know it is golden moments such as this that I want to create, as it may be the last year our older two children are in our house together. If all goes well for our oldest daughter Alyssa, she will be living in as seaside cottage in Ireland next year writing, or perhaps teaching and traveling abroad, which is her passion. And this time next year, if Clark’s vision comes to pass, he will be back East attending law school.
You just never know what will be around the corner so it’s best to enjoy the journey….
I have lived long enough to experience many magic moments and know this time will never come again and “this is the only moment that exist.” We clinked our mugs again and warmed ourselves with the nog, savouring each mouthful of our gingerbread donuts and apple fritters, knowing this was a special moment in time.
I’ve discovered at least for me, that it’s these simple moments that make life truly special. Going to a Christmas tree farm to cut down our tree, and enjoying their hot cocoa or hot apple cider, or taking the whole family to walk through a Christmas tree lot, oooohing and awing over trees, would have been nice, but that elusive wisp of of pure joy overcomes me when we do something that isn’t commercial. Being out in nature is certainly part of that feeling of peace and well being, but knowing we are going a bit farther; being creative, rather than just spending money, makes these moments even more pleasurable. As I’m experiencing that sense of contentment, I realize how breathtaking and mystical this extraordinary life journey is.
It was a great start to what I hope will continue to be a simple Christmas in our home.
This Christmas we are focusing less on the commercial aspect of the season and more on giving, being creative and just enjoying being together. When we came together a few weeks ago, to eat falafel wraps, Moroccan chick pea salad and sweet potato fries, it was another moment filled with good spirits..
Yes, my family knew I was taking pictures for you, my blog friends and family, but in a way, they have come to know you all as well and want to include you in our moments. It was interesting to discuss Middle Eastern food and culture and talk about what is street food to other people is really special to us.
Also, we had a chance to talk about what has been occurring is Aleppo, Syria and our thoughts and prayers are being sent to all the innocent people trapped in that battle. My heart goes out especially to the children and the parents who want more than anything to have a peaceful home to raise their families. (Also to those who have lost children this year)
Hopefully, soon, peace will come and again, Falafals can be their street food, sold in markets with children’s laughter ringing, like bells through the air.
With my mouth full of flavourful chickpea balls, I told my family, “my blogger friends are going to love this recipe.” They nodded in agreement, as their mouths were as full as mine, with tahini sauce at the corners of their lips. You may have discovered these balls already but I’m late in coming to the party. What inspired me to try these was again my oldest daughter who traveled to Greece and Turkey while in University. She decided to minor in Greek and Roman studies and boy was I glad. We have brought the other side of the world into our kitchen….in more ways than one.
I’d love to share this easy recipe with you as it was one of those meals that I thought would be complicated, ’cause I haven’t made them before, but they were a breeze to make. Don’t you just LOVE meals that are easy AND delicious?
So join me in the kitchen and we can whip up some falafel wraps.
Falafels Ingredients (I doubled this recipe for my family and there was enough for 10…with some left over for the next day)
1 cup of dried chickpeas 3/4 chopped onion 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 4 tsp ground cumin 2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp lemon juice 11/2 tsp salt Vegetable oil for frying 5 large pitas with pockets cut in half Optional garnishes: thinly sliced radishes shredded lettuce sliced tomatoes Tahini yogurt sauce 1/2 cup balkan-style plan yogurt 1/2 cup tahini1/4 cup lemon juice 2 tbsp minced fresh parsley 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 salt 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper Directions In bowl, pour enough cold water over chickpeas to cover by 1 inch soak for 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain well.
(I don’t usually shop at Walmart but since my son has been working there, when I dropped him off I often pick up this and that….I picked up some dried chick peas and what a deal….check it out for around $2.00 dollars you can make a boat load of falafals. In food processor, coursely chop chickpeas, onion, parsley, and garlic, about 30 seconds. Add flour, cumin, baking powder, lemon juice and salt; pulse until blended, 10 seconds. Shape by heaping 1 tbsp into 11/2 inch balls. Arrange in single layer on waxed paper, lined tray, refrigerate for 2 hours or up to 12 hours.
Pour enough oil into wok, or Dutch oven to come about 2 inches up side, heat to 350 degrees using deep fry thermometer. In batches, gently drop falafels into hot oil. Deep-fry turning once, until golden and cooked through, 3 minutes. Drain on paper towel-lined tray. (To reheat, bake on greased baking sheet in 350 degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
Tahini yogurt sauce; Meanwhile, whisk together yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, parsley, oil, salt, and cayenne. Stuff pitas with falafels, 2 to 3 for large pita half (one if you are using small pitas) top with radish, tomato, lettuce and drizzle with tahini yogurt sauce.
It’s that easy!!!
And the Moroccan Chick pea salad….spicy and a lovely compliment. I was inspired when I went to our local health food stores deli…absolutely yummy and so I tried to replicate it.
Moroccan Chick Pea Salad
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of dried garbanzo beans, soaked overnight 4 scallions or green onions (I still had these growing in my garden so I used the later) 1 large roma tomato 1/2 either cilantro or parsley finely minced 2 garlic cloves 1 cup of grated carrot 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp of lemon juice 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/4 tsp black pepper pinch of cayenne
Directions:…easy, mix everything together in medium bowl
And to round out this great dish, try making some……
Let’s go back to the living room and sit ’cause, before I go, I have to also tell you another story and it’s about our son William, who is 7 years old and is in grade 2 at school. One day when his class was out on a walking field trip, the kids noticed electrical outlets linked to the metal frames around the 19 trees planted a few years ago, along the sidewalk strip beside their school. The kids wanted to know if it would be possible to have Christmas lights put up on these trees. They thought it would make the strip more festive.
They found out that in order for this to happen, they would have to petition the municipal hall to request lights be purchased and installed. Before they took this next step however, they did a survey in their school to determine what the others children thought of the idea. They compiled the results and made up mathematical graphs and put all their gathered facts on a power point program. They decided that since the majority agreed with their idea, they would contact the municipality and ask to be placed on the upcoming meeting agenda.
Will was selected to be one of the delegates from the grade 2 classes but before the presentation, there was much discussion about the pros and cons of putting the lights on the trees in our house. Since his older brother was preparing for his LSAT, and his natural inclination lately is to think logically, taking all the facts into consideration, he and Will had animated discussions around the upcoming presentation, how to present the case and conduct himself. Also, it came to light that William was concerned whether it was a good use of resources.
Of the 400 and some students in the school, only 7 thought it was not a good idea. One for religious reasons as the lights were being called, “Christmas lights,” and another child said “no” because it was, “boring.” Will was conflicted once he found out it was going to cost several thousand dollars. He knew that was a large amount of money and there was a big part of him that felt the money could be better spent feeding children less fortunate. Also, he knew in the winter, there were many children who were not dressed properly for our cold weather and also some who wouldn’t receive gifts at Christmas time.
Even though he had grave concerns, he moved forward with the grade 2’s and helped to be one of the presenters. Thankfully, the council were all wonderful with the children and it was a good experience for them to see how democracy is conducted in our community and our country.
(If you want to read the news article, click this link)
The next morning I took him to school and he was absolutely THRILLED to see that the school had set out several large boxes around the Christmas tree in the foyer for collections of food and toys for children less fortunate. He turned to me with the biggest smile on his face and said, “Maybe we can do both things; bring light to the community and help the children.”
Tonight, as I was making our daughter’s birthday dinner, David came home from work early to take William and the little girls to the tree light up. They all came home in high spirits with stories of hot cocoa and each carrying candy canes.
Spirits bright at the tree light up this evening, Will and Kate with Tori up front left
Again, this little boy has come to teach me so much about love and compassion. He lives his life with such intense enthusiasm and joy for life but has the kindest heart. We can do both. It’s not one or the other and if we hold the vision of what is truly important to us, with focus, all of our dreams and wishes can come true, not just for us, but for the world. In our safe part of the world, where our biggest concerns are whether to put up Christmas lights or not, or in Aleppo, where the parents are just trying to keep their children alive.
Our house is a better place with this little boy in it, and the world is a better place for all of our children in it, for they all light the way for us to follow. They remind us to look inside and find that part of us that remembers how to love.
And with that, I will close my early December blog post to you.
I have so much to share but it’s a busy place around here, with Christmas parties and concerts, music theory exams and grade 12 transition interviews, so I can’t promise but I would LOVE to share a few things we are doing to keep this holiday simple. One is making homemade gifts so stay tuned as I have something for everyone.
Homemade board games
homemade blocks from leftover wood from renovation left overs…or from the forest
…kids love to build
(cool tie-dyed shirts….our sons love them and they are so much fun to create
and finally something everyone in my family loves…..
and
Caramel and spiced nuts
Thanks for coming for a visit today. I hope as December unfolds for you and your family, that you look for the magic in all the moments.
If you want more inspiration on keeping things simple this holiday season, check out the above video. Brittany Taylor shares some great ideas for celebrating the holidays in a new way, with the thoughts of the environment and our well being in mind. If you can’t see the above, click on this hyperlink, “Keeping it Simple for the Holidays.”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbHuihREij0
(Thank you Tamara for all the Hope filled ornaments over the years!)
Until we connect again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Today is not just the day my little candy hunters will head out in search of loot, but also my first day doing another 21 day meditation challenge with Dr. Deepak Chopra and Oprah. This one is called, “Creating Peace from the Inside Out~ the Power of Connection.”
Have you had a chance to do one of their meditation challenges yet?
Do you want to join me?
There is still time.
Click on the hyper-link above. It’s easy to register and it’s FREE! It’s also something we can do together and is just one more thing we can do to create a better world.
What I love about the idea of meditating on mass, creating peace from the inside out, is there was never a better time. With everything going on with the U.S. election, and the war on terrorism, nuclear testing in North Korea, etc, we need to tune inward to find peace, to shut out fear, which inevitably will touch each and everyone of us in the world, as we make connections with each other.
I need it right now too, as in my particular part of the world, with a house brimming of 7 children of various ages, developmental levels and personalities, if WE can live in peace, then I know there is hope for the world. It’s a constant, conscious choice and believe me, a daily challenge to be a mom and mentor of our group. I fail terribly some days…but
My greatest wish is that there be peace in my home.
That there be peace in the world.
For me to do this however, it takes inner reserves and abundant energy. I also need to shut out what society tells me daily with all sorts of messages that plunder my being. I need to shut out the fear that I’m not good enough, I’m not rich enough, I’m not brilliant enough, I’m not young enough.
I need to remember that just BEING, is enough.
Also,
at no other time in the world can fear spread as fast, and at no other time in the world, can light shine out from all of our souls. It’s our choice to choose love over power, courage over fear. Knowing we are enough just as we are. We are more than enough, we are perfect as we are, and so is everyone else.
What kind of world do you want to create?
Are you with me as we “om” daily for the next 21 days?
I’m so sorry I missed my last week’s meatless Monday. Oh, we enjoyed another great vegetarian meal. It was amazing and I wanted you all at my table. I made a middle Eastern dish; “Falafel wraps” with a Moroccan Chick pea salad and sweet potato fries.
You can bet I’m going to write a blog post about it but it will have to be for next week. Stay tuned. I have to tell you why I missed writing last week. I was having a love affair.
Ha! Well, it was more like a love/hate relationship.
With my sewing machine!
As I worked my way through the Pokemon Pikachu costume pattern, I kept thinking how I was making memories for my little boy William. Last year, he was a slurpee cup, which was a no sew costume, so this year I felt like I owed him a REALLY great costume. How many more years will he be 7 and want to dress up as a big yellow character?
Each night, once the kids were tucked away, lunches were made, school clothes were ironed, and yes, I still iron clothes. Probably because I leave them in the dryer too long and they are beyond wrinkled when retrieved. My sister B, knows all about my laundry woes…waving to you B. Thanks for all your help folding clothes over the years! Anyway, sorry I got sidetracked, after everything was ready for another busy day, I would bring out my sewing machine and with the T.V. on in the background, work my way through deciphering the pattern instructions. By the way, it was an EASY pattern, but for me it took ALL week.
Hence missing last week’s meatless Monday blog post. But hey…here is the completed costume.
At last!
And here it is on Will….at the Halloween party he attended on Saturday afternoon. He loved being Pikachu and if you don’t know about Pokemon, Pikachu is like a fluffy, Thor-like character…sending lightening and thunder to bad guys.
Doesn’t he look happy in his Pikachu costume? So it was ALL worth it.
So it’s Halloween tonight and if you know me at all, I really love the whole dressing up part of the occasion. The idea of being something or someone you admire, or desire to become, appeals to my creative soul. Often little ones can feel small and insignificant in our world, (big ones too) so this gives them one day of the year, they can be something that makes them feel brilliant and brave. We all need that experience in life.
It’s a time when they head out after dark, dressed in their finery, daring to be the person they most desire in the world. Plus the beauty gifts and prizes of treats doesn’t hurt either!
The part I don’t like about Halloween, and I think I blogged about it last year, especially since I’m a mom, is the sugar part. I spoke with several moms at our daughter’s kindergarten Halloween party this morning and they were all bemoaning the sugar aspect of the day. I was sharing a few tips I have learned over the years to minimize the negative experience. Personally, I think kids should experience the hunt….and maybe also what it feels like to have a sugar high…’cause it’s often a sugar low.
I mean really, it’s their one and only day of the year to head out and fill a bag full of treats they often are not allowed to eat (in most households now we know the downside of sugar) We have chosen to embrace the evening and use it as another teaching moment.
Of course in the days leading up to Halloween we do talk about the tradition and also about the treat aspect of the occasion. How we are not thrilled with how sugar negatively affects our health and well being. Also, it gives children the opportunity to make healthy decisions and choices.
But in the end, we parents do have the control.
I have heard some people choose to exchange the bag of candy for a longed for toy, or to allow children to eat all they want in the first night and then the treat bag goes away.
What we have done in our family over the years, is when our children come home from trick or treating, we have them spread all their loot on the floor and we check it over. Then we encourage our children to categorize and count their treats, if they choose. Kid’s naturally do this in most cases. You know, put all the chocolate bars together, bags of chips etc. This is great for using their math skills and at this point, they often negotiate a trade with their sibling.
Then we tell them to pick about three items, which they can enjoy while watching the fireworks put on by our local Fire hall. The fire fighters were down at the public lake dock early this morning, setting up all the various fireworks and when 8 o’clock strikes you can hear your first boom of the evening, as the light show begins in our part of the world. We are fortunate to have a wonderful view since our house is right above the lake and situated directly in front of where the fireworks explode.
The kids eat their treats and enjoy this display.
After that, we put the kid’s treats into the kitchen cupboard and each night after dinner, they are able to select something from their treat bag. This feels good to me, since I remember going trick and treating and recall how precious that candy was to me, but now from a moms perspective, I also know right after eating said candy, our little ones will be off for their evening bath and have their teeth brushed.
Knowing they go out before Trick or Treating with a healthy dinner, makes me feel great too with regards to the upcoming sugar dump. Tonight is no exception and it’s kind of cool that it’s Meatless Monday.
Tonight we are making a Vegetable Lentil Gardener Pie. It’s like a Sheperd’s Pie..without the meat..YUM!
I found it in a wonderful cookbook I borrowed from the library. It’s called, “The Vegetarian Collection,” written by Alison Kent and the Canadian Living Test Kitchen.
Love, love, LOVE, this cook book and I’m definitely going to find a copy to purchase.
I think this may be a Halloween traditional dinner since it’s something I can make ahead of time and just pop in the oven late in the afternoon so we can have an early dinner and get the kids into their costumes. It gets dark really early here, like at 5:00 o’clock this time of year, so they are out in their costumes walking up steps and knocking on doors REALLY early.
Are you ready for a dinner that is delicious and nutritious?
Okay,
Here it is:
Vegetable Lentil Gardener’s Pie
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion diced
1 carrot diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 and 1/2 cups dried lentils, rinsed and drained
1 pkg (375 g) precooked soy protein mixture (I used Yves Veggie Ground Round)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp each salt and pepper
1 can of crushed tomatoes (I used a bag of frozen, already seasoned tomatoes)
2/3 cup of vegetable broth
1/2 cup dry white wine or vegetable broth
2 zucchini, diced
2 lbs of russet potatoes…about 4 large ones
2 lbs sweet potatoes…about 4
1/3 cup milk (almond, rice, or cow)
3 tbsp butter
11/2 cups of grated old cheddar cheese
2 green onions sliced thinly
A few of the ingredients gathered together.
Directions
In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat; fry diced onion, celery, carrot and garlic until softened, 6 minutes. Stir in lentils, soy protein, cumin, oregano and half each of the salt and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes
Stir in tomatoes, broth and wine, bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add zucchini, cook, covered and stirring often, until thickened and lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel and cut russet and sweet potatoes in 2 inch chunks. In large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook potatoes, covered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and return to dry saucepan of boiling salted water, cook potatoes, covered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and return to dry saucepan; mash together with milk, butter and remaining salt and pepper. Stir in 1/2 cup of cheese.
Scrape lentil mixture into 13×9 baking dish; spread mashed potatoes over top. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and green onions. Bake in 375 degree oven until bubbly, about 30 minutes
I took a really quick picture of this plate for the purpose of my blog. Frankly, I’m always so shocked that I have time to take ANY pictures because when my family knows dinner is about to be served it’s chaos in my kitchen. My oldest daughter said, “mom, do we really need a napkin?….and I assured her that in blog post world, yes I needed a napkin, when in real world, our kids often use their sleeves or the cushions on my window seat. No, I’m just kidding, but often we don’t use a napkin as that’s just creates more laundry. ha!
But for you, I have placed a napkin on the place mat.
Someday I will have to VLOG about a typical dinner being served at my house. “Crazy” could be one adjective or maybe more like an adverb. I’m hoping always for calm but it’s often a bit chaotic as everyone scrambles to dish up their dinner.
I did plate this quickly but afterwards, added a country bun to this dish, which was PERFECT and the little kids loved this addition to the Gardener’s Pie.
So there, another Meatless Monday meal for my repertoire and maybe one you too. This made a nice big meal so if you have a smaller family that I do, it’s great for 2 nights and what mom doesn’t love THAT! Or better yet, invite another family over and break some bread together.
So dear ones, my best wishes for a Happy Halloween. I hope the light of the season shines brightly, fear is shut out and love remains glowing in your home. That’s really what this season is all about don’t you think?
I hope you join me in meditating over the next 21 days. Perhaps it will help us remove the mask many of us wear much of the year and become more in tuned with our authentic selves.
All shall be well in our world.
Peace out!
Until we connect again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Blessings from Hope
P.S. I’m not paid or receive anything for endorsing the 21 day challenge. Like everything on my blog, it’s done with the intention to inspire others to move towards the light.
~ Namaste~
“As I embarked down the road, the path seemed endless, but with each footfall, the fresh, crisp air filled my lungs, allowing my feet to lift higher, my eyes rose to the trees above and the beauty from the coloured leaves gently falling along my path, overcame my senses. Suddenly, the road was not long enough.”~ Lee Reynolds~
Well, Thanksgiving is over for another year.
I found it humourous that the crafts and stories our children brought home from school last week were “turkey” related and here we are talking about another Meatless Monday dinner.
Helping our family be inspired, to live a mostly vegetarian lifestyle appeared to be a difficult journey at first, but now that we have developed a collection of family favourites, with a long list of recipes still to try, it’s now fun and exciting. Why we didn’t do this years ago, I don’t know. I suppose it was just easier when life was busy to fall back cooking meals that we were comfortable making and eating.
I love watching our older children relish eating healthier meals and I’m thrilled our younger ones have developed a diverse and sophisticated palate. I remember going to visit my Aunt and Uncle one summer for a week when I was around the same age Will is now, 7 years old. Their house was lovely, their children were perfect and my Aunt cooked gourmet type meals all served in their formal dining room. One evening my Aunt served spinach. I don’t remember how she prepared it, but even knowing Popeye the Sailor Man, loved spinach, wasn’t enough for me to eat it. My one and only bite made me gag so bad and if memory serves, I believe I fell asleep next to my plate, since that was the way you taught children to eat their dinner when I was young, or at least how my Aunt and Uncle taught their children to appreciate good food.
Guess what I made our family for dinner tonight? Greek Spinach pie, or Spanakopita.
Eating Greek food was inspired, when our oldest daughter went to Greece in her 3rd year of University for a month several years ago. She came home with a light tan, glowing skin and raving of all the colourful and flavourful dishes. Tonight we didn’t have anyone falling asleep next to their plate, (not that we do that in our house) instead, they were all vying for seconds. The only negative comment I heard from our kids was from William, our 7 year old son, who doesn’t care for tomatoes or red onions. While I encouraged him to try to bite of everything, when he shook his head over the tomato and onion in his salad, I remembered that spinach dinner many years ago and I gladly told him, “I’ll eat your tomato and onion,” of which he gladly relinquished. The repertoire of foods he WILL eat is immense compared to most kids his age and I know in time, he will learn to love all kinds of vegetables like the rest of us.
It’s all good!
What I really like about this meal is that it can be made ahead of time, put in the freezer and brought out when you want a really special dinner. I did make it after school today as we didn’t have anything going on. Laying phyllo dough, sheet by sheet, layer by layer is time consuming but worth every bit of work.
So if you want to blow your family away, with a yummy vegetarian dinner, try making this dish. Throw together a Greek salad, play the Greek music I have linked below and enjoy a delightful dinner, creating happy, healthy, vegetarian food memories.
Thankfully, some of the items are still growing in our garden. The chickens had left some spinach in our garden but it wasn’t enough for the whole dish, so I had to break down and buy some at Costco….but they DID give us the eggs for this spinach pie. The green onions are still glorious and crisp and the oregano and parsley haven’t been touched by our chilly nights yet. It’s such a joy to be able to go out into the garden and still find food to put on our table. (Now we just need a goat for the feta cheese)
Ingredients Filling: 2 lbs Fresh Spinach 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 4 large green onions (cut up even the bulb) 1 medium onion (I used a yellow onion from my garden) 2 cups cut up feta cheese 1 cup of ricotta cheese 3 eggs, lightly beaten 1/4 cup fresh oregano (can use dried oregano) 1/4 cup parsley (can use dried) Fresh dill sprigs or dried 1/4 cup nutmeg Sea salt and freshly ground pepper 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil for brushing; may want more if you are brushing each piece of phyllo dough 1 package of phyllo dough…ensure you keep a damp towel over the dough as you are working with it. Directions: Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan on med/high heat, and slowly add the washed and dried spinach until it wilts. (2 -3 minutes) Take off the heat, let cool.
Saute green onions, medium yellow onion in 1 tbsp of olive oil until the onions are translucent.
Add the feta, ricotta cheese, the 3 lightly beaten eggs, the oregano, parsley, dill, nutmeg and salt and pepper to the spinach. Add the onions. Mix well. Grease 13×9 pan with a light brush of olive oil. Open the phyllo dough and spread it out fully. Cut it in half. Make sure you have a damp cloth to cover over the phyllo sheets as you work with it. Take one piece of phyllo dough sheets at a time and brush it with olive oil. Continue laying the dough down piece by piece and gently brushing olive oil on the complete sheet. When you have used 1/2 of the package of dough, spread the spinach mixture over the complete pan.
Continue adding the second half of the phyllo dough, brushing each sheet with olive oil. When you have used all of the phyllo dough, brush the top with the last bit of olive oil. Score the top sheet of phyllo dough with a sharp knife, not cutting through the dough, in the shapes you want to cut when it’s cooked…..a traditional way is in triangles. Cook in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes, until it’s golden brown. Let it sit for 15 minutes before cutting and serving. This allows the pie to set up before cutting.
Greek Salad Ingredients 1 head romaine lettuce- rinsed, dried and chopped 1 red onion thinly sliced 1 can of pitted black olives or kalamata olive 1 green bell pepper, chopped in large chunks (can use red or orange too) 4-6 tomatoes, chopped into large segments (best choice are the Roma with fewer seeds) 1 large long English Cucumber 1/2 – 1 cup of crumbled feta cheese (if you are using a salted feta…be wary of adding more in dressing) Dressing 6 tbsp virgin olive oil 3 tbsp lemon juice (or juice from a lemon) 3 garlic cloves minced 1 tsp oregano Salt and pepper Directions Mix all the chopped vegetables in a large bowl. Make and pour the dressing, tossing well. Serve
I have to laugh as I post these pictures, thinking back to when my family was circling our kitchen island at dinner tonight, where we do a “dish yourself up fashion,” and it was really hard for me to take a moment, dish up and snap a few pictures. I’m lucky I have any BEFORE EATING pictures!!! I’m sorry, my blog is just so homey, as you can tell from my pictures and set up… etc…. if you do any reading around the blog world you will see how basic it is…but hey, it’s real.
I hastily spread a bit of tzatziki dressing (which my oldest made from scratch) on top of my salad and poured a glass of red wine, left over from Thanksgiving (Thanks C and D) before the family swooped in and were swarming over this absolutely delicious and flavourful dinner.
Grateful hearts!
Happy Meatless Monday!
If you haven’t added a Greek dish to your family favourites yet, let this one be your first. Thanks for joining me today, and for making the world a better place.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful. Blessings from Hope
I missed writing on Monday. I’m not one of those uber organized bloggers, who have their posts written weeks ahead of time. I didn’t even know that is how things worked until recently, my oldest daughter Alyssa, who knows these things, informed me that most professional bloggers do all their writing on one day and then set their blog to publish their posts on subsequent days.
Wow!
sadly,
that’s not me.
Nope!
At least not yet. I’ve been too busy raising children, working in my garden, caring for our chickens and creating the life I want to live, to be THAT organized.
I’m living in the moment and blogging that way too. I hope you are cool with that. For now, that works for me as I try to keep things real.
Our Thanksgiving weekend flew by but I’m still glowing happily with the memories we made and how this year the emphasis was less on Turkey time and more on family, friends and enjoying these early fall days.
There is something magical about fall. How the leaves on the trees, turn from varying shades of green to jeweled tones of yellow, gold and oranges, then in their final glory, dry upon the branches and swirl to the ground, covering the earth in a blanket of warmth, finally fading away to create a layer of rich, organic soil for new growth to thrive in spring.
I’ve said this before but nature gives us clues on how to live our own life. How to let go and surrender to the changing seasons, knowing everything is connected and created for the greater good of all.
We are busy right now in our urban homestead; harvesting the last of our winter squash, picking and processing tomatoes, digging up sweet, crunchy carrots and making our last batches of kale chips. Our compost bins are bursting and leaves are dropping faster than I can rake them. Since my compost bins are overflowing, I’m gathering leaves and storing them in a galvanized garbage can to be used in next year’s compost, but I’m also trench composting in the garden with the leaves and kitchen scraps.
I’ve noticed our chickens, Sadie, Cocoa, Clara and Annie, are all getting big and fluffy. When I picked them up the other day though, I realized they are not any heavier, it’s only their feathers that are growing and their bottoms are full of downy, soft fluff. This weekend, David is winterizing their larger run, in preparation for the winter season ahead, when we are likely to get lots of snow. They will need a cozy place to hang out together on those coldest days. As I write this, I’m making them a late morning gruel of oatmeal, cooked grated carrots, broccoli, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Yes, our chickens are spoiled but gee, it was really cold outside this morning so I think they need a little something. We had our second day of silvery frost on the ground and when I took the kids to school, we could see our breath in the air.
Cocoa is one of our chickens who lays beautiful greenish eggs…she loves the camera too!
So life is busy around here. But not too busy, that when the alarm went off early this morning at a still dark hour, I didn’t jump straight up, but snuggled deeper under our down comforter, listening to the voice from within.
“Rest more,
be gentle,.
slow down,
be thankful for everything in my life.”
There is always, ALWAYS, something to be thankful for.
This last Thanksgiving weekend was different from others in the past. I had fully intended to cook a complete vegetarian meal but our older sons protested, LOUDLY, when they heard those were my plans. And then, when I learned our oldest daughter would be taking care of our neighbour’s children, as their parents left on a MUCH needed vacation, I thought, maybe they would appreciate a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and so, we bought a turkey, and a ham too.
But this year, the emphasis was not on a “turkey day.” The focus was on family, friends, on slowing down and being grateful. I cooked the turkey on Saturday and David carved it while watching Saturday Night live, and stored it in the fridge over night. That freed me to sleep in a bit on Sunday (normally I’m up early, making my cranberry stuffing and putting the bird in the oven) and it was easy as I relaxed listening to music, sipping tea, peeling and cutting vegetables, savoring the diverse colours of the veggies, the fragrant spices and the textures of the different nuts I used for the various dishes. Everything was so alive, fresh, and I was giving thanks to the produce from our garden and other farmer’s bounty.
I’d love to share the meatless dishes we prepared this year, and hey, if you are living in the States, even though I’m too late posting to inspire my Canadian reader’s for their Thanksgiving dinner, it’s not too late for you down south to think about how you may want to celebrate your Thanksgiving this year.
Before I get to the dishes though, I wanted to just chat about our other focus this Thanksgiving. I hesitated on whether I wanted to blog about this topic a few times, going back and forth, but finally I decided that if my blog is truly about H.O.P.E. which is my blog acronym for, “Helping Our Planet Earth,” then I want to speak up and share my thoughts with you. If you do not agree, let my words go, but if you are on the fence regarding what you think, maybe my words will resonate and for that I will be thankful.
I want to talk about what is occurring in the country south of us, after all we are cousins to the United States and what happens in their country affects us greatly, with regards to trade, travel, our economy to a degree, but with the bigger picture in mind, it affects world peace and the health of our shared planet. Also, since my mom was born in California and was originally an American, I do feel a bit like a cousin from the north. (and really aren’t we all related and connected on earth?)
Of course, you would have to be living off grid, in a yurt, without cell or internet service, and never leave your property (and probably not even then) to not know what I’m about to talk about….can you guess? Well, I’m wanting to chat about the Trump/Clinton run for the Presidency in the States.
I wonder if they know the world is watching as much as we are and making HUGE judgements which will have a lasting effect for years to come.
After our Sunday night Thanksgiving dinner, our family and friends headed to the family room where we watched their 2nd political debate. Every time I see how polished and poised Hillary Clinton is, how reserved she is able to conduct herself, with calm eloquence, and then I see Trump looking red faced and a bit slovenly,(despite his expensive suits) his hair frizzed around his head, and his contorted mouth spewing hatred and negativity, I’m at a loss to understand how he got so far in this race. Sadly, pathetically, he represents a good portion of citizens and they actually agree with his rude behavior, over the top racist remarks and disregard for common decency. I feel really sorry for those conservatives who do not share his views and even sorrier for the Clinton supporters who have to contemplate how their country would change if he were elected president.
Last night, I watched a clip of a speech President Obama gave recently referring to Trump’s words and behavior as, “not okay.” After the most recent scandal over released footage of him bragging about how he can do anything with beautiful women because he was a star, I thought, how can anyone support him now. But sadly, he still has supporters. What are they thinking, or are they in so deep that they don’t want to say that he is wrong. that they are wrong.
For some reason, many people in the world have lost their filter regarding what is an acceptable and respectful way to conduct themselves. They have also lost the basic sense of decency toward how to treat other human beings.
Why this is, I don’t know, but we need to have this discussion for the sake of our children. Would we like it if our children acted like bullies threatening others, throwing racist remarks loosely around and talking about how they touch others in personal and inappropriate ways? I don’t know about you, but I would be having a SERIOUS, face to face discussion with my children, if I thought they were even, THINKING in this kind of fashion. I’m perplexed as to how “some” Americans still think this type of person, would be the BEST candidate to represent them in their highest political office in their land???
I just can’t fathom it and I would be remiss, if I didn’t speak my mind, for the greater good.
The interesting thing is I believe the energy is shifting in the world right now and we are at a pivotal point for people to really look from within and ask a few poignant questions.
“Is this the world our fore fathers fought so hard for in the first and second world wars?
“Would they be proud of our behavior and conduct”
“Are we kind and living in a society where we think about our neighbour with love, kindness and acceptance?”
My belief is that when we lose a piece of ourselves, the part of us that has common decency, respect and kindness towards others, it creates an unbalance in the world. It’s up to each of us as part of our society to speak up when we see or hear in appropriate actions or words and say, “This is not okay,” and call instead for some basic kind, decent, respectful, behavior. We CAN return to working together for a better world.
The turning point is upon us and thankfully people like the current President of the United States is sharing his wisdom, and his wife Michele Obama is inspiring us to rise up saying such things as, “When they go low, we go high,” Also, prominent actors like Robert De Niro with his intense brown eyes and resonating voice, shares his feelings about Trump.
And while I winced at a few of his harsh words, I thought, well, someone had to say it and although I’m sure the Trump supporters didn’t blink an eye, as they seem to be conditioned to this kind of talk, it was needed to be said.
Those of you who are living in the States and can make a difference in the world, please get out and vote for Hillary Clinton. Make sure Donald Trump is not elected, for if he is, we will have turned in the wrong direction and world’s peace, kindness, and the health of our planet will be at stake. You have it in your hands to shift the balance to the greater good. I believe my cousins to the south are strong, brave and free and will rise to be their best selves. America already is great….but in your actions on November 8th you will be greater by ensuring Clinton is elected.
Personally, as I watched Trump move through the ranks to be the Republican candidate, I could only shake my head, but I was also listening from within, trying to figure out why I was so angry and bothered by words. I realized, even the most annoying and difficult people on this earth are here to teach me. He has shown me EXACTLY how I don’t want to be and is a guidepost to offer my children as a person not to admire or follow.
I’m sure, even he has some redeemable qualities, however I have never observed them over my lifetime of watching him in the news, on his reality T.V. show or at this time in history. Every time I see him, he shows me who is he with his words and his actions. And you know what Maya Angelou said, “When someone shows you who they are, BELIEVE THEM.” Sadly, somewhere along his journey, he lost a piece of his soul. Maybe that happens to some people who live with great wealth, property and notoriety. Their EGO (earth guide only) gets so big that they lose touch with who they REALLY are…..love.
When we were talking about his negative qualities after eating a lovely Thanksgiving dinner on Monday, I apologized to my family for speaking poorly of him and my brother in law D turned to me and said, “don’t apologize, ’cause he’s an ass.” But still, this is a hard thing to talk about on my blog as I want to lift people up, and inspire, always moving with light filled energy. But maybe, we need to gently guide others and remind them to listen from within. Each person we come in contact with on earth are gifts…..and some give more than others.
Okay, I have to take a second here and breathe, maybe I will go outside and feed my chickens.
I’m back! It’s glorious outside. The air is crisp but the sun is warm. I’m going to wrap up my blog sharing my Thanksgiving recipes and get out and work in the garden. There’s still a lot to do in the garden; dig more carrots, and I see parsley is still looking great so I’m going to cut it along with some sage, lemon balm, and peppermint, before the cold nights kill them for the season. In the winter, it’s so nice having homegrown herbs drying in my laundry room.
Well, let’s move onto happier topics…FOOD and get talking about Meatless Thanksgiving Monday.
First, if I were NOT doing a turkey, I would have cut up a large squash, like a Hubbard, and dig out the seeds and stuff it with wild rice, quinoa, nuts, herbs, salt and pepper and roasted it. That would be my main dish. Sadly we didn’t do that…….NEXT year! Maybe you can do it though.
And to compliment that main dish here are a few of the vegetable dishes we made this past Monday.
The biggest hit with EVERYONE was the Sweet Potato Casserole, then the Green beans and Mushrooms, the Butternut Squash with Maple syrup and rum was my fav and everyone loved the Roasted Brussels Sprouts (Thanks B for giving them to me) Even the little kids enjoyed them. Finally, what would be complete without our family’s Marshmallow Ambrosia. (My mom would consider this the ONLY thing she wanted for Thanksgiving…miss you mom!)
Clark was in charge of making the mashed potatoes and he does a brilliant job….yummy, garlic, dill and sour cream! Yum! Thanks Clark!
So, without any further ado, here are the recipes. Grateful Blessings for sure!
Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients
4 to 5 cups of sweet potatoes cubed (I used 4 large sweet potatoes)
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp real butter
1/2 cup milk…I used almond milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup flour…I used whole wheat
3 tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1. Preheat oven for 350 degrees. Place cubes of sweet potatoes into a saucepan, cover with water and cook on medium high heat until they are tender and soft.
2. Drain the pot and mash the potatoes.
3. Add white sugar, eggs, salt, butter and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Pour potato mixture into a 9×13 baking dish.
4. Mix the brown sugar and flour. Cut in the butter with pastry cutter until the mixture is coarse. Add chopped pecans and mix well.
5. Add this brown sugar, flour, butter and pecan mixture over the top of the sweet potato mixture.
6. Bake in oven on middle rack for 30 minutes until the topping is lightly brown.
Green Beans and Mushrooms
Ingredients
6 tbsp of butter
1 cup mushrooms
1 onion
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups of long green beans
2/3 cup of vegetable broth
Directions
1. Saute mushrooms in melted 3 tbsps of butter in a skillet for 5 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to a medium size bowl.
2. Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in same skillet. Add onions and garlic and sauté until they are tender, about 2 minutes. Add the green beans and toss to coat them well with the butter. Pour veggie broth over green bean mixture. Cover and simmer until liquid evaporates and green beans are crisp-tender, about 10 minutes.
3. At this point, add the mushrooms. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place on platter and cover with tinfoil until other veggies are ready to serve.
When I’m cooking in the kitchen, Ryuuki, likes to hang out, usually he’s sleeping on our window seat but on Thanksgiving he wants to be OUTSIDE, so he’s trying to get my attention by sitting on the stair railing outside the kitchen…I’m so thankful for our cat….something about having a cat in the house makes it homey in my opinion
Butternut Squash with Maple Syrup and Dark Rum
Ingredients
1 whole butternut squash~peeled, seeded, quartered and cut into 1/2 inch slices or cubes
2/3 cup water
1/4 maple syrup
or dried cranberries
2. Reduce heat and simmer on low, stirring until the squash is tender…about 15 minutes
3. Remove the squash and place into a casserole or glass pan. Allow the liquid to simmer until it is reduced and it thickens…about 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Pour over the butternut squash.
5. Sprinkle with cinnamon and walnuts or cranberries, if you wish
Cover until the rest of the veggies are ready to be served
Thanksgiving this year was also my husband’s birthday so we had a lovely cake after dinner. HB David!
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
3 to 4 cups of Brussels Sprouts
3 tbsp virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
Directions
1. Add the above to a resealable plastic bag. Seal tightly and shake to coat.
2 Pour Brussels sprouts mixture into a glass pan.
3. Roast in a preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring the sprouts every 5 to 7 minutes to ensure even browning
And for the finale of dishes to accompany the veggies for Thanksgiving, our family’s favourite Ambrosia dish.
Ambrosia Salad
Ingredients
1 package of coloured mini marshmallows
1 tub of sour cream
1 can of pineapple tidbits
1 can of fruit cocktail
Coconut to sprinkle on top
Directions
Mix marshmallows and sour cream into a large bowl. Add the pineapple and fruit cocktail. Mix well until all are combined. Sprinkle coconut on top and cover. Chill in fridge overnight at at least 8 hours.
The lovely part of cooking all these dishes is that they really were all done about the same time, so within a short amount of time, you can prepare and then eat. WOW! That’s huge, from a woman who used to spend the WHOLE day in the kitchen on Thanksgiving day. That has to be another bonus for having a meatless thanksgiving.
Light the candles on the table and…..say Grace.
Thank you for coming today. As the season of fall teaches us to gracefully let go and accept the changing season, may we all surrender to the greater good and allow it to prevail.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Hi! Welcome to my blog and thanks for joining me for my third Meatless Monday meal. This week, I thought I would make an Italian classic, but when I did some research, I discovered that Ancient Greeks were responsible for making this pasta out of long strips of dough they called, “laganon. Fast forward, several more centuries and Italy claims they perfected the delicious layers of meat, vegetables with these long pasta strips. To complicate the origin of this dish further however, the first cookbook with a lasagna recipe was found in Britain in 1390.
So wherever this recipe originated, I’m sure over the centuries each country contributed their own flair to the dish and while I used to stick to a classic meat lasagna recipe, in the last 10 years my family has enjoyed my vegetarian twist. Maybe that is how in this day and age, we are re-shaping the classic lasagna. As we contemplate eating less meat for many reasons, health, environment, ethical treatment of animals, I personally find this recipe more delicious than my old meat version, as the vast array of vegetables contributes to a layer of delectable flavours.
This is also a meal that can be prepared in advance and frozen if you wish for a small gathering or a large. Or better yet, make one to eat now and one to freeze.
Join me out in my garden where I have to dash to pick some tomatoes, some carrots and basil and oregano.
While this isn’t my large Roma (Viva Italia) tomatoes, which are perfect for this dish, it’s a picture of my cute Juliets…definitely needed in any tomato garden
This year, I planted carrots all over my garden, wherever I had a spot ’cause you can never have too many carrots. They get even sweeter with the crisp fall days and are delicious fresh from the garden
Go outside and our girls are ALWAYS wanting to get in a photo shot…here’s Cocoa cruising in the kale
Are you ready to cook with me today? Okay, let’s go inside.
Find your cutting board and a sharp knife because the biggest part of making this dish is in chopping of vegetables. Here we go…..
Homemade Hearty Vegetarian Lasagna
Ingredients
Lasagna Dry Noodles (I prefer whole wheat for the higher fiber content) I’m using a large Lasagna pan and I cook 14 noodles (I use 12 for the dish, 6 on each layer, but always cook a few extra…great for dipping in the sauce, yum) 1/2 tsp salt 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil 1 large onion chopped finely 3 garlic cloves 1 small green pepper 1-1/2 cups of sliced carrots 1 cups of sliced mushrooms 1-1/2 cups of sliced zucchini 5-6 large tomatoes cut into quarters (if you don’t use fresh tomatoes, you can add another jar of sauce) 1 large jar of tomato sauce 1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil and oregano or 1-2 tbsp of dried herbs 4 cups of lightly packed fresh spinach or 2 packages of frozen spinach 454 grams of partly skimmed Ricotta cheese 2 eggs 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese 2 -3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (add more if you want a really cheesy top
Directions
1. Cook the lasagna noodles in a large pot of salted, boiling water for 7 to 9 minutes. Drain water and rinse with cold water, drain again and set aside.
2. In a large pot, saute onions, garlic and green peppers in olive oil. Cook several minutes. Add carrots, zucchini, mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook several minutes allowing vegetables to soften. vegetables are soft.
3. Add fresh chopped herbs to the vegetables, then add the jar of sauce stirring and cooking for several more minutes. If you are wanting a rich taste, you can also add some dried oregano and basil. When I cook this in the summer when I have fresh herbs, I use fresh AND dried herbs. Let simmer for at least 15 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, the Parmesan cheese, the eggs and the spinach.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F 6. Now layer 1/2 of the tomato/vegetable sauce in the bottom of your pan…most people use a 13×9…but mine is a bit larger
7. Lay 1/2 of the lasagna noodles on top of the sauce.
You need two eggs for the ricotta/spinach layer…here is Victoria with our new egg basket, which we had to start using since the girls like to collect the eggs and bring them in IN their hands…but earlier today we had a slip up and lost two eggs, ooops! hence our new egg basket
8. Lay the ricotta cheese/spinach/egg/Parmesan mixture on top of the lasagna noodles
9. Lay the other half of the lasagna noodles on top of the ricotta cheese/spinach mixture 10. Now spread the 2nd half of the tomato/vegetable sauce on top and finally layer this with all the mozzarella cheese…..if you want a lot of cheese use 3 cups but I found 2 full cups enough and then I sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese on top
11. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving. I place some tin foil on top to keep it hot…..and allowing it to sit helps it to firm up when you are serving the pieces. Note: If you want the sauce to be hearty…you can use even more vegetables than the above….I know when we have served this to some of my children’s friends, they have not appreciated the mushrooms but they really do help to make the sauce thicker and heartier.
Sorry for the glare…the rear of our house faces south and on a nice day, at 6ish the sun shines right into the back of our house…lovely but not great for pics
The little kids love lasagna
We are missing Alyssa and Harrison tonight. Alyssa has agreed to do some childcare/house sitting for our neighbours who are gone for a week, and Harry is at his part time job….Lasagna warms up really well and is better on day 2
And you know what seems to go really well with lasagna?…Carrot Cake. Have you tried my recipe?…well it’s actually my sister C’s recipe, which is awesome and we have tweaked over the years. Try it and see what you think.
And I think our cat Ryuuki must have known it was Meatless Monday, ’cause as soon as our son Clark got up to go and get something from the kitchen, our sweet little guy jumped up into his seat and settled in, soaking in the rays from the sun. When Clark came back, he let him hang and he pulled up another chair. Our pets remind us to go where there is love and FOOD.
Are you still on the fence regarding choosing a vegetarian lifestyle? If so, check out Graham Hill’s TED talk video, “Why I’m a weekday vegetarian.” Any steps we can take in the direction of choosing meatless meals, helps our planet earth. (if you are unable to see the link below, click on the hyper-link above)
Well, thanks for joining me and my family today and I hope this lasagna recipe inspires you to choose it as another vegetarian meal for your repertoire.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful Blessings from Hope
Welcome back to my second Meatless Monday. It’s a gorgeous day in the Okanagan and what I want more than anything is to get outside and harvest some more tomatoes. I have been doing that almost daily and after the kids are in bed at night, I’m either cutting them up and putting them in the freezer, or I’m making salsa and canning it. It’s been a GREAT tomato gardening season! We eat a lot of tomatoes in the winter, as I add them to so many meals. Stay tuned for my Salsa making/canning experience later this week and let’s get cooking with an Asian inspired dish, for our Monday Meatless dinner. Do you have places to go too?
Stay tuned….and join me in making some salsa later this week
You know what I love about “Smoked Tofu and Vegetables?” They aren’t just a healthy, MEATLESS, combination, but they are SUPER EASY TO PREPARE. Perfect, if your Monday is like mine and kids are flying in and out of the house, off to after school activities. I like them to have something filling either coming or going.
The little girls are off to ballet after school which makes dinner time more hectic
For years, my kids, especially my older ones, would protest when we had a meal with tofu. As soon as they arrived home after school the question, “What’s for dinner Mom?” would be asked, with hopeful anticipation and I would reply with dread, “tofu,” knowing a groan would be their response. What about tofu makes kids groan? And why did I always reply to their, “what’s for dinner question,” with the protein choice of the meal? Why didn’t I say instead, “we are having, Squash, Carrots, or Broccoli?” You know why, because in many parts of the world, meat and potatoes is still the way people want to eat, choose to eat, like to eat. They probably don’t know any better. We used to not know better. It was the way I was raised to a degree, and also many comfort foods were associated with meat centered meals. Meals like; meatloaf, chicken pot pie, and pork chops with orange slices.
“Sigh,”……that’s me.
I know 20 some years ago, when I started cooking with tofu now and then, my kids felt TOFU was synonymous with vegetarianism ,and anything with the word “vegetables” in the title, was not good in their books. KIDS!
Thankfully~
Times change~
Palates Evolve~
And I have grown up too~
I have a more discerning desire to feed my family healthier choices and as a side benefit, it helps the earth. (Although if I was really smart, that would be my number one reason to become a vegetarian, since, if I help the earth, I help ALL the children in the world)
Whatever my children’s perception was, the bottom line is that tofu is a good source of protein when choosing a meatless meal and maybe it didn’t hurt that I found a yummy smoked tofu that everyone likes. It’s meaty, savory, and of course, it has a great smokey taste. It just adds another flavour dimension to our meals.
If you have a busy Monday, or any day of the week, the biggest part of making a stir fry is cutting up the vegetables but make it easier on yourself, and do it the night before, placing the veggies into a large container and store them in the fridge until you are ready to WOK with them. Okay, poor pun, but speaking of woks, you don’t need one to make this meal, just a large frying pan will wok, I mean work. (sorry, I couldn’t resist)
Having said that, once you have used a wok and experienced how fast it cooks, while maintaining the texture of your food, you will want to purchase one for your kitchen. I have an electric wok, but I have always wanted to do the hanging wok from the ceiling thing, which says to me….
dinner in a sec.
and good cooks live here!
Okay, ready to start chopping? by the way, you don’t have to limit the vegetables to what I have chosen. You can add anything you have in your fridge, the more the better, the brighter the colour, the healthier. I have chosen kale as my main green vegetable, as that’s whats in the garden right now but broccoli works great and would be my other number 1 choice.
Meatless Monday #2 – Smoked Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry
Ingredients Rice, thin egg noodles or Spaghetti Squash (we chose the later for this dinner as it’s in season)
Marinade: 2 cups of vegetable broth 1/4 cup dry sherry 4 Tbsp of low sodium Soy Sauce….my number one choice is the Bragg’s variety when I have it 1 Tbsp honey (or sugar)…this is optional 3 teaspoons of cornstarch 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp powered ginger Opt: 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Now for the rest of the ingredients – vegetables, etc: Note: If you cut the veggies in strips, more of the vegetable can absorb the spices and it will improve the flavour of the dish
2 tbsp of sesame oil 3- 4 cloves of garlic 1 tbsp of grated ginger 1 chopped white onion 1 stalk of celery sliced 1 red hot pepper cut finely (optional…even our kids are starting to like things SPICY and even though I also have red pepper flakes in the marinade, I like layering my spices) 1 orange, red, or green sweet pepper, sliced 2 to 3 carrots sliced 2 cups of red cabbage..sliced 2 cups of kale or broccoli, cut up 1 sliced small zucchini 1 cup of mushrooms, sliced 1 package of smoked tofu cut up in cubes Garnish of green onions, sesame seeds or almonds
Directions:
Cook the rice, noodles or spaghetti squash, as we have done, before you start your stir fry, as that part of the meal takes the longest to cook. Once you start cooking with the wok, dinner moves fast!
I had this cooked in the afternoon and Harrison just scooped the spaghetti squash and put it in a casserole while I stir fried…I also had rice cooking on the back burner..I use brown rice which takes 40 minutes
1. Heat oil in wok, then add, onions, garlic, ginger, celery and red hot pepper
2. Add tofu and mix well with the above spices and vegetables, Cook for several minutes 3. Add the vegetables that will take the longest to cook, saving the softer veggies for last
Cook these for a bit, stirring well, then add the last of the vegetables, in this case the mushrooms and zucchini….leave the more tender veggies until the end to avoid mushy veggies 4. Add the marinade to the vegetables and mix well with vegetables. If the heat is too high, turn down to medium low, and cook with cover on, stirring occasionally, checking often to see if the vegetables are cooked through, don’t let them get too soft, not a nice texture in my opinion.
When the kids start circling the island, (that’s what they do in my house when they are hungry) then serve on a bed of rice, noodles, or like we did today with rice AND spaghetti squash. I topped it with green onions but you can garnish it with sesame seeds or do what we do often, a handful of almonds
Wished I had cut up my green onions a bit smaller, but hey, you should see them in my garden..they are HUGE…also, this dish is for William and he likes his food separate…so it’s not plated for an adult…but he eats like one in amount!
For my blog sake, and because Will has to head off to swimming right after dinner, I dished him up first.
He told me to tell my blog friends that the spaghetti squash was a nice touch
Well it’s that easy.
Sometimes we make things so hard in life but choosing to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle is quick and really perfect if you are a busy mom too. I’d like to think that when my grandchildren ask their parents, “What’s for dinner?” someday, and my kids tell them, ” Grandma’s Tofu with Vegetable Stir fry, they will say, “Hooray!” I’m holding the vision for someday having grandchildren AND a world where everyone has food on their dinner plate. and peace in their heart. Join me as I end this blog post with one of my son William’s fav songs. In the evenings, after bath time, teeth have been brushed, stories are read, after I have said goodnight, sleep tight to his twin sisters, Will often asks, “can you come and lie with me for awhile Mom?” When I shut out the evening work of making lunches and cutting up and processing more tomatoes, and accept his offer, it’s the BEST time of my day. “It’s a choice to make a better day…”
Will starts singing the first song on the CD with his sweet, clear little boy voice. Sometimes he talks about his day with me and sometimes he asks me about my day….he’s very mindful that way. He asks about children all over the world. As his body relaxes and his breathing slows, we both drift on the wings of the music. I remember a time, being little like him. A 7 year old in the 60’s. My Dad had died in a truck accident 2 years before and I can recall feeling so small, so insignificant in the world, and yet, there was this tiny part of me that was BIG. I didn’t know it then, but I believe it was my shining soul energy. Even though times were often tough, I held onto that golden cord connected to this loving part of me, and I knew, if I had the opportunity to grow up, I would try to make a difference.
I’d like to think with my writing I make a dent on this earth, and by raising children who are conscious of their own golden cord, that we will all weave a thread of love and peace around the world. IT’S MY HOPE. Here’s the song that Will sings from his, “KIDS FOR PEACE, ” CD, called, “We are the World.” It’s a good song to sing on Meatless Monday! If you can’t see the youtube video below, click on this hyper-link, We are the World.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful. Blessings from Hope
I love the beach, the ocean beach to be precise. The waves, rolling in and out, with the clock-like tide, the screech of sea gulls overhead, and the endless sand all beckon me to come and sit in peace.
My family used to go to Rathstrevor beach in Parksville, Vancouver Island, B.C. every summer for years, when our older children were younger. We would rent a cabin at “Tigh Na Mara,” with 2 bedrooms and a large open family area with a cozy wood burning fireplace. The cabin was in the woods, well back from the beach, which created a deep and quiet refuge in the evenings, but was only a short walk until one could hear the rhythmic, rumbling of the waves, crashing onto the shore.
Vancouver Island, is also home to some of the oldest trees still standing on the planet. Each summer, our holiday was not complete, without a visit to the old growth forest called, “Cathedral Grove,” or our long and winding trip across to the most western side of the Island where Tofino and Long Beach are situated. It was there, when standing on the edge of the ocean, with toes digging deep into the sand, that my whole being would exhale releasing pent up energy, and inhale all the beaches negative ions, restoring me with the grace of nature. I would be transformed into a relaxed, peaceful woman, if not until the next yearly trip, at least for many months after our holiday.
We would end our day trip with a delicious dinner at the Sea Shanty in Tofino, which has been run by the same, First Nations couple since 1994. The view of Clayoquot Sound from the patio (perfect for kids!) is intoxicating. At the end of the day, I would drink in the ocean, like the landlocked woman I was and know my soul was being restored. There is something poignantly special, about sitting amongst your family and knowing, life doesn’t get any better life than this. The fact that the food was AMAZING didn’t hurt either.
I’ll never forget our first trip, our oldest son Clark was around 5 years old. A precocious 5 year old, I might add, who was already reading with a larger than life personality. “Mom, there is nothing on the kid’s menu that looks good. Can I see your menu?” Passing it over, he carefully read all the dishes and then declared, “I’d like the Seafood Platter please.” Of course he would I thought, it’s the most expensive dish on the menu. “But Clark,” I said, “that dish is for adults, do you think you can eat it all? “I’d like to try, besides I want to taste every kind of seafood on one plate.” His Dad and I exchanged looks over the table and finally we both nodded in agreement. He was so happy to dig out meat from the crab legs and dip his lobster in the butter, relished over the grilled salmon and enjoyed the scallops with a “mmmmmm, this is so good.” He even shared as I recall. He STILL remembers that experience to this day. (Mind you, he usually remembers every adventures in relation to what we ate along the way)
There is also something so pristine about that part of the world, that propels me to promise to care for the earth and do EVERYTHING I can to honour it, by keeping it clean and healthy.
This summer we took our younger children back to Vancouver Island for an end of the summer holiday. Part of the reason was to get our son Mitchell, who was starting his 3rd year at the University of Victoria, stocked up with food before the semester started. Personally, I really needed an ocean fix. Every pore of my being was dehydrated and needed to be refreshed, BEFORE we started a new, endlessly busy school year. It was delightful watching our younger children experience the ferry ride with all the ocean sights for the first time. I was reminded yet again, we are always creating pathways for our children, teaching them to walk the earth more gently and be TRANSFORMED with grateful hearts.
Recently, I wrote a blog post about choosing a vegetarian lifestyle, and if you are unable to do it full time, then starting with one dinner a week is a great first step. After writing that post, a friend of mine asked me how I have gotten my family converted to eating mainly vegetarian meals. I thought about how we have been moving in that direction for a long time and what the process was and realized, we are STILL not where I would like to be, fully vegetarians, but we are in the process. In order to achieve your goal, taking steps in the direction of that goal is sometimes what’s most important and also appreciating how far you have come and being okay with it. I tend to be too hard on myself, so looking back on what used to be on our dinner plates was an awesome realization for me.
Each day that we consciously choose to buy food that is not just healthy for us, but good for the environment too, has to be enough right now. At least we are moving in the direction of change and many days I can say we are there. (One of these days, we will totally stop eating bananas too, since it takes a lot of fossil fuel energy to bring them to my part of the world) That reminds me of Barbara Kingsolver’s book, called, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,” where she and her family chose to eat local, LONG before it was cool. In that book, she chronicled their experience. If you are wanting to be inspired, I recommend reading this beautifully written book.
Anyway, back to my friend’s question.
“How does one move in the direction of becoming a vegetarian?”
Well, first, you start making one vegetarian meal, then two meals and then three meals and before you know it, you have a complete repertoire of food your family loves, or will grow to love. Something we have done for years now is reduce our consumption of meat in the meat meals we eat. For instance, when the recipe calls for 1 lb of meat, you cut that in half. For more inspiration, here is what another blogger wrote about how to become a vegetarian.
Just like when we are trying to sneak more vegetables into our family’s meals, (you know hiding carrots, broccoli and zucchini into everything), you do the reverse with meat and slowly, you have cut out the amount of meat you add to your meals, until you replace it with an alternate source of protein; tofu, quinoa, beans/rice, almonds, etc.
Another way to move in that direction is to give a vegetarian alternative for the family members that do choose to eat solely vegetarian. It’s that old, try a bite of everything and before you know it, your meat eating family members have acquired the taste buds for a fresher, more alive, healthier choice. Their bodies will tell them what feels better after they have eaten a vegetarian choice.
I’d like to share a delicious soup I made recently for my family last week, when we had another cold and rainy day. It’s a long time favourite of my oldest son’s who was the one who ordered that Seafood Platter years ago. It’s my Clam Chowder Soup but instead of adding three cans of clams, like the original recipe calls for, I only use two. It tastes great, and no one notices the lack of clams. Actually, my “totally vegetarian” daughter asked if I would be offended if she picked the little clams out of the soup…and her brother gladly said, “I’ll take them.”
Okay, so it’s a life time process, especially if you raised your children to be meat eaters. I try also to not talk too much about food in general, no sermons about how eating meatless is better for our world. I call everyone to dinner and part of the enjoyment of the food is knowing we are only together for a short time. I know better than most moms since I have grown children and still little ones, how fast childhood flies and before we know it, our children are out in the world and making their own food choices. I hope they will have some favourite, comfort foods that will continue to nurture them with fond memories of home and holidays, long after I’m gone.
If you are cooking with me today, join me in listening to this great song, full of flowing harmony and easy beachy rhythm, “Tofino,” by Old Man’s Beard.
(If you can’t see the link below, check on the hyper-link above to hear this cool song)
And as we are groovin, here’s my Clam Chowder recipe
Hope’s Clam Chowder
Ingredients
2 cans of baby clams ….(the recipe originally called for 3 cans of clams) 4 strips of bacon (this recipe also originally called for more…you can use vegan bacon) 1 minced white onion 1 minced celery stalk 3 minced cloves of garlic 8 medium cubed chunks of potatoes 2 medium sliced carrots 1 cup of frozen corn kernels 3 tbsp of whole wheat flour 6 cups of vegetable stock 2 cups of whole milk 2 tbsp of dill (if you have fresh, chopped and add…..the more the better) Salt and pepper to taste garnish with parsley
(Note; adjust the stock and milk based on how much liquid you like in your soup and also how creamy you would like it)
Directions
Cook bacon in large soup pot, drain off the fat, add the onion, celery and garlic. Cook until translucent. Add the chunks of potatoes, sliced carrots, flour, salt and pepper and mix really well.
I am always amazed when I grow potatoes, beneath that dirt, it’s always a bit of a miracle to see food appear.
Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender.
Drain the clams and put the reserved juice in the potato mixture, bring back to boil, and add the corn, the clams, and milk. Season with dill. Heat well and then serve with parsley and a nice big bun. (link to my homemade bun recipe)
(Tip…..We often have a bit of left over Salmon or other fish in the fridge. It’s not enough to feed my family so when this happens I will add it to this soup, making another whole meal…if doing this, you can reduce the clams to just one can…and call it a Seafood Medley)
It’s ALL good!
Thank you for visiting today. I try to give my blog content to share with my readers some of the things I stumble upon in my day to day life moving in the direction of living on this earth more consciously and of course being mindful to care for our home. If you want to listen to an awesome Youtube video on caring for our oceans, which when you think about it, is really the earth….since land is actually on top of the ocean….and most of our planet is water…anyway, check out Sylvia Earle’s prize winning, Tedtalk video called, “My Wish.” Click the hyper link if you can’t connect to the video below.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Mmmmmm, I love black olives. They fill me with thoughts of sunshine, earth and balmy breezes…and my mom, who could eat a whole can in one sitting, although she also liked to share, hence my love of them too. As I was chopping up whole pitted olives just now, to put in the Mexican Casserole I’m making for my family tonight, I was thinking how much I love humid, warm ocean climate foods. Foods from Mexico, Greece, Italy, oh anything Mediterranean, Indian, Thai, well, you get the picture.
This is what the weather looks like outside my kitchen window as I cook. September has certainly not been warm and sunny this year. More like cold and rainy. I even put a tarp around my chicken’s covered run, to give them relief from the wind and rain. (see blue in right corner of our lower back yard.)
And here are a few pictures of the little ones as they took the bus for the FIRST time, brrrrr, early this morning (except for William, who is an old hand at this form of transport)
(And off they go for the W H O L E day….inside I head to have a cup of tea and decide, what’s for dinner?….I like to get it out of the way early so I get sink into a few projects…decluttering is on the list)
And you may ask, why in heaven’s name, am I not living in a warmer clime with some yummy cultural dishes???? What is Canada’s cultural dish anyway? Well, I guess we are a diverse, hodge-podge of many countries. The only thing off the top of my head as I type is, Smoked Wild Salmon, Maple Syrup and Bacon. Oh and of course in Eastern, particularly French speaking Quebec, Canada they love poutine, but when I think about French Fries, covered in cheese curd and gravy it makes my arteries cringe.
Anyway, chopping up the olives just now got me thinking, I would really like to do blog posts that makes a difference in the world. I know it’s been said before, but what if we did start making veggie dishes every Monday? Imagine…. if everyone in the world did that? Choosing to start the week with a vegetarian meal is delicious, may help you continue the week on a healthier note, and of course by taking that one step helps to decrease your environmental footprint on the earth.
So, stay with me, what I was thinking is that every Monday I’d like to write a blog post, highlighting a vegetarian dish from around the world. At least for 7 weeks which would give me/us a vegetarian meal for each day of the week and get my family, maybe yours too building a repertoire of meatless meals as we head into fall.
The side benefit for us obviously is this is a healthier, greener choice and who knows, maybe we can lose a bit of weight. Another BIG reason for me is that I have little ones who are learning to make good food choices. I’d like to share my love of eating vegetarian meals with my children, so like my mom, sharing her beloved can of olives with me so many years ago, my children will grow up and have fond memories growing vegetables in our gardens and eating favorite dishes from all over the world. This is another way of helping the earth and staying connected to other cultures, feeling connected to everyone on this earth.
I hope you will join me in choosing some around the world veggie dishes for your family.
Since I’m making a Mexican Casserole, let’s start with that dish. I know on a chilly September day, it’s a great way to nourish my family. Hey, and a side benefit, is this meal is relatively inexpensive, especially if you are harvesting your peppers and tomatoes from your garden, as we are doing right now.
Hope’s Mexican Casserole (Makes a large 9×13 casserole dish….great for a large crowd of 8) Ingredients 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil 3 cloves of garlic 1 large minced onion 1 stalk of celery 1/2 cup of sliced black olives…more is you like them like my mom and I 1 Red hot chili pepper (I’m using a “Hot Portugal” from my garden) but if you only have dried, use 1 tbsp of chili powder 1-1/2 tsp of dried cumin Salt and pepper to taste 1 can of pinto beans (I’m using dried and cooking them) 1 can of black beans 4-5 large tomatoes chopped or you can add a large can of drained tomatoes 2 cups of salsa 4 tortilla wraps 1 cup of crushed taco shells or taco chips 1 cup cheddar cheese (I didn’t have a cup…so I used 1/2 cheddar and 1/2 mozzarella)
I cooked my pinto beans early this morning, you don’t have to soak them overnight, Rinse them, bring them to a boil, then continue to cook them on low heat for 2 hours. Finally. let them sit until you need to add them to the pot)
Directions: Heat oil in large pot, saute onions and celery until translucent, add garlic and red pepper, cook for a few minutes. Add the rest of the spices, stir well. Add the tomatoes and allow to cook for about 5 minutes to 10 minutes, and finally add the cans of beans and the 2 cups of salsa. Cook and heat through well.
Prepare a 9×13 pan by laying two tortilla wraps on the bottom.
Add 1/2 of the above bean and tomato mixture over the wraps. (at this point, if you wish, you can layer some cheddar cheese on top, if you want the dish really cheesy, but I didn’t do this as I didn’t have enough cheese today)
Now like a lasagna, add another layer of 2 tortilla wraps and finally top with the remainder of the bean and tomato mixture. Top with crumbled taco shells, or taco chips and finally sprinkle the top of the whole pan with cheese. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes While the casserole is baking, make a green salad of your choice.
My garden is abundant with kale, red cabbage, carrots and tomatoes….make what you have on hand, anything green is great
To plate, place a large square of the casserole, top with sour cream, add the salad and some taco chips of your choice. Serve with a “Provecho”….enjoy!
This is a favourite of our family as it’s easy for me and the kids think it’s a “fun” meal.
This is what our cat Ryuuki thinks of this gloomy Monday…but the family is going to LOVE dinner tonight
Oh, and did I mention one of the BEST things I can think about when making it a meatless Monday? If you love animals like I do, this is just a humane way to walk the earth. Here’s a great link to the Vancouver Humane Societies page and an article on “Meatless Monday.” Have a look and I hope you join me in eating this way, if not all the time, then at least once or twice a week. We can make a difference!!!
Before I say goodbye, I’d like to tell you about my little guy Will, “Will I Am, Where there is a Will there is a Way, Will Power.” He’s got a powerful, and peaceful name. He loves people. He loves the earth. He loves animals. He also has this strong belief, that we can all do something to make the world better for everyone. The seed is in each of us, but we all have free WILL to make it grow. Yeah, maybe Meatless Mondays are just a humble step, but with each little thing we do, we do make the world a better place.
Here’s a link to one of his favourite videos. Interestingly, William was born on June 25, 2009, the same day Michael Jackson left the earth. I sometimes wondered if Michael didn’t whisper something to Will in passing. When I tuck Will into bed at night, lately he’s been playing this CD, (Peace in the World) and he likes to drift off listening to songs like Michael’s, “Man in the Mirror.”
Click on the hyper-link above to see this Youtube video.
“If you want to make the world a better place, then take a look at yourself and make the change.”
Thank you for coming today and joining me in my kitchen.
I’d love to hear what your favourite veggie meal is for your family. Drop me a comment below.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Oh sweet January. In past years, I haven’t embraced it as fully as I am doing this year. Each month seems bittersweet and the days are flying by all too fast for me. I thought I would slow things down a bit and say yes more.
Yes, to staying in bed on Saturday mornings, luxuriating in the slow pace that I have created. Yes, to curling up in my favourite chair, sinking into a good book, while my little ones are engrossed in playing a game of their choosing. Yes, to letting all the kids head outside for one more play in the snow, even though they “should” be practicing cello, piano or doing home work.
I can hear them laughing and shrieking with glee as they slide down our driveway. It’s snowing too hard to stay on top of shoveling it. I can nest inside, making a pot of aromatic chicken and wild rice soup….and maybe there is still a loaf of homemade bread to accompany it.
This feels so good, savouring another winter month and experiencing all the senses of the season. Shorter days, full of white and dark. Magical moments watching the snow gently fall, feeling the excitement bubbling from our little ones as I bundle them up for another adventure making snow forts, snowman, and of course, their favourite, sledding in our yard. Does life get any better than this?
No matter where you live in the world, you can choose to make the days richer. Slow them down by saying yes to what you love.
Today, I made the most delicious chicken and wild rice soup. It was amazing. Now I make a lot of soups. Almost every week in the winter I make at least one big pot and lately, I have been experimenting with whatever we have in the house, THAT, is what goes in the pot. This makes for some interesting combinations. Today, since a few of our family members have had a persistent cough, I thought what we needed was an old fashion chicken and rice soup. Easy on the tummy and apparently, chicken soup is good for colds.
It was just what we all needed. I pulled out the last loaf of bread Harrison made on the weekend. He had made 4 loaves and there is one loaf left…. it’s only Monday. Then I threw together a green salad and voila…dinner was served. So say yes to sledding….or whatever you do in your part of the world and say yes to making a big pot of heart warming soup with homemade bread. It’s really that easy.
Hope’s Chicken and Wild Rice/quinoa Soup
Ingredients
*1/4 of extra virgin oil * 3 chopped garlic cloves *1 finely chopped onion *1/2 cup chopped celery *1 cup sliced carrots *3/4 cups all purpose flour *10 cups of chicken broth *3 cups of wild rice/quinoa *1 cup of cooked and cut up chicken *1/2 tsp chili powder *1/2 tsp cumin powder *1/2 tsp mustard powder *1 tsp dried parsley *1 tsp dried basil *Sea salt…to taste *Ground pepper to taste *2 cups of milk Optional….I used what I had in the house….but had I had some fresh mushrooms and broccoli….I would have chopped them and put them in….use what you have……what you LOVE.
Directions
1. Throw one chicken breast into the oven and cook for 45 minutes at 400 degrees
2. Cook 1 cup of wild rice/quinoa…equates to 3 cups once cooked
3. Heat olive oil in a large soup pot, stir in garlic, onion, celery, and carrots. Saute for 5 minutes until onions are translucent. (If you have mushrooms….add them next…saute for another few minutes.
4. Add flour to the pot and stir well. Gradually add the 10 cups of chicken broth.
5. Heat well, bringing almost to a boil…reduce heat and simmer while the chicken and rice and quinoa is cooked.
6. Add the cooked wild rice and quinoa, along with the chili powder, cumin, mustard powder, parsley, basil, pepper and salt.
6. Once the chicken is cooked, cut up into small pieces and add to the soup pot.
7. Add 2 cups of milk and heat through…simmer until you are ready to eat.
And now for the recipe for the bread that my 17 year old made on the weekend…..he is taking Foods 11 on line and this was his first foray into bread making….the loaves turned out beautifully!
Harrison’s Homemade Bread
Ingredients Lots of flour….roughly 5 cups of white….1 cup of whole wheat…keep mixing until it’s the right consistency 5 tablespoons oil 1 tablespoon salt 4 tablespoons active dry yeast 1/2 cup of sugar 4 cups of lukewarm water Directions: (note these are Harrison’s directions) Add 4 cups of lukewarm water to bowl, add ½ cup of sugar.After mixing water and sugar together add 4 tbsp. of yeast.Let proof for 10 minutes.
Once yeast is bubbly and frothy… add 1 tbsp. of salt, 5 tbsp. oil, stir, then add flour 1 cup at a time, until you reach the desired consistency of dough you are looking for.
Now turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead until you get a smooth ball of dough that is not sticking to the table at all.
Next, grab your second bowl, lightly coat it in oil, and place your ball of dough into it.Cover, and let rise for 1 hour.You are looking for your dough to at least double in size.After the dough has risen, you will punch it down, and turn it out onto a floured surface again.This time we are going to divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll them into a log shape to fit in the bread pans.
Grease your bread pans with butter, place your dough in the pans, cover them and let rise for half an hour.Then put your bread in the over at 375F for 25 minutes.Flip them out of their pans, and apply a very light coat of butter to the crust of the bread. This is to keep it soft, and to not dry out.
The little ones came in from sledding and had their hot cocoa with Harrison’s homemade bread….January is SWEET!
Our oldest son said this was one of his fav soups…high praise!
While the soup was simmering, I made a batch of oatmeal/raisin cookies, full of spices. The house smelled marvelous!
Sledding in new snow, baking bread and making soup……..
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Once you choose hope, anything’s possible. ~Christopher Reeve
Welcome…it’s so nice to see you.
If you are here on my blog and interested in living a green, sustainable life, a life that leaves the lightest footprint on Mother Earth, then you are probably already living a vegetarian lifestyle. You may even be a vegan. In that light, I’m probably preaching to the choir but since I spend a good portion of mental thought on this issue of late, I wanted to share some of my struggles and inspirations in becoming a vegetarian. This may help those of you, like me, who are moving, or who have moved in that direction. Maybe you can also relate to this process.
If it were just me, I would be feeding my family a “total” plant based diet right now. I’m one of those people who can do things cold turkey when convinced of the benefits but I live with other people and their process towards change has to be considered. As you know, I have several children ranging in age from little to grown and up to now, they have been raised a certain way. I have been feeding my family what I believed was a balanced diet since they were little. I spent the last 25 years breast feeding our children, with the exception of only a few years between their weaning. Anyone who has devoted that much time ensuring their children are receiving the best start in life, knows that nutrition is really important. After all that effort building a strong immune system and a healthy gut in our little ones, we were careful to offer them a wide array of food choices, heavy towards whole foods, particularly vegetables with fruits as their sweet treats.
Since I often had a baby at the breast, I started going to La Leche League meetings where I found other supportive women who were choosing this method of feeding their babies/children and eventually, I became a leader. This was the start of my journey towards becoming a vegetarian, as several of our members were living this lifestyle and they always looked glowing and had an aura of well being around them. I wanted that too. Although, we made healthier choices for our children, we could never seem to cut out eating meat completely. It was how we were raised after all and the argument was, well we are healthy aren’t we? When choosing our children’s first foods, I wanted to lean towards more vegetables and fruit (and our children all loved their sweet potatoes, carrots, apples and bananas) but I also wanted to offer them a wide array of food choices without limiting anything that may cause deficiencies.
And so, we have raised them with meat and other animal by products in their diet. It was only with the arrival of our last three babies, when I started thinking about how our food choices don’t just impact our health, but our planet and how other people are eating, or not eating in many cases. On the journey to completing our large family, ironically I was becoming moreplanet conscious and I knew if we are all connected, then how we feed our families has to shift.The process for me to change has been slow and arduous but I’m hopeful, after all, I grow our food and I buy the groceries. The control is ultimately mine. (and my husband who by the way is totally on board…always says he feels great after eating a plant based meal)
We started the big shift by growing our own food in our garden. That way we had more control over what we were eating and our children were also a part of the process, as they helped me plant, water, weed and harvest our crops. Another step was becoming more educated and learning to make one vegetarian meal at a time for our family. Still there is resistance and even I don’t always think things through or am forceful enough. For instance, the other day when eating lunch out, I chose a beautiful Thai inspired salad but it came with chicken….did I think to ask for the waitress to hold the chicken? No I didn’t, but next time I will. The salad came green and glowing, the plate loaded with vegetables and quinoa and slices of delectable chicken. The salad was delicious and I didn’t need the meat….or the feeling later that I wasn’t walking my talk. One step at a time and if I don’t take those steps, how do I encourage my family to share the path with me. This is a process….
I’ve told our children that eating a plant based diet is healthier for our bodies. That in doing so we have a lower risk towards,
Heart disease
Colorectal, ovarian, and breast cancers
Diabetes
Obesity
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Wow~! and if that isn’t enough of a reason to cut out meat, and meat by products, since I had our younger children late in life, adopting a vegetarian diet has been linked to living longer and having higher quality health as we age. I look at people like, Mimi Kirk, a wonderful mentor and a raw food vegan and think, I want that kind of health/energy too and I want that for my children.
And if improving health isn’t reason enough to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle, think of the health of our planet. We are wasting so much water, land, and resources in growing animals for food that it’s alarming. Something has to change because if we stay on this path, we won’t have a planet that can provide everything we need to survive. It’s that simple. I’m not even going to get into the ethical reason to make the change but when we take care of each other, even the animals on this planet, our earth will hum in total balance and peace.
And so I continue to move and encourage my family to adopt this belief system. Like any change, I will take it day by day, meal by meal. I will move in the direction of health, not just for myself, my family, but for our planet. I will be grateful for all I have been given. Speaking of being GRATEFUL, can you believe we are still eating wonderful food from our garden? And if health of the body, and health of the planet isn’t enough of a reason to make the vegetarian lifestyle choice, think of the wallet! It cost $2.99 to buy a 6 pack of started spaghetti squash, (less if I had had saved seeds) and we still have a box full of squash to get us through winter. Talk about frugal…AND healthy. So many reasons to eat a plant based diet.
Kathryn and Victoria with a bit of our squash harvest…next year I’m growing MORE
Today we are choosing to eat Spaghetti Squash with a tomato sauce and a green salad. Oh yum…and another side benefit is HOW EASY IT IS! While the squash is roasting, you have time to get out in nature. Later today, I’m taking the kids skating in our little town’s outdoor rink. Not only is it a great way to get some exercise, have some fun with the kids, be out in the community, but it’s free…I love things that are free. They tend to be good for our planet too.
Before I go though, I will share with you my spaghetti squash recipe….get ready for easy and it doesn’t even need any special equipment….no spiralizer, just a fork.
For our large family, I cook 2 spaghetti squash…but 1 large squash feeds most families of 4
How to prepare Spaghetti Squash
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the squash in half, lengthwise.
Save the seeds and let dry in a coffee filter….that way you will have a box full of delicious squash next fall after harvest time….did I tell you how easy they are to grow… they practically grow themselves!…all you have to do is plant them, mulch around them with some grass clippings throughout the season…and maybe water them occasionally if it’s really hot.
Okay…back to cooking squash. Once the seeds are scooped out, you brush the insides of each half with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Place cut sides down on a baking sheet and put in the oven for about 40-45 minutes depending how big your squash is….it’s done when you can easily pierce with a fork.
Brush the inside with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and turn squash over…with skin facing out
Now let it cool for a bit before using a fork and gently scraping the inside of the squash….you will see that spaghetti like strips pull off. Continue stripping them off with a fork until you get down to the outer skin. Even with 1 large squash, you will end up with a big bowl of the pasta looking vegetable.
Top with your favourite tomato sauce, add a piece of parsley, a green salad and my family loves my homemade dinner buns and voila…dinner. It’s that easy. It’s that delicious too. My little girls LOVE spaghetti squash.
Spaghetti squash….one meal in my vegetarian recipe collection
And before waving goodbye, I wanted to share a well done documentary called, “Cowspiracy” that I watched a month ago. I found it at my local library and one evening I watched it all alone and was blown away. It’s not that I wasn’t aware of the far reaching effects that our meat industry has on the planet, but it was so well done and thought provoking.
For my birthday, I asked my two older sons, who are still living at home, to watch this documentary…as a gift to me. I’m never eloquent enough to describe all the reasons that I believe becoming a vegetarian is the best choice for our planet and Cowspiracy does just that. Plus, the film maker, Kip Andersen, is a lot more hip than their mom and you know, being cool can be persuasive.
When I found it on YouTube, I just went YEAH! Because I wanted to share it with you too. If you have a bit of time….hey and while you are cooking your spaghetti squash you may have some, grab someone you love and watch it. I’d love to hear what you think of it too and also how you became a vegetarian….or whether you are thinking of becoming one and how the journey is going. Sometimes, I feel like I’m just out here in the world, blogging away and no one is thinking along the same lines……as I type this, my Siamese cat, Ryuuki is curled up against me, his little warm body, laying on my typing arm….if you have a pet, curl up together to watch this “Cowspiracy” film.
(click on the hyper link above if you can’t see the video link below)
Well, I’d better get going. It’s a lazy Sunday here..thank heavens! After all the stress of yesterday and the break down of my van…right in the middle of driving my kids to their activities; a voice recital practice for Grace where the accompanist was waiting on her keys, the little girl’s first Saturday skating lessons and Will’s first introduction to hockey class. It was a crazy day! I need a day to just breathe. As I kept turning the engine over and over yesterday, as the clock was ticking towards the next activity and Grace and I growing colder and colder in the van (it was FREEZING here yesterday) and the van was DEAD, I kept saying to myself, “this too shall pass.” And although my husband is out of town on business right now, he was reachable by phone. Thank you David! The whole family and Blair, a nice tow truck driver who jump started my van, got me back in action and on the road.
It’s when there is a crisis that you realize that you really aren’t alone…you just need to ask for help. I know this sounds kind of sappy….but I feel like the world is in a crisis right now. In so many ways people are reacting negatively but then there are droves moving with light energy and helping to heal our planet. I think when we eat a plant based diet, we have more love energy to spread around the world.
To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world. 🙂 ….you are that to me…thanks for coming for a visit! And please drop a comment about your journey and your thoughts.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” ~Robert Louis Stevenson~
It’s harvest time on my homestead. A few weeks ago, we harvested the potato crop I almost didn’t plant for lack of room. Late in May, I was running out of garden space but when I saw the Yukon Gold seed potatoes at my garden centre, I couldn’t resist.
I dug deep holes at the edge of my garden and planted several prepared seed potatoes in each hole. I didn’t have much hope for them since my cucumber, squash and zucchini plants were also planted close by but you know, if you don’t plant it, nothing will grow.
After a few weeks, the first green shoots appeared and I quickly covered them with dirt and grass mulch from our newly mowed lawn. We had a hot, dry summer and I wanted to keep them nice and moist. By the end of August I had huge potato plants growing in mounded soil, all along the edge of my garden. The squash, cucumbers and zucchinis didn’t seem to mind sharing their space and everyone was doing their own thing.
Potatoes are the easiest thing to grow and amaze me every time I harvest them. You know they are ready to harvest, when the plant has withered and literally died back down to the earth. That’s when you can get a shovel or fork and carefully dig down to see what has been growing underground.
From the looks of the garden, you wouldn’t think anything worthwhile is under the ground
I was not disappointed. Hole after hole was abundant with potatoes. The little girls helped me dig them up and were so excited each time they had a potato in hand, you would think they had found gold. Well, in a way they had found a treasure. Although we have a diverse agriculture industry in the Okanagan Valley, in the winter we rely a lot on crops from California. The continued drought there has meant higher prices at the market, making produce very expensive. Being sustainable at least part of the year, is such a gift…..but it takes time and energy.
I didn’t have to dig far before I found our first potatoes…..nice sizes too
As I watched the little girls dig in the garden, where moments before there had been old, decaying potato plants, I was thinking often in life the best treasures come to those who either have gone through darkness and come out the other side with their hearts full, or it occurs naturally as we age. Our wrinkles start appearing, our hair thins and goes grey, but inside, with a life time of living, our soul blossoms into a beautiful, compassionate and loving spirit. We learn so much about life from nature.
Kate loves to dig in the ground…it feels so good and when you find food….WOW!
I love it too!
Treasures!
Victoria and Kathryn, didn’t want to stop for pictures…they were having so much fun digging up potatoes.
Since I’m an older mom to young children, I’d like to think that this is one of the spin offs for parenting later in life. Although I don’t believe that I personally have less energy than I did parenting our first children, I know that I’m aging, from my reaction to the precious moments in life, like witnessing little people digging for treasure and being thrilled by the smallest things in life….like potatoes. I don’t take these moments lightly anymore.
My sister C, said something really profound to me in one of her emails last week and it really spoke to me about harvesting wisdom. She wrote, “Mourning really turns a life around doesn’t it? The beauty is when, even though our hearts are broken open, they start to mend and everything feels renewed. You can reset and re-balance life in the new direction you’ve grown into.”
Yes, yes, YES! Kind of like how potato plants grow in the dark. When the plant finally dies and looks its bleakest, there is something beautiful left that can nourish and sustain us. And that is why, in my darkest moments, I know in the end everything is worthwhile. We just need to keep laying seeds and experiencing the deliciousness of life…..full of treasures.
Last night, was one of those moments. We had a harvest moon party at our homestead. The kids were beyond thrilled, as while eating a yummy stir fry with lots of produce from our garden, we told them all about the harvest moon (also called a blood moon) that would be occurring later in the evening. After dinner, they were bubbling with excitement as they played in our hot tub. (a great way to save water….I can’t tell you how many times we have forgone a bath for a hot tub soak instead) Once they were little prunes, they dressed quickly into warm pajamas and gathered in the family room where I had popcorn ready and a Netflixs movie all ready to go. They watched a cute animated movie called, “The Croods,” about a prehistoric family, while we waited for darkness to drop her curtain. (I thought it was an appropriate movie since the family in the movie knew little about the world they lived in, yet they knew what was important)
The timing was perfect because once the movie was over, it was nearing 8 pm and was already dark in our part of the world. As we ushered our family outside, you could see the moon rising over the mountain, full and red. The children were in awe as they whispered, “this is better than Halloween!”
We watched the sky for quite awhile and it took me right back to another eclipse when our oldest daughter was about 7 years old, her brothers were 4 and 1. I remember piling all the kids into the van and driving up the mountain, which hadn’t been developed yet. We got out of the car and stood in a field where we could see the expansive sky. Our baby at the time, Mitchell, was happily bundled in a backpack and his older brother Clark, just a preschooler, was bursting with questions about eclipses, the moon, our sun, and our solar system. It was one of those moments in time that you just know you are planting something deep into your child and fueling a passion.
As I was going down memory lane, our oldest son Clark drove down the drive way after being out with friends for the evening. He’s all grown up but still loves looking into the sky and learning about astronomy. As I watched his tall figure stand with his younger siblings, looking at the moon, I was overcome with joy that we were all together experiencing the wonders of living on earth.
What are you harvesting this fall? With wisdom we use our energy to plant the seeds we want to witness growing. It’s rather EXCITING isn’t it? What do you want to grow?
Well, of course with our size of family, our potatoes haven’t cured long in the garage, and we are already enjoying them in meals. As I move our family closer to being fully vegetarian, with a strong movement towards eating raw foods, I help our older children transition smoothly into this way of eating by including their favourite…..which is yes, potatoes, for many of our evening meals.
Our oldest son Clark hasn’t ever met a potato he hasn’t liked…helping me with our potato harvest….it seems like a blink of an eye ago when he was a little blonde boy looking with excitement at a lunar eclipse
Recently, I made some lentil burgers, a salad, and of course my famous potato wedges.
My wedges and lentil burgers…all ready for a harvest dinner
Hope’s Potato Wedges Ingredients 8-10 cut up, quartered potatoes…with skins left on 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil 3 minced garlic cloves 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese 1 tbsp of cumin 1 tbsp of rosemary (I cut up some fresh from the garden) Sea salt and fresh pepper to taste. Directions Preheat oven to 450 degrees Mix all ingredients really well, into a baking pan and put in oven for 30 minutes. Turn every 10 minutes to ensure they get well browned…we like them crispy. Serve with homemade ketchup.…or delicious plain too.
My lentil burger, with homemade buns, salad and treasured pototoe wedges
Next year I plan to make a dedicated area for growing potatoes and want to grow enough to keep us going for a good portion of winter. How about you, do you have a place to grow one of the many varieties for your family?
As I close this post, I just wanted to share a song I love by Neil Young…. (if you can’t see the video below click on the hyper link) Neil Young, called, “Harvest Moon.” I hope you have the time to listen to it as it’s dreamy and fills me with so much love for this time of year…and for my family and friends. Thanks for coming and being a part of my life. Together we are “Helping Our Planet Earth….aka being hope”
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
All summer long I have had a mantra. “With Grace and Ease” let summer unfold.” Now here we are nearing the end and I’m not ready to say good bye. Is it just me, or is saying goodbye hard for you too?
Along our life’s path, our moments of letting go are numerous and I often feel that if I could just get this surrender thing down pat, then I would be ready to truly live in the moment. This easy, free flowing process eludes me, although I think I do a pretty good job based on how I feel. Happy and content most of the time. Tremendously grateful always. And yet, saying goodbye, or transitioning into another phase of life is tough for me.
Looking back, this past summer held so many lovely memories that I will hold close to my heart. A few highlights are the following……
Mitchell brought his guitar out when we went camping in July
Kate, Tori and Will, taking in the lake
This week was the hottest week of the whole summer…and of course we are camping!
Grace and Harrison are chilling but in the evening they are competitive scrabble players….lots of great words!
David and I on the rock behind our campsite
My best friend T comes to visit in July…I took her up the mountain behind our house and we snapped a selfie
My sister’s C and J, explore the lavender gardens after a morning of making lavender wreaths
I got some great ideas for garden design at the lavender farm….don’t you love this iron work?
Here’s the wreath I made…it smells great in our guest bath
While everyone isn’t looking in this picture (namely Will and Grace) I loved the picture of Sunny, my sister’s dog
My sister C and brother in law D, and their sweet dog, Sunny
The kids were endlessly bringing up great produce from our garden…I’d turn our whole yard into edible space but having a bit of lawn is a great source of mulch to retain the moisture in the ground
Our oldest Daughter Alysa came home for a brief time this summer as her best friend was getting married. We walked down to the lake one day and the smoke from forest fires was so thick that you couldn’t see all of the beach I think she was happy to return to London where she will spend another year teaching and experiencing life in the U.K.
Mitchell showing me his green transportation that he will use when he returns to University….I asked him if he was going to use a helmet and this is the look I got…..”Mom!”
When kids grow up, who knows when they will be together again? Alyssa and Mitchell the day before Alyssa returns to London
My sister C and I at our family’s goodbye party for Alyssa and Mitchell
A final, early morning huddle before Mitchell leaves for University….Alyssa flies out later the same day…BOO-HOO!
A final goodbye….have a great year at school Mitchell!
My first baby getting ready for the big trip back to the U.K. on August 31st….If you can go to London….you can do ANYTHING!
If I wasn’t reading about eating raw…I was reading about being a minimalist
Here comes a massive cucumber….looks like we are eating a Greek Salad tonight
Victoria and Dugan…..Aunti B and Uncle J’s new puppy…Victoria would love to KEEP HIM!….Below, Uncle J and Doogie….this puppy is so easy and laid back
My sister B and I on the morning that they are leaving…we were watching the owl in our birch tree
Will puts down his binoculars to say cheese with his beloved auntie, B
It’s hard to say Goodbye
Can you see the owl in our birch tree? He spent the whole day sleeping in our tree
At the end of the day, he left the tree and spent about an hour sitting on our roof…he was screeching like crazy every few minutes……really surreal! to see something so wild, so close.
Here are all the kids looking at the owl. D brought out his computer and matched up the owls vocals with a computer web site….looks like this is a great horned owl
We have had evening visits over the years with owls but we have never had one linger for the whole day around our house. It was a bit strange and then even more strange when I looked up the symbology of owls.
If an owl has visited you, an incredible gift has been bestowed.
On the day of our owl visit, I dug up some potatoes and had Clark carry them up, since he LOVES them.
So many great moments. How was your summer? Will it be hard for you to say goodbye to it too?
I have glimpses of what the next season will hold. Our little girls started their first ballet class last week and they are beyond excited to be dancing at long last.
As I was sitting in the ballet school’s waiting room the other day, it occurred to me that this was the LAST, first day of ballet, I will ever experience. All of our daughters attended this ballet school and it was bittersweet thinking that the first day will never come again……and so is the nature of life.
There are firsts and lasts and it’s up to us to decide how we want to experience it all.
This month is the 50th anniversary of my Dad, Marvyne Derwent Clark’s death. I’m now older than he was when he passed away and in a way I feel I’m already living on borrowed time. When you live to an age beyond the age your parent(s) lived, there is a sense at any time, you could also be leaving the earth. We just never know, do we?
My mom Ethel and my dad Marvyne Clark
I remember my dad smiling always, and in the evenings I would fall asleep hearing him tapping away on his typewriter or playing his voilin.
My 3 sisters with mom and dad…I’m in Dad’s lap
Little did we know that Dad would only be with us for only a few years more
This weekend, since the weather was warm we heated the pool and the kids swam, albeit in rather cold water, in what I told them probably is the last swim of the season.
After a barbeque dinner, we roasted marmellows and ate s’mores, since the campfire ban had been lifted. We laid on the trampoline, bundled in blankets and under a star filled sky, we counted shooting stars and made wish after wish. Today, as David painted the window frames, (a job needing to be done before winter arrives) Harrison and I made “his” famous dish, “Black bean Quesadillas.
Earlier this summer he made them for the first time and they were outstanding. Today, he taught me how to make them and they did not disappoint. As our family moves towards eating mostly vegetarian meals, (me having dreams of being a raw vegan) this is definitely a favourite. It’s easy to make and economical, not to mention a healthy meal.
Join us in the kitchen and we will make it together.
Along with Physics, Pre Calc, and French, Harrison is taking “Foods” on line this term, I’m looking forward to LOTS of great meals this fall…..he’s such a natural in the kitchen
Harrison’s Black Bean Quesadillas
Ingredients
2-4 tbsp of Vegetable Oil 3 cloves of garlic 1 red or yellow pepper 1 hot pepper (we used jalapeno) 1 onion (we used 1/2 white and 1/2 red)
1 tsp cumin 1 tsp chili powder 1 tsp red hot pepper flakes 1 tsp basil 1 tsp oregano salt and pepper 2- 19 ounce cans of black beans 1-1/2 cups of salsa 8 whole wheat tortillas 2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
Directions
In a saucepan, heat oil and then saute the garlic, peppers, and onion. Add the seasonings and cook until onions are translucent. Add the cans of well drained beans, and the salsa. Heat well and cook for 10 to 15 minutes on medium heat.
Lay a tortilla on a plate and add the bean mixture to one side. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and fold over.
Cut in half and place on a lightly sprayed cooking pan. Place in pre-heated (425 degree) oven for 10 minutes. Carefully flip the tortillas and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Serve with sour cream and top with grated cheddar cheese. This recipe serves 8-12 people. If you have left overs, this meal is perfect for freezing.
We served our quesadillas with basmati brown rice, a kale/Greek salad, and organic taco chips. You can choose the level of spice based on the salsas….we used a medium since we were serving them to our little kids, but our older kids like their food HOT AND SPICY.
D takes a break from painting…..and enjoy’s Harrison’s Quesadillas
I don’t know who likes eating outside, me or the kids….I like not having to sweep up rice, etc from the ground…they like being able to lay down when their tummy gets full
Kate, who can be a bit fussy about what she eats…loves these black bean quesadillas
Tomorrow will be the start of the last week of summer. As I spend this week, fondly remembering all the moments with my family and friends, I will also be thinking of my Dad, knowing that even though he hasn’t been physically with me for almost all of my life, he is right here in my heart. I wonder if the owl that came to visit us last week, wasn’t his spirit coming to remind me to enjoy the moments fully and let go with ease and grace.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
I know it may seem that I have dropped off the face of the earth by my lack of blogging of late but that WOULD NOT be the case. I am very much alive and well, living fully, experiencing life to the max with no time to even stop to connect with my friends and family.
At times on my path, life is so intense that I don’t even have time to stop and recognize the signs along the way. The signs that guide me on my path and give me the courage to keep going. I have written before about finding feathers and how I believe they are my sign posts that I am on the right path. Lately, I have been seeing them everywhere. They are on the wood floor when I wake in the morning and are in front of me as I move through the day. They keep me going and keeping hope alive in my heart.
Since I last wrote so much has transpired. We hosted our garage sale which was really successful. We even sold our 6 foot fake pre-lit Christmas tree, which my boys bet wouldn’t sell in April…but it did. What we didn’t sell, we donated to a few charity groups the following week and now there are only a few loose ends to tie up after our mass spring de-cluttering project. Here are a few pictures from our garage sale.
Grace selling popcorn, cookies and lemonade
Harrison giving me thumbs up on our Earth day garage sale
Just a sampling of things we no longer need….sad to see our little Tykes car go but the little boy that got it was thrilled
David strung up a clothes line onto Harrison’s basketball pole/net
Here is monkey and my baby bear in a suitcase I have had since I was small. This is a good sample of something I have been carrying with me through life but it wasn’t serving me any longer. A man came along and said the bear was exactly like his baby bear he had had as a child and was so happy to take suitcase and all. Seeing his smile as he picked these old lovies up made me happy.
All in all our Earth Day garage sale was a big hit. Right after the garage sale, David went to pick up our son Mitchell from the University of Victoria, where he has been going to school this year. It was a long weekend for David to help me with the garage sale on Saturday morning and then to drive out and back to the coast over the weekend. It was so good to hug my son and welcome him home after his first year away at University. Seven of our Eight chicks are back in the nest for summer.
I started working at the Garden Center on Earth day and I have been juggling work, home and family since then. It’s tough. I’m trying to make healthy meals for our family while keeping all the balls in the air. We are trying to make so many big changes in our life right now and it stretches me to my limits but the feathers keep me going. They remind me that it’s all worth it. We all needs these kind of signs on our path. What are you finding to keep you going?
Before I close this post though, I thought I would include another recipe that we have added to our repertoire of fav, quick vegetarian meals. Since I kind of feel like a juggler with all the activities as balls in the air, how appropriate to share a lentil ball recipe. I threw it together so fast that I didn’t even have time to take any photos, although I took a quick photo as I pulled the lentil balls out of the oven.
And another one before I ate leftovers the following day.
The photo above, is a picture of the left over lentil balls on my pasta for lunch the next day. I also served it with a great salad which I also didn’t take a picture of. Everything gets consumed too fast here and well, taking pictures for my blog is not at the top of my list….feeding my family is the priority.
I wanted to give you the dressing recipe I used for our salad though as it was delicious. My mother in law Doreen, used to make the most amazing ranch dressing and I always used to ask her how she made it. She never gave me the exact measurements, probably because she had made it for her family for so long and didn’t need to measure it any longer. Anyway, I always was trying to make it and I think I finally have it down. (does this sound right Doreen?)
So here is my recipe for lentil balls…perfect on top of the pasta of your choice….and Buttermilk/dill dressing for a yummy green salad to accompany your lentil balls.
Hope’s Lentil Balls Ingredients 1 cup of dry lentils (I used green but you could use brown or green and brown) 21/2 cups of water or vegetable broth 3 tbsp of ground flaxseed 1/3 cup water 2 tbsp olive oil 3 minced garlic cloves 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 small red bell pepper diced really fine…although this is opt 1 carrot finely grated 1 celery stalk, finely diced 3/4 cup of oats 1/2 cup of finely ground oats 1 tsp of dried thyme 1/2 tsp of cumin 1/2 tsp of garlic powder 1/4 to 1/2 ground chipotle pepper sea salt and pepper to taste Directions
Rinse lentils. In large pot add 2 1/2 cups water with lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In small bowl combine flax seed with 1/3 cup water, set aside for at least 10 minutes, preferably in the refrigerator. This will act as a binder and will thicken nicely upon sitting.
Prepare vegetables. In saute pan heat oil or water over medium heat. Saute garlic, onion, bell pepper, carrots and celery for about 5 minutes. Add spices mixing well to incorporate. Set aside to cool.
Blend the lentils in a food processor until they form a paste.
Combine sauteed vegetables with the lentils, oats, oat flour and flax, mix well. Taste, adding salt and pepper as needed, or any other herb or spice you might like. Form small balls and place in a baking dish, spray or line with tin foil (sprayed). Cook for 30 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
Eat them on top of pasta or on their own. This mixture can also be formed into lentil burgers….or even as a loaf. Make a pot of rice, toss a salad and you have a really quick and healthy meal.
Here’s the recipe for Buttermilk/dill dressing that we made for our salad….I love it and may never go back to my Hidden Valley dressing again. I love making food from scratch and cutting down on packaged foods.
As close to Doreen’s
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk (I just use 1/2 cup of milk and add 2 tbsp lemon juice)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 pepper
1 1/2 tsp of dried dill
1/4 cup freshly chopped chives….starting to bloom in my garden now
2 tsp of lemon juice
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl. This dressing will keep well in the fridge up to 3 or 4 days. Great for dips. My kids were dipping their crazy bread before dinner.
I don’t know what’s going on in your life but if you are having a tough time, or life is throwing a lot of challenges your way, I hope you remember that you don’t have to hold your head up higher than your heart. I pray that the feathers are abundant for you and when you see them you know you are on the right path. You ARE LOVED!
If you need any musical inspiration before we say goodbye, I’ve included a really cool song by Jack Johnson called, “Hope”….of course hey
If you can’t see the link below since you are using an apple product…click on the hyper link above.
I love the following quote….the BEST part is actually what comes next……
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
“Hence I cannot be silent, and indeed I ought not to be, about the many blessings and the great grace the Lord has deigned to bestow on me.” ~Saint Patrick~
And oh, like St. Patrick’s quote above, “I’ve been surely blessed!”
Stepping away from de-cluttering for a moment, to celebrate the up and coming St. Patrick’s Day, I also take a moment to remember my grandmother, (my Dad’s mom, Flossie,) who was born in Canada to Irish Immigrants. They had left Ireland to find new opportunities for themselves and their children. The Kilfoyle family, raised 6 children in their new land and I’m here, their great granddaughter, a century later to remember them and my heritage.
I’m singing in the kitchen because David came home from his trip out of town late last night and one of the first things he did for me today was to repair my dryer. Yeah! I couldn’t be happier. Isn’t it funny how things you normally take for granted, all of a sudden become a big deal when you don’t have them any longer? I’ve missed my dryer AND my husband this week. (I am blessed~thank you~)
Hanging our laundry on our deck and on our standing drying rack all week, really took me back to a simpler time. A time when laundry was hard work. I certainly felt a connection to my great grandmother Kilfoyle, who with 6 children must have done her fair share of laundry.
So as I’m humming happily this afternoon, I’m gathering the ingredients for my version of Irish Stew, some Irish soda bread, and for “bessert,” (little Victoria’s term for a treat) I’m making apple sauce cake from an old recipe that I have. It compliments the meal nicely.
The day is blustery and the lake is filled with white caps. As the little ones play outside this afternoon, (it’s Spring Break) please join me in making a delicious Irish Stew.
Okay, let’s start chopping for that is the most consuming thing about making Irish Stew. Do you want a cup of tea? ….now I’m using beef and not a lot today as you know I’m on the road to being a vegetarian but also a minimalist, ha. The traditional Irish stew would use lamb and I understand from my daughter Alyssa, who is in the U.K. teaching, that there are sheep everywhere. For this Canadian, beef is more readily available and besides I just couldn’t eat lamb anyway. (no judgement for lamb eaters out there)
Hope’s Irish Stew
Ingredients
2 tbsp of olive oil 2 pounds of beef..(I used a sirloin cut…add more if you want it really meaty) 2 medium white onions 2 stalks of celery 4 large carrots, chop into round bites 1/2 of a large turnip chopped into bite size pieces 10 medium sized potatoes..chopped into nice chunks 2 cups of stewed tomatoes 4 ounces of tomato paste 1/2 cup flour 4 cups of beef broth Salt and pepper 1 tbsp of worcestershire sauce (I use Lea and Perrins) 1 tbsp rosemary 2 bay leaves 2 cloves of garlic fresh parsley for garnish…it’s just starting to grow in the garden now Directions
1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat in a large stockpot. Add beef chunks and cook until brown. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a saucepan, add onions, celery and garlic. Cut until translucent. Add flour and mix well.
3. Add tomatoes to the browned beef, along with all seasoning and worcestershire sauce. Finally, add.the onion, celery, garlic and flour mixture.
4. Add beef broth and tomato paste to the above
5. Add potatoes
6. Add carrots and turnips
7. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer on low for 2 hours or until the veggies are cooked
8. Serve hot with a sprig of fresh parsley on top.
While the stew is cooking, you can make the Apple Sauce cake and the Irish Soda bread.
Start the Apple Sauce cake first, since it takes 45 minutes to 1 hour to cook and it needs to cool before icing. That is, if you choose to ice it, as it’s very moist and lovely plain.
Apple Sauce Cake
This recipe came from my Robin Hood flour (no sift) baking book that is falling apart since I use it all the time. It’s packed with great recipes. This recipe book was given to me by my mom…..thanks MOM!
Ingredients
1-1/4 cups all purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp allspice 1 cup chopped walnuts (can also use raisins which I would love but my kids would not enjoy as much as nuts…your choice…what does your family prefer?) 1/2 cup soft margarine…part butter 3/4 cup brown sugar…use 1 cup if making your own homemade applesauce 1 egg 1 cup applesauce (it takes about 3 medium apples to make 1 cup of applesauce)
Directions
1. Grease and flour an 8″ inch square pan 2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F…or 325 if using a glass pan 3. Measure and stir thoroughly all dry ingredients. Add nuts or raisins 4. Cream shortening until fluffy. Add sugar gradually. Beating well after each addition. Add egg and beat well. 5. Add the dry ingredients alternatively with the applesauce until well combined. 6. Turn into prepared cake pan, spread evenly 7. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the your toothpick comes clean. This can vary depending on the moisture in your applesauce. Cool really well and serve plain or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or whipping cream or you can ice it with a butter icing.
I iced the cake and replaced some of the milk and the vanilla extract with Baily’s Irish Cream liquor (we buy little bottles for just this occasion)…yummy and perfect for St. Paddy’s Day
While the cake is cooking, make the Irish Soda Bread.
Remembering the Kilfoyle’s, Irish Soda Bread
This bread goes really fast in my house as it’s has a lovely texture. Consider making two loaves.
Ingredients for one loaf 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tbsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp white sugar 4 tbsp unsalted cold butter 1-1/2 cups buttermilk….if you don’t have buttermilk, here’s how to make it at home 1 large egg Directions 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour an 81/2 round cake pan 2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. 3. Cut the butter into the flour very gently until it resembles oatmeal 4. In a small bowl, gently beat the egg and then add the buttermilk, stir to combine thoroughly 5. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and then pour in the buttermilk-egg mixture. Combine the two mixtures, stirring very gently with a wooden spoon until it forms into dough. It will be wet and sticky. 6. Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and generously dust it with flour…you may want to have a cup of flour close by to dust your hands and slowly work it in to this dough. Very gently form the dough into a ball and then transfer it into the prepared cake pan. 7. Lightly press the dough so that it spreads to the edges of the pan. With a sharp knife, cut an “X” into the top of the dough. Bake for 30 minutes. 8. Remove from the oven when the toothpick comes out clean Enjoy warm with a bowl of Irish Stew
It’s DINNER!
Mad rush to the kitchen as everyone has worked up a great appetite today. Thanks for joining me this afternoon.
And here is what it looks when it’s all pulled together.
The photo is of my great grandparents, The Kilfoyle’s and their 6 children
And it wouldn’t be a great Irish meal without a glass of ale…sorry no Guinness here but we do have a good glass of stout beer….
“Slainte Chugat!” which is cheers and good health wishes from my husband David to you. He really needs a good strong ale since he he has been working 12 hour days for a week now and yesterday he put in a whopping 17 hours as he worked all day and then drove home from up north, Just in time to fix our dryer, declutter his dresser and closet (that is what he was doing when I was cooking today) |and now when I’m writing my blog, he is putting the little people to bed. Do I love this man!
What are you going to do on St. Patrick’s Day! Wear green, (so you don’t get pinched) and maybe you will make a big pot of Irish Stew. Irish blessings and……
And before I close, I thought I would share a great you tube video I found of some very talented fiddlers. You know I have a soft spot for strings. My son Clark said he’s going to play some Irish fiddler tunes for me on St. Paddy’s day, but until then, I hope you enjoy this video. If you can’t click on the video below….click on this hyperlink. Traditional Irish Music, Lilla Akademien’s violin ensemble
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Little did I know but this blog post was inspired early this morning, when I selected one of the tiny wisdom cards from my seashell. The words on the card said, “Slow down~When you move too fast, you miss so much.”~
These precious cards were given to me this past Christmas by my niece, T, who lives in Victoria with her family. Her husband R and her two beautiful daughters, H and M. My niece T, is a gentle soul with a warrior’s heart. She is sensitive, compassionate, kind, loving and oh so generous. Thank you T, for helping me remember what I already know.
(If you are interested in learning more about these cards….I will put more details below)
The wisdom cards given to me by my niece T…..this one says, “Slow down, when you move too fast, you miss SO much.”
As I went about my morning, I thought about this message and very quickly it became clear how it would resonate in my life. First, I received an email from my wonderful sister B, who is a strong, intuitive woman with such a kind heart. She goes out of her way to help others for instance, rather than going to high tea to celebrate her birthday this past Sunday, she asked how she could help our son who was flying back to the city to start his second term of University.
She not only picked up Mitchell but his friend as well, she took them grocery shopping at Costco and then drove Mitchell to his dorm and his friend to the place he resides while going to school. Other than a foot injury last year, she always seems to be so healthy. She is really good at listening to her body and soul, and taking care of both, but is service to others another key to staying healthy?
Then, she told me about her daughter T and her granddaughters not feeling well this week. Flu season is here after all, but I just went hmmmm, maybe there is a message I can learn from all of this today. T (who you may remember gave me the wisdom cards) and her husband both work, lead a busy life in a large city, raising their two beautiful girls but they are really good at listening to their bodies. What’s up….are they able to slow down enough for what their bodies need?
Then I received another lovely email from my sister, C, who is a yogi, a personal trainer, a reiki master, an artist, and I think a modern mystic…but aren’t we all? Except most of us aren’t truly tuned in or even trying to listen. Anyway, she wrote me an interesting email titled, “Universal Health.” In her email, whether she realized it or not, she inspired me on ways to stay healthy, and also help the earth. She mentioned that this month she was involved in some art classes and then she talked about hanging their laundry to dry and how she loved the smell of air dried clothes.
Finally, she wrote about their green bathroom practice to save water, “when it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down.” Okay, maybe TMI, but I was thinking of how her whole life has been devoted to staying healthy within her mind, body and soul, while inspiring others to follow suit. Also, by walking the earth gently it allows healing to take place which in turn nourishes us. Mother earth give us the basics for perfect health, clean water, air and healthy food, not to mention beauty everywhere to feed our soul.
She then took me down memory lane when she used to teach fitness and on her business card were the words, “Universal Health.” Her creative, and artistic son, S, drew a picture of a cute alien in meditative pose, floating above the world with, “Universal Health” as the heading. She wasn’t just promoting her ability to train individuals towards greater fitness and health but she was referring to how we could heal the earth, and hence heal ourselves by creating a healthy Universe for us ALL to enjoy.
Okay, too many coincidences for me to ignore. I had to write about health and how we can heal ourselves. It also seemed like the perfect blog post for a New Year, when so many people are working towards their conscious intention of obtaining great health, more joy, greener living…etc. Thank you to my sisters, and my niece for this inspiration.Although, you have no idea how extensive you touch my life in so many other ways. Okay, here is my post for today….
Recently my family had a lovely, relaxing holiday, as well as two bonus snow days which were magical. I thought we were ready to start the New Year with gusto and although everyone finally returned to school and their respective jobs this week, some of us were not functioning at our best.
Now that is understandable, as it takes a few days to re-adjust to getting up earlier and fitting back into a regimented structured schedule, but over the holidays a few of our children caught cold viruses and weren’t recovering as fast as I would have liked.
Will got sick first, a few days after Christmas. Although he had had a slight cough, I was surprised how quickly his croup incident came upon us. We had put him to bed, thinking nothing other than it had been a lovely day. There was no warning whatsoever, until in the middle of the night, I awoke to our little guy’s barking cough. I knew exactly what was occurring when I saw him sitting up in bed, gasping for air.
The first croup incident occurred when he was a toddler. When we realized he was having such a hard time catching his breath we did the logical thing and rushed him to the ER at our nearby hospital. When we arrived, they diagnosed him as having croup and administered medicine through an inhaler. However, he had improved so much just by being out in the cold air on the way to the hospital, that the next time he had a croup incident, we just took him outside first rather than rushing him to the ER.
At the back of my mind though, I’m always second guessing taking my child outside, instead of to the hospital. As I sit rocking him, bundled in a warm comforter, whispering soothing words, “it’s okay, it’s okay, take little breaths, little breaths,” I’m praying inside, “please God, keep him breathing, keep his heart beating.” It’s such a terrifying experience as a parent and yet, a part of me is also saying to myself,…..”Hope, it’s okay, it’s okay… JUST keep breathing.” We always know the path to take deep inside.
What is always amazing to me is how resilient children are. They can be extremely sick one night and then bright and chipper the next morning. It’s so surreal. But there is a lesson here, as small children live in the moment and appreciate the smallest things in life. Their joy and exuberance is another key.
Then, a few days after putting the vaporizer away, we heard that tell tale, barking cough coming from the twin’s room. Both girls had had colds, but it was Kate who was struggling to breathe one night. Although she and her twin, Victoria had been tiny 5 pounders, when they were born, they have been healthy babies and toddlers. We have been really thankful that they have hardly had a cold in their 31/2 years. So when she caught the croup virus, it really caught us off guard. Thankfully, like Will she recovered nicely after a trip outside and an evening with the vaporizer in her room. Then a few days later, Victoria, who also caught a cold, developed a rash all over her body, which I understand is a common side effect from some cold viruses.
Not only were the little ones feeling unwell but our oldest daughter Alyssa, who has been teaching in the U.K. since September, and working so hard at her new position, caught the flu right before Christmas and she spent the whole holiday coughing and was extremely tired. And back in our home, Grace had a cough and Clark also had been really tired and suffering from a sore throat. As the kids got ready to head back to school, I KNEW I had to do something drastic. I opened up my pantry and went into my laundry room, where I keep my herbs.
Okay, my pantry needs serious organization work…but keeping a well stocked pantry with nuts, seeds, dried fruit, flax, oats, quinoa, can really give you the boost when you are needing a quick energy fix.
I use this indoor expandable clothing rack to dry my herbs…it’s great and accessible when I need to refill my herb jars.
Being able to grow my own herbs has taken my cooking to another level…one of greater health AND looking at my herbs reminds me of that song by Simon and Garfunkel…”Scarborough Fair”….see below
If you can’t click on the link above, click here to hear and view… Simon and Garfunkel’s song, “Scarborough Fair” which I always think of when I’m using “parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme” in my cooking…love this classic sweet melody….sing it while making your soup to heal your family
I took stock and knew that things like garlic, ginger, “parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme”, brown rice, vegetables, all simmered in an aromatic broth would heal us. There is something restorative about these foods, they are our comfort foods, allowing our bodies to balance and return to perfect health. Here is my version of a healing Soul Soup….
Hope’s Chicken and Rice Soup…(although I have added chicken, vegetable broth and more veggies works beautifully with the rice and all the garlic and ginger too…let your heart be your guide) Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil 2 medium onions 4 garlic cloves 4 tbsp fresh minced ginger 2 celery stick 6 Chicken Thighs 12 cups of chicken broth 1 cup of uncooked basmati brown rice 5 large carrots 1 tbsp parsley (and if you have any fresh as well you can add it to the soup when serving) 1 tbsp sage 1 tbsp thyme 1 tbsp rosemary Salt and pepper (optional: swiss chard or spinach)
Directions:
1. Soak 1 cup of brown rice (I use basmati) in 2 cups of water 2. Bake chicken, seasoned with some salt, pepper, garlic and ginger in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes
I sprinkled the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder and ginger powder…and caught all the juice in the tin foil and added it to the broth
3. In a large stock pot, add 1 tbsp olive oil and saute, 1 diced onions, 1 cup up celery stick, 2 cloves of minced garlic and 2 tbsp of fresh minced ginger…cook until translucent.
4. Add 12 cups of chicken broth
5. Add the dried parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, oh and salt and pepper to taste. Then carrots.
oops, sideways…but you get the idea…lot of lovely dried herbs are the key to flavour
And if you are making it a totally veggie soup…be creative..I love beans and mushrooms with carrots
6. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to a frying pan and saute second medium diced onion, 2nd celery stick, 2 minced garlic cloves and 2 tbsp minced ginger…add the cooked chicken. Allow the chicken to brown really well creating more broth for the soup. (we are funny about meat…we like to cook it really well…especially chicken…plus it just makes more broth) After cooking for about 10 minutes, add chicken to the stock pot….add salt and pepper liberally as you are browning the chicken
After cooking the chicken in the oven, browning it with onions, celery, garlic and more ginger just layer the flavors again.
7. Rinse the rice and add to the stock pot.
I had been soaking the rice in a jar…rinse it and then add it to the soup…boiling and then simmering
8. Bring to a boil, then simmer for an hour…..or until the rice is cooked. (I like making my soup mid afternoon and simmering for a few hours until dinner…the smell in the house is like aromatherapy in my opinion) Also, if you want to add some swiss chard or spinach do so just before serving the soup…the added greens are lovely and add more nutrition to your soup.
Light a few candles, serve with a green salad, bread sticks (recipe below) and a glass of white wine…or in our kids case, they had their Umma’s special, “pink lady”drink..which is cranberry juice and ginger ale which is perfect when your tummy isn’t feeling all that great and you are maybe a bit dehydrated….it makes it festive for the kids to have a special drink.
Okay, actually this doesn’t look all that great…ha…but then I had to serve 9 people and wasn’t able to touch up before the photo shoot…but you wouldn’t believe the flavour…D came home for lunch the next day so he could have more soup!…good thing his office is just 5 minutes away from home.
My family was saying…’really mom, another blog post…can’t we just eat already…it was so delicious and restorative HERE’S TO YOUR GOOD HEALTH!
The little girls sitting next to us at their little table were thrilled with the Soul Soup…”we are all in perfect health!”..CHEERS!
Although, I did not make bread sticks on the day that I made this delicious soup, as we had some good heart buns in the house, I love making my bread sticks to go along with my soups…or my pasta…well my kids like bread sticks anytime. Here’s the recipe. Mitchell brought the recipe home from his grade 9 Foods class. I have never been a fan of taking Foods in high school for our kids because I teach them how to cook at home but this was one recipe, I was thankful to receive as we enjoy it several times a month.
Mitchell’s Bread sticks…also known as our Crazy bread recipe Ingredients 5 cups Flour 5 tsp sugar 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 5 tsp yeast 450 ml of hot water Topping; 1/2 cup of melted butter 2 tsp garlic powder 75 ml parmesan cheese Preheat oven to 425 F 1 Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and yeast 2. Add hot water to make sof dough 3. Turn out dough onto lightly floured counter Knead until smooth, and elastic, about 2 minutes 4. Cover, with a damp paper towel, Let rest 5 minutes 5. Meanwhile, combine melted butter, and garlic powder 6, Roll out dough to 1 cm thickness. 7. Using a pastry brush, brush on half of the melted butter 8. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. 9. Bake for 7-9 minutes or until lightly brown..watch closely 10. Remove from oven and brush with remaining melted butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese Cut into sticks or shapes of your choice
I make a large batch and they disappear very fast…the little kids begging for some BEFORE dinner
Then as if that weren’t enough, as this health idea was brewing in my brain all day, I received a phone call from our son Mitchell. As I mentioned earlier, he is back in Victoria attending his second term of University, but today he called me to say he went to the clinic as he wasn’t feeling great and it’s now confirmed that he has contracted mono. (His roommate in his University cluster had caught it in the fall) I absolutely knew by then, that after the little ones were in bed tonight, I would be writing a blog post about health and healing.
I wondered why he was so tired during the holiday break. While he worked really hard at his grocery store position, both weeks while home, as well as filled each moment visiting family and friends, he seemed more under the weather than is normal for this energetic, upbeat 18 year old, (almost 19 year old) so I was concerned. Knowing this virus was brewing, makes me wish I had made some soul soup for him before he left to return to school.
Well, as for the Wisdom card message, “Slow Down, when you move so fast, you miss So much, ” a few thoughts have come to me today. First, often we become sick to begin with by burning the candle at both ends, if you will and not allowing any light to infuse our lives. We work so hard and life for many people today is stressful. It’s also, not aligned with what our earth needs to heal itself either.
When we slow down and connect with nature, we are able to balance ourselves and recognize what each of us needs to do in order to stay in perfect health and keep our Universe healthy as well. By living consciously, breathing deeply, moving and connecting out in nature, eating whole, as close to nature food, we stay in our natural state. Perfect health.
So the next time you become ill, say thank you. It’s an opportunity to slow down and allow contemplation and connection to occur….”what are you meant to be doing after all?”
And before I close, I just wanted to share some information about the precious wisdom cards and a link to an interesting TED Talks presentation by Allan Savory below. First about the precious cards.
These card were created by a Victoria, B.C. yoga teacher, mother and nature lover, “Linda Cirella.” Each deck contains 80 cards and is printed on eco-friendly paper in Victoria, B.C. Canada
These cards were created to remind you of what you already know deep within your core; and to help you to connect with it….because when you embody that wisdom you shine BRIGHTLY and you feel more ALIVE. And as a result you have more to give to others…So the world gets a little brighter!!!
Thank you again to T for the cards and to my sister B and my sister C…for always inspiring me! YOU ARE LOVED!
If you are interested in purchasing the cards contact Linda at om_shantii@yahoo.ca
Wisdom is always a great gift to share.
And my final thought for the day is in regards to a Ted Talk my sacred sister, L, sent to me about healing our planet by Allan Savory. (thanks L…your angels must have whispered to send it to me)
I believe it’s worth the time it takes to view it….slow down, when you move too fast you miss so much.
You never know when you will pick up a tiny piece of wisdom, put it in your back pocket and contemplate how it may change the world. Remember, we are ALL connected!
Until, I see you again, may you be WELL, happy and peaceful.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. ~An excerpt from Laurence Binyon’s poem, “They Shall Grow Not Old”~
What does Remembrance day and lentil soup have in common? Well from as far back as I can remember, November 11th was normally cold, dreary and wet, so soup just seems to be the appropriate thing to eat. Warmed the bones and the heart. Also, it’s something that you can make easily that doesn’t take tremendous effort and yet it’s satisfying at the end of the day.
But today the weather is glorious. I woke up to blue skies and although I knew it was cold outside as there was frost, FINALLY, on the ground. Even though the weather was nice, albeit cold, I still felt like soup. On a day when I think of my step father Bud and all the war stories he told of his years in the navy, I want to wrap myself in a blanket, eat soup and be thankful for those who gave up their lives so I could live in freedom.
Before starting my soup though, I decided to go out to the garden, one last time to salvage any remaining vegetables so I could make one last fresh juice from our garden. So with clippers in hand, out I went picking an assortment of things.
I picked kale, swiss chard, parsley, and even some lavender and also gathered some leek seeds
In the war days people were encouraged to grow Victory Gardens and these last vegetables of the season would have been precious.
So with the last vegetables form our garden, I juiced a a delicious vegetable drink with a bit of ginger
This is the stuff that helps me keep up with these little ones
D, who had been out in the garage attic, looking for skates, skis and winter boots, came in for a drink….Cheers D!
Bottoms up, Victoria and Kate
Will, who was outside helping D find skates…came in when he heard the juicer…he LOVES his green drink!
So with delicious juice in our tummies, the boys went back to the garage attic, and the little girls continued colouring, (check out the Activity Village site for great free colouring pages you can print off…there is something for every age) and I got started on my lentil soup for dinner. I wanted to get the soup made and simmering, and then head back out to the garden. The weather was really nice and since our compost bin was full, I needed to dig a hole to put our kitchen compost scraps somewhere.
I love soup. It’s my ultimate comfort food and as a mom, I like how I can make it early in the day and it just gets better as it simmers on the back burner. I know we are going to eat a healthy dinner without any mad scramble at the end of the day and I can spend a good bulk of my day, doing what I love or dig into a bigger project. Literally, today I would be digging holes to put debris I couldn’t cram in the compost any longer.
If you like making soup too, join me as I chop and talk. I don’t need a recipe for soup, I just start with my stock pot, some extra virgin olive oil, onions, garlic and seasoning and then add what I have on hand. Here’s how I’m making my soup today.
And before we get going, let’s put on a song called, “We’ll Meet Again.” by Vera Lynn…this takes me back to when I was small and even though I was born at the tail end of the baby boom generation,…I remember hearing these songs from my childhood and they left a lasting impression
Hope’s Remembrance Day Lentil Soup
Ingredients 2 cups of dried green lentils 1 cup chopped onions (2 large onions) 1 cup chopped leeks, white part only (depending on the size, maybe 2 leeks)…from my garden, yes! 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves) 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 cup medium-diced celery (3 stalks) 2 cups diced carrots (3 to 5 carrots) 8 cups of vegetable stock
2 fresh tomatoes 1/2 cup of tomato sauce,,,,I had some left over spaghetti sauce in the fridge 2 tablespoons red wine or red wine vinegar Sour Cream, fresh parsley for topping….opt freshly grated parmesan cheese Directions
Saute onions, leeks, garlic with olive oil. Add seasonings, cook for 20 minutes until the vegetables are translucent.
Add the seasonings and continue to cook. Ahhh… layering the flavours
In a large pot, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drain.
Add the celery and carrots and cook for 10 more minutes.
Add the tomatoes, cook for another 5 minutes
Add drained lentils and vegetable stock
Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, until the lentils are soft. Taste the soup and add any last seasoning to taste. Add the red wine and serve hot, topped with sour cream, parsley, grated parmesan cheese.
While the soup is simmering, let’s make my easy and quick, dinner buns.
I love the smell of bread baking in the kitchen don’t you? Pure comfort!
Hope’s Quick and Easy Dinner buns
4 1/2 cups flour
4 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/3-1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Mix 2 cups of flour and yeast in a large bowl
2. In a separate bowl, heat milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to a lukewarm in the microwave or on the top of the stove
3. Add all at once to flour mixture and mix until smooth. I use my kitchenaid stand mixer
4. Mix in enough flour to make a soft dough..2 -21/2 cups
5. Mix well until dough is soft and slightly sticky, then turn out onto a floured surface and let it rest under a greased bowl for 15 minutes.
6. Shape dough into balls and place on a greased baking pan…I like to top the buns with a mixture of oatmeal, ground flax seed and sunflower seeds but you can top it with anything you have on hand…or nothing.
7. Cover with a tea towel for 45 minutes to let it rise
8. Bake in preheated oven at 400 F for 12 to 15 minutes
So with the soup on the back burner, and the buns rising, I decided to make some healthy cookies as well since our cookie jar was empty and tomorrow the kids are going back to school.
I always think of my mother in law, Doreen when I make cookies. My husband says that his mom never made cookies for him and 3 siblings. She used to say, “I would make cookies, but they will just get eaten.” Which I always thought was so funny. Another thing D would say if we hadn’t heard from her in a while (since they didn’t live in our town and to connect meant we had to call long distance) she would say, “I would have phoned, but I didn’t know if you would be home.”
Now don’t get me wrong at all, D’s mom Doreen was a LOVELY lady but she was quirky sometimes. I certainly had my moments with her when she was alive and some things really set me off, but when I hear other women complaining about their mother in laws, I wish I could give them some advice and tell them to treasure the days. If stuff is coming up, then it’s a good thing and an opportunity to look at yourself in the mirror. I wish I had been a more tolerant and loving daughter in law. I see it now but it’s all in hindsight, although on this Remembrance day, I’m not just thinking of the veterans, I’m thinking of lost moments with people like Doreen. She was a special person and I don’t know if I ever told her that when she was alive.
In memory of Doreen and things that I’m learning, my kitchen motto is, “you can never have too many cookies and the faster they get eaten the better.” ~by Lee Reynolds~
So with that, here is the Cookie Recipe I’m making today.
I have a general basic cookie recipe that I use and I just change the add ons based on what I have in my pantry and often the time of year as well. Today, it feels like we need a cinnamon type cookie…something soft, chewy and a bit spicy. Something that feels like a comfort cookie. Wish you were here Alyssa….you too Doreen!
Hope’s Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of margarine
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups oatmeal
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
Now this is where you get creative…today
1 cup of walnuts
1 cup of dried cherries…which I love but my husband said he wished I had put in raisins
My older kids said they wished we had white chocolates and pecans….but I didn’t….and anyway that isn’t as healthy but you see what I mean…this is where you can create your own cookie combo….today for us..it was walnuts and cherries…oh almonds and coconut…maybe with a few chocolate chips would be good too. Okay, you see, the cookie baker in me gets carried away. These turned out really chewy, a nice soft texture and not too sweet…the cherries were a nice touch
Directions.
Cream the butter in a large bowl…I use my kitchenaid mixer
Add the white and brown sugar
Add the 3 eggs, mixing well after each addition
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl, the flour, oatmeal, etc and then add them to the butter, sugar and egg mixture. See the consistency below.
Now the part I often ask my kids to help me with so I can get outside…whoever is in the house and there is usually one older child lingering around the kitchen…usually our 15 year old Harrison although today it’s Clark……I get him to bake the cookies in a preheated oven…350 degrees F…for 10 minutes or until golden brown…if you over bake the cookies they will be crunchy…we like them soft so we find around 10 minutes is perfect.
As you can see from this picture, the sun is shining into my kitchen…time to get outside
The cookie jar is full, AND there is a tupperware container of cookies in the freezer as well. This makes 3 dozen, nice size cookies
But first, since D has been trying on skates, I thought it would be nice to offer a cookie…..
And also offer one to Harrison who was out raking a few leaves for my compost pile.
One of my compost bins…absolutely full. So I decided to do some trench composting. (Makes me think of the men in the trenches during war.) Have you heard of it? It’s where you dig a hole in your garden and deposit your kitchen scraps and leaves or any debris from your garden and at this time of year…there is LOTS. Everything decomposes exactly where you need it.
So whenever we have a full bucket with kitchen scraps, which is daily in our house, we dig a big hole, put the scraps in and top them with leaves…nothing like composting in the spot you want to enrich your soil. The little girls have really gotten into helping mom as you can see.
The top two pictures were taken last week, when my tomatoes etc were still in the garden
These pictures were taken this weekend…it’s really taken a turn towards winter but we can still dig in the garden
So after being out in the garden in the afternoon, it was nice to come in and have a cup of hot cocoa and a cookie and chat about what Remembrance Day means to my children
They do understand the sacrifice others have made for them and appreciate the peace we are living in right now. Lest we forget.
And now it’s time to dish up dinner, open up the Pumpkineater ale my brother in law B gave us. It’s from Howe Sound Brewing on the Sunshine coast…brewed with barley, fresh roasted pumpkin, hops, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, water and yeast. Apparently produced in very limited quantities. Thanks B…wish you were here.
Now, I’m not normally much of a beer drinking but I do recall my mom and her friends all going to the legion after the Remembrance day ceremonies so I’m giving it a go….plus doesn’t it sound like it would compliment lentil soup? (It was good…but strong)
Clark is showing me how to pour the ale
Our 21 year old drinking his protein shake AND the ale at dinner…thanks for baking the cookies Clark
D, loves when I’m taking pictures for my blog…as he doesn’t have to dish up himself!
Before we eat, let’s give thanks for the abundance in our lives and today, for those who fought bravely so that we could live freely and in peace. Amen
This blog post is dedicated to my step father, J. R. Finch, my uncle Stan Herrling, my uncle Gordon Clark, and also to my mother in law, Doreen. May you all rest in peace and know how much you were loved
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Blessings from Hope
(p.s. this post was written on November 11, 2014…but didn’t get published until the 12th)
Dearest blog readers, I’m sorry I haven’t written many posts this week but it’s been a birthday week for me. First, to celebrate my best friend T’s birthday on the 5th, and then mine yesterday. I’ve spent the whole week being introspective and reflecting on my wishes the last time I blew out a blaze of candles. I have grown a year older, but I wonder, am I any wiser?
At the beginning of the week I was feeling rather blue. I know it had a lot to do with the consumption of sugar from Halloween, which I tried to curtail but in the moment it’s fun to try a little of everything from the treat bowl. It takes me right back to my childhood but now I understand how damaging processed sugar is towards our health. It’s evil wrapped in brightly coloured packages.
As we ate a few treats with our children, D and I were remembering the little boxes of raisins, the handfuls of peanuts and the apples we would receive during our childhood trick or treat forays. Whatever happened to those? Our kids looked horrified and said, if they received anything like THAT, it would be suspect and they would probably have to throw it out. I was thinking, NOT if we knew our neighbours better. Anyway, this isn’t a blog about Halloween treats, but the sugar dump from that occasion prompted my depressed feelings.
Sadly, I kept them growing, (have you ever done this?) by allowing myself to think about both of my parents who are no longer on this earth school. You’d think I’d get used to that loss, after all I have spent most of my life without my Dad physically present and it’s been 2 1/2 years since my mom passed away. On special occasions, like Halloween and my birthday week, it doesn’t get any easier. Do you know what I mean?
Thankfully, I snapped myself out of my glum at least a bit, by banning the sugar. I took all the kid’s Halloween loot and our remaining candy bags that we didn’t give out and put it all in the garage. Now you may be thinking, “why did you take the kids candy too?” My response is, because just like clockwork, a few days after the candy gorge, all my little ones, and big ones started to feel yucky. Hmmmm, no wonder. Am I getting any wiser? At the twin’s preschool class, after their morning circle time, I heard their teacher asking whether they had any candy left from trick or treating, and one child said they traded in their candy for a toy. What do you think of that?
Anyway, my plan was, we would forget all about the said candy and when we did find the hardened candy bars and stale chip bags the next time my husband did a wood working project, my children (and me) would not find it appealing any longer. Can you compost that stuff? PROBABLY NOT! I transgress.
On Monday, I started my meditation with Dr. Deepak Chopra and Oprah, (are you joining me?) and my first session stirred up some emotions I thought I had let go. The meditation series is called, “The Energy of Attraction.” and day one was about the Nature of Desire. The centering thought was, “my life moves forward through desire,” and the quote for the day was;
“You are what your deep, driving desire is. As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed.” ― Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
As I explored my feelings, I realized I was still grieving over the loss of our Christmas tree farm and if my deepest desire wasn’t coming true, what did that make me? I had so wanted to be living in the country by this birthday.
So Tuesday started with me being rather glum again, until I found my sister C at my doorstep with hugs, kind words and a lovely lavender coloured bag heavy with birthday surprises. She also brought a few keepsakes that belonged to my father and mother. She had kept them all this time and wanted me to have them. Although she was with me only a short time on Tuesday, the connection was sweet, loving and meaningful. (thank you C)
My sister C said that since I was writing, (and our daughter Alyssa too…check out her Introvert in the Corner blog) perhaps I would like our Dad’s typewriter (he was a writer as well) and a few of our mother’s beloved books. Perfect for reading by the fire throughout the winter. After C left, I place them on mom’s Hope chest in our Den, under our family portraits with a little angel between them.
I felt so buoyed by her impromptu visit, that I decided to step outside of my comfort zone and join a meditation support group that was held at our local library Tuesday night. I felt safe very quickly and the evening was wonderful and restorative, but L O N G. We sat in a circle and during our second meditation session, I sensed rainbow filled light energy slowly circling around us and above us, creating a tunnel with vibrating, coloured light and at the top was brilliant white light.
Before the session was over, the newcomers continued to meditate, while the regulars in the group, laid hands on our heads with silent blessings. Before the first hands were felt on my head, there was a soft rush of warm air and the feeling of peace.
It was an amazing experience, until I went to get up. After sitting cross legged for almost 2 hours of meditating, chanting and discussing experiences that brought us joy, my right foot had gone totally numb. When I went to stand, my foot didn’t move and as I looked down at my non functioning appendage, it appeared to resemble a rubber fake foot, totally disengaged from my leg. Ahhhhh! Looking back it was so funny, but in the moment I thought I would never walk again.
After that Tuesday night meditation session, my week got even better. On Wednesday, I remembered how blessed I was to have a best friend in T as I sent her a birthday card and wrote a blog post about our friendship . How can we ever stay in a place of sadness when we start to count our blessings. Thanks mom for that lesson and to you, T for being my dearest friend.
Then on Thursday morning, D came home to watch the little girls, while I attended the PAL’s kindergarten program, where parents are inspired to assist their young learners towards literacy, numeracy etc. I came home excited to rearrange our family room, so our children could access the various play things we had in our home. They just needed to be organized to a degree where they were readily accessible. As I worked away, before the older kids came home from school, I dropped into a funk again, as I recalled how functional the Christmas tree farm house would have been. It was the perfect lay out and flow for our family dynamic. While our current home is great, it wasn’t designed to house 6 children, not to mention 8, when everyone is home.
Later that night though, my spirits soared as I found out Harrison’s volleyball team did really well at their play-offs. His high school is known for, “Honour and Excellence” and isn’t the largest high school in our small town but they are known for their strong academics. Normally, the boys sports teams don’t do incredibly well at play offs but this year they made it to third place. That is HUGE and so while others may wonder why we were so happy, the fact they didn’t come in last was a big deal for a rag tag team.
And if that weren’t enough, while at the volleyball play-offs, D received a call that Grace had been chosen to play the lead, “Holly Day,” in our elementary school’s Christmas concert. She will have the most speaking and singing parts of anyone. We were absolutely thrilled and Grace, who is 11, and is in grade 6, as well as grade 6 in piano with the Royal Conservatory, and a voice student at our local music school, was stunned when she heard. She thought she did well at the audition but she came home saying there were some girls with wonderful voices so she wasn’t holding out much hope for a big part. Did I mention she is humble? I however am very proud of her and it really was another highlight in our week.
So many great things happening in one week and yet, I still felt sad, like a black umbrella of dark emotions covered my head.
I don’t know about you, but I always find I’d rather skip my birthday totally, as so much STUFF comes up. On my actual birthday, yesterday, November 8th, I woke up wanting to sleep the day away rather than face what was to come. Since it was Saturday and nothing was planned, I thought sleeping in a bit would wash away the negative feelings, but it just made it worse. When you are a mom to 8 kids, 6 of whom are still living at home, you know you can’t take even a day off, let alone a morning from ANYTHING. So when I finally did get up, the kids were hungry, the laundry pile was huge, the dishwasher needed to be emptied and filled again, the cats were meowing. Well you get the idea. You don’t really have a day off…even on your birthday.
Now I’m not normally a person who believes her glass is half empty, as you have probably figured out from reading any of my blog posts but I kept looking at what I didn’t have in my life. I wouldn’t be selling Christmas trees this holiday season or baking cookies in my new farm kitchen. I wouldn’t be organizing a large children’s play room or getting chicken eggs from our coop. Oh crap! What a roller coaster of emotions…UNTIL.
My sister J came to our door, totally unexpected but boy was I happy to see her shining face and feel her warm hug. Amongst the mess of our house and chaos of noisy children, we somehow shared a pot of “David’s Mother’s Helper tea, my oldest sister B had given me during her last visit in October. (see the Get Grounded Earthlings post…thank you B) It was lovely to sink into a chair and talk to J about the week and also share some of my feelings. Do we ever really know how deeply we touch each other? And also, why certain people are put onto our path and in our lives.
I don’t think my sister J knew the extent of my blues. I like to believe I’m quite an upbeat positive person and as a result good things keep showing up for me but for some reason when my birthday comes around, I feel sad. Is it about getting a year older? Maybe. Although one of my mantras is, “I’m ageless!” Seeing my cake glowing brighter with more candles every year though reminds me in one sense, how many years I have experienced on earth and then it also reminds me that I AM growing wiser as well. I am more enlightened. Feeling melancholy is okay, and actually part of the process. We need to feel the depths of sadness in order to recognize great joy when it arrives. It’s part of growing as a soul.
After J left, I picked up my socks, literally and figuratively, since my laundry pile was knee high (and full of socks to be partnered) and she had lifted my spirits. As I cleaned and organized, our 15 year old son Harrison, made me a decadent chocolate cake, complete with bits of left over Halloween chocolates on top. (I gave him some of the stash) D and I made dinner and the evening turned out really better than I had ever expected after such a emotional week.
I blew out the flurry of candles, to cheers from the children, and then marvelled over the thoughtful gifts everyone had chosen for me. I felt more and more blessed. Today, as I look again at all my new treasures, I see there is a theme, as if everyone got together and chose something unique and special that belonged with the next gift. Although, I don’t have my farm, YET, everyone gave me a little piece of HOPE to keep my dreams alive.
The collection of thoughtful gifts given by my sisters, friends and even our oldest son took time to find something for his me
So Happy Birthday to me!….I’m getting older…and yes a bit wiser.
And since I’m a fall baby, perhaps you want to share in cooking one of my favourite fall dinners, Vegetarian Chili…recipe is below. Can you believe that as of today, we still haven’t had any frost in our area and I still had tomatoes, green peppers, hot red peppers and carrots etc. growing in our garden. When you find abundant blessings this late in fall what do you do? Make vegetarian chili.
Can you believe we are still eating from our garden…and it’s November!
The little kids helped out in the garden today…it’s starting to get cold now but…
I’ve never picked anything in our garden this late in the fall…tomatoes, peppers, carrots, kale, swiss chard, parsley..all still going,,,,but tomorrow is bringing cold weather at last
While I was at it, I put some of my hot red chili peppers in the dehydrator for my next chili
If you are wanting something to lift your spirits, make this chili and think of me.
Hope’s Vegetarian Chili
It helps to get everything chopped ahead of time
Ingredients
2 large 28oz cans of whole tomatoes and their juice or if you canned any of your own….a large jar of stewed tomatoes..also if you have some fresh tomatoes, chop and use as well
2 can of beans, drained and rinsed (I used kidney..but you can use anything)
2 cup of frozen corn
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 small peppers or one large pepper, diced (I used a green but you can use any colour)
2 carrots, diced
1 large onion, diced…I used two smaller ones
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons of cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1-3 tablespoons chili powder (more will be spicier)
¼-2 teaspoons of chili flakes (I used fresh red hot chili peppers from our garden)
2 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste
Optional toppings: sour cream, cheddar cheese, cilantro, parsley, diced avocados or green onion.
Instructions
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and saute for about 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute another 1 minute. .Add celery and saute until tender. Add spices and cook stirring for about 30 seconds.
2. Add carrots, peppers and cut up fresh tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Once the chili begins to simmer, reduce the heat to a medium low.
3. Add beans
4. Add corn
5. Add stewed tomatoes
6. Bring to a boil and then reduce to medium low. Continuing cooking chili for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Ready to serve anytime you are ready to eat.
We served our chili on a bed of rice, along with a corn meal muffin and kale salad. We also like sour cream and grated cheese on top but tonight we put a sprig of parsley…still growing in our garden.
What a great, healthy fall dinner…..perfect for celebrating fall birthdays.
And to top a fall birthday dinner….chocolate cake of course…made specially by our son Harrison
This is the recipe from my blog post, “The Places that Scare You”
Thanks Harrison. I know I said taking Foods at school was a waste of time since we also teach these life skills at home, But you are turning into a really good cook and gee, since we have to eat everyday for our whole life this is a good skill to hone. I’m now a big proponent of these life skill courses in the later grades in school. Yummy!
Even May Ling is interested in cake
I listen to a wide variety of music but this week, whenever I got into my van…ha…Van Morrison sang to me. This particular song spoke to me this week, “When God Shines His Light.” (click on this hyper link if you are not able to see the YouTube below)…..I don’t know why but it lifted me up…I hope you enjoy it and know one of the blessings I count each day, is having you reading my blog. THANK YOU!
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Okay, so you’re not scared. It’s only a picture of our twins, trying on the Halloween outfit they will wear to their preschool party on Friday. I couldn’t resist though as they were so darn cute. But going back to the word,”BOO!” Was I ever a bit scared four years ago this week, when I went in for my first ultrasound after finding out I was pregnant. I’ll never forget the ultrasound technologist telling us that she wasn’t a Doctor and therefore couldn’t tell us anything….but she said she could show us “something”, and then she moved her ultrasound wand across my lower belly and said, “here is one “thing”, and here is two.”
My husband who was casually chewing gum and holding Will throughout the exam didn’t stop chewing, instead he said,”look Will, there is your new baby brother or sister.” He hadn’t picked up on what the technologist was showing us AT ALL
I, on the other hand am an old hand at ultrasounds and was heightened to every word she uttered from the time she asked us to follow her into the exam room. You see, I had been spotting and was so scared the first words I would hear were, “I’m so sorry there is no heart beat.” So when I saw those two flickering heart beats I was elated, truly excited, but yes also extremely scared. We called them our Boo babies at the time.
When D and I left the building I stopped him before we got to the car and said, “you know what she was showing us don’t you?” And he just went, “Huh?” And it was then I uttered the words, “Twins!” He stopped chewing his gum and just went quiet. He was in that state for many weeks and although I was scared, I was just so happy to have babies with heart beats. When you have tried a long time to complete your family and you are finally pregnant, you just enjoy each day that comes and try not to be fearful about the future.
Thankfully, the pregnancy went well and the girls are thriving and healthy. Talking about my fear, reminds me of the fears of many women. The fear first that they may never find a partner in order to have a child, or the strength and courage to choose motherhood as a single person if they are partnerless. Then there is the fear of infertility, which can be devastating, debilitating and sadly, in many cases cause severe depression. As if infertility isn’t bad enough, often women then have to pull themselves out of the trenches of deep darkness to fight their battle for a child. And even when that dream finally comes true, they then have to deal with issues from post traumatic stress while trying to find some semblance of happiness being a new mom.
Then still others have the fear of not experiencing a healthy pregnancy, dealing with a painful labour, difficult delivery and finally having a living, breathing child.. And that is all before their baby arrives on earth. Don’t get me going about once the baby arrives as I will let your imagination take over from there, although I will leave you with this one story of when our first baby slept through the night for the first time. I asked D to check on her as I was so scared we had lost her in the night. You see, our OB-GYN who delivered her, had just lost his infant son from sudden death syndrome a few months earlier and I thought, if it could happen to him well we are not immune. Irrational I know, but this is the stuff of life. FEAR!
Well, I could go on and on with regards to fears, but what I wanted to say was thisHalloween time of year reminds me of the day, 4 years ago that we found out we were having TWO BOO babies……and it’s been a wonderful experience. Yes, my hands are full as many people often comment, but they are full of multiple blessings. The biggest thing that scares us is often fear itself.
This post though is REALLY about a book review I wanted to share since tonight is my Sacred Circle book club meeting and the book we are discussing is, “The Places that Scare You, a guide to fearlessness in difficult times,” by Pema Chodron. I don’t know if you’ve had the chance to read this book or not, (I invited you to be a sacred sister on one of my blogs in September) but in case you haven’t and in case you have your share of anxiety and fears, this book gives one many insights to contemplate and incorporate into ones life.
I have recently written about the terrorism that occurred in Canada on a prior post (Earthlings Get Grounded) and a thought that really rang home to me was on Page 7 of this book. The author wrote, “Hatred never ceases by hatred-but by love alone is healed. This is an ancient and eternal law.”
On page 42, Pema Chodron writes, “In cultivating loving kindness we train first to be honest, loving and compassionate towards ourselves.”
And on Page 52, she says, “As a result of compassionate practise, we will start to have a deeper understanding of the roots of suffering.”
It was quite timely to read this and so I thought, “I send love to all terrorists around the world.” I know many would not understand this way of thinking but if we truly believe we are all connected, I’m only hurting myself by thinking anything but love.
In Chapter three, “The Buddha taught that there are three principal characteristics of human existence. They are, “impermanence, egolessness, or dissatisfaction.”
Recognizing these qualities, to be real and true in our own experience helps us to relax with things as they are.
I loved this concept since the theme of my life is all about surrender It’s a life lesson that runs through each moment of my life as I attempt to not attach to anything, instead, just notice what I’m reacting to and then letting it go. I’m not brilliant one day and a screw up the next. I’m not what I do, or what people think if me. IF I don’t attach to anything, then nothing, NO THING, can influence me or make me feel good, or bad.
It’s a journey for sure but something I’m finding easier as I’m getting older. Good thing too since one of the biggest fears most humans have is dying. Accepting that our earthly body is always in a state of change, and will eventually stop functioning is either a freeing idea or scary to some. Understanding that we ARE, not the human body, that this is only our vehicle while on this earth and eventually it will stop working, makes it easier to let go of even dissatisfaction, like aging, or a part of our body that appears not perfect to us.
The other main idea that was presented in this book has to do with the sweet spot in life. Is it when things are going great and all our dreams are coming true? Nope! It’s when things are really tough and difficult. When we are able to remain in that place and stand our ground, that is when we become true warriors. It’s when we really soften and become more compassionate towards ourselves, and others. It’s when we glimpse the idea that we are all connected.
On page 122, Chodron writes, “The fact we spend a long time in the middle, the juicy spot is the fruitful place to be—resting here completely—steadfastly experiencing the clarity of the present moment is called, Enlightenment.”
I loved the quote at the beginning of Chapter 7 on Loving Kindness-
“Peace between Countries must rest on the solid foundation of love between individuals.”~Mahatma Gandhi~
“No matter where we are on the journey-we are always stepping further into groundlessness. Enlightenment is not the end-it’s just the beginning of fully entering into we know not what.”
The last words of that sentence….WE KNOW NOT WHAT….isn’t that our worst fear? That we don’t know what is ahead of us and that is something that is really hard for most people to deal with…letting go and trusting that ALL SHALL BE WELL.
Before I close my book review, I liked how Pema Chodron brought in stories of her experiences with her teachers. A few simple words they said to her in response to her training came back to me and resonated with my soul, they were, “It’s no big deal.” and “It’s Okay.”
Although this book was rich with wonderful ideas, at the end of it, I was just thinking to myself, I’m okay, and it’s no big deal. And that is what I’m taking to book club tonight.
As we are about to head into Trick or Treat season, when scary creatures are ringing our door bell, literal or figuritively, I thought I would leave you with a comfort food recipe that I made last night. PERFECT for making this weekend, “Country Chicken Casserole and Biscuits” and a recipe for a quick “Chocolate cake,” you can whip up really fast and delicious enough to impress your scariest guests.
Happy Halloween! if I don’t get the chance to post again…it’s really busy around here this time of year although I had hoped to get my famous sugar cookie recipe on my blog…stay tuned for my pumpkin cookie recipes. I have to make it for Will’s kindergarten class party so I will try to bring you in the kitchen for some fun creations. Enjoy this special time of year when we really have to look fear in the face and say, BOO!
Hope’s Country Chicken Casserole with Biscuits
Ingredients
3-4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups diced potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup sliced celery
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
2 cups of vegetables whatever you have….I used brocoli, cauliflower, swiss chard and kale,
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon salt
if you have some sage and parsley they make a nice seasoning that you can add when you cook the celery, onions and garlic
Note: If you want a really creamy sauce double the sauce ingredients above
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400º F.
Bake chicken pieces until lightly browned, no longer pink. ( it took 40 mins for my breast pieces which were quite thick) Remove from oven, cut up into small 1 inch pieces. Set aside
Cut up potatoes into nice big chunks and boil until almost done, add carrots and the rest of the vegetables…cook until all are tender. Remove and drain water.
In a sauce pan, melt 2 tbsp butter, cook celery, onions, garlic until tender. Add chicken broth and cook until boiling. Remove.
Melt butter in 3-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and then slowly pour in milk, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and add salt, pepper if you wish.
Put chicken and vegetables into a a casserole dish along with the chicken broth and white sauce, mix well.
(Make biscuits and put on top of casserole….bake in hot oven 450 F for 12 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown)
This is what it looks like before adding the biscuits….since this was such a large pan though, next time I would add more white sauce…and also next time I’m going to do the English Pea and carrots….my kids aren’t crazy about peas but I LOVE THEM ..my Grandma Clark used to say, “they will put hair on your chest!”
Hope’s Biscuits
Ingredients
2 cups All purpose Flour 4 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1/4 cup shortening 1 cup milk
(For our larger family I double the recipe….any extra biscuits get eaten with jam the next day)
Instructions
Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening with two knives or a pastry blender until the mixture is the consistency of course cornmeal. Make a well in the centre of these ingredients; add liquid slowly. When all the liquid has been added, stir dough rather vigorously until it comes freely from the side of the bowl. Turn dough onto lightly floured board and knead lightly for a few minutes. roll or pat out to desired thickness–about 1/2 inch thick. Bake in a hot oven, 450 degrees F. Makes 12 biscuits
David loves it when I’m cooking for my “blog” because he often gets a glass of wine too….
Tonight we added a nice white wine that my sister J and brother in law B, gave D for his birthday. B says it is the best quality white wine for it’s price…we love B.C. wine! Thanks J and B!
Perfect with my Country Chicken Casserole with Biscuits….ENJOY!
And for another comfort food that will surely chase anything you are scared of, AWAY>>>>
Hope’s Comfort Food Homemade Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon espresso powder (opt)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
½ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water…I had left over coffee so I added a cup of hot coffee
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring or 1-13×9 pan.
For the cake:
Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water(coffee if you have it) to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.
Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans or in one large pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan or let cool completely and ice in pan. .
Frost cake with a Buttercream icing….I added a tsp of hot water with instant coffee for a mocha flavour to my icing
I was in such a rush, taking kids to piano, picking up University kid, Skyping other University kid from a distance to see how his Mid term exam went, and texting high school kid to see when Volleyball practise ended that I was lucky to ice this cake…turned out really great although the decoration of coconut and almonds weren’t the greatest…hey but it’s life. I’m glad I don’t have all the time in the world to set up my blog posts looking perfect because you know, life isn’t like that…not real life and that is nothing to be scared of. It’s sometimes messy but tastes GREAT!
This cake was the perfect comfort dessert after the Country Chicken Casserole with biscuits…I hope you try it out on a day that you need some home cooking to comfort you.
If you are interested in hearing more from Pema Chodron, on Fear and Fearlessness.…check out this YouTube video.
It’s TGIF day (thank God it’s Friday)! I feel like I have to spell out that acronym since my 15 year old didn’t have a clue when I said it this morning. He is always making fun of me for my lack of social media expertise and other computer tech skills but there are still a few things I can still teach him, like, silly end of the week acronyms and how to make a really good pizza.
Anyway, I’m so EXCITED that Friday is finally here. That means one more sleep and D and I are off to experience our first Urban Farming Symposium.The symposium is being organized by Patchwork Farms, which is an organic community collective farm situated next to our local college. The purpose of this event, is to teach enthusiastic people like me, to learn more so we can integrate urban agriculture practices into our daily life. I’ve been putting this out into the Universe since last winter when I saw some cool workshops I wanted to attend in Vancouver, but of course the distance makes that difficult with a family in tow. But here it is, being taught in my own backyard. Well practically since I can see the farm from my back deck.
Some of the topics on the agenda are:
1. From lawn to mini-farm
2. The Urban Beescape
3. Grow your own bread
4. Winterize your soil
5. Sustainable Environment Network Society presentation
6. Figs in the Okanagan
7. Food Farming and Community…and more
I did not see the topic of raising chickens on the agenda but I’m going to network and see what I can find out with regards to changing our by-laws. I want to know what others are doing in our community to increase awareness on the benefits of backyard chickens. Did you know that one chicken can eat a large amount of your kitchen waste which reduces landfill gases and the long term results are improved soil for the urban farmer?
The ironic part of all this, is our nearby city of Vernon allows their citizens to have 3 or 4 chickens per household. However, we rural residents, aren’t allowed the luxury of a few eggs every day, despite the fact our community motto is, “Rural Living at it’s BEST.” I guess they mean, the peace and quiet and quick boat access to the lake, but no chicken noise or smell.
Like anything else, I’m going to put my attention on what I want, “chickens” and know it’s just a matter of time before we have a few in our backyard. Bees too. Just like I attracted this symposium to occur. Don’t you just love the, “law of attraction!” I’m interested in learning more about keeping bees in our organic garden and of course honey would be a nice side benefit not to mention great pollination on our homestead. Our daughter Grace keeps asking for a bunny or two as well, which I understand produces excellent, immediate garden waste. A side benefit to this is she gets a pet she doesn’t have to walk. (Don’t get me going about my dream for a Golden Retriever, that wish comes with a country farm, lots of space and room for the dog to roam)
This picture reminds me of my sister C’s retriever Sunny….I’m holding the vision of a country farm and a new puppy
So tonight, I’m going to make enough pizza so the kids have lunch tomorrow since this is an all day event. Oh did I mention, lunch will be served at the symposium as well. For a mom who makes 21 meals for my family each week, PLUS snacks, well I can’t tell you how marvelous THAT IS! Our older kids agreed to care for the younger ones which is also another huge gift. They know how important growing my urban homestead is and also I’m sure they are planning to take turns watching the little ones so they can have some free time playing computer games, etc. without me nagging about getting outside, doing chores in the house or doing their homework. Hey, it’s a WIN/WIN.
Well, enough about what I’m doing this weekend, How would you like to join me in making an amazing pizza. I tell you, other than my pesto sauce pizza….this is a winner.
So if you want to grab your apron and join me in the kitchen, let’s get the flour out.
We started making these when my 15 year old son Harrison said he really liked my homemade pizzas but he missed the ‘ole chicken club pizza we used to get from Panago Pizza. So I started doing some experimenting and came up with, I think, even a better version of this particular pizza. (no offence Panago, IF I had to buy take out, it would be from you)
Okay, here is what you need to make this pizza. Of course a good pizza starts with an amazing crust. I can whip this up in my sleep now.
Hope’s Homemade Pizza Crust recipe
Ingredients
3 cups of flour
1 tsp of sugar
1/2 tsp of salt
11/2 cups of warm water
1 tbsp yeast (I buy the quick rising kind from Costco’s…it’s in a large box for around $5.00 dollars.)
1 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Non stick spray for the pizza pan Directions
Add 11/2 cups of warm water to a large bowl
Sprinkle 1 tbsp of yeast on the top of the water and let it sit for at least 5 minutes
Mix the flour (and I like to use unbleached white with some whole wheat…the combination can be your choice…We like 1/2 and 1/2 but if you aren’t use to whole wheat flour use less at first) then
the sugar and the salt together until well combined.
Then take a fork stir the water and yeast really well, making sure the yeast has dissolved really well into the warm water…it should be frothy. Then add your tbsp of olive oil and mix well again.
Finally, add the dry ingredients to the wet and combine. When a ball has formed I put it on a lightly floured counter and turn it over and over, kneading it like bread with my hands. I continue to mix until all the flour is worked in. This usually takes about 2 minutes. Sometimes it’s still sticky and if that is the case, then add a tiny bit of flour to the mixture so your hands don’t stick to the dough but not too much or your crust will be heavy.
Then I let the dough sit in a warm bowl with a damp cloth on top for at least 15 minutes. The longer you let it sit the more it will rise but I’m usually making mine right before dinner so I don’t have time to let it rise higher. If you want a thinner crust you can split the dough into two balls but we like our crust thick so this recipe is used for one large pizza.
Now for the fun part.
Pizza topping for the Chicken Club
Spray the pan or lightly grease with olive oil
Take the dough and spread it evenly over the pan, working out from the middle.
I find it easiest to have a 1/2 cup of flour handy, I make sure my hands are well floured and if the dough is sticky, then I sprinkle a little flour to make it easier to spread.
Everything you need, crust, mozzarella, cooked chicken, onion, ham, ranch dressing and Parmesan cheese, opt bacon pieces
Chicken Club Ingredients
About 1/2 cup of Ranch dressing…I use Hidden Valley we buy at Costco 1 cup of thinly sliced black forest ham 1 cup of cut of cooked chicken pieces (I pre-cooked 6 boneless chicken thighs) 1/2 of a red onion thinly sliced….if I were making it just for me…I’d use a whole red onion Parmesan Cheese 2 cups of mozzarella cheese (opt) bacon bits
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F
1. Spread the ranch dressing all over the pizza crust until it’s well covered
2. Spread the thinly sliced black forest ham
3. Scatter red onion on top of the ham
4. Layer the cooked chicken on top of the ham and onion
5. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the ham, onion and chicken (note if you want to use bacon bits as well this is a good time to sprinkle it on top of the ham, onions and chicken)
6. Spread the mozzarella over the entire pizza
Now it’s time to put into a preheated oven @ 425 degrees F…middle rack for 15 to 20 minutes or until it’s cooked to your taste. We like our pizza crust soft and chewy so we don’t cook it as long as someone who would want the crust a bit crunchier. Just watch closely after 15 minutes.
Ready for the oven and as you can tell, the crust has risen quite a bit since I first spread it on the pan. This is the pizza for dinner but I’m also making a cheese pizza so the kids have something for lunch tomorrow as well.
Here’s their cheese before going in the oven.
The little kids like three kinds of cheese; Parmesan, cheddar and mozzarella on a basil tomato sauce
Here it is….TGIF Chicken Club Pizza…enjoy!
Happy TGIF day! Add a Caesar salad and dinner is served.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and it becomes a family favourite in your house.
Oh and stay tuned as I will take notes and maybe some pictures too at the farm symposium tomorrow. It’s going to be enlightening and anything I learn, you will hear about it first.
If you can’t see this YouTube video, click here, Jack Johnston’s “Home” song at a Farm Aid 2012 concert .I like how genuine he is…and isn’t it true, home is wherever your heart is…nothing has to be fancy, In fact the simpler it is, the better in so many ways. Love out to Farmers!
Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. 
It’s TGIF day (thank God it’s Friday)! I feel like I have to spell out that acronym since my 15 year old didn’t have a clue when I said it this morning. He is always making fun of me for my lack of social media expertise and other computer tech skills but there are still a few things I can still teach him, like, silly end of the week acronyms and how to make a really good pizza.
