The last part of June...

Hey there everyone... 

Happy Canada Day!  

And a lovely one it is here in New Brunswick.. 

A bit hot but I am not complaining! smile... 

We have had such a cold Spring that we are all welcoming the heat wave, I think.

Hope all is well in your part of the world and am so happy you dropped by for a few minutes... 

Just a post of a few things we have been doing.. 

Last week we went to the farm for a couple of days.. 

Trying to get through the mayhem of the selling of our places in St. Martins.. 

Accomplished quite a lot.. 

Have the kitchen pretty well cleared and the pantry almost finished.. 

While we were there the second day I made dinner.. 

I think a lot of us Maritimers still cook according to Marilla's Table.. 

In the last post I posted of a culinary class in P. E. I. and it was just down home food, really.. 

One of the dishes I grew up with was called Codfish Gravy.. 

Nowadays, I use whatever fish we happen to have.. This was actually Sole... 

It is just a white sauce with fish fillets and I usually add a bit of shrimp or scallops unless it is actually cod... 

A sprinkle of chili pepper flakes and some chopped herbs.. 

We always serve it over mashed potatoes... 

Notice the new cut on my carrots.. grin.. 

And a simple cucumber salad.. 

Nothing fancy but good for a rainy day there.. 

My rhubarb was getting away on me so took a couple days and preserved some..  

A Rhubarb Cordial type of juice... 

Pour a bit into glasses with ice and top with Sprite or Soda water.. 

Very refreshing and with it canned it will keep all winter.. 

Lovely for punch, also... 

Then I had to try out a new BBQ sauce.. 

This was so good that I made 2 batches of it.. 

Terry ate half of a bottle instead of just having it on the meat.. smile.. 

A lovely plant that Trevor and family gave me for Mother's Day is so pretty this morning that I had to take a pic... 

The rain the last few days has really perked the outside plants up... 

Love my inside plants, too...

Geraniums in the living room... 

And this huge one in the spare room on the window seat.. 

When we move to the farm I will put them on the deck out there... 

I didn't post the pics we took of our day trip to the Fundy Trail with our friends from Arkansas... 

St. Martins is as beautiful as ever.. 

And the Fundy Trail is amazing.. 

You cannot imagine the rock they had to get through to make this beautiful drive.. 

And the hills were a bit scary for my friend.. 

We are used to it as we try to visit every summer once at least.. 

Love the Bay of Fundy and when we get to the farm we will only be a half hour away once again... 

Received some pics and recipes from the Table in my email this week of the classes we took.. 

I am learning the chopping skills right here.. 

Must have been concentrating... 

Anyway, dear hearts that is about all for today.. 

Although I do want to mention that it is our youngest son's birthday!  

This is one of my fave pics of him.. 

It was taken several years ago.. 

With dear old Sammie.. 

Dustin lives out west now and we couldn't really share the day with him except through calls and texting... 

We are so thankful for this dear son of ours.. 

He is such a blessing and we all love him so much... 

He does read my blog or at least look at the pics so I wanted to wish him Happy Birthday here, too... smile.. 

Thank God everyday for our sweet family... 

And thank you sweet friends for your visits and comments.. 

I love hearing from you and on Face Book page I try to comment back.. 

If you have a question I will try to answer it here.. 

To be honest it is easier on FB because I can do it through my tablet.. 

Here I have to get on my laptop and it is a pesky thing as if I move it turns off sometimes.. grin.. 

I should get a new one someday but I love this one as I am so used to it.. 

Anyway my friends have a lovely weekend and may God bless and keep you and your families... 

xo

It was a good day...

Yesterday was Canada Day and I hope you all had a blessed one.. 

We had a really good one.. 

I opened the shop for several hours but earlier we had received a phone call from our youngest son.. 

They decided to come down to the Bay and celebrate his birthday with us.. 

When they called about the time they were halfway here I 

 closed the shop an hour early and hurried back to the cottage to thraw out some BBQ food... smile.. 

Dustin is our youngest by quite a few years.. 

His brother and sister were 12 and 13 when he arrived so the poor kid kind of had 2 sets of parents.. grin.. 

We all so enjoyed having that dear baby in our family and of course over the years he was no doubt a bit spoiled ... smile.. 

But today he is a parent and a great Dad to 2 wee boys.. 

We were so glad to see them all.. 

The oldest one is having a great time with a mask that he found upstairs in the Cousin's Clubhouse.. 

The wonderful Abe Lincoln.. 

He even received a history lesson and I was quite impressed in how well he understood it all.. 

When I was finished he told me.. 

Well, he accomplished his mission anyway, Grandma... grin.. 

Kids are so smart these days, eh? 

Later, we were all walking down to the beach and he had it on but I had forgotten.. 

A couple of teenagers we knew were biking towards us and they were grinning.. I thought they were just being friendly but then later I realized he was out in front with that thing on.. 

No wonder they were grinning.. 

Sometimes I think parents (and we were also guilty) of buying high priced toys when sometimes they get more enjoyment and learning experiences from something like a dollar store mask.. ??? 

Maybe... smile.. 

Dustin wanted to know what we were having for Supper.. 

I told him BBQ hot dogs and hamburgers.. 

Excellent!! 

It seems that this is an awesome supper in the Summer time.. 

Terry did put on a few kebabs, though and of course a Caesar Salad and baked potatoes are always delicious.. 

In the morning when I knew they were coming I had Terry rush up to the store and buy a cake mix.. 

I know.. 

I never use cake mixes but I was in a hurry ... 

I baked the cake before I left and was certain I had icing sugar in a can in the pantry.. 

When I came home I looked in vain for it and then figured out that it was in the cupboard in a can at the farm... 

Oh Brother... 

But I had brown sugar and made this old standby.. 

BROWN SUGAR ICING
1 c. brown sugar 1 c. white sugar 1/2 c. cream or evaporated milk 1/2 c. butter 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. vanilla Combine brown sugar, white sugar, cream and butter. Boil for 2 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat add baking powder and vanilla. Beat to spreading consistency - spread on cake.

Then we all walked down to the beach again and watched the kids and dogs play in the water.. 

Did you know this is an edible plant?

I bought a book from Chapters about edible wild plants here in Maritime Canada and you can eat the little peas on this one.. 

Anyway.. 

The fog started coming in over the Bay and the kids had to be in Moncton for the fireworks...

So... 

All in all it was a wonderful day.. 

We miss our boys when we are here and we miss our daughter when we are home but are so thankful for the time we get to spend with all of them.. 

Shonda and her family are vacationing in Florida.. again.. 

I ask .. 

What is wrong with P. E. I..... grin.. 

one of my favorite places in the whole world... 

Thanks so much for visiting and it is so great to meet so many of you who follow the blog and come to the shop,, 

You guys are great and I appreciate you.. 

It is so nice to know you are all out there.. 

Praying that God will bless you all with a wonderful Summer Season with your families and friends.. 

xo

Growing your own Sprouts..

Hello everyone..

 Hope you all had a lovely Canada Day..

Now I need to get on with my posting..

I have had several requests and emails about the sprouts that I posted about a few days ago..

I thought this would be easier than trying to email everyone.. smile..

As you know by now.. I love sprouts.. They are sooooo good for you.   And soooo easy to do yourself..

I noticed that the price for a box of sprouts has tripled in the last year.. I asked the market produce manager about it but he did not know why..

Perhaps THEY found out that they are good for us.. grin..

Oh well ... I can make them for pennies a jar..

Here are 2 bottles that I just started yesterday..

 

Here's all you do..

I go to Winterwood Health Food Store in Sussex and buy a bag of sprout seeds....You can buy like just alfalfa or broccoli or cress or mustard... I like the mixed kind the best... 

Then I sterilize a jar.. mason jar, sprout jar, pasta jar... any kind..

Measure about 2 Tablespoons more or less and place in your jar..

I use cheesecloth and a piece of string or elastic to hold it on the top of the bottle...

Rinse your sprouts and then cover them with warmish water for a few hours..

After that... rinse a couple times a day...

These ones are from last winter when I posted

about them.. At home I have a sprouts jar with a metal mesh cover but down here at the cottage I just use cheesecloth for a cover..

Some tell you to lay them on their side and some say to put them in the dark...

I just leave them on the counter or in my veggie basket so I won't forget about them.. I have forgot before and boy do they smell bad if you forget about them.. If they smell bad then you best throw them out...Now I leave them out in plain sight.. 

Old age and memory you know... grin.. 

They have sort of a smell anyway... But if you are rinsing them twice a day with fresh water then they should be fine..

 After several days they will look like this..

And taste delicious...

I try to have two bottles going at a time as I love them and they don't last long..

I mostly put them in pitas and wraps as I am TRYING to stay away from bread...

My hippie friend, Dawn who is one of the sweetest people I have ever met introduced me to her special sandwich many years ago and it is still one of my favorites...

Just slice a couple of slices of good heavy sort of homemade bread..

Take a bit of mayo and mince up a clove of garlic and then spread that on both slices....

Cover this with fresh sprouts...Sprinkle on a bit of kosher salt.. 

Put together and drink with some French pressed coffee...

You can add fresh veggies like onion, tomato, green pepper or whatever..

Enjoy..

That is all for today my sweet ladies..

Have a lovely evening and remember He is Faithful....

Love and Prayers...