Spring Ramblings...

Hello there everyone,, 

Glad you could stop by for a bit.. 

We are having a lovely Sunday here in New Brunswick.. 

We woke up this morning to rain falling outside the bedroom window and dripping off of the roof.. 

I thought I would lay in a bit and just listen.... 

My darling wind chime would do a little clang now and then but once my eyes are open I get thinking about that coffee and up I get.. grin.. 

Terry bought me a new perk for our anniversary and I am sold... 

We have been using a drip one or the Keurig for ages... 

I saw this one at Walmart .. It looked like one of the old fashioned ones with the basket inside and coffee splashing up on the glass cover..

The coffee is so much better.. 

Worth getting up for shall we say.. 

Sitting in my chair, the rain pelting the window and a nice hot cup of coffee in my hand started my day off right.. 

We were looking forward to church this morning..

We always look forward to it but a bit more shall we say..  

There was a concert and it was wonderful.. 

Southern Gospel at it's best and good preaching in between.. 

Matt Linton..

Felt blessed to hear it..

My Mom and Step Father were there and we all went out for lunch.. 

So all in all a lovely day... 

We were up to the farm the other day.. 

It is greening up there really well .. 

The brook is flowing and it is fishing season here.. 

I find it stays colder up there but things are beginning to leaf out.. 

The flag has had the biscuit so I have that to look forward to when Terry climbs that ladder and does his thing.. 

I am not going to write about it this time though.. lol.. 

I was so excited to see the garlic was spared this winter... 

We should have quite a few... 

Looking forward to the Scapes and making some Pesto with them.. 

The Lilac Tree is starting to leaf out, too... 

Aunt Eva loved this tree.. smile.. 

We are not moved up there yet by a long way.. 

So much to do in getting all the stuff from the cottages sorted... 

pray for me.. smile.. 

Here at home the Forget Me Nots are out and the White Violets.. 

Love little bouquets of them here and there... 

 A lot of my herbs came back at the farm and I am glad.. 

Here though I only have Lovage and Chives... 

This is my Lovage plant a few years ago... 

It is only half that size right now.. 

Perfect for making pickles.. 

I did these on Saturday.. 

Cut the stems and trim the leaves... 

Cut them up and put them in sterilized bottles with a bay leaf and half a tsp. of  hot chili flakes.. 

Make your fave brine and pour over... 

I used my Hot Pickled Veggie recipe.. 

Oh my.. they are good.. to me.. (I mean)  

As usual not for Terry.. grin... 

The leaves I cleaned off the stems were put in a dehydrator... 

They are all dried and ready to be blitzed tomorrow into a powder that I used in place of salt... 

And my Spring treat is the hollow stem in a glass 

of tomato or Clamato juice...  

A nice afternoon drink or whenever.. 

Spring to me means buying my Lemon Geranium... 

We always have one on the deck.. 

It is supposed to keep away bugs.. 

I like to stick a leaf or two in my vacuum bag, too... 

And of course we can't forget the Rhubarb.. 

It is just beginning but Terry brought in enough for a batch of 

Rhubarb Scones... 

I just used the recipe for the Daily Biscuits I shared with you a bit ago and added 1 cup of finely chopped rhubarb and a bit of cinnamon and replaced the white sugar for brown... 

He did like these.. 

Especially served with Rhubarb and Pineapple Jam.. 

From last year.. 

I need to make some more as soon as I can.. 

So much to do and so little time, eh?  

Oh well a bit here and a bit there... 

If I were to pick a fave Canadian season it would be Spring.. 

What is yours? 

We had some sweet company yesterday.. 

Trevor and Joel went to the woodlot and then stopped by for a few minutes... 

For you girls who follow the blog you no doubt remember me explaining about Trevor's love for Charlie saga ... 

Unrequited love, though.. 

It is so sad.. smile

The dear lad does everything he can to make Charlie like him.. 

To even be civil would be nice.. grin.. 

But before Trevor even got in the house I could hear Charlie growling in his kennel... 

I looked out and there was Joel so I knew Trevor was near.. 

Pretty soon the dog really starts barking and in comes Trev... 

"Hello Charlie Boy!"  

The dog just keeps barking.. 

I made him go get in his kennel and the whole time he keeps giving  a deep growl...   

Trevor as always goes to the fridge for a slice of cheese and begs Charlie to come out and get it.. 

As you can see... 

All Charlie does is poke out and growl.. 

Then he would lift his head and bark like crazy... 

Trev kept trying but what a stubborn dog... 

The pic is the last little piece... 

Trevor enjoyed the cheese.. lol... 

He is really Dustin's dog and has only one master... 

And one mistress.. lol.. 

It took him a year to warm up to Terry but just so so... 

Well, sweet girls I hope you are all having a lovely Spring.. 

Trials come and go but the One who holds our hand keeps us stable.. 

Life is what you make it... 

Right?  

Thanks so much for stopping by and so love your comments here and on Face Book... 

Thanks for following the blog and liking the page.. 

Really appreciate hearing from you... 

God bless you dear girls and enjoy your days... 

xo

HERB HABITS..

Hello my dears...

Here it is Tuesday evening already.. I have been home since Sunday night and just got back to the cottage today..

There is still a lot of moving things down here.  It really takes a couple of weeks before it feels like you have all the comforts of home .... smile..

Anyway... coming down in the car today smelled rather nice..

I had picked a huge bag of chive blossoms from the herb bed there at home and also a bunch of lovage as the plant here is just starting and I want it to gets it's roots grown good before I help myself to it...

I think this week I will try to share a few herb habits that I have... grin...

I hope you enjoy it and even if you don't grow them yourself they are easily attained this time of year at markets everywhere...

I even noticed in the supermarkets now that they have pots of herbs growing and they are almost the same price as a small bundle all picked... You could buy these and just put them on your deck or whatever...

If you have been following this blog for a bit you have heard me go on about herbs before... But they are so good for you and just make everything taste so much better..

Well, back to my purpose here..

I made these on Saturday...

PICKLED RADISHES...

They are delicious and so easy to make...

If you are not a gardener then just buy a nice big bundle and wash them up good..

Slice them quite thin until you get about 2 cups..

I actually doubled this as I had a lot and it didn' t take much longer to make one batch then two..

In a small pot put 1/2 cup of vinegar

* I used my chive vinegar that I had made up last year but you can also use rice or white vinegar..

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. sea salt..

Just bring this to a simmer and let cool a bit..

I just put my radishes in a mason jar..

This recipe is for only 1 bottle but as I said you can double everything..

In the jar add 1 bay leaf and 5 or 6 peppercorns.

 

Now, in 1 bottle I added a clove of garlic...

In the other you can add a 1 inch piece of ginger cut in small pieces or just leave as is...

Pour the syrup over them.. You should have just enough.. 

We really like them... They are lovely on a salad plate or just eat them as a summer treat...

Ok?

Now here is what I did with a stick of butter..

I had some fresh parsley and a clove of garlic..

Threw them in my little Braun chopper and chopped... smile..

Put the mixture in a bowl with the butter and a speck of sea salt and  pepper... Cream well...

Place on a piece of wax paper and roll up..

I put it the fridge and let it sit till it was nice and firm..

Doesn't it look good?

It is... smile..

Use it for your breads....

Place a slice on your veggies..

On baked potatoes..

On fish ...

Or my fav... pasta... Yummy..

And ... a good way to use some of those old saucers you have... smile.  That is what they use for butter dishes at Kings Landing Historical  Village... 

I like making different ones....

Chive, Basil, Lovage, Parsley, or a mixture of herbs and roll them in wax paper and store in small plastic bags in  your freezer..

You can use Rosemary or Thyme with chicken or pork and so on... Just match the herb with the menu..

When you know you need them bring them out to thaw a bit...

And last but not least...

My favorite way to use Lovage...

As a straw in my V8 or tomato juice..

So nice..... smile....

I have this so often with a couple of creamery crackers..

My best treat right now...

I know... I am so easy to please ... grin..

Yeah, right....

Well girls that is all for tonight...

As I told you I picked a lot of chive blossoms and hope to get them done tomorrow...

I will let you see then...

Take care of yourselves and Happy Summer....

Love to you all...

Join in...

Linked up to Simply Homemaking