It is Rhubarb Time....

Hello my dears.. 

It is another rainy day here in New Brunswick.. 

Spring means Rhubarb... 

When we were at the farm last week Terry  pulled some  so I could make a few bottles of jam...

It is my Mom's recipe ..

This is a little injected update as I had the link mixed up so here is the recipe.. 

RHUBARB PINEAPPLE JAM..

6 cups of chopped rhubarb.. quite small.. 

5 cups of white sugar 

1 can of crushed pineapple .. partially drained.. 

Stir this together in a large glass post and let simmer away for about 25 

minutes until the rhubarb is tender and soft.. 

I find a glass pot like 

Visionware turns the jam nice and red.. 

Add 2 small packages of strawberry jello and stir well.. 

Continue to simmer and stir a few times for 5 minutes.. 

Pour into sterilized jars and seal... 

Some would process this but I do not.. 

You can keep it in your fridge if you don't but I have not had it 

go bad by storing it in our cold cellar... 

Sorry about the mix up yesterday with the link.. 

Now on with the story..  

Today I was going to do some baking but I guess it was not meant to be.. 

My Kitchen Aid has a screw loose or missing and will not mix right.. 

Literally... grin.. 

On the back where it holds the bowl the clip is missing a screw 

and... 

the bags of flour are so high on the shelf that I cannot reach it without breaking 

either the bag or my neck... lol 

Terry is over painting at the church so I have called it a day with only one batch of 

cookies made.. 

I think it is all we need anyway.. 

I just wanted to freeze a few for later on... 

Oh well.. 

The rhubarb is calling my name.. 

It is on the patio and needs the leaves cut off and brought in and done up.. 

So, this is a very short post.. 

Just wanted to check in and say I am still here.. 

I am sorry for not posting much or reading everyone's blogs.. 

I think we are all in the same boat this time of year.. 

Have a good day and come back soon... 

God bless.. xo

Linked to.. The Enchanting Rose...

Loving Spring in my kitchen..

Hello everyone.. 

Just a few pics of some lovely Spring doings.. 

It certainly has been warm here the last few days and everything is blooming... 

Apple blossoms, choke cherries, violets, and such.. 

The rhubarb is ready so that means one double batch of Rhubarb Muffins.. 

I froze 3/4 of them so that Terry and I won't eat more then we need.. smile.. 

This is a Harrowsmith recipe.. 

Apple and Rhubarb Muffins.. 

Then the fiddle heads are all ready for the picking if you can find them.. 

Our son brought us a big bag and when we went to church on Sunday another bag was given to us by a friend..

Bless them.. 

So on Monday I froze up about half and then the next day made the pickles... 

We love them and they are lovely on a tray with cheese and such.. 

The recipe is on my Pinterest here...

I changed mine to dill, though.. 

Then of course, there is 

Cream of Fiddlehead Soup.. 

1 cup chopped onion.. 

1/2 cup chopped celery 

3 cloves garlic 

3 sprigs thyme

1/2 cup wine 

Salt and pepper 

2 T. olive oil

2 T. butter 

5 cups of fiddleheads..

6 cups of vegetable stock 

1 cup cereal cream.. 

Saute onion, celery, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper in olive oil and butter over medium heat for 5 minutes..

Deglaze pan with white wine and bring to a boil.. Add fiddleheads and stock and simmer for 20 minutes.. 

Puree with stick blender 

Add cream and garnish with lemon zest...  

I halve this recipe as Terry does not like cream soups.. 

I found this somewhere on the web...

Terry and I had town day yesterday and on the way home we picked the violets for my salve.. 

They are in olive oil in the crock pot right now and hopefully I will get it made tomorrow.. 

Thank the dear Lord my taxes are done, too.. 

Finished them today just before supper.. What a relief to get them done again for another year.. 

Tomorrow, I also need to clean and such.. 

When I do taxes then that is what gets done.. 

The first of the week was busy but I kept the stuff on the table and worked at it when I could.. 

But I am too old to do everything so I did what had to be done and the house is waiting for me.. smile.. 

Well, dear hearts.... 

I am tired and going to get some rest..

Thank you so much for your visits and comments and for praying for my friend, Kendra.. 

Take care and God bless... 

This week in my kitchen...

Please join everyone in Heather's Blog Hop... 

THIS WEEK IN MY KITCHEN..

Picked some lovely daffodils from our garden at the old cottage... 

And made some muffins..  

Delicious fiddle heads with butter and lemon.. 

We look forward to this treat all Spring..

Last Fall my hubby picked High Bush Cranberries that grew along the back roads and we have enjoyed homemade Cranberry Juice.. 

So healthy and good.. 

Then there is the Rhubarb.. 

Homemade Jams and Jellies for next Winter.. 

A quiet lunch.. 

Tomato and Basil Sandwich with a nice hot cup of tea and olives.. 

Do you use lemongrass?? 

I love it in fish dishes or just to simmer in a pot on the top of stove for a lovely room freshener... 

Rhubarb Crumble... 

Eating off the fat of the land.. 

Venison steaks and fiddleheads, onions and mashed potatoes... 

Each day I find myself snapping a picture or two in the kitchen - a pile of ingredients, a table waiting for us to gather around, a sink full of soapy dishes, a cup of tea, dinner as it comes out of the oven - simple, everyday moments in the kitchen. These photos serve as a reminder of days gone by and as encouragement to carry on in this busy kitchen of ours when inspiration is lacking.

Thanks so much for your sweet visit.. 

Looking forward to you comments and questions which I will do my best to answer.. 

Hope you join us all in the fun of peeking into each other's kitchens.. 

Click HERE..

GOD BLESS... 

What can I do with some Rhubarb and Herbs??

Good Morning, everyone... 

Here I am in the early hours of the day for a change... 

I thought I would do this before my day gets going too much.. 

We are leaving to go to a conference later so I decided to drop you a little line, now... 

It is another beautiful Spring day here in Eastern Canada... 

I was out rooting amongst the garden trying to find something edible... grin... 

My Mom was saying her Rhubarb was really big so I went out and checked ours... Terry says it has been there for twenty years and is root bound.. We want to transplant it over to where the horse corral used to be..

 We had a pony once... Dustin named her Gracie Black... smile.. She is gone now and unlike my relatives I do not need a horse...grin.. If you read this and you are related to me on my father's side you understand what I am saying.. 

They LOVE horses and HAVE horses... 

I like them but don't need one... 

Anyway...

 On with the story... 

Here are my pickings from the garden....

The Rhubarb is coming along... Root bound or not... 

The chives are glorious.

The lovage I picked.... It will grow 6 feet high //

My harvest... 

Isn't it pretty?.. 

God sure knew his color palette, didn't He?  

He CREATED the color palette..  smile...

My two favorite colors when I am being heartful and not trendy.. 

Greens and Reds....

Now what can I do with this wee early harvest??? 

Hmmmm... 

How about a Salad Dressing.. 

Yes, Janet B... another salad... grin...

Want the recipe... 

Just slice up 3 stalks of rhubarb into thin slices and place in a 1/3 cup of water in a small pot and simmer for 7 minutes.. 

Cool for a couple of minutes...

Place in your blender along with zest from 1 lemon, 3 T. red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, 1 tsp. grainy mustard, 3 T. olive or canola oil... I put a small minced clove of garlic in too but that is optional... 

Whisk together until smooth...

Isn't that pretty... Tasty, too... Honest...

Now what to make... 

OK.... 

How about an Herb Salad...

One of my all time faves.. 

I shouldn't tell you but I had 2 helpings.. 

Herbs and Rhubarb Dressing is AWESOME... 

To make HERB SALAD..

I took a handful of Lovage leaves and tore them up, then a big handful of chives and cut them up, 2 handfuls of chopped lettuce and  1 handful of spinach... 

You can use whatever herbs you have growing.. 

Later I will add basil and thyme..

Toss up along with your dressing... 

Delicious, if I must say.. 

And may I add... Very good for you... 

Now, you know me... 

I have wanted to try this since I heard about it from our Prince Edward Island chef... Michael Smith... 

Lovage Pickles..

I only picked enough to do one bottle as it needs to grow more..  

Michael emailed me and told me to just use one of my pickling brines to make them..... 

So... I did... 

I will let you know how they turn out... 

They need to brine for a few days.. grin..

Then last but not least... 

I made my Acadian Salted Chives...

A sweet little Acadian lady from the North of the province came into my shop and told me how to do this... 

ACADIAN  SALTED CHIVES..

Just chop up your Chives with your scissors and layer it with kosher salt... 

Let it sit for several weeks and after a while the salt takes on the chives flavor and you use it for soups, salads, fish.... Whatever... 

All right my dears I hear the laundry calling my name... 

Or perhaps it is the clothesline... grin.. 

I also hear the lawn mower going... 

Isn't God good to give us these lovely seasons?  

I am looking forward to hearing the Word of the Lord tonight...

Take care sweeties... 

Oh... I did want to welcome the new followers and to thank 

you girls who joined the networked blog through your facebook.. 

I don't do facebook but I must say I was happy to see your faces on the sidebar thing... I didn't think it would ever happen.. smile..

And of course I love hearing from all of your faithful ones.. 

It truly makes my day.. 

You guys have an awesome one... 

Hugs....