A Corner of our Olde Cottage Kitchen and Homemade Ginger Ale..

Good Evening all...

Here it is almost the weekend again..

And a long weekend at that as we Canadians celebrate Canada Day tomorrow... July 1...

I thought I would share a couple of pics of a corner of our old cottage kitchen with you...

I want to sand and fix our old hutch cabinet before I take a picture of it.. Terry is supposed to find me a palm sander soon...

Anyway...

Please remember that it is just an old cottage that we enjoy for several months a year... We have not tried to redo it all except for a bit of wallpaper and such...

We did find some old furniture for it.. There are no cupboards in this old kitchen.. Just a pantry to take the overflow.. smile...

A dear friend of mine painted the floor for me..

A shade of mustard that I love.. As you know I prefer primitive decor but it is hard to keep it all that way as the house seems to have a mind of it's own sometimes or we run out of cash... grin..

One or the other... Then to get time for Terry to do stuff... oh my...

That is another story...He will not let me attempt it.. I have to bribe people to help me... grin... (When  he is away... smile)

Oh well... it is just a summer place anyway and we like it...

I will show you more another time...

For tonight though I did want to give you this little idea..

It came out of my idea book... smile.. from last year...

This is the second time I have made it..

Homemade Ginger Ale..

So easy and different to have for the Summer when you want a nice cold refreshing drink..And different and you know what is in it...

I made some after supper this evening and it only takes a few minutes..

First you need to buy some ginger root at the market...

I have planted quite a bit already this summer.. I just throw it in my flower beds and even big pots...

Come Fall and it will be so flavorful..

Anyway... back to my story..

Peel up your ginger root and slice it into coins to measure 2 cups..

In a medium size pot add 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water and bring to a simmer...

Let it simmer for at least 8 minutes until it is a thin syrup..

Take it off the heat and cool until room temp and then strain it through a fine sieve..

Store in a covered container in your fridge for up to 1 month..

Now to use this ---

For ginger ale...Fill glass with ice.  Add 1/4 cup of syrup and fill to top with club soda.. Garnish with lime slices and candied ginger if desired...

Or ... use it over pancakes and ice cream or stir into yogurt or garnish poached pears and spice cake.

Or... make a ginger ale float with vanilla ice cream..

My grandsons will love this... xoxoxoo

Well, sweet friends, thanks for stopping by and welcome to all the new followers of the blog.. So glad to have you..

And to you faithful dear ones who comment so often...

I appreciate you..

I will say goodnight for now and may the God of Peace give you all a healthy and restful sleep..

Love to you all..

JOIN US AT THE LINKS BELOW...


SIMPLY HOMEMAKING

FARMGIRL FRIDAY

FRUGALICIOUS FRIDAY

THRIFTY THINGS FRIDAY

A Day's Doings and a Quick Supper Recipe...

Hello my dears...

Just thought I would give you a pictorial view of my day... smile..

Not that you are interested but when I began this blog I explained that this is basically what it would be..
Just a day in the life of an old-er (grin) keeper of the home..

So.. this is today...

My sweet husband brought me home a grocery bag full of chives..

Yikes... what to do with all of these.. I grow some but I would have to chop them all down to get this many.. He found them growing in a ditch... Bless him... smile..

Oh well ... here goes..

Heads off for jelly and vinegars...

And then chop the rest for....

Delicious salted herbs...

Four bottles... I can give a couple away and have the rest until next Spring..

And then I went out and did more gardening...

There is a lot of moss growing here in St. Martins so I do mostly container gardening except for a couple of herb beds..

As I  was telling you we found a place selling flowers at clearance prices..

I still have more to do and will show you when I actually get them done..

Then I came in for lunch and had one of my favs...

I grow sprouts all year long..

I know there is fresh greens out there but our garden is at home ..

So instead of paying 3 dollars for a wee pack of sprouts I do my own...

This is a lunch that I have often..

Pita bread with a bit of mayo flavored with garlic and then a layer of sprouts... Perhaps some onion or tomato or cuke..

Not today, though... Just mayo and sprouts..

Terry calls this my hippie lunch...

Peace... I say... giggle.. He doesn't like them...

Oh well, he is not home today... smile..

OK... it is one o'clock and I need to go to the shop..

It was a lovely afternoon..

My sweet friend Tamara (Tammy) and her husband drove 2 hours to come and surprise me... Bless them...

And Janelle and Hannah dropped in..

Hannah picked out her birthday present... smile..

And then I sold 3 of my big dolls... Yeah:-)

I now have to make more bigger ones...

I love making dolls...

And then I came home and made this for supper...

7-HAPPINESS BEEF AND RICE...

Yes... that is what it is called.. I found this in an old cookbook that was over at the shop...

I HATE TO COOK COOKBOOK....

It is a really interesting one.. (I love to read cookbooks.. weird, eh?)

Well, I found this recipe and had to try it..

This is what it says..

The 7 reasons for happiness in making this are:

1..It is meat and starch combined.

2..Neither has to be cooked first.

3..Everything goes together at once.

4..Very young people and very old people like it and the others don't mind it much.

5..The amount of meat depends on what's there.

6..Odds and ends of veggies can go into it.

7..Though it looks like dog food when it goes into the oven it doesn't when it comes out...

Well, that what it says in the cook book..

Now here is the recipe..

1/4 cup veg. oil (I used 1/8)

1 cup uncooked rice1/2-1 1/2 cups of lean ground beef

small bottle of stuffed olives... (I used 1/4 cup of chopped green peppers)

1 tsp. each salt, pepper and paprika

1 medium onion chopped.. (I added a large clove of garlic, too)

1 1/2 cups V8 juice

1 1/2 cups boiling water...

grated cheese..

Mix everything except cheese up in a large bowl..

Place in an oiled 9 x 13 pan and bake in  a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.. Add cheese and cook another 10 minutes...

Believe me... it was DELICIOUS and SO EASY..

Oh, then my dear cousin Dan and Sara came up for a visit..

They are sweet...

Well, my ladies... this is my post for tonight..

Have a blessed and lovely evening..

It is bedtime here in Atlantic Canada and guess what?  It's raining again...

Love and Prayers...

Old Flowers around an Old Cottage...and a question...

Hello everyone...

Hope you are all well and settling in for summer vacations, etc..

I have already noticed a slight increase in traffic today.. It was a most beautiful day, though... Thank you dear Lord..

Just quickly posting some pics of flowers just around the old cottage here...

I am just now getting to doing my pots and such.. They had a clearance sale and so we were blessed to get all we needed for a third of the price...

Such blessings...

I will post more when they get growing and in their pots..

This is the old barn windows... There are two and Terry made me a couple of sills to put some pots on...

A rhododendron...

Comfrey has grown huge this year..

I use this for my salves...

Lots of roses around here too...

Love them...

Just starting on this spot.. Only one tub of lavender ...

More tomorrow, Lord willing..

I love this bush but forget the name...

Gorgeous...

Snowball tree...

Mauve....

Yes, Sammi we can go in now... smile..

.

Well tonight girls I am so tuckered out.. Please forgive the boring post, etc...

Will try to do better next time...

Thank you for visiting and welcome to you all..

I do have a quick question for you who do read this blog....

Some of you have been mentioning my music...

I cannot hear a thing and have not since the play list group said that it is illegal to play some of the music here..

So... you who can hear lives where?

US or elsewhere..

And does anyone in Canada hear it?

I would like to change the songs around so you don't hear the same ones all the time but I can't even log in...

Perhaps I should just remove the thing..

It is at the very bottom of the blog..

Looking forward to hearing who hears it and who doesn't...

Bless you all...

SUNDAY SHOP SHOTS...

Hi... just a few pics from the shop for you again on this Sunday..

Praising our loving and faithful God today..

Blessings sent to you all..

John 3:16

Did someone say it was RAINING?

Hi...

Looking out of the windows of this olde cottage...

And what do we see....

Rain...

Streets turned into flowing streams..

Heading for the Bay of Fundy...

More rain..

There are rough waves down there..

Wet....

Wind....

You can hear thunder.... lots of thunder...

And lots of lightning...

Oh, the hydro is back on... Thank you, Lord..

A nice hot cup of Earl Grey and a good book....

Listen to that wind and rain..

Enjoy your weekend...

God Bless...

More Herbal Ideas...the last...

Happy Friday everyone...

How are you all tonight?

I am posting my LAST herb segment... yeah....

For a time, anyway... If I haven't convinced you yet to get involved with herbs then I may as well wait for awhile and try again... smile...

Just a couple of new ideas and a few older ones...

I forget to be honest where I saw this idea.. Pinterest, maybe..

I do not know.. But I loved it and decided to make some..
Baby Sock Sachets

I was at a yard sale and I found a little bag full of baby socks..

Just plain little ones but brand new..

You just fill the foot of the sock with lavender or whatever herb you like...

Then tie the top really tight with a pretty ribbon or you could use and elastic and cover it with some sort of a tie..

You can place them in a drawer or linen closet or perhaps make some up for your gift pantry...

A nice little add in for a baby gift..

Every once in awhile just squeeze the foot and it will bring the lavender scent back nice and strong...

Hope you like them..

If you don't grow you own lavender then  you can buy it online or if you are near me I sell it in the shop by the scoop...

Or the Health Food Store nearest you always have it in bulk...

I think rosemary would be nice, too..

The other idea for tonight is this..

You probably do it anyway but here goes..

Herbal Oils..

I love this.. I know I should not have it too often but if we are having pasta night..(which I have cut back to only once a week)

sigh....then I occasionally make this for us..

Now to be honest... this is not Terry's thing...

But it is my thing.... grin...

Bread Dipping... Yummy...

I even bought these sweet little bread dippers at a sale..

For the recipe..

I just take a smaller mason jar and fill it 3/4 full of good oil..

I always add a minced garlic but that is optional.

And then a good handful of chopped herbs of choice..

My fav is basil... but whatever you like..

Then I add a speck of my seasoned basil salt (recipe below) and pepper...

Shake well and let it sit for a few hours... 

Keep it in the fridge though especially if you have garlic in it.. 

Just take it out a bit before serving..

Now... I don't just use this for bread... 

You can use it instead of mayo.. on sandwiches ..especially tomato and salads and such.. 

Or just add some lemon juice or vinegar and you have a salad dressing or marinade... 

Or use it for dip for veggies... 

OK?

Here a few links from previous posts when I was on an herb bend... smile.. 

Just click on the word below and it will link to the posting... ok?

BASIL 

 this includes pesto and the salt which is heavenly..

I made it for the first time last year and kind of forgot about it until half way through the Winter.. Then I tried it.. Oh my..

It is delicious on salads, soups, fish or any where that you like salt.. It is coarse salt and you do not need very much..

This year I am making basil, chive and lovage salts...Lord willing.. 

I know ... salt isn't good for you... neither is coffee.. grin..

VINEGARS

I made this with chive blossoms, nasturtium , tarragon and rosemary were my favs...

Lovely gifts..

Dip the corks in melted wax and then you can give them away..

SALAD DRESSINGS

We do not buy salad dressings here hardly at all..

Only the two that I use for marinades and sometimes Caesar..

The rest I make... There are so many recipes out there..

But this one is my old standard...

Well, girls have a wonderful weekend..

Enjoy your family and remember to praise God for all His loving kindness...

He is awesome..

Blessings from our house to yours...

Make a Mint Chandelier..

How are you all doing?  Another lovely day here.. So thankful as we have had so much rain... I am not complaining but it is nice to see the sun and to accomplish a few little gardening chores... smile..

I was wondering if you would like to see my newest outside HERB project...grin.. Are you all getting tired of my herb expose?

Tomorrow is Friday so I am almost finished... ok?

I found this idea on the web last year and wrote it down in my idea notebook... Do you have one of those.. Shonda (our daughter) wants me to will it to her... smile..

I have a nice big thick one and as I come across an idea I write it down for future reference... Anyway.. I saw this on Martha's blog and loved it...

A Mint Chandelier... 

Terry wired these three containers together that I picked up at a shop ...

The Christmas Tree Shop actually for a dollar each, I think.

You can use old sap cans or even coffee cans...Whatever turns your crank... grin...

He just wired them together but made a wire handle also...

He needed to use a drill to make the holes but if I were desperate I would try poking a hole with a hammer and nail... grin...

Then you plant the three different mints that you can pick up at the garden shop or repot from your own.,.

You can use any mints you like...

Peppermint, raspberry, lemon or whatever...

Then use a S hook or however you like to hang it...

This is not as nice as Martha's but it will fill out over the summer...

Then you make all kinds of lovely drinks ...

Hot or Cold..

This is a sun tea that I found on THIS INFORMATIVE BLOG..

I used lemon mint and a bit of lavender...

She has all kinds of recipes for syrups and teas...

It will be fun experimenting with this and trying  out the lemonades on our grandsons....

Or maybe Shonda or Janelle will be out for a nice cuppa... 

Let me know if you try any of these and like them... 

I thought I would give you another wee look at the shop... 

Primitive stars... People are still buying them, I think...I hope..

Thank you so much for stopping by and welcome to all the new followers... So glad to meet you all and your comments are a delight to my heart...

I have a couple more ideas for you tomorrow...

Until then...

Love and Prayers

Faye..

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