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... 

Making Salad Drying Bags and Brown Sugar Pound Cake .....

Hello my dears.. 

Hope you all had a great weekend...

Spring days are here in Atlantic Canada which means my herbs are growing and needing to be preserved already... 

My Lovage is already 2 feet tall at least so I want to get drying some as I plan to grind it up and put it in a shaker to use instead of salt.. 

When we were at an herb farm a while back the herb lady was selling it and it is wonderful.. 

Surely saves on the salt and we do like the flavour of Lovage.. 

Kind of like celery.. 

You can find HERE.. where I posted some recipes and ideas for Lovage and Chives.. 

Each Spring I make up a few salad bags... 

This year I bought two packages of lovely drying towels from Home Sense to use for them.. 

I just happened to see these ones and they were economical and the fabric is great.. 

You just sew two together on three sides to make a bag.. 

Turn them back to the right sides and you have a bag.. 

If one is too large then just cut the side to fit... 

The sides were finished so I used them for ties.. 

Then just wash your salad greens, drain a bit and put inside the bag and swing it around... 

Dries them wonderfully and you can then keep them in the fridge and they will stay cool and crisp... 

I really don't like storing the salad spinners and they are expensive.. 

I find this handier (is that a word?) grin.. and saves space, too..

 I posted about them here, too..

Do you like Cilantro?  

I have grown to love it and just happened to find a new way to use it the other day.. 

I was washing lettuce and herbs and somehow some of the cilantro ended up in our salad along with the greens.. 

It was delicious !!  

I often add  basil, parsley and thyme but had not tried cilantro before.. 

A lovely meal just in itself.. 

Salad...

So many ways to dress it.. smile.. 

Just wanted to tell you a little story... 

This is my Mom's clothesline.. 

We were to Moncton the other day and went to Mom's.. 

They were not home but Terry had to do something so I was just waiting in the truck..

 I noticed Mom's clothes were blowing straight out as there was such a wind.. 

I love to watch blowing clothes for some reason .. 

Anyway, I thought I should take a picture of them.. 

So... I did.. 

The next morning Mom says to me that she found me a few huge sheets for our water bed.. 

She said that they were lovely and white and they had been blowing on the line all day yesterday.. 

I laughed and said that I had taken a picture of them.. 

If I had known they were mine I could have brought them home.. 

We laughed over that !  It doesn't take much to get a laugh sometimes, eh?  

Please note how green our grass is... 

We had such a slow start this year but it caught up quite quickly... 

And here is the promised 

Brown Sugar Pound Cake recipe.. 

BROWN SUGAR POUND CAKE 

3 cups flour 

1/2 tsp. baking soda 

1/4 tsp. salt 

3/4 cup butter at room temp 

3/4 cup of vegetable shortening 

1 pound of light brown sugar

1 cup of white sugar

5 large eggs

1 cup of milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts.. 

Oven at 325 degrees F. 

Whisk together the flour, soda and salt and set aside.. 

Cream the butter and shortening until very light.. 

Beat in eggs one at a time..

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk.. beginning and ending with the milk.. Beat after each time only enough to blend.. 

Stir in vanilla and nuts.. 

Pour into prepared greased and floured ten inch tube pan.. 

Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.. 

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and invert on a rack .. 

Frost with your favourite butter icing.. 

I like adding a few nuts to it if I have some to spare.. 

Thank you so much for your sweet visit and I love your comments each and every one.. 

Please pray for a dear blogging friend Kendra whose husband of twenty years passed away unexpectedly...

She is a sweet girl with boys to raise...

 Praying for God to cover her with his peace and comfort.. 

Sad things happen to us in this life and it is such a blessing to be able to lean on the Lord and feel His strength during such tragic circumstances... 

God bless you all tonight.. 

Psalm 94:19  “Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer.” 

Linked to... 

ROSES OF INSPIRATION LINK UP

Another Farm Stay.. ...

Hello ... 

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth .. 

Terry and I spent a few more days at the farm this week and had a great time.. 

The weather was good except one day when it rained.. 

It didn't really matter as he was working inside on the pantry... 

It is coming along fine although it is taking longer then we thought, of course.. 

It seems whenever one does this type of work it takes longer and costs more then you thought it would.. 

I am going to hang a curtain there and he is has the boards cut for another shelf midway... 

I love the old dresser .. 

The drawers will come in handy.. 

We found an old porcelain sink at the end of someone's drive a few years ago and he is planning on hooking it up.. 

I will love that.. 

Above will be open shelves which I will paint eventually but for now they will be stained...

The border that I showed last post is going where the pots are going to be hanging.. I think... 

And so on... smile.. 

Next week is tax week... ugh.... 

On with the story.. 

I did a bit of baking.. 

No knead bread... of course... 

I did do a bit of kneading this winter but must say that this one loaf is sufficient for the two of us.. 

I love making the two small loaves and adding different flours, seeds, herbs, cheese and such... 

While Terry worked on the pantry I housecleaned the livingroom.. 

It is not very fancy as you can see.. 

Just full of left over furniture and such.. 

The two old chairs there need new backs which I had hoped to do but forgot to take some padding so that is a job for another day.. 

One meal we had is a fave of Terry's and I think I have mentioned it before on here.. 

My version of Bubble and Squeak which is an English dish, I believe.. 

I just start with a bit of bacon... 

Let it cook up a little and add sliced onion, green pepper and sliced raw potatoes.. Sometimes I just use leftover ones.. 

Then a bunch of thinly sliced cabbage... 

Let it all cook up with salt and pepper.. 

At the end I add herbs .. 

Whatever I happen to have.. 

This day was cilantro and lemon juice...

After the busy day we went for a little drive.. again..

You know how I detest this type of road... 

Scares me half to death but this one was not muddy but hard ruts in a short side road.. 

What a surprise for at the end was the dearest house with a large sign which I think said Prosser House and the year of 1800 something.. I forget the year.. 

It was way up a side of the mountain .. 

Terry would not let me take a picture and hardly gave me time to look at it as the road ended at their driveway so he just backed up and turned around.. Just respecting their privacy, I know but I am the curious type as you know.. 

I just cannot imagine living there in the old days... 

Then we went on another side road which had a bridge over this stream.. 

It also ended at their driveway but I noticed they had lovely garden with huge rhubarb... 

We once again backed up and turned around .. grin.. 

We noticed this partridge on a rock.. Quite a large one.. 

Did you ever have Partridge Stew?   

One of our breakfasts... 

Scrambled eggs, home made bread toast, orange juice, coffee and 

French apple and rhubarb jam..

Terry took the four wheeler up there so he could get some wood.. 

We had a small fire each morning but that was all.. 

The wood will be dried out for Fall.. 

Little jobs like cleaning shelves and such.. 

It is just an old farmhouse... 

We did enjoy this cake... 

Brown Sugar Pound Cake.. 

It is late tonight and my friend Dawn will be disappointed but I will post the recipe next time.. 

Just a few little pics of this and that.. 

I will try and take more next time.. 

I hope we can get a few more days before cottage season starts.. 

He is a hard working man... smile.. 

Another salad... 

I love salads almost as much as I love soups.. 

Do you?  

We still eat soup all summer but more substantial salads then we have during the Winter...

We are back home and there is lots to do here, too.. 

A very busy time of year for everyone.. 

Tomorrow is clean up day for our dear little church .. 

We had a great time last year working away with everyone.. 

I hope to get up early and make a batch of rhubarb muffins.. 

I have to make a batch of jam and Trevor got me a bunch of fiddleheads which will need to be pickled.. 

Dandelions are out and violets .. 

So salves, soaps and such will need to be done soon along with taxes... 

Oh.. I wonder where I put my paper bag... lol.. 

No, really I love the busyness and such.. 

If I could just get my Winter clothes put away now.. grin.. 

Thanks for your sweet visit, my friends and your comments are much appreciated and enjoyed.. 

God bless..

Link HERE for stay number one at the farm... 

Linked to...The Art of Homemaking Mondays...

Farm Stay....

Good Evening everyone.. 

Hope you all had a great week.. 

Terry and I went to our old farm for a few days this week.. 

We headed out Monday morning and it was not raining for which we were thankful..  Terry had to take saws and tools and I had my sewing machine and such packed in the back of the truck.. 

We have had this old place for quite a long time and have only stayed overnight once..

We have always come back home each day as it is only a half hour drive.. 

 We decided to stay for a few days and perhaps we  would get more accomplished.. smile.. 

Kind of a small Spring working vacation.. grin.. 

Anyway.. 

We arrived and unloaded everything, had a cup of coffee and got to work.. 

Terry made the fire and started working on the pantry and I needed to make some new living room curtains.. 

I had a bunch of vintage pleated ones for years and just decided to make over and make do.. 

They required a lot of  pressing but they are good enough.. 

I forgot to take a picture of the finished product but will show you later.. 

We had  a lovely supper.. 

Pasta with a tomato sauce and chicken and Swiss cheese.. 

It rained on and  off all day but after supper Terry wanted to go for a drive.. 

We must be old as we get excited to take a little drive.. grin.. 

We are up in the Kent Hills and this is rural countryside as you can see.. Kinda foggy, too.. 

Albert County is full of brooks and rivers.. 

We ended up in a small place where my Gram was born.. 

Meadow.. 

She used to walk all the way to school and this was her little church.. 

Now...

 My dear Gram and Gramp along with my darling Dad are all resting here.. 

I have 4 sets of grandparents in this cemetery along with a lot of uncles, aunts and cousins... 

I always love having a visit with Dad...sort of.. smile.. 

The views are spectacular.. 

It is called Hillside... 

We had a wonderful sleep that first night.. 

The rain poured and the wind howled and I was a happy camper snuggled up in our Brunswick sheets and comforter.. 

I am a stormy weather girl, as you all know.. smile.. 

The next morning we had breakfast.. 

We forgot to bring bread so I made a couple of loaves.. 

And some cookies in case we had company.. 

Which we did... 

Our farmer neighbour dropped by with a lovely gift of maple products... smile.. 

I had washed some little cloths that needed ironed.. 

One of the notebooks that I love.. 

You know me and my lists.. 

For Supper we had a small roast beef and decided to go for another drive.. 

It was a beautiful evening... 

Lots of wood in those hills.. 

We drove across Caledonia Mountain and in less then half an hour we came out to this.. 

The beautiful Bay of Fundy.. 

The same bay where our cottage in St. Martins is.. 

Just the other end of it.. 

This is a little thing that is going in the pantry.. 

Terry finished one cupboard area and cut down an old dresser but still a lot to do.. 

I hope to incorporate the border somehow.. 

I know borders are not in style right now but this is so typical old pantry that I hope it will look ok.. 

We shall see... 

Anyway, dear hearts that is all I have of pics.. 

I meant to take more in the house but hopefully we will be going again next week for a few days.. 

Now we are back home.. 

Thank you so much for your sweet visit and I love your lovely notes.. I read and appreciate each and every one.. 

I will try to answer any questions in your comments.. 

OK?  

God bless you this long weekend... 

Our grandsons are all at the Youth Convention that is being hosted in Moncton.. 

It just seems like yesterday when our kids were packing their clothes and away we would go and now it is our grandchildren.. 

Where has the time gone?  smile.. 

Take care, my friends and God bless.. 

Link   HERE  for Farm Stay number 2