A Prince Edward Island visit and culinary experience..

Hello dear hearts.. 

So glad you dropped by..

I have finally made it here.. smile.. 

Better late then never, I hope.. smile.. 

Today's post is about a lovely little event I attended in beautiful Prince Edward Island.. 

We had some company up from Arkansas for a few days and then they travelled on to the Island.. 

They invited me to join them in a culinary class on Wednesday.. 

Oh yeah!

Terry and I were up and about and headed out around six o'clock in the morning.. 

It only takes us an hour and a half to make it to the Confederation Bridge..  

It was such a beautiful morning... 

We drove northward through such lovely farmlands and quaint little villages.. 

And in about a half hour we arrived in New London just on time at this lovely building.. 

An old United Church.. 

Our friends were there and ready for our class.. 

The men along with Charlie headed out for their own adventure.  

Us gals went inside.... 

Oh my... Isn't it lovely! 

It is called... The Table... 

You girls who follow the blog know my love for antique or vintage dishes and they are featured everywhere.. 

Tea was being served to those who were early enough to enjoy... 

We wandered around admiring the decor... 

Remnants of the church were featured here and there.. 

Altar chairs and pews amongst them.. 

I loved the window frames with old plates.. 

And antique love seats and wing back chairs here and there.. 

The ceiling has been stripped away and it is just so lofty and airy.. 

This was the belfry.. 

On centre stage was the glorious old table set with eclectic place settings..

China, candlesticks, goblets and cutlery.. 

Cloth napkins and napkin rings each different from the other made it so lovely..  

Only eighteen places... 

And one was mine.. smile.. 

I was just so excited! 

Then at the back..

The kitchen... 

An old antique hutch was repurposed for an island... 

I wish I had taken a pic but it was green.. (my fave colour)

There on the counter top was our first task... 

Each person was to have a hands on experience by helping with each dish.. 

We seasoned the chicken and made the stuffing.. 

We each had our own individual cutting boards, knives, peeler and veggies.. 

The chef who was trained in the culinary school in Charlottetown taught us some neat knife skills and peeling and chopping tips.. 

We did potatoes, carrots and onion.. 

We made biscuits and cake and they were put in the oven.. 

We learned a method of stacking the biscuit dough to create layers in the biscuit and each helped with the rolling and mixing of the cake batter.. 

Then we moved on to making Cod Fish Cakes.. 

Glazed the carrots and mixed up baked beans... 

Also some turnip was piped into cones and baked in the oven.. 

I loved this way to store and display kitchen tools.. 

And spices.. 

The views out of the window were gorgeous!

We chatted among ourselves and met folks from the U. S. A. 

Becky learned that one couple had a cottage home in the same area as her parents and another couple from two different states had a common friend.. 

Such a small world we live in.. 

Very soon all was ready and we took our places.. 

All eighteen of us.. 

Just beautiful!!..

I so love a pretty table... 

Don't you?  

First course..

Cod Fish Cakes decorated with Johnny Jump Ups.. 

I like their peppery flavour ... 

Salted Cod Fish was used for the fishcakes along with mashed potatoes and onion.. 

The biscuits were tasty... 

Roast Chicken, turnip, stuffing, glazed carrots and baked beans.. 

Then the dessert!! 

Simply delicious!

During the lunch a dear girl shared her knowledge of 

Lucy Maud Montgomery author of the Anne of Green Gables books.. 

I had such fun and would recommend it to anyone who loves the kitchen.. grin.. 

They also serve eighteen guests each night during summer.. 

Different menus and different guests each night.

Here is their link.. 

THE TABLE ...

I am thankful to have had such an enjoyable experience.. 

I was telling Shonda that I was so excited that I just kept smiling and then I noticed Christine (owner) taking pics of everyone and I thought she probably wondered ....... grin.. 

They will be emailing us more pics and recipes soon... 

I will be smiling in every picture.. lol... 

Neat though,  eh! 

I thought I would share the rest of our day with you... 

We bid our friends farewell and headed for New Brunswick.. 

We noticed some chickens on someone' s lawn.. 

Terry knows how well I love Victoria by the Sea so we decided to at least have a peek in on our way home.. 

It was as beautiful as ever.. 

Little streets filled with colourful shops and homes.. 

I love the Book Store above.. 

It was just a quick trip around town a couple of times enjoying each street... 

Looking at their gardens and such.. 

Then back to the harbour... 

We pulled over to the side and put our windows down.. 

The wind was blowing, the Lupins were dancing in the breezes 

and the waves were calling our names.. 

smile.. 

We laid our heads back and just relaxed for a half hour.

A boat was coming into harbour..

The sea air was just so enchanting!  

I wish I could buy a candle that smelled like that...  

We arrived home around six o'clock... 

Only twelve hours and all that enjoyment.. 

But still... 

There is no place like home... 

Thank you, Lord.... 

Well, that is it for today my friends.. 

Will share more with you again.. 

Probably some farm journals quite soon.. 

We had coffee with our friends today on their homeward journey to Arkansas.. 

May God give them safe travels... 

And may God bless and keep you sweet ladies.. 

I look forward to hearing from you all and have a great Lord's Day tomorrow!

Hugs.. 

Rhubarb Pudding by Ann... Second take...

Hello everyone.. 

Just a very short post to apologise for making a mistake in the Rhubarb Pudding recipe.. 

Thank you so much Kathy for letting me know and I am so sorry you made it wrong because of my carelessness.. 

I have no excuse and should have reread it to be sure it was copied down right.. 

It takes only 1 cup of flour instead of 2 which I posted last night.. 

So for the second time but right this time here goes.. 

Rhubarb Pudding by Ann... 

In a bowl stir 1 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of white sugar, 2 tsp. baking powder, pinch of salt, 1/2 cup of milk.. 

Mix up and pour into a greased 8x8 pan.. 

Cover with 2 cups of chopped rhubarb. 

Sprinkle 1 cup of brown sugar over and drizzle 1 1/2 cups of boiling water.. 

Bake at 375 degrees F. for 45 minutes or until golden brown.. 

This cake bakes with the rhubarb and the brown sugar and water makes a lovely sauce.. 

Ann says you can add ice cream or whipped cream or as in Peter's case both... lol... 

She is just joking!!  

Thank you so much for stopping by and once again please forgive me.. 

Hope you all have a great weekend and God bless.. 

xo

Wednesday night in June...

Good Evening sweet friends.. 

Welcome to the Blessed Hearth on this Wednesday night in June.. 

I find it so hard to believe that we are actually almost past Spring and into Summer.. 

I was scanning the headlines before writing this and saw a girl had posted a video of her little veranda greenhouse in P. E. I. today with snow gently falling.. 

It has been record low temps here in Eastern Canada and farmers have lost thousands of seedlings due to frost and lots of blueberry plants have been killed too!

.. 

We have not put much in yet except for our Celeriac and I think it can take a bit of cold.. 

Won't know till next trip to the farm.. 

Otherwise all is well here.. 

Have some new valances on the kitchen window above for Summer... 

Have been enjoying my new kitchen cleaner we made at Keepers.. 

I added some lemon peels and let it set for a week or so and really love the scent and the job it does.. 

Rosemary-Lemon All-Purpose Cleaning Spray

• 2 sprigs rosemary
• Peels of 2 lemons
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups white vinegar

In a one quart jar, combine rosemary, lemon peels, water and vinegar. Allow to rest 10-14 days in a cool location to allow oils to infuse.  Strain lemon peels and rosemary and transfer liquid to a spray bottle for use. If desired, lemon peels and rosemary may be placed directly inside the spray bottle. The scent will intensify over time before breaking down and the bottle will look great sitting on the shelf.

Today I finished up a batch of Apple Blossom Jelly..

Terry had picked me the blossoms and this time I added a cup and a half of apple juice and I think it turned out lovely.. 

I was just getting done when in walked my sweet husband with a bag of these.. 

He said this would be the last time I could get more so I better make another batch of Dandelion Jelly.. 

It sells so well as it is so tasty.. 

So this afternoon I got them ready to make the tea and will make the jelly tomorrow.. 

Dear old Charles kept me company.. 

He seems to like to sit at my feet.. grin.. 

We have been busy doing spring jobs like I mentioned last time so nothing much new around here... 

I did promise you the bread recipe last time I posted .. 

So.. Here it is.. 

The name of the cookbook I found at the Thrift is.. 

Old Time Favorite Recipes.. 

The complete menu cookbook.. 

Sorry, I forgot to take a pic... 

It is sort of like a magazine.. 

Anyway.. 

Applesauce Raisin Batter Bread.. 

3 cups of flour, divided 

2 T. brown sugar

1/4 tsp. salt 

2 tsp. apple pie spice.. (I just used 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg and 1/3 tsp. allspice.) 

1/4 ounce of active dry yeast (I used 2 tsp. instant yeast)

1 1/4 cups of unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup of honey 

2 T. butter

1 egg 

1/2 cup of raisins

In a large mixing bowl combine half of the flour, brown sugar, salt and spices and yeast.. 

Heat applesauce, honey and butter until very warm 130 degrees F. 

Add to flour mixture with egg beating very well on low speed.. 

Stir in remaining flour and raisins.. 

Spread batter into a sprayed 9 x 5 bread pan.. 

Cover loosely with waxed paper and rise until double in bulk.. 

Carefully remove paper.. 

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 40 minutes.. 

Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.. 

You can drizzle a confection milk mixture but I didn't think we needed that. smile.. 

Enjoy.. 

Now here is another recipe for the Spring Rhubarb we are having.. 

My sweet cousin Ann called me the other night and shared this with me.. 

I wish she hadn't!  grin.. 

It is so so good.. 

This only takes 2 minutes to make and Terry loved it.. 

Ann said she made it the first night and Peter ate it all so the next time she doubled the size hoping to get a piece.. lol... 

It was just about the same here except I had been warned and put a  small bowl aside for me first.. grin.. 

Here is the recipe.. 

Rhubarb Pudding by Ann... 

In a bowl stir 1 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of white sugar, 2 tsp. baking powder, pinch of salt, 1/2 cup of milk.. 

Mix up and pour into a greased 8x8 pan.. 

Cover with 2 cups of chopped rhubarb. 

Sprinkle 1 cup of brown sugar over and drizzle 1 1/2 cups of boiling water.. 

Bake at 375 degrees F. for 45 minutes or until golden brown.. 

This cake bakes with the rhubarb and the brown sugar and water makes a lovely sauce.. 

Ann says you can add ice cream or whipped cream or as in Peter's case both... lol... 

She is just joking!!  

We just ate it as is and was lovely.. 

Enough left for another time... 

I hid it... grin.. 

Anyway dear hearts this is all for today.. 

Rain is on it's way again and the wind is very brisk tonight.. 

I have had my tea and will go to bed and read a Rosamunde Pilcher short story from the Blue Bedroom.. 

While I was cleaning my room today I came across a set of Bible Study books I picked up at the Thrift store so am looking forward to doing them in the evenings.. 

It is after 8 pm and I can hear dear husband outside scraping at the paint.. He has been working away at painting our house.. 

It needed it so bad and this summer our old farmhouse will need a coat.. 

Work is never done but so thankful to the Lord that we are still able to carry on and do what we can.. 

He is faithful!  

Missing my boy tonight... 

Pray for me and I will pray for you.. 

God bless...