Friday Favourites

 

Five moments from this week. I'm writing in the quiet of evening with the fire glowing. Tim and I spent some time this evening going over the plans for the kitchen renovation. We're to the point of ordering cabinets and choosing countertops and sinks. So many decisions. 

1. In my garden the hellebores are just beginning to open. How pretty these are against the browns of late winter garden beds. Lilac buds are beginning to swell and daffodil leaves poke sharp and green from the soil with the promise of later flowers.

2. Inside I got up close and personal with a chrysanthemum. Isn't the symmetry amazing? 

3. These two make me laugh. They sit on the couch cuddling their little stuffies in blankets and pretend-watch television. Iris makes up the story and Cora listens. Then Cora decides to turn off the imaginary television and oh, what a reaction she gets! Iris gets so upset that Cora keeps turning off the imaginary television. It's hilarious. Suggesting they each have a television does not work. 

4. Little animals are ever so happy in the zoo. I savour these times with the little ones and enjoy spending time with them. These young years fly by quickly. Once they attend school there is not as much freedom to spend the day with Nana. 

5. Weather is still chilly around here, in spite of the brightening days. We might even get some more snow. A bowl of Turkey Chili is warming and delicious, and so easy to make. 

Have a wonderful weekend filled with activities you enjoy and people you love. 

A Reflective Week

 

The days here have been comfortably full of the regular affairs of life, but threaded throughout I've been watching bits and pieces of the ceremonies in the UK. I wish I understand more of the meaning and symbolism behind some of the magnificent pageantry. I took myself down to Government House one day to sign the Book of Condolence for the Queen. There are several physical books in our province, as well as an online book. 

While at Government House I wandered through the gardens set on a hill high above the ocean. A sharp breeze had me wishing for a light jacket, and whispered of days to come. The fountain in the rose garden trickles a soft melody and flowers continue to bloom on the bushes.

Patches of autumn crocus (colchicum autumnale) dot the ground. They are also called "naked ladies" because their leaves emerge in spring, then die down, and in autumn, leafless flowers appear. 

I love a good-looking stack of wood. It speaks to me of cozy evenings spent reading by a fire. Our own wood burning fireplace has been converted to gas, and it's very convenient and clean, but lacks the atmosphere of a crackling wood fire.  

Autumn colours are beginning to show. In our area we don't get the vibrant glowing mass of colour that is more evident further inland. It's a gentler season of muted golds and orange, with a few flames thrown in here and there. 

I've been roasting and freezing tomatoes this week, and made a small batch of blackberry syrup for pancakes or ice cream. Our across-the-fence neighbour planted thornless blackberries several years ago, and encourages us to pick the ones that we can reach from our side. They are big berries, but sadly, they lack much taste, so boiling them down is a good way to concentrate the flavour. 

There will be a birthday party for 3 this weekend, and perhaps some garden clean up. So I'm off to fold laundry, bake a cake, and cut flowers for the house. 

What does your weekend hold?

A Weekend in October

 

There's a sense of quiet that comes in autumn as the earth settles into slumber. Colorless skies and a bit of rain today contributed to the quiet feeling to relax me. After the busy days and weeks of the school start in September, things have settled into a rhythm. I am more than halfway through the 10 weeks of full time teaching and am pleasantly surprised at how I'm doing. Workdays are busy, but on weekends I make an effort to disengage from thinking about classes and students, and focus on rest and preparation. 

Do find that you think about food a lot? I do. I enjoy preparing meals and planning, but sometimes it seems that food is on my mind more than it needs to be. I have found that preparing a few things ahead on the weekend makes the weekdays much easier, and we eat more healthily, too. To that end, this weekend I spent a few hours in the kitchen and made two trays of Roasted Enchilada Sauce with more of our garden tomatoes, Granola with Almonds and Honey, Butternut Squash Curry, a double batch of meatballs, and a Greek Style Roasted Mushrooms. You can click on the links to the recipes. 

These are not complete meals, but they give me a head start on dinner time. I like to make enough for Tim to take to work the next day for lunch. I usually take soup or a salad. I used to plan meals more deliberately, but now I just keep a general idea in my head.

On Saturday afternoon I went shopping for a bit. I've been looking for a pair of waterproof boots that are a bit stylish to wear for walking. This was my third expedition and I'm pleased that I found a pair of Rockport boots that fit the bill. Once home, I made a cup of tea and settled in for some reading - a book I found in the thrift store - "The Evening Chorus" by Helen Humphreys - dealing with the grief of war (WWII) played against the natural world. A quiet read for a quiet day.

This afternoon Tim and I went to Butchart Gardens and wandered around the gardens. It's beautiful throughout the year and now coloured leaves dot the green background. 

The dahlias are still amazing in a variety of colours and shapes. 

We ended our walk with a cup of hot chocolate (and a muffin for Tim), sitting outside in the cool afternoon air. Home again, filled with contentment and the anticipation of an evening of reading or watching a bit of television. And so ends another weekend in October. 

Gardening Weekend

Saturday. Cloudy skies with a few sunny breaks, but no rain. And certainly no snow or ice as was the case in the east. I put on wellies, gardening gloves, and my old fleece jacket. Garden cleanup was the sole task on my list for the day. 

In the morning I snapped the tulips on the left; a few hours later, the same tulips on the right, opening to the faint sun.

The last of the winter garden vegetables. Kale was beginning to go to seed, and the carrots were becoming a bit hairy, but everything tastes just fine. Tim spread compost after I weeded and cleaned out the bed; he helped with the last bit of weeding, too. My fingers were sore from all the pulling. 

After a hot shower I relaxed with a cup of tea, a piece of chocolate, and a new Country Living (UK). Small treats like this are a fine reward for a day of hard work. Of course, looking out the window and seeing the garden beds tidied is in itself, also a reward. 

The "novelty" tulips purchased a week or more ago are aging beautifully: petals curling slightly, colours intensifying, and texture becoming silky. 

Do you like dates? The edible kind, I mean. On Sunday afternoon I made an Easy Date Cake and then a cream and caramel sauce to go alongside. How good it was warm from the oven. 

Easy Date Cake

2 cups chopped dates
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup softened butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Pour the boiling water over the chopped dates. Add the baking soda and let cool for 15 minutes or so.

3. In a mixer, beat the butter until creamy, add the sugars and beat well. Add the vanilla.

4. Stir in the date mixture. The batter will look quite thin and watery. 

5. Add the flour and stir well. Pour into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes. 

Cream and Caramel Sauce

1 egg yolk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup heavy cream

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, whisk the egg yolk, brown sugar, water, and butter until melted and smooth; bring to a boil while whisking continually; boil one minute. 

Add the salt, vanilla, and cream. Heat but don't boil.

One more garden beauty - the first Centaurea Montana popped out over the weekend.  Isn't she a beauty? 

Linking to Mosaic Monday, hosted by Maggie of Normandy Life. 

A Satisfying Weekend

Weekends are a chance to catch up on a few things around here. However, I've learned that it does no good to race around trying to accomplish too much. At the very least, I do the laundry, clean the bathrooms, and do a quick vacuum of the floors. 

Meals are taken leisurely, for the most part. If I feel like cooking, I do, if I don't, well, there's plenty of stuff in the freezer that's easy to heat up. This weekend was a combination - some cooking, some freezer items. Saturday breakfast was baked eggs with Brie and prosciutto. 

On Saturday night we invited children and grandchildren over with the express purpose of helping to whittle down some of the holiday appetizers that still languish in the freezer. Soup and appetizers was the menu, along with a tray of cut up vegetables. 

Tulips are in the stores now, and I can't resist picking them up. These are fresh and just beginning to open. Such a pretty shade of pink. 

The glow of twinkle lights on the mantel makes me feel cozy and warm, closed in by comfort. 

On Saturday evening the wind rose and howled around the house throughout the night. I awoke often as gusts clattered against the windows. Sunday, the wind eased, and we went for a walk in the afternoon. Just as we reached the furthest point from home and were beginning the return part of the loop, rain fell. Hard. We arrived home drenched, very happy to change our clothes, make some hot tea, and lounge in front of the fire. Comfort, indeed. Very hygge-ish. 

Last week's leggy tulips have been trimmed. The mosaic is composed of photos taken throughout the week, from tightly closed buds to wide open blossoms.

Sunday evening's dinner was a pan-fried salmon filet with spinach, roasted vegetables and couscous. Quick and easy. All in all, it was a satisfying weekend. How was yours?

Linking with Mosaic Monday, hosted by Maggie from Normandy Life.