Of Harvest and Odd things

Another weekend at home, another Monday of being sore as all get out.

Can't complain about the results though!

My Dad and I had Saturday morning together, as my Mom was busy crafting with her ladies. Originally, I was supposed to make bagels. However, when my mom mentioned that the white currants really needed to be harvested, I decided I wanted to help.

White currants are actually an albino variety of the red currants we're all so familiar with. I find they aren't as sour, and they just look so cool hanging on the bush. My parents planted 2 of these bushes next to the path in the backyard, and they were loaded! I started out with a just picking a colander full..

Which quickly escalated to two bowls full:

Which quickly escalated to me calling Dad for help:

That's 4.5 kg of white currants! It would be worth about 80 bucks in the store, and all off our two backyard bushes. We didn't even fully harvest the second, we were so worn out and it was getting quite hot.

We decided to make jelly. We used equal parts white currants and sugar, and 1.5 times the water. It didn't quite set up properly, so we're thinking we need to either reduce the water, or add pectin. Red currants are very high in pectin, so we assumed that white currants would be as well. Again, we're kinda playing here. Next year, we'll have a better idea what we're doing.

While waiting for these beauties to pop, my dad and I read up on black currants, and found out they make a fantastic cordial... And back out to the garden we went.

We filled up our Mehu-Liisa, added about 4 cups of sugar and 6 tbsps of lemon juice, and let it do its thing. This stuff is FANTASTIC. We tried it mixed with ginger ale later that night, and the next day we poured it into our water bottles to go hike the land. I'm so impressed with it!

So that was Saturday in Orangeville. I haven't even started Sunday! Oh dear...

Roast Chicken and Veg

Buying chicken whole is a much better deal then buying assorted bits. Not only do you get a couple awesome meals out of it, you can use the leftover bones and chewy bits to make a nice stock.

• 1 chicken. Mine was a 4.5lb
• Assorted root vegetables. These can be carrots, rutabaga, potato, celeriac, beets, parsnips.. You have so many options. Just choose your favorites.
• a bundle of fresh herbs. Thyme, oregano, basil, and tarragon are all good choices.
• 1 lemon
• Butter and olive oil.

Make sure your chicken isn't frozen, and take it out of the fridge an hour or so before you're ready to start cooking. Turn your oven up to 475.

Chop up your veggies. I prefer mine to be pretty big, so I don't take very long doing this. I put them all in the roasting pan, and drizzle some olive oil over them all. I also threw in a bit of dried rosemary.

Take your lemon, poke it full of holes, and shove it into the chicken's cavity. I also put the bundle of herbs in around the lemon, and a pat of butter.

Nestle your chicken into your bed of vegetables, and rub its skin all over with olive oil. I shook some pepper on top of that to give it a bit of zing.

Pop it in the oven, and immediatly turn it down to 400. Let it cook for about 20 min per pound. Every 40 min or so, I took it out quickly just to brush some of the juices onto the skin. You'll know it's done when you can cut the meat deeply with a knife, and all the juices run clear.

Make sure you save your drippings! You can use them immediatly to make gravy, or you can do what I did and pop it in the fridge. It's great in soups, and the fat that rises to the top is awesome for frying up the leftover veggies tomorrow morning for breakfast.

Eggs Florentine with Blender Hollandaise

I was very nervous about trying this recipe, as hollandaise is notorious for being difficult to make. The meal actually came together in under 15 min.

For the Hollandaise:
2 sticks butter
3 egg yolks
juice from one lemon

For Breakfast serving 2 people:
2 english muffins
4 slices smoked bacon
1 bunch spinach
2 eggs

Throw your bacon in the pan while it's cold, and set it to warm up to medium heat. This makes sure that your bacon doesn't curl up and become difficult to work with. This is probably the longest step.

While your bacon is cooking, put 3 egg yolks in the blender, and melt your butter till it's nice and hot. I used the microwave, because I'm a purist like that.

When the bacon looks pretty done, shuffle it to one side of the pan. You have a choice here. You can poach your eggs (traditional), or for the sake of a fussy boyfriend, you can fry them. I chose to fry.

Crack your eggs in, let them fry nicely. I usually break the yolks. When they look done, I put my toasted english muffins on the plate, layer them with bacon, and put the egg on top. This empties my pan, and I can throw the spinach in to wilt for about 3 min. Make sure you use the bunch! It may look like too much, but you'd be surprised how much it wilts.

With my spinach in the pan, I start the blender on low to get the eggs moving. With my butter nice and hot, I very slowly pour a thin stream into the blender while it's still running. It's important to do this slowly! When the butter is all gone, I add the lemon juice.

Just before serving, spoon the sauce over the entire meal. You'll probably have extra, and it'll keep for a couple days in the fridge. Serve it with vegetables, mashed potatoes, it's even good over steak!

Vanilla Extract

When my mother was diagnosed with Celiac, she was actually really happy to finally have a reason for all of her medical difficulties. As we delved into her new diet however, she began to realize just how many of the food products we eat every day contains gluten!

Even her two favorite kitchen staples, vanilla extract and balsamic vinegar, fell prey to gluten, having added caramel colour.

This bothered me as well, and I decided that my mother shouldn't have to go without her staples. I decided to make vanilla extract for her, the way we used to back in the day.

This is actually ridiculously simple. All you need is vodka, and some good quality beans.

The vanilla beans were no problem. You can get them at most decent grocery stores, but I decided to purchase mine off e-bay. They were MUCH cheaper that way, and I knew exactly what beans I was getting.

The vodka is easy as well. I used potato vodka in mine, because it's going to my mother, and I wanted to be extra sure that there was no way any gluten could get its sneaky little way into my extract. Chopin vodka comes in a nice bottle too!

All you need to do is split the vanilla beans in half lengthwise, not all the way, leave them sticking together just a little bit. Stuff them into a jar, and cover them with the vodka. This needs a couple of weeks to soak, so just wait until it gets that nice brown colour we're all used to.

Simply pour and use! I poured mine back into the bottle the vodka came in for show. When your extract levels dip, simple add more vodka and wait for the colour to come back. These beans will last for a good long time.

Enoy the amazing flavour that is TRUE vanilla.

Beginnings

There isn't much to tell for an introductory post really. I've spent the last year trying to reclaim myself from a pretty bad relationship, one that lasted far longer then it really should have. During that relationship I gave up doing almost everything I loved; my knitting, my jewelry, cooking, reading, even playing my violin. About a year ago that relationship ended, and I've spent the time since then throwing myself headfirst into all the things I really love to do. The first three months of that was spent in perpetual hangover, after-movie daze, and daily chores like work and school. Around October/November I discovered a new community in Toronto, and also started a new relationship with a man who'd encouraged my hangovers and debauchery of the past three months. With this new relationship, I also rediscovered my love of cooking and knitting, which I've been indulging in ever since. The past month has really launched me back into my knitting, as well as playing my violin. I'm trying to rediscover everything I'd lost during a bad relationship, and to help my talents grow. Hopefully this blog is going to be an outpouring of that rediscovery. So.. here's to learning something new every opportunity I can!