The Truth About Papa

Greetings Earthings:

Hee hee!  I am in a funny mood today.  I think the extreme cold finally snapped my brain!  Thank goodness for the reprieve this week!  Mr Wilbur and I have managed several brain clearing, sanity making walks this week.  We even had the Little's out for a couple of days, which is always a lovely distraction for us two.  Nothing brings your house alive like 2 tweens ramping up the energy levels!

As a couple of sustainable living aficionados, one needs to have the desire to do as much as you can for yourself.  So, aside from canning, gardening, preserving, etc., one must pursue other means of self support to make you more of a producer and less a consumer.  

Papa has always had a love of gardening.  We began collecting seeds several years ago.  Every year he starts about 1000-1200 bedding plants - this is for our personal use only.  He loves to try new vegetables and instead of buying me flowers, he plants 100's and 100's of bulbs and seed starts, to bring our property alive during our growing season.  His love of gardening spills out throughout the entire property.  It is fabulous out here in the summer.  From brimming pots to flower beds, to his two vegetable gardens and greenhouse, his orchards and pond, it is like living in an oasis.

A picking from Papa's Garden.

One of the many pots and barrels he makes every year, all from his own started seeds and bulbs.

A glimpse of one of Papa's Gardens, about July 2018.

He also also loves making wine.  Like many wine makers, he started with the kits.  This was about 20 years ago.  The kits were OK, but he was unhappy with not being able to tweak them to make them more palatable for his own tastes.  So, several years ago, he began to pursue quite earnestly, his own home brews from the fruits grown on our property and fruit purchased in season.  Our orchard is still young, so his ability to produce entirely from our own produce is still a ways off yet.

One wine he really is interested in trying is true grape wines.  But grape vines are expensive to buy and take a long time to produce.  With this, he decided to try to propagate his own grape vines from his own stock already growing and producing on our property.  Earlier this winter, he did some research as to just how to do this.  After many days of searching YouTube videos, reading articles, and exploring search engines, he came upon a couple of methods he was interesting in trying.  Well, low and behold, we have Valiant Grape Vines growing in our house, ready to be transplanted out this Spring.  Yippee! 

Valiant Grape Vine propagated and doing well.

Papa's wine from the 2018 season:  Raspberry, Blueberry and a newly started Grapefruit in the small carboy.

Blueberries purchased at a market and our very own Raspberries in the Raspberry Wine.  Look at how clear they are!

Papa is also a very accomplished carpenter.  He has built many things over the years, from barns, to decks, to furniture, and even much of our home and all of the other construction on our property.  His most recent projects include a bridge for his pond in the lower garden and a set of wooden spoons for me.  He loves to make Seasonal yard decorations and is working on a spring series for this year.  Every year he adds more to his collection.  They add a touch of whimsy and are great conversation starters.

Christmas yard decorations.

Christmas train for our front gate.

Don's Bridge for his pond during the designing and construction stage.

Wooden spoons ready to try out.

He has no problem finding something to keep himself occupied.  Like me, he enjoys the Alberta Winters as a quiet time to pursue other interests.  Our yard and garden do take up our three seasons that are not winter, so it is nice to have some down time to do the things we both love doing.  And this includes enjoying a nice pot of coffee and some fresh baking, while we plot and scheme another gardening season.  

Freshly perked Coffee and . . .

baking while we contemplate future projects.

And that, is the Truth About Papa.

Enjoy your day and keep warm.

Until next time,

Gremlynn

The Deep Freeze Continues, Confetti and Beans

Happy Friday!

The Cold Snap continues here in Central Alberta, Canada.  Today is -25 C, with the snow beginning to fall again as I type.  It hasn't been a bad winter this year, save for these past couple weeks of wicked, bitter cold. 

Sincerely though, the cold is not a bad thing.  It helps to keep some of the summer pests at bay.  I heard on the news the other morning that the dreaded Pine Beetle, which has been boring its way to Alberta, may have had a 90% kill due to this long term cold snap.  From what I understand, the beetle lays its eggs just under the bark of the pine tree trunk and the larvae decimate the tree from the inside out.  By the time you realize you have the problem, it is too late.  The critters have been rapidly spreading throughout BC and have been aggressively making their way to Alberta.  This is all due to the mild winters these past few years.  They can easily survive -30 C, but not extended periods of it. This year, they may be taking a bit of a hit.  I sure do hope so.  It is the young and healthy trees they destroy, not the old and decaying ones.  If you would like more information, here's a link:  https://globalnews.ca/news/4952823/mountain-pine-beetle-cold-alberta/

Confetti on the Snow:

Another good thing about the cold, is I get to spend more time doing the things I love.  I started my Scrap Busting Project just at the end of December 2018.  With all the cold and snow, I actually got to finish the whole project by early February 2019.  That is pieced, quilted, bound and labelled.  I am very happy with the end result: 

Confetti on the Snow photographed at No Regrets Ranch/Prairie Points Quilters Studio property.

I was going out to check on the chickens and realized that although it was still -25 C, there was no wind and the sun was shining.  I took the opportunity to scout the property to find a suitable place to photograph the quilt, outside, in the snow and cold.  I felt it was appropriate since it is called Confetti on the Snow.  I love the high contrast in the photo.  

Beans:

I have been wanting to attempt pressure canned dry beans for a while.  After watching several YouTube videos and checking several recipes in my library, I decided to take the plunge last Sunday.  Too cold to go out.  A great day for another pressure canning project.  And having ready to use beans on hand is a thrilling option for me!  I know, I am a dork.

Since it was my first time canning them and there were so many options, I opted to try a couple of methods.   Pre-cooking the beans, though was not going to be one way I wanted to try.  Cooking them, then pressure canning the pints for 75 minutes, plus heat up and pressure down time, I felt they would be nothing but a jar of gooey mush.  Scratch that one.

The other two methods I researched included rinsing and soaking the beans over night and just putting rinsed, un-soaked beans into the jars.  Both methods require adding hot, boiled water to the required head space allowance and pressure canning for 75 minutes for pints.  Since the actual processing time was the same for both, the only difference would be to soak the beans overnight or to not soak at all.  I deduced that these two options would be the best trial for a maiden voyage bean processing.  

Now, what type of beans?  Should I attempt a "baked style" as well?  

In the pantry were Romano, Black Eyed, Navy and our very own home grown Kidney beans.  The canner will comfortably hold 16 pints, using both levels.  I'll do four jars of each type of bean.  Two soaked and two dry.  For the Romano, Black Eyes and Kidney, I will just add the water. For the Navy, I will add the ingredients of our favorite baked bean recipe and fill all the jars with water.

Dry beans added to jars.  Ingredients for Boston Baked Beans added to Navy bean jar.

Pre-soaked beans with boiled water added to 1" head space.

For the Boston Style Baked Beans, I added 2 tablespoons each of Brown Sugar and Maple Syrup, 1 tablespoon of dehydrated onion, 1/4 tsp pepper, 2 tablespoons of cured pork and 1/4 of a peeled and diced apple.  Like the other jars, these were filled to the 1" head space.

Into the canner they go.  Processing time, complete.  Cool down and depressurizing time complete.  Beans removed.  OMGosh!  These look beautiful!  

16 pints of pressure canned beans!

We opened one jar each of the dry canned and the pre-soaked beans.  I am sure glad I trusted my instinct and didn't pre-cook the beans!  The pre-soaked ones were mushy, but not horribly so.  Still, they were no comparison to the dry canned ones.  Flavor of each was superb!  We haven't tried the Boston Style yet, but I am confident that they will be amazing as well.  The Great Bean Experiment was a great success!

Thanks for stopping by.  Keep warm.

Until next time,

Gremlynn

The Deep Freeze Chronicles

Good Morning!

Is is cold in your world?  It has been danged cold here, in Central Alberta, Canada.  So cold, that the Beast is pacing and panting and standing by the door, because Gremlynn refuses to take him out for a walk.  Poor Wilbur!  He has to make do with tossing his ball in the air himself, then chase after it!  Gramma is only doing her chicken chores and shovelling what she has to.  Master Wilbur is only allowed out for a few minutes at a time, much to his dismay.  No outdoor shenanigans for us this week, Little Buddy! 

It is so cold that when we are out, we can hear the slightest sounds from far away that you normally would never hear on a any other day. And the snow squeaks!  This is a phenomenon that so many never get to experience, unless they happen to live in dry and cold climate such as ours.  And the Sky is extra blue!  It gets that way when it is super cold.  Such a beautiful high contrast.  The forecast is for this to continue over the weekend, then it should get back to bearable again and we can go for our daily walks.  Wilbur sure is missing them, as am I.

This was taken at about 10 a.m.  Papa reported that it was -39 C when he looked out at 7 a.m.  But, hey, the sun is shining and the mosquitoes aren't biting!

Might be a tad bit chilly in the chicken coop this morning!  Actually, this only happens when there is a temperature extreme from inside to outside - currently a 25 degrees Celsius difference.

No Chooks, I'm not opening it for you.  You won't go out anyways.  Actually, even at -39 C the coop was only -10 C.  Today at -25 C outside, it is actually +2 C inside.  The water wasn't even frozen this morning.  The coop is well insulated, well ventilated, one heat lamp and deep litter.  As long as they are dry and out of the wind, chickens don't seem bothered by the cold.  Good thing because they ARE NOT coming into the house!

So, exactly what does one do in the extreme cold when they need something to amuse them?  Me?  I hang out in the kitchen and my Studio, of course!

Since it is Citrus Season in warmer climes, I snagged some grapefruit and oranges and set about to make some marmalade.  It had been years, but suddenly I am craving some.  Perfect timing to make up a batch.  Of course I couldn't find my old recipe that I used to use, years ago.  After reading several versions from my vast cookbook collection, I decided to make up my own recipe.  I am happy to say it is delicious!  A bit stiff, so I won't cook it down so much the next time I make it.  But definitely a Do Over.  Production went as follows: 

I began by washing up 6 nice sized oranges and 3 ruby red grapefruit.

Then I zested the lot before peeling and dicing. I ended up with almost 8 cups of zest and cut up fruit.

Water and sugar added.  Let the simmering begin!

Netted 6 beautiful half pints of glorious Orange & Grapefruit Marmalade!

The recipe I developed for this batch.  Maybe check for jell after about 30 minutes.  Mine is a bit stiff, but delicious, none the less!

I even shared a jar with our Saturday Morning Coffee Dates for them to take home.  Papa is not a fan of the Marmalade, which leaves all the more for me!

Over the next few days I made up a batch of Dill Pickle Soup, baked up a batch of Sour Dough Bread and a batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I'll share these recipes in a future blog posting.

Still too cold to go outside.  I went rummaging through the freezer looking for inspiration for supper on Monday, when I happened upon a bag of Chicken Backs and Necks.  We harvest our own chickens so of the birds we part out, we keep the backs and necks back, for soup stock to be made a later date.  It is a later date and darned cold outside.  This is a perfect time for soup stock to simmer.  Dug a little deeper and found a bag of "too big to eat" carrots and celery tops and tails.  I keep these for soup stock - not nice enough to eat as a veggie, but perfect for stock.

6 pm and I am hauling out the Rival Roaster when Papa asks rather nonchalantly, "What are you doing now?"  Chicken Soup Stock, was my reply.  After well over 35 years of marriage, not much fazes him any more.  So, frozen chicken backs went in, with the carrots, celery and a couple of onions I managed to scare up.  This all Roasted for about an hour at 350 F.  Papa then filled the roaster with water and threw in a dozen whole peppercorns.  It was then brought it to a boil. After boiling for a few minutes, the roaster was turned down to 200 F and left it to simmer over night.  The next morning after letting it cool down a bit, I strained it twice, then transferred the stock to a huge stock pot.  

Roaster full of steaming simmered delicious Chicken Stock, ready to be strained.

Since it was so blessedly cold, I put the whole shebang out onto the back deck, to let the fat rise to the top.  Once solidified, I could scoop it off, then proceed with the canning.  It's -30 C, this shouldn't take long.  I checked the contents an hour later.  Still hot. Spent some time in the studio loading a quilt onto the long arm. Waited a couple more hours before checking again.  Still warm.  Five hours later, figured surely it Had to be ready to remove the fat.  Nope.  What the heck is going on?  I left that stock pot, out in -30 C weather for well over 6 hours!  -30 degrees Celsius already!  There were sheets of ice forming in the stock and the fat was sort of forming on top, but still very loose.  When Papa got home, I complained that my fat had been outside all day and still wasn't hard.  His comment?  "That's what She said".  I'm living with a freaking comedian!  Sheesh

We discussed leaving it out over night, but we both knew I would be bringing in a 21 quart stock pot of frozen Chicken Stock-cicle, if I did.  At 7 pm I hauled the pot in, ladled out the top couple of inches of slushy stock and loose fat, reheated that and put the whole thing in the fridge until morning.  And low and behold!  In the morning, the fat had risen to the top AND had solidified.  If this isn't the derndest mystery ever!?  Go figure?!

This was yesterday. It is still freaking cold outside.  I proceeded to reheat the now clarified stock and get the pressure canner set up.  In the end, I ended up with 20 Beautiful pints of golden chicken stock.  It is delicious and was very much worth the effort.  

20 pints of clarified chicken stock fresh from the pressure canner.

And, of course, I have spent some time out in the studio between the baking, canning and cooking marathons.  I took some time to study my Scrap Busting Project quilt and decided that with its busy-ness, I needed to do a simple quilting.  

Loaded onto the long arm and quilting underway.  It is tentatively called "Confetti on the Snow" after a suggestion from Sherryll S.  I will make the final decision once it is finished and ready to be bound.

One of my rulers is a wave that actually fits within the 1 1/2" finished squares perfectly.  Wavy it is!  I chose a Signature Brand variegated blue/navy thread and a navy 100% cotton wide backing by Northcott.  The batting is Hobbs 80/20. (I carry all of these items for purchase in the Studio).  

The quilt was loaded the long way, so I can quilt from the top to the bottom but still going horizontally.  My wavy lines are centred between each "strip" and will travel up and down the quilt, like a spillway.  The waves will look like ripples in the snow after the wind blows.  Sherrill S. suggested that it looks like confetti on the snow.  I have to agree with her very much, so much that I am considering naming the quilt this.  I think it is a very suitable title for it - and the fact that I am going to get it finished during February 2019's week long plus cold snap, it becomes even more so!

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy your day and Keep Warm!  

Gremlynn