Welcome to my Nest!
Happy New Year, everyone! And to celebrate, here’s a recipe for pie. What, you think I’d start the New Year out with celery sticks? Think again, my dearest friends, think again. That’s so not how I roll. If you have one resolution this year, make it this: Eat more pie. To add to that, bake [...]
I have never been a cobbler kinda gal. I like my fruits in crisps, the cakey topping that I usually associate with crumbles can’t hold a candle to the crunchy oatmeal topping that crisps are known for. The story that lead me to this recipe is a common one around this house. It started with [...]
Oh, yes I did! These lovelies were inspired by my first trip to the Bulk Barn, prompted by everyone on Twitter telling me how much I was missing in life by not frequenting said store. And I mean everyone. I think even Jessica Alba chimed in at one point and said “Are you crazy??” Ok, [...]
The devil made me do it. That’s the only thing that came to mind when I realized that on a day when it was about plus 28 Celsius, I was finally making the cookies that have been niggling in the back of my mind for a long, long time. I recently posted the base recipe [...]
Just writing this post stressed me right out, I kid you not. My chest is tight with stress- and the upper respiratory infection I have isn't helping things. As exciting as it is to have a blank canvas, as a non-landscaper I am completely and utterly overwhelmed right now trying to decide what the heck is going into this yard. It doesn't help that Mike's been gone a week - home tonight thank … [Read more...]
Eat Alberta is back! What could be more fun than a conference about food, with local talents presenting and preparing? This conference is an excellent opportunity for everyone to get out there and meet other local Edmontonians. This is for anyone who is interested in backyard gardening, learning about eating locally and generally educating themselves about the wonderful food community in … [Read more...]
Ah summer in Edmonton. Festivals galore, the sunshine that won't stay longer than 10 minutes and a river valley that is a bounty of food to be found. We have been picking the Saskatoons in the River Valley almost as long as we have been living here. I wasn't sure how long, so I went to look. I made the mistake of looking up the first year we picked Saskatoons in our river valley, which I … [Read more...]
S'alright. I have a lot of container gardening going on this year, with success in some areas and absolute failure in others. The beautiful, leafy Mesclun - a mixture of delicious greens - below is a roaring success and I am so excited to harvest it in perhaps a mere week now, if the sun ever shines and helps it out. I am sad to say that my container of spinach suffered at the hands tail … [Read more...]
Yes, this was back on Good Friday and yes I am really late in posting these pictures. But doesn't it cheer you up to see snow galore on the ground only a few mere weeks ago, only to look out your window today and see sunshine with a side of mosquitoes? Yes, I know I am cheered up by the bounty of mosquitoes, I can't stop scratching the bites on my arms out of sheer joy! We did have a … [Read more...]
Spring, the time for hope eternal. Greening grasses, blooming spring bulbs and the glimpse of the summer to come. Those who garden have green blood racing through their veins, heart jumping with excitement over the thought of getting to the garden center first for those choice bedding plants. And most likely have started their own seedlings, but as all gardeners know, it's never … [Read more...]
Bah. Just....BAH. I had 4 varieties of tomatoes and the only ones that fared well were the Lemon Boys, which I featured in my gardening hits post. The rest? The Beefsteak, Early girl and whatever the hell else it was, bombed. Green most of the summer, unless they ripened in the house. I did get green tomato chow out of the deal, something I was pleased to be, in essence, forced to … [Read more...]
Not. Many. Really. It wasn't the most phenomenal summer for vegetables that I have experienced, my first year was far better than last year. I tend to start planning what I am going to grow, oh, as soon as the glitter from New Year's has been swept away. Part of that is looking honestly at what I succeeded at and what was a complete failure, assessing the reasons why they failed or succeeded … [Read more...]
That's it, that's all, this gardening girl done for the season folks. Just about time to retire the garden category and start posting more house things. Like, I dunno. Christmas stuff? Yah, that'll work, I'll just fill the void of gardening with household yammer. Lucky. You. Mebbe I'll get all crafty this winter in my spare time. Stranger things have happened. And...I digress. The … [Read more...]
Oh, what would I do without the endless entertainment of my children? Children who, when they find a slug under the deck, proceed to beg and plead with their mother to keep it. A slug. Listen. They have a cat. They have some fish. They have a gerbil. It's not like we have a lack of animal life in the house. My poor, sad, deprived children needed to befriend a slimy little … [Read more...]
Do you know the temperature last year at this time? It was in the plus 30's, I kid you NOT. But last night, we got down to -5 and a fierce frost that killed everything in the garden that was above ground. I was scraping my windshield this morning. I was mourning my sunflowers that are toast. My beans, wilted and gone. Tomatoes kaput. Zucchini, don't make me laugh. The kids and I … [Read more...]
It was time to try and rescue some of my tomatoes, the night time temps here in Alberta are falling FAR below 10 degrees at night (that's Celsius) with daytime temperatures consistently not reaching much past plus 15. When I woke up this morning, out here in the burbs, it was plus 5. Brrrr. Tomatoes get very, very mad in this kind of weather. They will walk into your house, slap you for … [Read more...]
It never ceases to amaze me the available natural bounty one can find in your own city, especially a city with such a lush river valley system, such as Edmonton. We spent the day at Rundle Park, the kids rode their bikes and we watched them being the goofs that they are. We then headed over our favorite bridge towards Gold Bar, as there is a lovely little place you can easily head down to the … [Read more...]
There may only have been two of each color. There may be only two large ones and two that seemed to have not grown as much. The yellow were supposed to be an early variety, yet took all summer as well. But gol' dang it, I have successfully grown peppers this year. Successful to the point that the red one is a fully ripened green pepper that I checked on almost every day, watching the … [Read more...]
I have eagerly been waiting for this series of videos to start, Kevin Kossowan has an incredibly informative and visually stunning blog and I found it thanks to his commenting here when I covered the Edible Garden tour. Kevin has taken on the enormous job of documenting some of the smaller local farms here in Alberta, mainly around the Edmonton area but he can correct me at any time on that … [Read more...]
Sometimes it's hard to handle the creepy crawlies that inhabit my garden. Sometimes I let out rather loud shrieks when you least expect it. Take, for example, the bugs above. I was talking to my son outside and went to see if the Jacob's Ladder had gone to seed. I grabbed the plant, brought it towards my blind, aging eyes and promptly let out a shriek worthy of a horror movie heroine. I … [Read more...]
The best bloom time in my yard is always August, all of my favorites are blooming in a rainbow of colors. The echinacea in the front is amazing as always, almost as tall as I am. The only disappointment I have is that I know I planted two more last year. I don't remember where. But dang it, I know because I love them so much, that I made sure to put in a couple more. And the same giant … [Read more...]
On to the next parts of the tour! Next we met Joachim who was one of the more diverse gardeners we met that day. His garden had a huge variety of fruit trees, including pears, a black walnut tree, apples and the most delicious plums I have ever tasted. Consensus had it that they were Brook Gold plums and I am heavily considering adding two-they need a pollinator- of them to the backyard. They … [Read more...]
Today was a day I have been looking forward to since this spring; the Edible Garden tour done right here in Edmonton, run by the Urban Farmer Ron Berezan. It's an entire Saturday devoted to traveling around Edmonton looking at yards that have been transformed into more than lawn, using the space to grow vegetables, medicinal plants or even just incorporating more native trees and bushes into … [Read more...]
I love my kids, my husband and chocolate.
The order depends on when you ask.
Welcome to my nest!
