Welcome to my Nest!
Merry Christmas to all of you, from our crazy family. May your holidays be filled with love, laughter and your family surrounding you. Cherish the twinkle in your children’s eyes as they experience the wonder of giving and of course, the magic of too much chocolate combined with the glee of new toys and over [...]
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 [...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
Ok, to be honest it's mainly MY labor, but the kids do help water the garden. And Mike did build the garden beds, but to be frank I think his involvement and the claim for that is long gone. You can only coast so long on fumes, you know. Not that I am not infinitely grateful, but at this point he mainly just eats what comes out of the garden. And we are all ok with that. As you can see … [Read more...]
If it's lemon, I love it. And these amazing Lemon Boy tomatoes are no exception. I actually only have them because I shopped rather late at the garden center, and there were tons of these left. For once my procrastinating paid off. These have to be the most delicious tomato I have tasted in a while. They are sweet, succulent and wonderful fresh off the vine. My children eat them … [Read more...]
Out. Of. Control. But at least this year my brother didn't kill most of my vegetable while we were on vacation. Ok, fine, to be fair it was the frost that decimated a lot of my vines. And this year that late snow did a fine job trying, and suceeding, with a lot again. And I guess a few dead plants comes with the territory of cheap free labor. But you didn't see my front lawn that he … [Read more...]
Ooh, things, they are a growing! Touch wood. This is Alberta after all, and snow could happen at any time. Or frost. Or a random tornado. Love this province. But my watermelon does not. It's tiny, and wants some heat please. It better heat up this summer, or I won't be getting a single watermelon. The cucumbers are happy though. And I snuck in some carrots between … [Read more...]
I have honeyberries, and more than I initially thought! I wouldn't call it a bumper crop, but between the three bushes there are enough for the whole family to have a few tastes. They are a definite mix between a blueberry and saskatoon, with the non-seedy inside of a blueberry. They are a little tart, so I am testing leaving them on the bushes a few more days to see if they sweeten. Still, … [Read more...]
Please please please! I have already asked a few of you this morning, so ignore this post. But for those of you I didn't hunt down online this morning: do you have any leaves for me? Dead or alive? Trimming any of your trees and I can let the leaves dry out? My sister gave me a beautiful new composter which has been on my wishlist forever, but it needs a good base of leave to get the levels … [Read more...]
I love my kids, my husband and chocolate.
The order depends on when you ask.
Welcome to my nest!
