Are you serious...laughing

My husband Bruce finally found the perfect kitchen gadget to stop the waterfall of tears when cutting onions. 
He has tried all the tricks...

Have a fan blow the air away from you,  unfortunately he blow his recipe all over the kitchen I was finding bites of herbs behind things for months...

Dunk the onion in cold water for 20 minutes first...at one point he had a garbage can liner filled with water and he was bobbing for onions, and the floor started looking alike a child's wading pool.

Cut really, really quickly, since he was not a trained chef...cutting really quickly was a recipe for a emergency room visit while I held a few of his finger tips. 

Chop near a flame...the last time Bruce got near open flames was at a New Years Eve Party many years ago and lite his hair on fire...Nope didn't think it was a wise choice.

Use a super-sharp knife...Yes, he tried this and he emptied my band aid box.  Thankfully he still has all his fingers!!!     

 When I first came around the corner into the kitchen, I nearly fell over laughing...I ran to grab my camera because I couldn't believe what he was wearing.

 Bruce rocks the goggles!!!

It's nice to have a male sense of humour in my kitchen, next up his is bringing in the air compressor for the crispy chicken skin candy!!!!

Grow, Harvest, Cook, Eat...and laughing uncontrollably

Jenn

Seeds, Seeds and more Seeds...

To plant a garden is to believe in the future.
How does one go about planting a garden from seed...or from "scratch" as we say in the kitchen.  It's not just a simple Jack and the Bean Stock throw a few magic beans in the ground.  First of all SOIL is a major component in OLD SCHOOL gardening.  When I say old school I mean soil, seeds, water and sun.  When you old school it...manure, compost, bugs, worms and delicious dark dirt...are your friends.  It's extremely important to add nutrients to your soil all season, you can top dress with compost or aged horse manure.  I caution the use of chemicals, just because you are eating the bounty...however there are those who believe bigger is better.  The most important thing about gardening is the PLEASURE you derive from it. 

You got soil...next up is SEEDS!!!  You will be kid in the candy store, so please proceed with caution.  Remember those itty bitty seeds grow, expand, enlarge, and a few go a long way.  So make a garden plan, what you want to plant, what you like to eat, your region for growing, and throw in a few odd ball seeds for fun.  I'll give you a lesson I learnt a few years back...I use to love zucchini until I planted 8 plants one spring.  Are you serious!!!! you are saying to yourself if you already know this lesson...and yes, I am serious.  Well, 8 zucchini plants could have feed half of a starving nation.  So those packets of 50-100 seeds with the attractive price tags, sometimes are not that attractive after all.  Seeds do have a shelf life of about 3 years if stored properly...but 50-100 zucchini seeds???? 
After you decide on the seeds you want, it's time to purchase the seeds....and here comes the endless seed catalogues and not all catalogues and seeds are created equal.  Seeds are harvested from plants and these plants are grown for the quality of seeds they produce. 


Salt Spring Seeds
Heritage & Heirloom Organic Seed Catalog 2015


Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
The Whole Seed Catalog 2015


West Coast Seeds
Gardening Guide 2015


Veseys Seeds 2015
serving Canadian Gardeners since 1939


These are just a few I use, there are many more interesting catalogues you can look through and buy seeds from.  Talk to other gardeners and find out where they buy seeds and search the internet.  In the end it's your choice. 


You have soil, You have seeds, now you need WATER & SUN and some shade.  These are the two   jokers in the house of cards we just created...laughing.  Sometimes we get excessive water in spring from the heavens above which means little sunshine...and then drought like conditions in mid summer...which means you must water, water, water, and than water some more.  It's important to check if you are on a well that you have enough water to water in your growing season.  For my husband and I we had to drill a new well just for our gardening endeavours.  If you are on city water system make sure your water restrictions don't leave high and dry.  As for the sun, well I have come up with a sun dance...and I beg the sun gods. 


The love of gardening is a SEED once sown that never dies.




Grow, Harvest, Cook, Eat and enjoy the quiet moments in a garden this year...


Jenn

Jenn's Jamming

I am back jamming...I had a small stash of raspberries that I had grown in the summer which I couldn't process at the time.  So in celebration of LOVE month, I have made a few jams..." A Cardinal Sin" Raspberry Sambuca Preserve and Dangerous Curves is a mixture of berries from my garden, it's a chunky preserve so you have texture and taste.  I also made a surprising espresso and chocolate jelly...and a lovely mandarin orange marmalade.


What is jam?
Jam comes in a small pot, it's a labour of love, a delicious spoon of summer on a cold winter morning, a sparkling jewel on the breakfast table, feeling the warm morning sun on your face, a pot of bubbling sweet stuff, bare feet on a polished wooden floor, smell of dirt, sounds of chirping birds,  buzz of bees, the sting of the thorns as you reach into the raspberry bushes...the Blood Curdling Scream as I come across the extremely gigantic toad hiding under the strawberry leaves...there is more to jam than one can imagine.


Jam starts with the selection of sweet fruits or berries in the height of there growing season.  You want to pick the fruit that is slightly firm, you want to be able to smell the skin and say apricot or peach and the same goes for berries.  I can smell my raspberries as they ripen in my garden.  Next you want to create a recipe to enhance the already delicious fruit or berries, no cover it up.  You should source your recipes from a reputable canning guide.  The guide will tell you the amount of fruit, sugar, lemon and pectin needed to have the perfect texture.  Once you have a basic recipe it's time for your imagination to kick in.  Imagination the thing your parents told you get out of the clouds when you were a kid....laughing.


I myself have a few dozen jam making books and over thousand source recipes that I use for inspiration.  I have spent years developing a flavour palate, it takes time and a passion for that perfect taste!!!  I know when I have hit the golden taste, it's when I wake up in the middle of the night and it calls me to the fridge.  It becomes a addiction...Hello my name is Jennifer and I am a jamaholic. 


Grow, Harvest, Cook, Eat....and make JAM!!!


Jenn

Happy New Year's

And the anxiety beginnings as we near the start of 2015...The word resolutions sends most of us into a frenzy of promises that we will not necessarily keep. I say necessarily because my resolution this year is not to be so negative...laughing.  However more on the negative note...most people make all kinds of resolutions, only to fall short about 3 hours into 2015. 


So what kinds of resolutions do people make...The Top 10 Commonly Broken Resolutions of all times are:
Lose Weight and Get Fit
Quit Smoking
Learn Something New
Eat Healthier
Get out of Debt and Save Money
Spend More Time with Family
Travel to New Places
Be Less Stressed
Volunteer
Drink Less


The funny thing here is the Top Ten Resolutions to make are the Top Ten Commonly Broken...it's time to for a change!!!  There is a saying in a 12 step programme that goes like this...Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Perhaps your first resolution should be seeking some psychiatric help with the issue of follow through...laughing. 


Here is a list of resolutions anyone can embrace in 2015:


1. Get out of bed each morning or afternoon at a reasonable time
2. Brush your teeth
3. Turn on your social media device
4. Read something each day that has some intellectual content, cereal boxes count for this one
5. Drink a glass of water, rinsing your mouth out with water after brushing teeth counts for a quarter cup
6. Eat a serving of veggies or fruit...last time I checked a glass of red wine, cup of coffee and chocolate all fall under fruit or veggies category
7. Do one kind thing a day even if it's only being kind to yourself
8. Walk in nature and enjoy the beauty that surrounds you, if you put a plant between you and your car...
9. Do some thing that raises your heart rate, I am sure opening your credit card bill after the holidays will do it..
10. Once in a blue moon volunteer to make the world a better place...


Baby steps everyone, Rome was not built in a day....
The best resolution you can make is, be kind to yourself, be your self, and if you don't first succeed keep trying, because when one makes enough mistakes, we usual end up make a right one.






Grow, Harvest, Cook, Eat and Happy New Year


Jenn

It's not just Jam anymore....

Taking a simple jar of jam to the top of the culinary world, a change of perspective is in order. A journey into the jam jar...in this sticky sweet environment lurks the greatest culinary advancement since Cheez Wiz. When I speak of Cheez Wiz, I am not talking about the liquid over salty cheese product, I am talking about when did "cheese on toast" become a breakfast food? Cheez Wiz was developed by a team led by food scientist Edwin Traisman, its national debut as 1953...and over the years it has graced foods like hot dogs, nacho chips, cheese steaks and toast!!! If Cheez Wiz can morphine to breakfast....THAN a simple jar of jam can morphine to the dinner table!!!!

Jenn's Rustic Poached Pear,"Italian Plum Conserve"and Confit de Canard Galette


Pastry
2 cups of all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
12 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water as needed
To make the rustic tart dough, mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Cut in the butter by hand or using a mixer with a paddle attachment, leaving some pea-sized chunks. Sprinkle the ice water over the top by the tablespoon and toss it with the flour mixture until you can bring the dough together into a ball. Press it into a disk and refrigerate and let the dough chill for 15 minutes.
 To form a galette, roll it out on a lightly floured counter into a 14-inch irregular circle about 1/8-inch thick. Fold it into quarters and transfer it to the back of a sheet pan or a cookie sheet without sides. Unfold it. It will be larger than the pan.

Confit de Canard:
4 duck legs (about 3 pounds/1.35 g)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and split in half
1 ounce/30 g coarse salt
4 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
5 cups/1 kg (not a litre, weigh it!) duck fat, melted, more if needed to cover the legs completely
Rub the duck legs all over with the split garlic cloves and put them in a glass bowl with the salt, pepper, bay leaves, and thyme. Cover with a tea towel and refrigerate overnight or up to 48 hours, turning once.
Heat the oven to 200 degrees F. Rinse the duck and pat dry with a towel. Set the legs in a baking dish and tuck in the garlic cloves. Pour over enough fat to cover them, place over heat and when you see the first bubble, set it on a rimmed baking sheet in the oven and bake uncovered until the meat is very tender and shrinks away from the bone, about 4 hours. Cool slightly in the fat, then carefully lift them out.
While the confit cooks, soak 2 wooden skewers in a saucepan and boil 5 minutes to sterilise. Lay in the bottom of two sterilised glass loaf pans (breaking the sticks if needed). Lay on the duck legs and ladle over the fat, leaving any juices behind. Make sure they are well covered. Cover with foil or plastic wrap, and refrigerate a week to mellow.
Remove skin and bones of the confit and shredded meat gently

Poached Pears:
1 (750-ml) bottle white wine, Riesling or Viognier
 1 cup water
 5 ounces vanilla sugar, approximately 3/4 cup
 1 whole vanilla bean, split and scraped
 4 firm Bartlett, Anjou or Bosc pears, peeled leaving the stem intact
Place the white wine, water, sugar and vanilla bean and pulp into a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
Core the pears from the bottom. Decrease the heat to medium low and place the pears into the liquid, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the pears are tender but not falling apart. Maintain a gentle simmer. Remove the pears to a serving dish, standing them upright, and place in the refrigerator.
Remove the vanilla bean from the saucepan, increase the heat to high and reduce the syrup to approximately 1 cup of liquid, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Do not allow the syrup to turn brown. Place the syrup in a heatproof container and place in the refrigerator until cool, approximately 1 hour.
Slice pears thinly

Roasted Walnut Italian Prune Plum Conserve: Purchase at Petty Catwater this Holiday Season

Farm House Kabritt Cheese: this can be purchased on line

Gouda Cheese: we are looking for a non-smoked or flavoured Gouda

To assemble the tart: we layer our ingredients as shown below. I use a pizza pan and my over hanging edge is about 2 inches. I spread all ingredients to the edge of the pan.
First spread the grated Kabritt cheese over the prepared pastry than spread evenly the following layer by layer, a layer of Roasted Walnut Plum Conserve, add layer of grated Gouda cheese, add a layer of sliced poached pears, add a layer of grated Gouda, add a layer of shredded Confit de Canard...add the last layer of grated Kabritt cheese to the top... Fold the edges of the dough over the layers, creasing every inch or so. Brush the top lightly with olive oil.
To bake the tart, preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake until the crust is golden, 25 to 30 minutes.

Petty Catwater's Roasted Walnut & Italian Prune Plum Conserve and Purple Haze Carrot Cake Jam has made a huge leap this weekend....what has long been a established breakfast condiment has made it's way to your lunch and dinner table. Sometimes just tilting your head a little to the left makes all the difference on how we see a simple jar of jam.




Grow, Harvest, Cook, Eat, and now on a diet


Jenn

The last headlights head down the drive....

The last headlights head down the drive....and the music gently slows and the lights dim.  As I look around I hear echoes of conversations "it's good to see you my friend", "I have missed you", "we should get together next week"...I see the empty glasses, plates and napkins...the night  maybe be over, however the party revelers are charged for the holiday season. 


How I plan the annual Johnston Open House:


I spend about a month creating a menu, how does one create a menu, it's usually by chance... I picked up my local grown turkey which was just a little over 27lbs, thinking to myself what am I going to do with a 27lb turkey????  And here's where the chance comes into play, for the first time in my entire life I am going to make a traditional turkey dinner for the open house...laughing.  I do a little  researching and testing of recipes...so that everything has that special touch of Jenn. After that it all falls into place.


Bruce and I go out forging forest foliage to decorate the outside of the cottage. I spend a week tying red ribbons around the window boxes and barrels than stuff them full of fir, pine, juniper and red dogwood branches.  I order wreaths from Moose Meadows which arrive just before the party.


Next up I decorate the inside of the cottage which is a mood thing...first off Christmas music has to be playing, no music, no decorating.  I have boxes of surprises to chose from...call me the collector of decorations.  Each year I buy a few new things to add to the mix, this helps create a fresh palate.  Most years it's like opening presents because I forget what I have...laughing.  Once the bobbles, bells and whistles are hanging, I have to arrange furniture...than it's time to cook!!!


The week of cooking I am in my glory...and gain a few pounds taste testing.  Cooking for the party is all about organization.  I have excellent skills in the department after my many years working in kitchens.  Setting up a line for dinner service, so it runs in a seamless flow takes incredible attention to detail and the ability to see into the future.  And even than you have to plan for disaster!!!!  This year my plan B, if my turkey turned south on me was...nothing!!!  It was not going south...it was in the oven cooking. 


Each year I am asked is it not a lot of work Jennifer to host your open house...Yes, it's a labour of love, a passion which is about giving to my fellow man.  To open my heart, home and feel grateful that each person whom crosses my threshold is apart of my life...people I call my friends. 




Grow, Harvest, Cook, Eat...and Rejoice


Jenn

NO Elf on the shelf...

The elf from the shelf left the cottage gripped tightly in Carson jaws....we found him later in shreds all over the yard. Carson told the little F'er in no uncertain terms, "Screw you, munchkin, nobody tells Santa about my behaviour!!!"  Well, so much for that holiday tradition...laughing.  So we are back to the traditional Deck the Halls with doggie cookies and squeaky toys and all the Fa la la la la la la la la la la one dog can muster this season. 


The holiday traditions are past on from one generation to the next...sometimes I wonder why and where some of my ideas come from.  The annual red bow on the dog came from Booie...being a rather large forest dog and resembled a bear, we use to tie a ribbon on him during the winter season so he was not mistaken for a bear...it has just be come tradition now.  Carson will receive his first red ribbon this year to carry on a long forest dog tradition. 


The cutting of the holiday tree, Bruce and I go out in early November before the snow and hunt for the perfect tree...it takes the good part of the day, so we make a thermos of hot chocolate and head out into the wild blue yonder.  Each year it's a debate between a fir tree or a pine...this year was a gorgeous fir tree about 10 feet tall...I don't have a tree in the cottage anymore.  So I place it on the deck outside  and cover it in beautiful white lights. I love it when it's covered in snow and light shine through, it's peaceful.  I look forward to this tradition of cutting a real tree out in the wilds of nowhere BC.  It's the best part of living in the country...


So I guess this holiday season we can add a new tradition, the grizzly murder of the elf on the shelf


Grow, Harvest, Cook, Eat and Be Merry


Jenn