Frigid Cold, Deer Meat, and First Aid

Tags

cold weather, deer meat, deer sausage, foster parenting, hunting, micro greens, sausage making

Greetings from the frozen prairies! Oh lord is it cold here right now. A couple days ago it was -49C with the windchill. However, being of the tough prairie stock that I am, I have not quit walking to and from the theatre every night. I did go buy a pair of warm ski pants after I nearly froze my thighs one night though. But now I’m toasty warm. Warmer than I would be if I was driving the car because at those temperatures, the engine of the car never really warms up enough to produce any heat, so you sit there and shiver all the way home. If I’m walking though, I’m warm by the time I hit the bridge. It’s quite comfortable. And I love crossing the river every day. The river is never the same from day to day. I think of all the people whizzing by on the bridge that never get to see how the river is constantly changing, and I actually feel sorry for them. Our river is a hidden treasure right in the middle of the city.

[Speaking of hardy prairie stock, our new chickens are doing quite well in this weather. My little Saskatchewan mutts. I’ve officially named them Marmalade (because she has orange feet), and Clementime (because I like it).]

Will went to Regina this weekend to make deer sausage from the deer that he shot while hunting a few weeks ago, and brought home 65 pounds of meat. Our little deep freeze is now well-stocked. We had the honey garlic sausage for supper tonight (along with carrots and beets from the cold storage), and it was delicious. Deer sausage rocks. He also brought home four bags of deer ribs, which apparently are awful and not really good for anything. That simply sounds like a challenge to me. Waste not, want not.

The micro green operation is coming along nicely. Here’s a shot of our small set up in the basement. This week, we’re growing peas, sunflowers, broccoli, radishes and beets. Oh so good.

I did my First Aid/CPR/AED certification this weekend. One step closer to being a foster parent!

It was a busy weekend, what with being at the First Aid course all day, and then performing every night. I am a sleepy, tired girl, and I can’t wait to enjoy my day off today. Have a fantastic week, everyone!

Wigs, Pea Shoots, and Soup

Tags

micro greens, Soup, theatre, urban farming, wheat salad, Wig

Busy week on the urban homestead. I made a couple new dishes this week. I’m trying to add variety to my diet, so that I don’t get bored with food. Earlier this year, we bought some lentils and red fife wheat from a local farmer, and he included some recipes when he dropped the order off (good thing, too. I had no idea what to do with wheat).

This week, I made a Prairie Lentil and Wheat Soup, and a Sweet Wheat Berry Salad with Prairie Apples. The soup was delicious. I used those frozen cherry tomatoes I had lazily tossed in the deep freeze at the end of summer, and they were awesome. I had no idea frozen tomatoes could work so well.

The Sweet Wheat Berry Salad didn’t turn out as well. Too much olive oil and lemon juice, and not enough sweet. I’ve made some adjustments to the recipe for next time. And by adjustments, I mean added a ton of honey.

We opened The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon on Friday. I’m playing Marie Antoinette, and I’m curling for the Devil. It’s a lot of fun, and my wig is fantastic.

And the best news, our little urban farm is up and running, and yes, in the middle of winter! We have started a small micro green operation in our basement, and we harvested and sold the first batch this week. We’ve grown sunflower and pea shoots, and we’ve got broccoli and radish on the grow for next week.

I like to sautée the greens with butter and garlic and eat them as a side dish, but they’re also really delicious fresh.

If you’re in the Saskatoon area, and would like to buy micro greens from us, let me know. The price is $3 for one bag, or $5 for two.

Have a great week, everyone!

Sprout Farming and Other Things

Tags

alfalfa sprouts, foster parenting, micro greens, pea shoots, sprouts

I have decided that this is not only the Winter of Soups, but also the Winter of Salads. But how do you eat salad all winter in Saskatchewan? There are basically two options. I could buy lettuce in plastic bags that come from Arizona or Mexico, or I could tweak my definition of salad. The only salads I’ve ever really known have contained lettuce . . . but what if they didn’t have to contain lettuce? That opens up a whole new world of possibilities.

Enter sprouts and micro greens.

Will has been sprout farming in the kitchen for a few years now, but I never really wanted anything to do with them. Until now. I have found they make a delicious bed for my salads of cucumbers, tomatoes, leeks, and bocconcini. I drizzle them with olive oil and white wine vinegar, then I add a touch of ground pepper and a dash of salt, and let them marinate for about 10 minutes. Delicious.

The micro greens are a bloody miracle. They barely need any light to grow, they’re ready in about ten days, and they’re delicious fresh or sautéed. So far we’ve tried pea shoots, beets, broccoli, and black oil sunflower. The pea shoots are my fave. I sauté them with garlic, butter and a bit of fresh ginger. Amaze-balls.

Under the category of “other things,” I’m pleased as punch to let y’all know that Will and I are currently in the process of becoming foster parents! I haven’t mentioned this before on the blog because, well, there’s this fear in the back of my mind that we won’t get approved or something, and then I’ll have to tell everyone that I officially would make a bad parent. But we are now half way through the process, and it looks like we’ll have our home open by mid-February, if everything goes according to plan (which it may not; anything goes when dealing with the government). Anyway, just wanted to make the announcement because I’ll probably be blogging a lot about foster parenting in the coming months.

That’s all for now, folks! Have a great week!