2016 In Photos

Local Farm Spotlight: Woodward Christmas Tree Farm

One of the ways we are excited to be able to support our local farms this Christmas is by visiting Woodward Christmas Tree Farm to pick out the perfect tree for our home.  When we went last year our little Forager hadn't been born yet so while he was technically there for it all he didn't get quite the same experience.

Isn't it beautiful out there?  We went right at sunset and unintentionally made the evening even more magical.  The tree farm shares the same property as Privato Winery so you can stop in for a tasting and pick up some wine for the holidays.  If you make it out for their first weekend open you can also enjoy some mulled wine by the fire!  Hot chocolate and other treats are available at the concession.

Part of the fun of getting your tree here at the farm is the tractor ride that takes you out to the trees.  I think this was Little Forager's favourite part.  I tried so hard to get a photo of his smiling face on the ride but he was so interested in the tractor he wouldn't look away!

We looked and looked and finally we found the best tree.  It was hard because all of the trees are so nice.  We were looking for a blue spruce in particular since they have seriously sharp needles. 

Yes, you read that right!  

Our plan of keeping our decorated tree safe from our toddler included finding the prickliest Christmas tree we could!  So far between that and keeping non breakable ornaments near the bottom we have been successful.

I love decorating my tree, but for me it is important to do it as a family.  I like that tradition but it made it hard to find a time that worked this year.  We had the tree outside in a bucket of water for a few days.  Then we had the tree inside with only lights on for another few.  And then finally we decorated!

Make a Hops Bine Wreath

A lot of the time when I'm foraging, I am looking for something I can eat, but I also have my eyes peeled for things that I can use in my home.  Occasionally I find something that does double duty!

I posted on Instagram a while back this summer (and again in my summer recap post) about a local fruit stand that was forced to close down due to the highway expansion.  This was a really cool place where you used to be able to get ice cream, fresh juice, local produce, coffee, and even swap a book for a new one in their lending library.  The fruit stand shared the property with a mechanic's shop, and between the two an avenue of hops bines swayed in the wind. 

When we found out that the stand was closing I asked about the hops since we were interested in growing them.  I found out that they were originally rhisomes taken from crowns from Crannóg Ales in Sorrento, BC, but that the owner of the stand had no idea which was which.  We cut down some bines (yes, bines is the correct term - not vines) and dug up some of the crowns to try and plant them in our garden.  The hops currently on the bines were a bit past their prime, so we picked what we considered usable for brewing and dried those, and from the stripped bines I twisted together this wreath.  Our house smelled so intensely of hops for about a week!  I also tucked in some of the really dried out flowers (unusable for brewing) to decorate it.  These aren't structural, so I'll decide whether I always want them to be there, but for now I think they are perfect.

This was the first time I have made my own wreath without using some sort of form or other structure to get me started.  I was really excited about making a big wreath since I find the larger ones in the store to be quite expensive, and this would be completely free!  There are a lot of different ideas on the internet as far as how to put them together, but what I chose to do is:

1. Take one of the longest bines and make a circle roughly the shape you want your finished wreath to be but a little smaller.
2. Twist the rest of the bine around and around and around. 
3. Tuck the next bine in and keep twisting.
4. Keep going until all your bines are a part of the wreath.
5. Lay flat until the bines dry out completely.

Hopefully you can see by the photos how I was twisting them.  The good news is that you can make this using any kind of sturdy vine like grape, or Virginia creeper.  Have fun experimenting and see what you come up with!  I am really happy with the results of my wreath.

Bake Some Pies with Fannie Farmer: Recap

It has been quite some time since I have shared any of my pie adventures with you loyal readers (I'd love to hear from some of you in the comments to prove that I'm not imagining you) but rest assured I have still been on my baking journey.  At this point I believe I have almost completed most of the pies that require fresh seasonal produce.  There are only a few left that I will have to decide whether or not I will make them with what I happen to find in the grocery store or wait until next season. 

Since my last update the pies have been either incredible, or at least quite tasty.  Nothing I tried recenlty has been a complete dud so I am happy about that.  I am also incredibly thankful to my Life Group at Dallas Barnhartvale Church for helping me eat them all!  Sometimes 'doing life together' looks like deep, meaningful conversations, and sometimes it looks like eating a whole lot of pie!  Thanks for being my guinea pigs!

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PIE RANKINGS

1. Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
2. Strawberries and Lemon Custard in Meringue
3. Almost Rhubarb Pie
4. Plum Cobbler
5. Yogurt Custard Fruit Pie
6. American Apple Pie
7. Deep Dish Peach Pie
8. Banana Cream Pie
9. Fresh Pear Pie
10. Pumpkin Pie
11. Purely Apple Pie
12. Deep Dish Apple Pie
13. Sweet Potato Pie
14. Buttermilk Pie
15. Deep Dish Berry Pie
16. Pineapple Cream Pie
17. Maple Syrup Cream Pie
18. Spice Pie
19. Vinegar Pie
20. Apple Cobbler
21. Fresh Plum Pie
22. Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie
23. Raspberry Chiffon Pie
24. Fresh Apricot Pie
25. Fresh Peach Pie
26. Apricot Cobbler
27. Vanilla Cream Pie I
28. Marlborough Pie
29. Green Tomato Pie
30. Apricot Turnovers
31. Raisin Pie
32. Fresh Berry Pie
33. Apple Pandowdy
34. Deep Dish Apricot Pineapple Pie
35. Deep Dish Cherry Pie
36. Fresh Cherry Pie
37. Entire Rhubarb Pie
38. Cherry Turnovers
39. Pumpkin Chiffon Pie
40. Cranberry Pie
41. Ricotta Cheese Pie
42. Deep Dish Plum Pie

Foraging Rose Hips

One of the easiest things to forage in the fall are rose hips.  They are easy to identify, and there is nothing poisonous to confuse them with. 

Pictured above are a whole bunch of branches my landlady cut down when pruning a very unruly wild rose bush that was in our yard.  Before the hips completely dried out, I went out there and picked as many as I could.  I was going to dry them for storage anyway, so I wasn't worried about the fact that they were looking a little wrinkly.

Find some rose hips on your back yard rose bushes, or find some of the small shrubs that are very plentiful in Western Canada in the ditches along roadsides or in thickets in the woods.  They are especially easy to spot now that the rose hips will be bright red.

Here's what to look for.  They get a bit more bright red than this, but these branches were pruned a bit earlier than I would have picked them.  They will still be fine, though.

The best thing about rose hips is that they are so full of vitamin C.  These are a great item to keep in your pantry especially to help ward of winter colds.  Apparently very little of the vitamin C is destroyed during processing also, so that means if you make some syrup you can also use it to keep yourself healthy.

Once you have some what you want to do is dry them out for storage unless you are going to make jam or something right away.  Most of the recipes that call for rose hips require quite a lot of them, so it is nice that drying small amounts until you have enough is totally an option.

Spread them out on a screen, or use a dehydrator.  Once the hips are dry the long dry brown bits will crumble right off.  I threw mine in a mason jar until I get a chance to go out and get some more. 

Once I have a couple pounds of them, I will be trying out an old recipe from England during WWII that people were encouraged to make to help keep in good health during the food shortages.