epitome of summer

Happy first of September!  It's hard to believe that autumn weather is just around the corner, particularly with the heat wave we're experiencing. 

A few weekends ago Mr. Owl (my night owl boyfriend, aka Mr. Kitchen-Crafty) and I spent an idyllic summer weekend visiting family and friends. It was a weekend filled to the brim with good food, wonderful company, and some craftiness too (hurray!).

The weekend schedule was as follows:

1. A long bus ride made fun with knitting and audiobooks (the local library is a great source of roadtrip fun).

Working on my Shalom cardigan.

2. Crepes with fresh blackberry jam and maple syrup.

(photo from weheartit)

3. Picking the last of Mr. Owl's mum's basil and making pesto! It's my favourite!  Honestly so simple to make.

dill beans love posing with pesto

4. Extreme croquet (crocket as it's been nicknamed) in the woods - trees, logs and rocks made for interesting obstacles.

Scared to look. Did I make the shot?

5. Visit to the beaver pond, which turned into one of my top canadian wildlife moments ever: baby beaver hanging out only a meter or two away, chewing on a log and sticking it's tongue out at us!  I only regret not having my camera with me, but I doubt that I would have had sense enough to actually use it. That beaver was mesmerizing!

(photo from weheartit)

6. Blackberry picking from a wild patch.  Now to decide what to make: jam, pie, juice...

(picture from weheartit)

7. Handmade body butter and body bars, which we named Baby Beaver Body Butter after our fabulous encounter.

Recipes for pesto and body butter and balm coming up!  Stay tuned!

Hope you're enjoying the final days of summer!

a birthday, some cupcakes, and sparklers ... oh my!

Fun birthday celebrations this weekend for a dear friend!  The party had a coffee theme, yum!  I contributed mocha coffee cupcakes that I made from this great recipe from Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski (found via the how to eat a cupcake blog). 

They were topped with this simple creamcheese icing (I substituted coffee for the vanilla).  These cupcakes are so moist and the chocolate-coffee combo is blissful!  These will definitely be made again in the near future.  Next time I would try a different icing as the creamcheese somewhat overpowered the coffee.

cupcakes cooling before frosting.

I couldn't resist modeling the cupcakes with my birdie salt & pepper shakers (from Urban Outfitters last December).  I love them so much!

Happy Birthday!

We enjoyed some more fireworks and a near-full moon...

...and played with sparklers too!

canned goodness: dill beans

Until a few years ago, I ignorantly thought that dill pickles were made exclusively from cucumbers.  To my delight many other veggies taste incredible when pickled with dill.  Green beans, fiddleheads (baby ferns), and carrots are my personal favourites.

With dill growing on our deck and my boyfriend's mother's incredible generosity with her garden produce, it was the perfect opportunity for me to start dabbling in the pickling arts.

Pickling is not overly difficult.  Unless you're me and you have the penchant for: getting the wrong size mason jar lids, forgetting to ensure you have enough vinegar, forgetting to pick and add the dill until after the jars are sealed, or doing other such foolish things. 

The ingredients are simple and there are many recipes to be found online (I believe I followed this one).  And if you know an experienced pickler be sure to seek their advice.

After letting them stew for a week my dill beans were ready to taste... and success!  They turned out much better than I anticipated.  I'm inspired to head back to the garden/kitchen to try again!

What are your favourite fruits or veggies to preserve?  I'm on the lookout for more ideas!

lighting up the night

Last weekend we celebrated the New Brunswick Day long weekend at the camps/cottages of friends.  Our adventure included swimming, BBQing, campfires, and a sweet summer wedding.  Such wonderful times spent with friends and family, which after the craziness of the past few weeks, was much appreciated.   

And much to my delight, there was an incredible firework show (as mentioned previously, I LOVE these things)!  One of the most spectacular shows I've seen.  Here are a few photos of the beauties, taken by my kitchen crafty (and camera crafty!) boyfriend.

Summer bounty

Happy Canada Day and Independence Day!  Two fun ways to celebrate the beginning of July.  Any event that includes fireworks is at the top of my list.

Our recent roadtrip to Long Island for my boyfriend's family reunion was wonderful.  I adore his family; they are such welcoming and lovely people. The gorgeous weather and delicious eats made for a perfect weekend.

During our visit I got to stop by the Hamlet Organic Garden (HOG) to admire their harvest.

Tasty fruit...

...onions too...

...even kiwi! (although these were not fruiting at the time, apparently they are crazy delicious)...

...and highbush blueberries (yum!).

A clever and efficient way to wash produce: old bathtubs set up on stands.

And some exciting veggie news from closer to home (from our small deck garden in fact!)... our tomato plant has produced it's first fruit! It's tiny but oh so glorious.

Hope you're enjoying a lovely and fruitful start to summer too!

Hope springs eternal...

... for my deck garden, thanks to the kindness of a stranger.

I've been so proud of my meagre but hardy garden. This motley assortment of veggies and herbs have suffered wild winds and lack of sunshine.

Notice that pretty tomato in the right corner of the above photo (her name is Betty). Violent winds snapped her stem last night and Betty has not lived to tell the tale (see sad photo of her wilted corpse below).

I told our sad tale to a kind employee at our local garden centre. They did not have an exact replacement, as Betty was bought on sale for 99 cents. Our choice was limited to a tiny 5-inch plant or a solid flowering tomato that was more expensive than we were eager to pay. After hearing our story and taking pity on us, we were generously given this rugged and much more solid-looking beauty:

Her name is Penny, and isn't she gorgeous! Look that those sweet flowers, that will hopefully bear tasty fruit! Thank you stranger for this simple kindness and for renewing my hope for a bountiful garden.
There is so much goodness in the world and much to be thankful for. What small act of kindness have you recently given or received?

10 things

Following SouleMama's lead, here are 10 things that make me happy at this very moment:

1. The brand new veggie garden on our deck!
2. So much sunshine this week (in this typically foggy city) was lovely for bike riding.
3. Some much needed rain today to water my plant babies.
4. The library books on gardening that I picked up today (so excited about The Backyard Homestead edited by Carleen Madigan). I cannot wait to have a plot of earth to play with!
5. The surprise belated birthday present that arrived in the mail.
6. Upcoming visit with family in NY (hurray for alpacas, boat rides, and family fun!).
7. Almost finished knitted gift for the new addition to our extended family. Welcome baby boy!
8. Last weekend's homemade food: gnocchi, bread, cupcakes, & glory bowls.
9. Frisbee on Tuesdays.
10. The upcoming summer solstice! What are you planning to do to welcome the new season?

What 10 things make you happy today?