Sourdough Sharing - Muffins

October is the time of year I finish putting the yard and garden to bed and to finish making juice, jam and other preserves.  I then travel to Alberta and Saskatchewan for several weeks visiting relatives and friends before winter hits with a vengeance.  So this month, I am linking to a previously blogged recipe.

This month's sourdough challenge is muffins and quick breads.  I have a preference for muffins as you can freeze a batch and then just take out one or two as needed.

I have tried several muffin recipes but always come back to this Bran Muffin recipe.  It is moist and tasty - I always loved bran muffins with molasses as an ingredient and this is my all time favorite recipe.

 

The recipe calls for raisins and nuts but I sometimes add chopped dates instead of the raisins and nuts.  I have also used dried cranberries or dehydrated cherries instead of the raisins and I have substituted sunflower seeds instead of nuts.

 

 

I hope everyone enjoys this month's offering of muffins and quick bread in the links below. 

 

 

 





Canadian Geese

** photos taken in June 2013

Lulu and I spent the week after my parents' 60th anniversary visiting in Saskatchewan.  The following weekend, Lulu and I travelled to Regina with my parents to a reunion on my maternal grandmother's side and to meet relatives visiting from England.

While we were there, we visited the Legislative grounds and saw the Canadian Geese.

There are geese that stay in Regina all year long and no longer migrate.  There is a warm inlet on Wascana Lake that doesn't freeze all winter.

Lulu had to stay in the car while I was taking photos of the geese because there were a number of very large dogs around and I didn't want to take any chances.

The geese seemed to have set up babysitters (gosling-sitters?) because most of the adults were on the lake-side on the road and the young ones were on the tree-side of the road.

Oops!  These guys stopped traffic while they crossed to be with the others.

The goslings were all the same size except for one.  Can you see him in the crowd?

There he is bringing up the rear.

Here are a couple adults near the lake.

For some reason, none of them were in the water.  Everyone was on dry land.

Mincemeat

I have tomatoes coming out the ying-yang.  Even though I only planted 6 plants (4 regular and 2 cherry type) I have boxes of green tomatoes in the garage.  I picked and pulled out my tomatoes yesterday because they have been threatening frost for the last few days.  It went down to +3°C last night but since I am going visiting over the next few weeks, I decided it is time to put my yard and garden to bed.

So back to the tomatoes.  I have made spaghetti sauce and canned a number of red tomatoes but wanted to get rid of some of the green ones.

My sister-in-law, Barb sent me her recipe for mincemeat since I have an abundance of green tomatoes and apples.  I decided to give it a whirl since I love her mincemeat.  (I was lucky enough to have received a few jars from her last year.)

Ingredients

6 c chopped green tomatoes
6 c chopped apples (cored and peeled)
3 c raisins
1 c suet or butter
3/4 c vinegar
1 c mixed peel
4 c brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
3/4 tsp allspice
2 tsp salt

Core and chop tomatoes.  I used my food processor on pulse.

Place tomatoes in a large pot and cover with hot water.  Bring to a boil and the drain thoroughly.

Do that 3 times.

Add the rest of the ingredients.

Mix well and cook for an hour.

Fill sealers and process in hot water bath for  25 minutes.

I got 5 quarts of mincemeat.  Barb's was slightly browner in colour but I added a bit more tomatoes and apples since I had lots. 

 

Store until needed for pie, tarts or squares.  Last year I made some squares similar to matrimonial cake but used mincemeat instead of the date mixture.  They were very yummy.  ;)

 

Lulu and the Buffalo

*** photos taken June 2013

Lulu and I stopped at the Western Development Museum in North Battleford.  It was time for a bathroom break for me and a grass break for Lulu.

At the edge of the parking lot, there was a statue of a buffalo so we decided it was a good photo-op.  As we neared the statue I saw this sign on the rock.  I thought it was referring to how buffalo ran wild and free many years ago on the prairies.

Lulu looked at the buffalo and said, "What a big animal he is!"

"But he isn't as big as some of the things we've seen, is he?"  queried Lulu.

"No" I said, "he is more life-sized instead of world's largest."

"Oh" said Lulu, "but I still wouldn't want to get him mad, his horns look sharp!"

"His fur looks funny!" said Lulu.

And sure enough, when I got closer I realized what the sign was all about.  The buffalo was made from barbed wire.  How neat is that!

So after Lulu walked around eating grass and looking for bugs, we continued on our journey.

 

Lulu in Cutknife

*Note - photos were snapped and post was written in June 2013.

On our way to Saskatoon from Bonnyville, Lulu and I took the scenic route and stopped at Cutknife, Sask. to see the World's Largest Tomahawk.

 

It had just finished raining so it was nice to get out and stretch.  Lulu stretched her neck and looked around at the sights.

"What happened to that building?"  Lulu asked.  "What's that thing sticking in the roof?"

"And look at those feathers!"  exclaimed Lulu.  "What kind of bird are those from?"

"I wouldn't want to meet that bird!"  said Lulu looking around.  "Mom!  You are too far away!  I need protection!"

"I think we looked around enough," said Lulu.  Let's get back in the car before that big bird comes around."

And so we continued on our way.

Sourdough Sharing - Sourdough Gingerbread Waffles

This month's sourdough challenge was pancakes and waffles.  I had recently been given an almost new waffle iron from my sister who didn't want it and decided to try this recipe for Gingerbread Waffles from my Sourdough Cookery Cookbook by Rita Davenport.

Ingredients
1/2 c molasses
6 Tbsp cooking oil
1/2 c sourdough
1 c milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 Tbsp sugar

Mix molasses, oil, sourdough, milk and eggs.  Combine dry ingredients and mix into the first mixture.

Heat waffle iron.

Pour amount batter onto waffle iron suggested by manufacturer (different amounts for different sizes irons).

Cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until done.

Remove to rack.  Cut if necessary.

Top with butter and serve.

The recipe suggests eating them with applesauce and bacon or whipped cream and bananas.  I served them with mulled applesauce.  Very yummy!

 

The recipe said it makes 6 small waffles so I doubled it.  I will definitely make these again.  Enjoy!

 

 

Check out other pancake and waffle recipes shared below.

 

 



I'm Back

This has been a very tough summer.  Losing Lulu took a lot out of me.  I have been very lonely and down in the dumps and often cried at the drop of a hat.  I was lucky that Barry was home several times throughout the summer and I went to see him when I needed to get away.

I had trouble weeding this summer because every time I went outside, I expected to see Lulu.  It was hard to dig weeds and see the beetles and worms that she would have loved to eat.  It seems like a chore now that she isn't there to egg me on. 

The wasps have been especially ferocious this year.  I have never been stung before but both Barry and I have been stung three times each. They are everywhere!  I got stung digging garlic and also while picking a plum.  Many outdoor chores are best done early in the morning before the sun rises over the mountain or in the evening when they seem to have settled for the night.

As a result of both missing Lulu and fighting off the wasps, my garden did not do too well.  By the time Barry was here to help out, the weeds had more or less taken over.  We did have some successes - cukes, cabbage and tomatoes did well.  In fact, the cukes went crazy after a very slow start.  I have been giving away at least two grocery bags of them a week!  We have eaten tons ourselves (I love Greek Salad!) and made some relish, etc.

I was disappointed with the corn this year.  I didn't plant my regular variety and found this year's corn too starchy.  Plus I had trouble enjoying corn on the cob this year because Lulu was always there to share it in the past.  It just seemed to stick in my throat. 

I have been making jam and juice as well as freezing fruit for later use but haven't taken any pictures so those recipes will not make it to my blog.  I have had trouble staying focused on blogging.

I am doing somewhat better now but still find I get teary-eyed now and then.  Last week at the grocery store, I had trouble when one of the clerks asked me about Lulu.  I hadn't seen her since Lulu died so she was unaware.  She would always ask me, "How's your baby?" and tell me that she told her kids and other relatives about Lulu.  It was hard to tell her about Lulu without breaking down in the checkout line.

I have quite a few photos of stops with Lulu on the trip in June for my parents' 60th anniversary.  I will be posting them since so many of your seemed to enjoy Lulu's adventures. 

I will be slowing down my blogging as I don't have much gardening happening and I haven't recorded very many recipes.  I don't plan to stop but may not be as regular as I have been.

I thank all of you who sent kind words or called to offer your sympathy.  My sweet little chicken is firmly entrenched in my heart.  I miss her so.