Blanket Origami

Yes, this is possibly the most ridiculous post ever. I hate folding blankets. Especially the heavier quilted stable blankets. They’re puffy and slippery and just do NOT want to stay folded nicely on the blanket racks. If I’m being honest, I will admit that I struggle with even a cooler…though that is my “favorite” if you can call something that only mildly irritates you a favorite anything.

I have tried different techniques, different fold patterns, if you will. Still, I am most often left with something not entirely completely unlike a rectangle. Then there are the buckles and straps that seem to multiply with every fold. What the heck do you do with those??

It’s not like I am trying to create complex blanket origami here, like those towels at resorts. I would be satisfied with a neat square or rectangle hanging nicely over the bar.

I try to be considerate and not have the extra blankets drooping down to the blanket rack below which belongs to another boarder. I try to be considerate and make sure the blankets aren’t dragging on the ground.

But seriously. This really shouldn’t be so difficult for me. Should it?

Janssons Frestelse (Jansson's Temptation)

 This recipe comes from Maria at Horse of Course blog and you can find her post on this recipe here. As soon as she mentioned it I knew I wanted to try it.

I noticed that the anchovies in her recipe looked different from what I was used to. The ones I get are very small and don't usually have any skin left at all.

They look like this:

Whereas the ones in the Janssons recipe looked wider and had skin. So naturally, I did some research. And I'm glad I did!  It turns out that Swedish anchovies are pickled in a brine that is also somewhat sweet and has different spices. Our typical ones are just in a salt brine.

In fact, it seems that they aren't really anchovies at all, but rather sprats, which are a small sardine-like fish. However, sprats in brine like this are called 'ansjovis' in Sweden and this might explain the confusion in translation.  I am sure that this dish would taste pretty good with regular anchovies, but I think it would be missing something that the distinctive flavour of the Swedish brine brings.

Lucky for me, I have a source of Swedish foods in the local

Ikea store so I was able to try a more authentic version.

My collection of ingredients for the recipe. I used Yukon Gold potatoes simply because I already had them. I also used red onion instead of yellow because I had a large one already partly used. I am hoping these little changes won't interrupt the authenticity of the dish.

I used a mandoline to cut the potatoes. Well ok, I asked

my husband to cut them, I hate using the mandoline!

Here is the assembled dish.

After this, I added a final layer of potato and the brine from the tin as well as a generous amount of cream, I baked it at 375F/190C for about 40 min. I covered it with foil for the first 15 minutes or so.

I served it with slow-cooked pork and root vegetables and a big dollop of sour cream. I didn't get a final picture - too hungry! I really liked this dish. There are three things I think didn't work perfectly for me.

1) The cream curdled during baking and although it didn't hurt the taste it certainly didn't look as nice as it should. I'm not sure if this is because I used 18% milk fat cream instead of 35% or if I shouldn't have added all the brine. Not sure, but it would have been nicer if that didn't happen.

2) I think the dish was improved by serving it with something else. The dish on it's own was very salty for my taste. Next time, I think I would not use all of the brine, maybe half. Serving it with sour cream and other dishes really helps with this, you can appreciate the delicious saltiness. And it IS delicious!

3) Really would have been great with beer! Sadly, I had none :(

All in all, a great dish and I'm glad I tried it. I picked up 2 tins of the sprats/anchovies so I will be making use of them in some other recipe, no doubt.

Stuffed Squash

We have been receiving absolutely beautiful squash in our weekly organic produce delivery. Two weeks ago, we couldn't even identify what the variety was. It was something like a Hubbard but not quite. This week, we had these adorable little 'table queen' squash. At least that is what I've seen them referred to as, some other sources show them as dark green. No matter what they are, this recipe would work with any squash, especially acorn. Something about them just asked to be stuffed.

 Baked and ready for the final touch.

Stuffed Squash

For filling, saute:
Onion
Garlic
Oyster mushroom
Kale

Combine with:
Quinoa (or preferred grain)- cooked
 
Cut squash in half lengthwise and clean centre of seeds etc. (make sure it goes in the composter!). Stuff each half as much as you can. Place in baking dish with some water in the bottom. Cover dish with lid or foil and bake. Ours took close to an hour at 350F/176C...I increased the temp to 375F/190C after half an hour or so because it was still fairly hard and I was hungry!  Once squash is cooked, place some grated cheese on top and place under broiler. We used an extra old cheddar but many different cheeses will work.

 A simple and delicious dinner.

The photo isn't the greatest and the

cheese tastes better than it looks!

Give me a little time off...

And all systems shut down, apparently. I had a nice, relaxing holiday and just wasn't very motivated to write anything. I DID do a lot of riding...more on that to come!

I took a lot of walks through the woods. It was beautiful and mostly silent with the heavy snowfalls we've been experiencing for over a week.

There is a large farm in the centre of our city, called the Central Experimental Farm. We walk in the arboretum section quite often and it's nice to feel like I am near a barn, even when I'm close to home.

Hazel also loves it here. She sometimes hears mice or other critters under the snow and tries to find them.  The funny thing is that the one time she came face-to-face with a mouse last winter, the mouse clearly was the winner in their "battle"! It was a bold little guy, stood his ground and jumped up at her nose. Boy did that surprise her! But she can't resist trying to find them, even if she's too scared to do anything else.

Merry Christmas! The Gifts go to the Dogs.

I wish everyone a very happy holiday season! I've been so busy - we are hosting 15 people in our new house for dinner tomorrow - so I don't have any festive photos to share. I did take a picture of my yard with the newly fallen snow several weeks ago which I think is lovely.

Ok, so mostly lovely. It will be better once the

fence height is added to and the trees are back in

leaf! But the neighbours are nice and the

snow is beautiful.

Now, we must not forget our loyal canine companions this time of year! So, a batch of dog cookies extraordinaire were in order for our Hazel, aka Ruckusbutt.

Dog Cookies

1/3 Cup (75ml) butter (or margarine), softened
3 Cups (750 ml) whole wheat flour
1/2 Cup powdered skim milk
1/4 tsp (1ml) garlic powder (optional)
3/4 Cup (175 ml) water, room temp
1 egg, beaten
~you can add around 1/4 to 1/2 Cup of "something else". I add peanut butter because dogs just love it but I only have the natural kind with just peanuts, no salt or sugar. Hazel thinks that's just fine. I also add a tablespoon or so of herbs, usually parsley.

1. In large mixing bowl, cream margarine and flour together.
2. Dissolve powdered milk (and garlic, if using) in water and whisk in egg.
3. Make a well in flour mixture and gradually stir in egg mixture until well blended.
4. Knead dough on floured surface, about 3-4 minutes, until dough sticks together and is easy to work with.

5. With a rolling pin, roll dough to between 1/4" and 1/2" thickness.
6. Cut with either cookie cutters or into rectangles appropriately sized for your dog and put on greased cookie sheet.
7. Bake at 325F (160C) for about 50 minutes.

Cool well and put in storage container. Keeps well for several weeks.

I guarantee these cookies will be gobbled up by every dog.

For the Love of Food

There is nothing like fresh produce. A feast for all the senses. Over the years, I've been trying to make smarter choices when it comes to the produce I buy. It started by trying to purchase more organic produce, as finances would allow.  As it happened, organic bananas are what really impressed me (try them sometime, the difference is incredible...not that
 bananas are the most responsible choice out there anyway...)  Aside from finances, I didn't go too crazy because the certification and oversight just wasn't there, so you could be paying more but not really know what you are getting. It is still not perfect but there have been improvements.


Then, about three years ago, as my awareness grew and I started looking into things further, I started thinking: do I really need red peppers that were grown in Chile? So I began to pay attention to where things were grown and tried to choose produce that was  either (in order of preference): grown locally, in my province (or neighbouring province, I am close to the border), or in my country. I still purchased limes from Mexico and yes, peppers from Chile or Holland. Don't even ask me about the wine (oh alright, usually Italy).

Ontario is an amazing province for its agriculture but even the southern parts have a fairly short growing season. So I didn't get fanatical, I just tried to make informed decisions. I bought more turnips, beets, celeriac, and carrots during the winter and passed by the peppers more often. The citrus fruit, I rationalized, at least came from the same continent. I still use that rationalization; I really think I need my oranges! And when you think about it, I AM closer to some states than I am to some provinces within Canada.

All this to say that I'm not perfect and, truthfully, I don't aim to be. Our distribution system and, I admit, sense of entitlement do not make perfection a realistic target. But I try. I make conscious decisions 

Things get complicated.  Consider, what has less environmental impact, what is more sustainable:
1) produce grown locally, in the "off" season, in a greenhouse, with the watering systems and fertilizers that need to go along with such an operation, or
2) produce grown further away, in the dirt, likely with less need for 'artificial' irrigation but will need to be transported.

Hmm. Also consider the respective sales agents for these two "products". One is likely a farmers market, the other a big-chain supermarket. And many countries depend on the export of certain products, including us.  Ugh. You can't win sometimes.

And because you can't win, I decided I would just always try to do the best I can. I love food and believe strongly in supporting local farmers for many reasons. I've accepted that these two are sometimes at odds with one another. I made the BEST pad thai a couple weeks ago. There is no way I could do that without tamarind, lime, fish sauce, or palm sugar. Not sure I could give that kind of thing up.

One step in the right direction has been to get regular produce deliveries from a local organic farmer, Bryson Farms. These guys have a great system down. They deliver to your door year round. I've been wanting to get on "the list" for over a year but they had some issues a little over a year ago. Since we were looking to buy a house I put off following up with it until we moved. I've been on a waiting list since July and last week we got our first delivery. Yesterday was our second delivery and I was so excited to get home to see what goodies we had.

Starting from the bottom left, moving clockwise (roughly):

Parsnips, red & golden beets, multi-coloured carrots,

turnips, red & white onions, sweet potatoes/yams,

fingerling potatoes (large & mini), pea shoot micro-greens,

garlic, squash, and full circle with kale beside the parsnips.

There is also a bag of mixed greens between the mini potatoes and pea shoots.

Yum! And we get to do it all again next week!

A little of this...and a little of that!

Nothing super interesting to report, I've just been very busy.

Had an amazing ride last night on Brumby! It was our best yet, the canter work is improving so much. And I think I might actually be developing half-decent hands. I was beginning to wonder if that would ever happen, lol. Ah, riding is so much a lesson in patience (as you all know very well!)

I got to watch Sandi Patterson (long time groom to the great Big Ben, is (or was) barn manager at Jill Henselwood's Juniper farms, and is a well respected coach) give a private lesson this week. It was a pretty neat experience and she is a very nice person. She showed me her method of counting stride lengths between jumps, nothing like learning basics from a master! Lol.

Let's see...what else has been going on? Oh, we has a fan installed in the bathroom but the electrician couldn't do the whole job so we had to finish it. This involved putting a whole in the roof - yikes!

Everything worked out great though!

I made a yummy vegetarian chilli

And Hazel napped while showing off her lovely teeth!

That's all I have to report. I am going to buy a new pair of breeches this afternoon - woo hoo!