Zucchini in Disguise

Ava and I began the day by foraging in our vegetable garden.  She was very good at staying outside the perimeter of the garden; however, she seemed to think that once I placed something down on the ground it was fair game for the taking.  After she stole the tomato I had set aside for my lunch, I had to resort to carrying my harvest around in a bucket.

My bucket of veggies was destined for rainbow stew except for the zucchini - those were for brownies.

Inspired by Kori and Colin's moderately healthy take on brownies for those of us with surplus zucchini, Alistair and I gave it a shot.

Recipe: Gael Glen Farm's Zucchini Brownies

Ingredients

1/2 cup oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp cardamon

1/4 tsp ginger
3 cups shredded zucchini DO NOT DRAIN
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare an 8x11 pan with butter.

In a large bowl combine oil, sugar, and vanilla until fully incorporated.

Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and spices. Mix until combined. Batter will be very dry.

Fold in zucchini by hand. Allow batter to rest for 5 minutes.

Add in chocolate chunks and stir again. Batter should appear more wet.

Spread brownie mixture into the pan and bake for 1 hour.  Brownies are done with an inserted toothpick is removed with crumbs. There should not be wet batter on the toothpick.

I am happy to report that the brownies were a hit.  Liam and Seamus were shocked that zucchini could taste so great.

What did not get rave reviews was the goat cheese corn bread that I made to accompany the stew.

I used store bought goat cheese that we had sitting in the fridge and surprise, surprise, the boys thought it tasted too "goaty".  While they refused to eat the corn bread, both managed to make it through a bowl of rainbow stew.

Thank goodness we had those brownies waiting on the counter as bait.

Citations

Inspired by: https://iambaker.net/zucchini-brownies/#wprm-recipe-container-66158

Growing with the Fair

One of the highlights of our autumn is attending the "best little fair in Canada".  Ian and I have been going since before we had kids and it is now, and hopefully continues to be, a family tradition.

Liam and Seamus working the combine at this year's Carp Fair.

There are many times throughout the year when we are at the Carp Fairground completely by ourselves.  We take skating lessons on the rink there all winter, it is our go to playground and splash pad all summer, we vote there, and we have attended many a farmers' market and community meeting on the grounds.  Yet, there is something magical about the weekend the fair comes to town - it is so fun to partake in the hustle bustle of the fairgrounds packed with people from all over the Ottawa valley and beyond.

We have a couple must dos at the fair each year.  We always get the milk.  I remember back in the day when the cartons of milk were free!  Now, they are $1.50 per carton but we partake nonetheless.

2019. Seamus age 4.

2019. Liam age 6.

We also love checking out the giant pumpkins.  Those are always a crowd pleaser.

2018. Seamus age 3.

2018 Liam age 5.

As the boys get older, the rides are becoming more of a draw.  They used to be happy with a quick turn on the carousel but they decided this year they are too old for that.

2017 Seamus age 2.

2017 Liam age. 4

2018 Liam and Seamus ages 5 and 3.

They did not even want to try the flying elephant that they had so much fun riding in previous years.

2017 Liam and Seamus ages 5 and 3.

Instead, this year was all about the flying blue dinosaur.  Big smiles and excited waves at Mom!

And ringing the bell on the train.  We cannot forget that.  Ding! Ding!  DING! DING!

As always, Liam and Seamus tried milking the fake cow.  They declared that she was much easier to milk than Martha and Mellie.  However, the boys were most excited to "milk" condiments on to their $1 hot dogs.  Daddy helped so they would not make a huge mess!

It is fun to have family traditions like attending the Carp Fair.  Even though we did not enter anything into the agricultural competition this year, a very good time was had by all.  The weather was gorgeous, the cotton candy was extra fluffy, and we bumped into lots of friends and neighbours.  What a fun afternoon.

We are already looking forward to Carp Fair 2020!

Quack Quack Bang

We started our Saturday morning out with a bang - at least Ian did; several bangs, in fact.  He brought us home three dead ducks!  Not bad for opening day of the duck hunting season.

The boys were thrilled.  They are very much anticipating roasted duck breast for dinner in the near future.  By this point, they are completely cool with the animal to meat progression.  I am so proud.

In the afternoon Ian, Liam, Alistair and I supported Seamus in his first community service initiative as a Beaver Scout.  He collected funds for the Stittsville Food Bank.

Once again, I was very proud of my boys.  They were polite, well behaved and very effective at giving away free apples while soliciting donations for the food bank.  Alistair gave away many free smiles earning us some hard cash!

I would like to extend a gigantic "Thank You" to the McDonald's restaurant on Stittsville Main Street for supporting the Beavers in their charitable work.  Not only did they permit us to set up outside their restaurant but several staff members stopped to give the Beavers donations.  The manager even went above and beyond by rewarding the boys for their good work with complimentary meals at the end of our shift.  It was very generous and very much appreciated.  Please consider dropping in and giving this McDonald's restaurant your business.  I was most impressed with their community spirit and kindness.  Thank you!

Bottling Sunshine

I love the idea of using the things that grow on our farm in new and unusual ways - especially edible ways.  Last year we made Dandelion jelly.  Earlier this summer we experimented with Queen Anne's Lace jelly.  As it turns out, I missed the boat on lilac and peony jelly (both sound delicious!) but you can bet that these are on my to do list for next spring. 

Today I tried my hand at making sunflower jelly.  I have not forgotten that we have close to 50 jars of jellies of all types currently sitting in our pantry but I just could not help myself.  Sunflowers are so beautiful and I could just imagine the joy of popping open a jar of bottled sunshine on a cold, icy winter day.

A big "Thank You" to my bff Tanya for the gorgeous handmade pot holders. 
I love them! 
They match both my kitchen and my jelly.

Recipe: Gael Glen Farm's Sunflower Jelly

5 cups of sunflower petals
2.5 cups boiling water
1/4 cup lemon juice
3.5 cups sugar
pectin

Pick lots and lots of sunflower petals.

Pour boiling water over the petals and let them steep for several hours.  Strain.

Pour the sunflower tea and lemon juice into pot and add sugar.  Bring to a full rolling boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add two packages of liquid pectin.  Stir.

Ladle into prepared jars and process in a water bath canner for 5 minutes.

Easy peasey lemon squeezy, as Seamus would say.  This left us with lots of time for other activities like: taking advantage of the beautiful sunshine and fall breeze to dry our clothes outside 

Guess who finally got home!

(Ali apparently does not find hanging laundry as relaxing as I do),

grating and freezing zucchini for winter baking,

hunting for wild mushrooms (just for fun, not for eating), 

making deer chilli on top of homegrown potatoes topped with goat cheese for supper, 

and baking mint chocolate chip smile cookies for Liam and Seamus to celebrate the weekend!

We certainly had a colourful day here on Gael Glen Farm.  Have a great weekend everyone.  Hope to see you at the Carp Fair!

Making the Most of a Rainy Day

Some people detest grey and rainy autumn days.  I am not one of those people.

I love a good rainy day.  Not only does it water my garden for me (that saves me a half hour of work!) but it gives me a reprieve from the outdoor chores allowing me to get busy inside.  Rainy days are some of my most productive.

There are a few things on the farmstead that need to be done rain or shine.  Animal care is one of those things.  This was my first ever rainy milking day.  In case you did not know, most goats do not enjoy getting wet.  This is probably why the bad goat spray is such an effective training tool.  Since my milking stand is set up outside, I tried to make Martha and Mellie as comfortable as possible as we braved the elements during milking time.

They were very good sports.  It might be my imagination but I feel like they were extra compliant today; I dealt with fewer kicks than usual from Martha.

After pasteurizing the milk, I decided I wanted to make a loaf of bread for Ian's breakfast tomorrow.  He is supposed to fly in late tonight.  I have been using the whey (a by-product of cheese making) as the liquid in my bread lately but I was out.  So, I started by making a batch of goat cheese.

I then used some of the whey to start a loaf of bread.

Meanwhile, I brewed up two pitchers of sweet tea in order to make a new batch of kombucha later in day once the tea had cooled.

By this time, Alistair had woken up from his morning nap so we goofed around with the dogs while listening to the rain pitter patter on the roof.

Ali: "Just a little further.  I really want to touch you."

Ali: "Let me see exactly how you do it."

Ali: "Like this?  I think I have got it!"

Ali: "I love you.  You are so soft and furry even if you are really wet from the rain."

It should be noted that Alistair is bonding with our "grumpy" dog Emily.  Emily does not typically like anyone but me.  It seems that I might have some competition as the sole object of Emily's affection.  She was incredibly kind and patient with Alistair during play time; two personality traits that are very much outside her wheel house.

After lunch Alistair and I had a busy afternoon of laundry, kitchen tidying, zucchini harvesting, and sunflower appreciation. 

The rain made them all droopy.

Still beautiful though.

We then took Liam and Seamus to swimming lessons after school.  After having dinner with Grandma and doing animal chores again, all my dependants were finally in bed and I was able to get back to my indoor chores.

I flavoured and bottled half a dozen bottles of kombucha.  I decided to try pineapple for my second fermentation this time.

I stretched, folded and shaped this morning's dough in preparation for its second fermentation in the fridge overnight.

Last but not least, I put yesterday's Walnut Currant Honey bread in the oven to bake. 

I must tell you that my house smells divine right now.  I am thankful that I have something special to surprise the boys with when they wake up since they are expecting Daddy to get home over night and they will be crushed to find out that his flight has been delayed.  I plan to use my bread as a distraction.

See?  I told you rainy days can be productive.  Tell me about all the things you got up to today.