new uses for old things

One of my favourite things to do is make something new out of something old. I had an awesome old can from tea that i just couldn't bring myself to recycle or trash as i should have...so of course i hung on to it for a couple months, knowing that at some point the perfect idea would come to me for its use.
Which of course it did!

to make a double boiler simply add a couple inches of water to your bottom pot and then balance the second pot on top.

So i decided to make it into a candle! Now when i make candles i prefer using Soy wax, simply because a) it burns SO much slower and lasts SO much longer! b) i find it easier to melt, as it comes in 'chip' form and not a huge block that you have to chunk. c) it holds smells better and last but not least d) it doesn't leave a gross sooty black circle around nice jar holders. 
So all i do to make a candle is number one buy a cheap second hand pot to use for melting wax.      

I was lucky when i went shopping and managed to find an awesome glass pot with a pouring spout on the side, perfect!  Secondly get your double boiler set up. After its going well, add your wax until it melts. If you want to add any colour or scents, add them once it is well melted. I don't tend to use colours if the container is going to be opaque. Get your wick ready by tying it to a pencil or anything that can be balanced across the top of your container. After everything is melted and well mixed go ahead and pour..careful though, wax is a pain in the arse to clean up and you need to make sure your wick will stay put in the bottom of the container. I tend to pre stick it with some wax before adding more...but the hot wax will loosen the already stuck down wick. let it sit and cool till hard, if you end up with a crater in the middle more wax can be melted and added to give it a solid top appearance, i only do this if i am giving the candle away as a gift. Voila! a new use for an old thing!

Lemon Frosted Lemon Cake...taste buds beware!

This cake has it ALL! Delicious citrus flavour, moist on the inside, slightly "crispy" on the outside (due to the large amts of butter...num!)

wonderful for a nice afternoons tea.

what you will need:

Lemon Cake Recipe:

1 cup (226 grams) unsaltedbutter, room temperature

1 cup (200 grams) granulated whitesugar

4 largeeggs

1 teaspoon purevanillaextract

Zest of 1 largelemon(outer yellow skin of lemon)

2 cups (260 grams) all purposeflour

2 teaspoonsbaking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice

Lemon Frosting:

1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

Lemon Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven.  Butter, or spray with a nonstick spray, a 9 inch (23 cm) spring form pan and then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.  In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and pale in color (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and then add to the batter along with the lemon juice. Mix only until incorporated.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Bake about 40 - 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool, then gently remove the sides of the pan. Lemon Frosting: In a bowl, combine the sifted confectioners' sugar with the 2 tablespoons lemon juice. (You want the icing to be thicker than a glaze but still thin enough that it will just run over the sides of the cake. If not the right consistency add more lemon juice or powdered sugar, accordingly.) Pour the frosting over the top of the cake, allowing the icing to drip down the sides. Let the icing set before covering. This cake will keep for several days in an airtight container. Makes one - 9 inch round cake.

well i ended up making a different cake...

thanks to Renae, i ended up making a "Cinnamon Bun Cake" which was absolutely fabulous! Thankfully i had the insight to package and deliver half of it to a friend before we gorged ourselves on the entire thing, it was THAT good.

I will ask before posting the link to her page...


This morning's venture in baking was Irish Soda Bread...with some delicious low sugar strawberry jam that i canned about 4 weeks ago and a nice steamy pumpkin spice latte. My gods how i love fall flavours. I wish there was a place where it was like fall all year round...

Irish Soda Bread: 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) whole wheat flour 2 tablespoons (30 grams) granulated white sugar (optional) 2 tablespoons old fashioned rolled oats (optional) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) buttermilk (soured milk) Instructions: Irish Soda Bread: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, oats, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add most of the buttermilk. Using yours hands, or a wooden spoon, mix (adding more buttermilk if necessary) until you have a soft moist dough. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and gentlykneadthe dough into a 7 inch (18 cm) round that is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Place the round on your prepared baking sheet and then, with a sharp knife or clean kitchen scissors, cut a 1/4 inch deep "X" across the top of the bread. (folklore tells us this is to let the fairies out of the bread) Bake for about 40 -50 minutesor until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. You can also test that is fully baked by tapping the bottom of the bread - it should sound hollow. Remove from oven. This bread is wonderful when served warm with butter and jam. It also makes great toast. Makes one seven inch (18 cm) round soda bread. and of course a slice warm from the oven with butter...nomnomnom...

fudge frosting.

i have never actually completely iced a cake with homemade icing. So i've decided the time has come for this error to be corrected.
tonight i shall make a cake of epic proportions.


photos will follow.

Its been awhile...

and i do have some excuses for my lack of posts. It is with a sad heart that i say things have not been going well. But...we are resilient and we will continue to truck forward. I know the universe has its reasons for things, and i know others may call the universe "god". I think i may have to have a little meeting with the night sky tonight.

Either way, my brain is in need of some R&R before something goes terribly awry in there...so i imagine i will be filling my days with cooking, baking and canning (and cleaning, and dog walks, and perhaps some meditation) Despite my talent at appearing cool as a cuke on the outside, really my mind is still a reeling.

ok so...last week we picked our 3rd green bean harvest and i dilled them. I won't lie i used a bernardin online recipe and their "dill" mix. Not sure how they turned out yet, as we are to wait 4wks before eating them.
here is the recipe for anyone who may want to make them:

http://www.bernardin.ca/pages/recipe_page/51.php?pid=219

The zucchini's continue to grow like mad...not sure if i will attempt zucchini pickles or not this year...i sorta prefer them bbq'd.

Tonight's dinner is slow cooker beef stew. Yes typically that is a meal i prefer on cooler autumn nights, but its a nice meal that won't heat the house up while it cooks. Since they are calling for +28C today...i like that option. We also have half of our potato harvest in...mostly the norland reds....i can't believe how many we picked considering we only planted 2 rows of each the norlands and the superiors. I would say just the norlands alone was 30lbs of taters. I have sent some to my parents, friends, and us...and still have a grocery bag FULL of them in the basement, with all the superiors yet to be picked.
So dinner is basically
one pkg stewing beef
1 can diced tomatoes
couple handfuls of baby carrots
couple handfuls of baby red norland potatoes.

spices include but are not limited to:
garlic
worcheshire (sp?!)
ground pepper

i like to keep my stew simple, so the natural flavours of the meat and veg can come out. Most likely i will whip up some fresh biscuits or rolls.

add a nice salad to the side and voila. a delicious and easy dinner! which means more time for a long walk in nature.