Support Earth Hour 2012

From the city and the country...

Don't forget Earth Hour 2012, Saturday March 31st at 8:30pm.

So turn off, tune out and unite with people from around the globe who desire change.

How will you be celebrating?

For more information about the event click here.

Have Recipe, Will Travel...

From the Harvest Kitchen Sisters...

Hey Fellow Bloggers, 

Wanna recipe swap with HKS?  

Here's the details: 

We blog a recipe, with pics, on your blog and you do the same on ours.  Its fun and easy and hopefully will link up this great big blog community that we're so happy to be apart of.  

email us at: harvestkitchensisters@gmail.com

-Laura & Amelia 

The Weekly Run Down From the Farm

  

 From the Farm...

Learning to walk in new boots...

Mud fights (I was NOT impressed).

Here is a list of this past weeks events (in no particular order). With the summer-like temperatures we have been outdoors mostly getting shtuff done.

-researching for my newest poultry endeavour- raising Quail for meat and eggs!!!
-dreaming about and trying to convince Mark that if you are going to raise quail then why not pheasant as well.
-plugging out greens/lettuce starts into the greenhouses for an early crop
-building new chicken runs
-cleaning up the farm/runs to the dump
-seeding, transplanting and seeding some more
-collecting eggs and starting my first hatch of the year
-wondering why our turkeys haven't started laying yet
-ordering some new laying hens (day old chicks) for pick up in April from here.
-listening to the spring peepers with open windows at night (unheard of around here considering it is still March)
-hiring our first employee (ever) to help around the farm for the season.
- more teething and screaming coming from the lil' miss around here (sheesh get those teeth already...)
-mulching and starting new compost piles
-visits from friends who are eager to get their hands dirty around here.
-planning the new Kinder Gardens at the Elementary school for this spring and planting projects to do with the children.
-wild energy exuding from every pore of the boys- lots of mud, running, and play fighting
-cleaning out the chicken/turkey pens
-dancing in the kitchen to the Jackson 5
-eating our first wild harvested salad of the year with sorrel, chives, greenhouse lettuce,lemon balm and dandelion greens
-watching this show and thinking that Amy and I could do this someday...

How was your week?

weekending

From the City..

A nice weekend here in the city.  

Mouth watering ribs slow cooked all day in the crock pot and then barbecued for 10 minutes with some homemade sauce.

We bought Theo a ball and he literally carried it around all day including when we went for a walk where he insisted on taking it in his stroller and holding it the whole time.

The new rice dish Simon and I are addicted to.  From this cookbook.

We had some mean card games when our friend Andrew visited.

cold beer, enough said.

Linking up with Amanda from The Habit of Being.

-amelia

First Birthday Success.

From the City...

photo credit: Megan Ward

Well I just might think we nailed this first birthday business.  

After the pink eye fiasco I was planning on just cancelling the party altogether but the girls at work convinced me that a first birthday party is a pretty big and special one. Especially when it's for the first baby of the fam and so we sucked it up and we did it.  Simon did all the grocery shopping and cleaning and I did all the cooking and somehow it came together as a pretty great celebration.  

Just a few friends and fam (10 people in total), definitely not the event it was going to be rather a much smaller, more intimate affair.  

Deep down I am so so glad that we celebrated this little meatballs special day with some really good people and some really good food.  

Cake recipe here (which we doubled)

Icing recipe here 

Pizza dough recipe here 

***I highly recommend all three.   

-amelia

Our Birth Story

From the City...

I’ve been meaning to write Theo’s birth story for quite some time now, primarily as a way to remember it for myself but also for little Theo. Something for him to someday read that will possibly shed light into his parents unwavering love and support for each other during our life’s most transformative experience.  So what better time than to write this than on Theo’s first birthday, today, March 22.  

As my due date came and went, I honestly thought baby might never come out.  Being on the tail end of three other babies born around the same time as Theo, I was aching to get going.  I awoke many a nights with light cramping and swore up and down that I’d be in labor by the morning but alas, nothing.  Nine days past my due date, at an appointment with my midwife, we went ahead and scheduled my induction date at the hospital for Saturday.  Knowing that an induction meant no home birth, and likely no natural birth, it was hard to hear but just gave me the motivation to get labor going on my own.  I bounced for hours on a ball, ate Indian food and walked for what felt like miles but what really did it was a powerful castor oil smoothie. 

I made and drank the whole smoothie at 9 am the next day and then Simon and I packed up and went to the hospital for our 41st week ultrasound, which I wanted nothing to do with.  I was miserable and unimpressed and after the ultrasound as I waddled to the car Simon cheerily offering to take me out for lunch, I snarled at him to take me home and leave me alone.  Poor guy.

Within an hour of getting home as I lay on the couch, I felt like I had to pee, I waddled to the washroom and experienced a huge gush. My water had broken.  It was game time.  We called our midwife and our doula but I assured them that I was far off and fine, assuming that I had a long haul ahead of me. I also think deep down, I didn’t really think this was happening.  Almost immediately I started to experience contractions.  To get things going, Simon and I went for a walk down the street.  I realized though that I couldn’t go far so we walked home stopping every once and awhile so I could grip onto Simon and pant through the contractions which were quickly becoming painful.  

Our doula Viviana knew that I was further along than I had thought was so when we called her again she was already packed and out the door.  When she arrived, I was in pain but it still seemed manageable, no longer could I talk through contractions though, they had become something I needed to focus on to get through.  As I was laboring Simon set out snacks for everyone and went and got popsicles, which I was craving.  Viviana and Simon took turns rubbing my back and holding me up as I labored.  Surprisingly though, I enjoyed spending the majority of my time by myself, laboring in the bathroom or the bedroom, eyes closed, quietly moaning and chanting to myself. 

After about two hours of laboring, Simon and I got into the shower to relieve some of the pain.   At this point I was starting to question my ability to have baby at home. The pain was so intense and I was already feeling worn out.  I was assuming that I’d have another 10-12 hours ahead of me. 

It was a good thing Viviana was keeping track of my contractions because if it were up to Simon and I we would have never known when to call the midwives.  After about two and half hours of laboring, my midwife Cindy was called.  At this point, the arrival of Cindy and her student is almost entirely a blur. I simply remember the relief that they were here which meant that I had to be getting closer to giving birth. 

When Cindy checked my cervix, I was 6cm.  I remember being heartbroken.  I thought, how am I ever going to get to 10cm??? It’s not possible.  Cindy encouraged Simon and I to get back in the shower to try and relieve some of the pain.  Within 15 minutes of showering, I was feeling the urge to push.  It was almost unbearable.  I swear I could feel his little head powering down.  Cindy had me squat on a birthing stool where she quickly realized that this baby was coming and not messing around so off the stool and onto the bed to try and slow things down until the secondary midwife arrived.  It was during this time that the contractions were so intense and so painful, which I later found out was attributed to a doozey case of back labor, that it was all I could do to get through them. Lucky for me I had this amazing team consisting of students (2 in total) my amazing encouraging doula Viviana, my confident midwife Cindy and my Simon, who lovingly stroked my head and held my hand. 

When our second midwife Corinne arrived, there was no stopping this little baby from coming.  He may have been almost two weeks late but there was no way he was going to be late for his big party.  Within five minutes of Corinne’s arrival, little baby boy Theo was placed on my chest, pink and crying.  He was lovely and perfect.  Simon and I stared at him in total amazement.

Happy birthday to our little Tanky, our greatest and best adventure yet.   

xo mama

Weekending

From the City...

Well what was supposed to be a weekend of first birthday partying ended up being a weekend of recovering from pink eye.  Yep, you heard it, we ended up cancelling the party due to a nasty case of yet another childhood illness.  We seem to be getting hit with illness after illness these days but I am oh so hopeful that the new warm weather will also bring the end of sickness.  

A mama can dream, can't she?

Every sunday we have pancakes.  We look forward to them all week. These ones were delicious. 

I got these amazingly beautiful and delicious purple potatoes from the warehouse at work.  

We roasted them in oil and salt for 30 minutes and they were lovely.  

Mother Dumplings for our weekend dinner out.  

They were good but definitely not better than our stand by restaurant, Dumpling House.  

I was cleaning out a box of junk in our kitchen and I came across these funny passport pics of Theo.  

Laura and the kiddos were in town for a short little visit with cousin Theo.  

We made sure to keep 'em good and separated. 

Linking up with Amanda at The Habit of Being.

-amelia

Slipping into Sweet Potatoes

From the country...

An example of a slip sprouting from the eye of the sweet potato

Sweet potato slips growing

The slip twisted off and placed in water to root.

 It has been awhile since I have talked about the my sweet potato slip experiment and I think it looks pretty successful thus far. The sweet potato has sent down it's roots and slips have begun to sprout from the eyes of the potatoes. I have been babying them a bit I must admit, making sure the water level is at the top of the mason jar and misting them frequently. The plant is a beautiful purple/green and looks very robust.

Once the slip has grown taller (3-4inches) you simply twist the slip off and place it into water for it to root.

Next step is to watch the slip root and then I get ready for planting.

March Break in a Nutshell

From the country...

Lots of tree climbing,

Spent some time in the greenhouses,

Fresh air,

A visit to the magical shoe tree

mud, mud and more mud,

Happy to be outside...

Our Sleeping Adventure

From the City...

As I was flipping through my blog roll one day, I came across this post from one of my favourite blogs.  I called Simon over and we both agreed that this was something we had to do.  We were both on board that we wanted Theo out of our bed, where he's been nesting for the past 11 months, but the transition to the crib was just not practical for us.  So promptly the next morning, we took our crib down.

Space wise, it was genius.  We have a one bedroom so this little mattress on the floor takes up next to no space and this way I can still cuddle and nurse Theo to sleep and then sneak out when the time is right.  I also don't worry about him taking a header out of our big bed and finally, we can read in our bed again (by flashlight but still, whose complaining??).  As a bonus for us, when nap is over, we find him happily cooing to his mobile or playing with his books and toys on the floor.

Here's some further reading and information on floor bedding and some great pics from other parents who floor bed.  

Happy Sleeping!

-amelia

Give me a March break!!

From the country...

So we are 2 days into March break around here. Lots of wet/muddy clothing and rubbers full of puddle water. To top it all off my laundry line broke today! I freaked out! First of all, it was a dream laundry day (sun shining, breeze blowing) and secondly, my kids are a muddy mess. I hastily raced to the hardware store, bought the fixings, raced home and grunted/cursed while putting the laundry line back up.

I have 5 more days of this you know...

...weekending

From the City...

Both Theo and I were sick with colds this weekend so we kept it pretty low key.  We've got a big birthday weekend coming up and we both need to be in fighting shape for it.  

Here's some pics from our snot and cough filled weekend here in Toronto.

The birthday party lists have officially begun including both the menu and the things to do.  We're keeping the menu pretty simple;
Finger sandwiches (egg salad, cucumber with sprouts, bologna with cheese (I know, bologna??? but it makes Simon think of his childhood so we're making some exceptions)
Veggie tray with hummus and yogurt dip
Fruit tray
Cheese and crackers
Chocolate cake with Ice cream

I have to work this week so poor Simon has A LOT of work ahead of him.  
We had chicken soup, recipe here.  I left out the food colouring which seemed odd to me but definitely kept the roux, it made all the difference.  But really, when doesn't butter make the difference?  
I also made this carrot soup which we all loved.  We used coconut milk because we both have colds so we're laying off dairy but you could definitely use cow's milk or soy or almond, whichever you prefer.

• ·       1 tbsp butter
• ·       2 onions
• ·       1 ¼ lb carrots (about 10)
• ·       1 sweet potato, peeled and coarsely chopped
• ·       4 cups Stock or water
• ·       1 tsp ground cumin
• ·       ½ tsp salt
• ·       ½ tsp pepper
• ·       ½ cup coconut milk
• ·       chopped cilantro for garnish

In saucepan, heat butter over medium heat; cook onions, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add carrots, sweet potato, stock, cumin, salt and pepper; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Puree in food processor or blender until smooth. Blend in coconut milk. Return to pan and reheat. Serve with cilantro.  

Copious amounts of hot tea, homemade mcmuffins and walks with the boys.

Now, let the week begin.  

Linking up with Amanda at The Habit of Being.

-amelia

{this moment} - New Chalk Board Wall

From the country...

Linking to Soulemama for a Friday ritual.

A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week

that I want to pause, savour and remember.

Happy International Women's Day Everyone!

From the City and the Country...

for all the grandmas, mamas, sisters, babes, aunts and girlfriends out there. 

-hks

Seedy Saturday at The Evergreen Brick Works

From the country...

I have been busy packaging up some of our saved seed for this upcoming Seedy Saturday at the Evergreen Brick Works. We are regular vendors there all year round so I thought I would try to hock some of our seed this weekend at our stand. It should be a fun day for everyone young and old with activities, seed swapping/buying and also the farmers market. We will have some seed potato varieties, bean seeds, squash/ pumpkin seeds, and some tomato seeds from our crops last year!

Weekending

From the City...

Here's some pics from our weekend here in the city.

Lots of bathing and foot soaking

Reading and reading some more specifically these two books; 

A Trail of Crumbs and Radical Homemakers

Eating good food specifically brussel sprouts, ham and scalloped potatoes

Pumping, ugh.  Worst. 

Eating amazing birthday deli sandwiches at Caplansky's 

Lots of good plays with cousin Finn 

....and how was your weekend?

Linking up with Amanda at The Habit of Being

Good Pickle Year and Gingersnaps!

From the country...

pickled cornichon, garlic scape, bread n' butter pickles, carrots with fenugreek and dilly beans.

We adore our pickles around here- making them, laying them out on  pickle trays and of course eating them. This year has been an exceptional pickle year for us. I think the secret that took us way too long to realize is- small batches. Everything is better when done in smaller batches. Quality ingredients and fresh fruit/vegetables are key as well to making show stopping preserves.  More labour may be involved with smaller batches but better quality pickles in the end. I love the crispness and slight garlic zing of the pickled garlic scapes and the bread n' butter pickles that Amy and I made last summer are the best batch yet- sweet and crisp.

A ginger SNAP!

Here is a recipe for quite possibly the best gingersnap cookies that I have had. Maybe it was a result of this amazing powdered ginger that was gifted to me for my Thanksgiving baking. Mark bought it for me here along with cinnamon and nutmeg. This particular recipe is sandwich cookie recipe with raspberry jam but we used left over cream cheese frosting from Millie Mae's birthday carrot cupcakes.

Yum!

Occupy Our Food Supply

From the world...

Dr Vandana Shiva

"We have alternatives that protect the Earth, protect our farmers, and protect our health and nutrition. To occupy the food system means simultaneously resisting corporate control and building sustainable and just alternatives, from the seed to the table. One seed at a time, one farm at a time, one meal at a time – we must break out of corporate food dictatorship and create a vibrant and robust food democracy." -Vandana Shiva

click here to read the rest of the article.

A Post full o' Love.

From the City...

I don't know if it's just me but it always seems like whenever a change/shift is about to occur I seem to get a little reclusive, not in a bad way, rather in a really good way.  I stop and think and dream and ponder everything around me.  If you're not in the loop, the big change coming my way is returning to work after my maternity leave comes to an end on Monday.  This year has been unreal for me, this cool little person was born who managed to turn absolutely everything upside down and yet, for the life of me, I can't seem to remember what it was like before he was here.  

So here's just some things that I'm thinking about and reading about that I thought I just might share.  

What I'm Thankful For:

A year of paid leave from work (my hairdresser told me that in Korea they get a mere 3 months!)

Having the time to pour myself over cookbooks (specifically, Feeding the Whole Family, The River Cottage Family Cookbook and World of the East; Vegetarian Cooking)

Being able to sew my very first quilt
This little meatball son of mine who continues to make me laugh everyday
Adventures in the city with good mama friends
My partner's incredible talent which never ceases to amaze me
AMAZING free Toronto resources like our libraries and The Children's Storefront
The ability to blog all my adventures
Reading and reading and reading some more
Snuggling with T when he first wakes up

What I'm Looking Forward to in March:

T's first birthday!

Reconnecting with everyone I work with
Using my brain again
Challenging myself with new and exciting work projects
Embarking on this adventure of life as a working mom
Sending my lovely penpal a much overdue letter
Watching the beginning stages of a co-op daycare, that I'm apart of, take shape!
Watching Simon and Theo become a super father son duo!

Crafts/Blogs/Recipes and Such that I'm Just Loving

Homemade crayon hearts by Lindsay from A Wooden Nest 

Courtney's lovely bread recipe, I have the cookbook now I just need to get going!

I am so happy I found THIS blog.  

I just love these, forget christmas, I'm gonna make them soon.

Sew (get it?) many little kids who love their play kitchens, might have to give these a whirl

I love the simplicity and beauty of this.  I also love how inexpensive it is.

Mason Jars make me happy.  They remind me of my wedding because they were literally everywhere.

Just heavenly.  

Be Well Everyone,

-xo amelia