Friends of HKS: Guest Blogger Series

Ever wonder what it's like in a flower shop on Valentines day? 

Well you're in luck because today's hks Guest Blogger Barb Evans from Kent Florist is giving us a peek at the all lovey dovey mayhem.  

Enjoy!

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Back Room Confidential:  

Tuesday Feb 14^th -4:43am and I'm up. It's dark and cold and my work day will be done around 6pm. Shower, dress, throw some cereal and yogurt in a covered bowl for later and pop it in a carry bag. I can't face breakfast this early.  

Yesterday we organized everything. Wrapping stations are stocked with labels and tissue paper, boxes, pens, scissors, ribbon, knives, tape etc etc. Make no mistake. This is a science. No military campaign has ever been given more thought and organization. In the 16 years that I've owned the Kent Florist, Roberta, Helene, and I have honed it down to a streamlined ballet. We can't afford to take the time to search for supplies and we really don't want to get in each other's way. There might be snarling. Soon Janet and Stephanie arrive and jump into the mix.

Valentine's Day used to be just another “Hallmark Holiday” to me. Barely a ripple on the calender. But working in a flower shop gives all annual occasions a special significance. Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Mothers' Day ... they are all sane and sensible days which are anticipated and planned for (sometimes) weeks in advance by – okay I've got to say it here because there is no way around it- women. But flowers at Valentines' are almost exclusively purchased by the other sex; ie the sex not well known for planning and purchasing ahead. 

So it all happens last minute. Luckily some extraordinary guys have called or come in on the 13^th and we spend the first coffee soaked 2 hours arranging and wrapping their orders for the delivery drivers. But we just know the real fun will begin when the phones start ringing shortly before 8am. ...4.....3....2.....1....OMG !!! Bedlam!!!!!!

I just have to say here that delivering is a whole separate story and I know Karl, our good natured driver could write a book. He frequently amuses us with anecdotes about the homes he visits, people he encounters, dogs he likes (and dislikes). You can just imagine. Today we also have Dennis, a retired friend, who likes the odd foray into madness (thankfully) or we would never get all the orders out on time. 

Our boys start sorting and loading up shortly after 8am. They have to cover rural routes  in Woodville and Beaverton, Washburn Island, Fenelon Falls, Bobcaygeon, and Omemee as well as businesses and homes in Lindsay. 

Luckily for you the day passes in a blur and we collapse at 5pm with a glass of white wine. Myrah joins us after school with energy just as we fade. The last few stragglers on their way home have missed out on the standard red roses. We sold out at around 1pm. But they cheerfully accept our recommendations and leave with more exotic bouquets and aren't their girls the lucky ones? At 6pm we lock up and scatter home to our respective bubble baths. Helene and Roberta and I just spent our 16^th Feb 14^th together and yes it is still fun.

Thanks HKSisters for asking us to tell our story. We are avid fans of your wonderful blog. 

Keep up the good work.

Barb 

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To visit Kent Florists website, go here!

Friends of HKS: Guest Blogger Series

Lala is a yoga-stoned gypsy, writer, eternal food nerd, nature lover and Bikram yoga teacher

 living right here in the big busy city of Toronto.

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 When Amelia asked if I could guest post on the sisters' blog, I thought, awesome!  I was excited, I figured it would be what I need to get back into writing about food, with all the glorious pictures and recipes after taking a break for so long.  And I get to virtually hang out in her blog-kitchen.

But then it hit me.  I had to write about food, with all the pictures and recipes.  My break was now over. 

Before I go on, I suppose I should share a little bit about me.  I love food.  Not in an obsessively unhealthy way, but a true, deep love that has been with me right from the start.  The history, the traditions, the purpose of dishes that we all grew up with, discovering new things, digging up old family recipes, travelling to far away lands and getting to know the culture through their food, creating something from scratch, the patience it takes to bake a pie, and even the tedious job of dicing onions and mincing garlic are all adventurous to me.

Aside from loving food, I also have other great loves.  Yoga coming a close second.  As images of stereotypical yogis flash before your eyes, I'm happy to admit that I am far from the traditional yogi (whatever that even means).  I eat meat, lots of it.  I wear leather.   And black.  I swear like a sailor.  I'm sarcastic.  And I will not ask my students to open their heart up to the sky in my classes.  I just can't do it.  

My yoga of choice is Bikram yoga.  In fact, I love it so much that I signed my life away to become a teacher, enduring weeks and weeks of sleep deprived days filled with tons of yoga (yay), lectures (sometimes yay), and sweaty laundry (not so yay).  

While away from home and no access to my humble kitchen, I had to figure out creative ways to continue my standard of eating.  As in, good, clean food that I enjoy and that my body also enjoys.  We didn't have much time to ourselves nor equipment for anything beyond a tuna sandwich.  So...I became a wee bit preoccupied - ok, obsessed, about cooking with next to nothing that I created a giant list of foods that one can make without a stove, an oven, or at times, fridge space.  

Yes, I told you I loved food.  I made a list.

While I eat anything and everything I want, I had to be creative during training.  My stomach couldn't live off of processed food, packaged dinners, or fast food.  Neither could my pocket.  Our training required us to eat more than the average person as we were expending so much energy.  There were days we would ingest as much as 4000 calories!  That was a lot of food!   I needed to make everything I ate tasty as enjoying food is just non-negotiable, even in the most challenging of places.  

I am Asian, and we almost always have a sauce to accompany most dishes, so of course, this spills over to any food I make.  One of my favourite yet simplest ways to add flavour into food was with fresh chutneys, preserves, and sauces.  Some call them pestos, pickles, etc.  Many of them can be made without needing to be cooked, so packed a few recipes up along with my yoga shorts. 

My two favourite sauces/pestos are made with cilantro and kale.  So much flavour and yet, they're so easy!  While in training, I would make a small batch in my tiny blender to last a couple of days and we would add them in soups, stews, sandwiches, you name it.  They're dairy-free, gluten free, raw, and vegan too if you're into that stuff.

The base (for me) for pestos/chutney always include acid, oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Then you can add anything.  If I want a little bit more heartiness to them, I add some cashews into the mix or any nut that will bind the ingredients.  Pine nuts are the price of a diamond ring so I rarely use them.

Here are my two go-to recipes that I eat far too much of.  I don't use measurements, so don't be afraid to experiment.  These are guidelines only.

Cilantro Chutney

1 bunch of cilantro

2-3 shallots or half a small onion

4 cloves of garlic

juice of 1 lime

olive oil

salt

ground black pepper

Thai chilies (optional)

Combine everything in a food processor until desired consistency, adding oil as needed.  

**Goes well with mayonnaise to add to sandwiches.  Mix with yogurt for a delicious dip.  Add to diced tomatoes for a fresh salsa.  Freeze into ice cube trays to add to soups, stews, and curries.  Fantastic with bread and awesome with grilled meats.  Flavourful marinade too.

**Mash with avocadoes with extra lime for a kick ass guacamole.  

Kale Pesto

1 cup kale (stems included)

3 garlic cloves

juice of 1/2 lemon

olive oil

salt

ground black pepper

Combine everything in a food processor until desired consistency, adding oil as needed.

**Goes well with pasta, bread, and fresh salads.  Actually, it just goes well with everything!  I'm addicted to this stuff!!

Thanks to Amelia and Laura, for getting me out of my food-writing rut and hosting me on the 

Harvest Kitchen Sisters.  

Hope to see you in yoga one day!  

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To read more from Lala, you can find her over on her blog.  

Friends of HKS: Guest Blogger Series

Hey there! My name is Savanna and my blog is Crafty Savvy. In my rare free time I love to craft, read, play the piano and violin and sew. I have been sewing for about 6 years and have loved every minute of it. I love making quilts to purses and everything in between. I am fairly new to blogging and am ecstatic to be guest posting for Harvest Kitchen Sisters! 

This is my first guest post ever and I am so excited! 


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Today I will be showing you a felt wallet that I recently created that is perfect for everyday shoppers! 

The Little Lace Wallet Tutorial:

 

                                                 To begin, you need to gather a few materials.

-1 piece of medium sized felt( the color is your choice)

-1 piece of medium sized felt that is a color that coordinates with the other piece of felt

-1 piece of lace, or one small and one thick

-Thread, sewing machine, and #1 sewing machine foot

-Rotary Cutter, cutting mat and cutting ruler

 Sewing tips:

When I sew down the lace on the wallet, I like to use the straight stitch and #1 foot on the sewing machine.

When I am sewing felt, I like to use the zigzag stitch and #1 foot. It is really fun to make this wallet because you don't have to finish the edges of the wallet, because felt doesn't fray.

    To begin making your wallet, cut a piece of felt 5 inches by 8 inches. This will be the exterior of your wallet. Now, cut a piece of lace that is about 6 1/2 inches long. (The lace should be long enough to have extra to sew down on the back) Sew the piece of lace 1 1/2 inches from the edge.

 Using the other coordinating piece of felt, cut 3 inches by 5 inches. This piece will be the pocket inside the wallet. If you want to spice up the pocket, you can sew a little piece of lace to the top of the pocket. Place the piece of felt on the right side of the wallet so it matches up with the other two sides of the exterior felt. Sew down 3 of the sides of the pocket but leave one of the sides un-sewn.

Using the same felt you used for the pocket, cut another pocket for the left side of the wallet that is 3 1/2 inches by 4 inches.  Now take the felt you used for the exterior of your wallet and cut a pocket 2 1/2 inches by 3 inches.(Again if you want to add another piece of lace to the top of the pocket, it looks really cute.) Now you are going to place the smaller pocket you just cut out on top of the bigger pocket and sew it down on the two sides and bottom of the pocket.

Sew this pocket onto the left hand side of the wallet so it matches up with the left side of the wallet. Sew down the two sides and bottom of the pocket.

Now you have a cute wallet that will be perfect for your everyday shopping!

I hope you have fun making this wallet! 

It is great to hold a few cards and cash.

Thank you so much for letting me guest post!

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To see more DIY projects from Savanna, head on over to her blog, Crafty Savvy.

Friends of HKS: Guest Blogger Series

Lindsay is a nurse / urban farmer / knitting queen and crafter who blogs from Peterborough, Ontario where she lives with her husband, little boy and boston terrier..

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A Quick Gift

This week I received some exciting news. A friend of mine is pregnant. That in itself is pretty exciting but it gets better. She’s expecting TWINS!!! I know right?! Amazing. So, I thought I’d show her how excited I am for her by making a little gift.

I cannot remember where I saw this idea – which is too bad because I like to give credit where credit is due and by no means want people to think this is my original idea. 

Wherever I saw it, the idea stuck in my head and has finally seen the light of day.

The idea? Making burp cloths out of old T-shirts. My dear husband has been putting old clothes in the basement throughout the year and lucky for me, we’ve both been lazy enough not to bring it to the drop-off centre – so T-shirts I did have.

Disclaimer: I’m by no means a sewing expert. I know the basics and that’s about it, so….if I can do this, so can you!

Step 1: Choose the fabrics you would like to use.

Step 2: Cut off the arms of the T-shirts

Step 3: Cut up the sides of the T-shirt

Step 4: Figure out the shape of your burp cloth. For the blue/bikes cloth, I used a placemat that was conveniently on my kitchen table (ahem…I mean, my crafting table). The shape of the yellow/spaceship cloth was decided by the fact that I only had that much spaceship fabric left and that’s the shape it was in.

Step 5: Cut the T-shirt and your other fabric to the shape you have chosen

Step 6: Put right sides facing together and pin around perimeter. REMEMBER!!!!! – you are going to need to leave a few inches open to turn your piece right side out.

Step 7: Sew around the burp cloth leaving however much you want as a margin. I used the edge of my sewing foot.

Step 8: Trim your corners. If you don’t, when you turn the piece right-side out, the corners will be bulky.

Step 9: Turn your piece right-side out and push your corners out.

Step 10: Pin the opening shut that you left so you could turn your piece.

Step 11: Sew around the entire piece, again leaving whatever margin you’d like. I used the same as before – the edge of the sewing foot.

Step 12: Admire your new burp cloth!!!

Apparently the old T-shirts are great at absorbing spit-up. 

And with twins…I’m sure there will be quite a bit of that.

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You can read more from Lindsay over on her blog; The Naive Homesteader.

Friends of HKS: Guest Blogger Series

I'm Jennifer Montero. I work on a private estate in South West England alongside my husband, who has the fancy title of Head Gamekeeper. He produces and releases pheasants and partridge for formal driven shooting, a traditional sport in the UK. 

I'm the 'gamekeeper's wife' - helping care for the birds, training our pack of gun dogs, shooting wild game and vermin, and producing stews and cakes year-round to keep the workers fed. In my not-so-spare time I tend to our animals, including my flock of Polled Dorset sheep, and 40 acres of our land. 

I'm figuring it out as I go along.

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When Laura and Amelia asked me to be one of their guest bloggers, my first thought was “Wow! I’m honoured. But what the heck can I possibly write about that would interest their readers?” (My second thought was that they were both complete geniuses for outsourcing their blog posts during the holiday season. That’s why their blog is so good –they’re both smart cookies). 


Well, I don’t know a lot, but I’m learning a lot. In fact, pretty much every day of my life is a new challenge, from learning to spot-weld a hole in my trailer, to diagnosing sick sheep, to the etiquette of addressing British aristocracy properly.


I know, that sounds like a strange skills set to have. Let me tell you how I got here. Maybe I should tell you where I come from first. I’m American, but I’ve been living in Britain for the past 17 or so years. Except for that one year I spent in France. That’s where it all started.


Picture this: a non-French speaking, 30-something American woman rents a house in rural France because she dreams of starting a small farm. France has great weather, and the land is much cheaper than in England. She starts by digging up a long rectangle of turf in the middle of the lawn, then drives to Mr. Bricolage to buy seeds (her favourite store because Mr Bricolage is fun to say). She sows many rows of plants and flowers, ignoring the spacing guidelines on the packets. In fact, she ignores all the instructions on all the packets. She assumes nature will provide.  Nature should have provided her with some common sense.  Nothing comes up but a few weak green bean plants and a small crop of Cosmos (pretty but inedible). The moles move in. Gilbert, the octogenarian farmer who lives next door, comes over to show her how to ‘pique le taupe’ by pushing rose bush stems in the ground to deter moles (incidentally doubling both her French vocabulary and gardening skills at the same time). Then, the soil she dug over bakes hard due to the sun and a sparse watering regimen, creating a concrete-like cap over all the remaining seeds.


At the same time, the greengage tree in the garden fruits beautifully but, not recognising the edible bounty in front of her face, most of it falls to the ground and rots. (Gilbert’s wife made all of hers into confiture.)The woman realizes something: she doesn’t know anything about gardening. Or soil conditions. Or how much to water plants. Or seed sowing. Or farming techniques of any kind.


That was ten years ago. That woman – OK, it was me - came back from France humbled, with a big, long list of skills that needed undertaking. I enrolled in gardening school, took tractor-driving courses, and learned how to reverse a trailer, and use a chainsaw. Soon, I got a job on an English estate as a Head Gardener (hence learning to deal with aristocracy). Being in charge of a large garden was a stretch for my blossoming skills but I managed. And I got better at it.

I can look back over the past decade and measure my improvement, but while I was learning, it often felt like I would never know enough to succeed, or even to cope sometimes.

So, this is my manifesto for you would-be small farmers and urban homesteaders: JUST START. You will fail often, but you’ll get better. Start at the beginning with something. Maybe you don’t know how to ameliorate your soil to grow fodder maize. So grow potatoes in a tub instead. Maybe you are new to raising your own animals for food, and you’re squeamish about the killing process. That’s OK. You have not got to conquer all of it at once. There are intermediate steps you can take to get there. In fact, I can help you with this last one.


My husband is a gamekeeper so we eat a lot of pheasants. When I met him six years ago, I’d never plucked a bird in my life. I was scared the first time he presented me with a brace (i.e. 2 birds strung up by the neck) as a courtship offering (I know – what’s wrong with a simple bouquet of flowers!?!) So, as an interim step, I figured out how to get most of the meat offthe bird without facing the guts and gore. The bonus to this method is, if you’re short of freezer space, you can fit a lot more meat in your freezer to eat long after game season is over.


Start by buying a box of rubber gloves. There’s no shame in wearing them when you handle things you find kind of icky. If anyone asks, it’s for hygiene and to keep the smell off of your hands (both valid reasons).


I find it easier to emulate something if I can watch it being done (My knitting skills have improved since the advent of YouTube). I made this video so you could learn to process a game bird for food. I’m no techno whiz, so apologies for the amateurish filmmaking (See, I’m taking my own advice and starting anyway).


I call this process “NO Guts, ALL the Glory".  


See the Video HERE.


You don’t even have to kill anything to practice it. Hunters will give you a brace of birds ‘on the feather’ (i.e. unplucked), or you might pick up a fresh road casualty. In fact, the partridge in the video flew into an electric cable; we watched it hit the cable and fall dead in the road, right in front of our car. We had it for dinner, along with a teal I’d shot the night before.

I hope this technique will help you make use of an unexpected bounty. I know it means that you waste some of the carcase value – giblets, and the bones for soup-making – but it’s better than wasting a whole bird because you’re unsure or uncomfortable with plucking-gutting-trussing. You can BUILD to that skill. Until then, you can practice this skill, and have food for free.


And if you ever feel afraid about trying something new, remember: you’ll have to fail in a big way to beat the girl that moved to France to farm moles, bake clay in her yard, and harvest rotten fruit.
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If you want to learn other techniques (or better yet, teach me some of your own), or read about my near-constant battle with nature, my flock of Dorset sheep, innumerable chickens, nine gun dogs, two cart horses, and a semi-feral husband, please catch up with me on my blog. 

Friends of HKS: Guest Blogger Series

Simon is 5 foot 11 and a half, 170 pounds (of mostly hamburgers and fries), has a big beard to keep him warm, and can sometimes be found dancing shirtless in his apartment to Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeroes. He loves egg nog, 90's comedy films, and watching his son explore life. 

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Simons Top 10 Holiday Traditions
I love the Christmas holidays.  It's my favorite time of year. The ugly christmas sweaters, the decorations, the snow, the gingerbread houses, and of course...Santa. I like how just once a year a culture that is so fast paced and is in such a rush all the time slows down just for awhile. 

 For me, It usually starts in mid November when I start planning our family's December activity checklist for holiday fun.  I have made a list of my ten favorite holiday traditions to help you fully immerse yourself in such a wonderful time of year.

1. Christmas Movies

Starting December 1st I like to plan a schedule of one Christmas movie a day until the 25th. My schedule isn't random but rather a well devised plan of the least favorite to most favorite movies as the month goes on. In the early stages I like to watch films like a Christmas Story, Disney's a Christmas Carol, Bad Santa, the cartoon rudolf one and so on. These films are a good way to slowly get you into the Christmas spirit and prepare you for mid december when the real heart melters start. 

After December 15th it's on like donkey kong. Elf, Scrooged, Home Alone (both 1 and 2), The Santa Claus, and of course the holy grail; National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. 

Christmas movies are vital in the process of getting into full Christmas spirit mode. 

Note: You will need cozy blankets and any candy or treats that have been colored green and red for the holidays to fully appreciate this activity.

2. Christmas Carols

All day, every day starting December 1. (except of course when you are watching your Christmas movies) Christmas carols are some of the best songs in the world. They are joyous but often carry a sadness that make you reflect about your life. I have always had a hard time finding the right Christmas albums so this year I found out that you can just stream them from the web for free. North pole radio is one of my favorites. By streaming your carols you get a good variation of artists and versions and are bound to get some of the ones you love.  

Ps.. Get sweet speakers! Never, in my opinion, should music be listened from laptop speakers. It kills the sound. My recommendation is to get some good quality speakers with a nice amplifier. It makes all the difference. And if you are really feeling adventurous learn a carol or two on the piano or guitar and have your whole family sing it. Old school.

3. Kids

I  have yet to find an emotion inside of me that compares to the feeling I got as a child on Christmas eve. I can still remember me, my bro and my sis all sleeping in the same room on christmas eve so we could wake each other up on Christmas morning. So exciting! And then at five in the morning we would tip toe down the old wooden stairs anticipating our stockings being filled with toys. What a wonderful feeling that was. Anyways, my point is this: go spend Christmas wherever there are kids. Kids bring the magic back to adults at Christmas. Usually we spend Christmas at the farm (my wife's family) and every year I make sure to wake up before the kids so I can see them open their stockings.  Its great. 

Ps...kids don't like socks! (sorry grandma, I still love you)

4. Road Hockey

photo credit: Megan Ward

You don't need to know how to play hockey nor do you even really need to like hockey to have fun playing road hockey. Anyone can play, including kids. All you need is some sticks, a ball, and a couple of nets. Call up all your old friends and have them out so you can see everyone over the holidays at least once. I guarantee a good time. Ps..a little friendly trash talk never hurts to bring out the competitive spirit in your friends and family.

5. Food!

Pull out all the stops. Eat everything you can. I literally drank an entire quart of egg nog on Christmas eve this year. Our strategy is to just cook a bunch of finger foods, put it out on the table and just graze all day. It's so wonderful. (except I usually get stuck with dishes at the in laws which is kind of like jabbing a fork in my own eye but it's all worth it on the holidays)

6.  Nothingness

I have been doing a lot of reading on Buddhism and Taoism lately. It really puts into picture how life moves too fast and that we should really just take in the moment and enjoy the present.  My recommendation for the holidays is to do nothing whenever you can.  Watch a movie during the day, sleep in, read in the bath. You work too hard in this crazy culture. You need a break. 

As the Buddha says... "all things will pass".

7. Tobogganing

So I know I just recommended doing nothing over the holidays but if you are feeling ambitious and have done your  meditations in the morning, go tobogganing! It's not just for kids. Go at night, bring beer, invite friends. I assure you it will be good for some laughs. Especially if you go with my brother in law Brian: it's like watching a cat in water. Guaranteed hilariousness.

8. Snowball Fight

I love friendly competition. And throwing snowballs at my 10 year old nephew is just the thing to fulfill that need. Get your snow pants on (yes, the ones with the plastic overalls) find a good size yard with no yellow snow, and have a team battle snow ball fight. 

You can build forts, make an attack plan, and wage war! Its a lot of fun.

9. Hot Cocoa

Enough said. Delicious.

10. Love, love, love

I know... This one sounds a bit cheesy, but now that I'm a dad I'm allowed to be dorky right? anyhoo, for some reason I always have a great time with my family and friends at Xmas. It's full of laughs and good times. And in my old age it's becoming less about the presents and more about the good times during the holidays. (my twelve year old self would kill me for saying that) 

...but alas, my final advice for the holidays is to make sure to spend as much time with your friends and family as you can. 

It really is what it's all about.

Happy Holidays!

-simon

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