Blackberry Jelly

Nature is full of surprises.  This year, wild blackberry bushes have sprung up all around my compost bins.  And they are heavy with ripe, juicy berries! 

I put on my knee high boots and long pants and went out to gather nature's bounty.  The thorns on these bushes are vicious, and the mosquitoes love to hide in the shrubs around the compost, so the long pants and boots were required.  The berries are small and I needed 4 cups to make my jelly, but it only took me about an hour to gather enough fruit.

I found the recipe for blackberry jelly on the Certo package.  I even had enough left over to make some strawberry-blackberry no-cook freezer jam.   But I don't like the freezer jam as much.  I find it a bit grainy.  But I'm sure we will gobble it up.

Mission Accomplished

After 6 weeks of construction, my kitchen project has just about come to an end.  It has been quite a journey and I have learned ALOT!  This is hands down, the biggest renovation that I have had the pleasure to plan and now that it's over, I can look back and say it was totally worth all the dust, the noise, the planning, the headaches and the expense.  I am living in my new dream kitchen, and I wouldn't change a thing! 

What do I love the most?  The counter space!!  I'm no longer cutting vegetables hunched over on the table!  I love that I can take pans out of the oven and put them directly on the granite counters.  I love the breakfast bar on the opposite side of the kitchen!  I love the lighting!  Being able to see what I'm doing is marvelous!  I'm thrilled with the appliances!  I am no longer at the mercy of a stove that shuts itself off at will, and I can fit several cookie sheets in the oven at the same time!  I am still getting used to the dishwasher thing....  do you rinse before washing?  What do you put in there and what do you hand wash?  I still feel as though I'm washing alot of dishes.... but at least I can hide them in the dishwasher.  And cleaning up after my girls were over was a snap! 

I wish I could say it was completely done, but there are still some details to tend to and some touch ups to do.  The speakers have not yet been installed in the ceiling, and some cabinet doors and kick plate are still on order, but I am a happy camper!   And I'm getting back into cooking.  I treated myself to a cookbook holder and a knife sharpener, and I'm happy I did.  Cooking is a pleasure with the proper tools!! 

For breakfast this weekend I made a tofu scramble and potato latkes from The Vegan Table.  I whipped up a little creamy curry sauce by mixing Toffuti sour cream with a bit of Veganaise, some curry powder and a touch of cayenne pepper.  Mmmmm. 

I love Toffuti sour cream and cream cheese.  Unfortunately it is hard to come by around here.  They have started carrying Yoso sour cream and cream cheese in the stores around here because they are easier to get, but BLEK!!  NOT the same at all.  I would rather do without, or drive all the way to Ottawa or Montreal to find the Tofutti.  It's great that they are carrying more vegan products, but a shame that people won't get to try the good stuff.  What are your favorite vegan brands of sour cream and cream cheese? 



Almost Finished!

The kitchen renovation work is wrapping up.  There are some details... mouldings, handles, hooks, etc to finish up and the electric outlets and lighting to get to, but I spent some time tidying up and putting things away.  The big light fixture over the island still needs to go in.  I'm finally beginning to feel like I have a kitchen again!  I took a couple of photos to share...

We spent the weekend in Ottawa for a friend's 40th birthday party.  We went out to dinner at the Zenkitchen.  It was FANTASTIC.  We had the chef's tasting menu for 48$.  The meal began with a marinated mushroom amuse bouche.  The first course was a salad with local greens, spelt and another grain, and a raspberry vinaigrette.  The second course was a wild mushroom won ton soup in a ginger mushroom broth which was absolutely delectable and followed by a lemon lime ice palate cleanser.  The main course was an open faced lasagna with vegan bolognaise sauce, exotic mushrooms and a cream sauce.  Mmmmm.  Dessert consisted of a strawberry shortcake with lemon custard and coconut whipped cream.  You can also order a wine pairing with the chef's tasting menu for 23$.  The service was excellent.  The chef takes the time to come out to each table to describe the dishes personally. 

We liked the Zenkitchen so much we went back for brunch on Sunday, and will make it a regular haunt when we're in Ottawa.  Has anyone else out there tried it yet?

Counters and Sinks and Taps.... Oh MY!

It has been busy around here this week, and it's only Tuesday!  After having installed all the cabinetry in it's rightful place, it became apparent to me that the island was in the wrong place.  Panic!  Do I say something, or just let it go?  Luckily, I brought it up with my kitchen designer and it turned out not to be such a huge deal.  They just picked it up and moved it.  Who knew??  They did have to modify some plumbing, but it was totally worth it, because now I can look at the island and not feel a knot in my stomach.  I had myself so worked up about this, thinking that everyone was going to roll their eyes behind my back and call me a fickle female, that I didn't sleep well!  How silly am I?  Sometimes I have to remind myself that this is my project, and everyone is just trying to give me what I want. 

Unfortunately this may also create an issue with the electrical box that was placed in the middle of the old island space, and reinforced to hold a fixture that weighs 40 pounds.  Kirk is a bright guy, he`ll figure something out.  And to my untrained eye, it doesn`t look that off!

But, the island was moved just in the nick of time because at 5 pm, Georges the Granite Guy showed up with his assistant to install my counter tops!  There are no words to describe how thrilled I am.  They match PERFECTLY with everything.  It`s as though all these pieces were waiting out in the ether to come together in utter functional beauty.  The hammered copper sink, the antiqued copper tap (they match better than they appear to in this picture) and the absolutely gorgeous granite on the island.  I was a bit worried about the floor going with the counter, but they blend perfectly.  The natural stone with the dark wood makes it feel so earthy and organic. 

There are a few pieces missing though.  There is a small piece that fits at the back of the cooktop that needs to go in tomorrow morning.  They ran into a problem drilling through the stainless steel to install the new tap on the old 3 bowl sink that I am re-using. And bless them, they are rushing to get the backsplash design that I brought to them on Monday ready for installation tomorrow night.  If I can revert to one of my favorite 80`s sayings.... Totally awesome!! 

Pie in my New Oven!

Oh Happy Day!  I can cook again!  Friday they got my new ovens installed!  It was quite a feat since they weigh a ton (more than the refrigerator!) and it requires both electrical and water hook ups, and no one had ever installed one like this before.  This is a KitchenAid double oven with convection and steam capabilities.  It's totally digital and it can bake, broil, reheat, keep warm, steam and dehydrate!!  I have no idea how to use it, but it'll be fun figuring it out.

Most of the cabinets are installed, including the breakfast bar.  This is where the microwave, the toaster, kettle, coffee maker etc. will be stored, along with the mugs and tea and coffee.  In the lower cabinets I plan to store my smaller electrical appliances such as blender, waffle maker, crock pot etc. I have painted the wall behind the breakfast bar blue to bring a little colour into the room.  I wasn't sure of it at first, but I think it's growing on me.  What do you think??

Once the oven was installed, I was itching to get something into it, so I picked some rhubarb, got some strawberries from the market, and whipped up a strawberry-rhubarb crumb pie.  I used a frozen pie crust since I don't yet have counters.  Here's the recipe I threw together:

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie
4 cups of rhubarb chopped
1 to 1 1/2 pints of strawberries hulled and sliced
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
zest of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon

Mix these ingredients together in a big bowl and let it sit for a while, until the sugar dissolves and some liquid forms in the bowl.  Then add:

3 Tbsp corn starch
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix well.  Put the fruit mixture into your pie crust.

For the topping mix together 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup oats and 3-4 Tbsp (or as much as you need) of vegan margarine like Earth Balance until it's crumbly.  Then place it carefully on top of your pie and pat it gently in place. 

Cook in a 400 degree F oven for 20 minutes and then turn the temperature down to 350 and cook another 30-40 minutes.

Allow it to cool for a bit before digging in! 

The Cabinets Have Arrived!

It was 33 degrees and sunny today, and I spent the day at Calypso water park with my son's class.  There were only about 10 schools there, and there were no line ups.  A great time, but it was exhausting and I'm very sunburned, even though I wore 30 sunscreen.  Ouch.

On Wednesday they delivered most of the cabinetry.  The kitchen is packed!  There are narrow passages to maneuver through the room and just enough space for the guys to get some work done.  But it is going more quickly now.  They have spent almost a day and a half working and the lower cabinets against one wall, the island cabinets and some of the upper cabinets have been put in!  It's very exciting to watch things progressing right now. 

Here's the island!!

When we got home from Calypso, I called George the granite guy to let him know the bottom cabinetry was in.  This evening he came to take the templates for the counter tops.  He says he will be installing on Tuesday or Wednesday!!  Amazing!!  Now I'll have to call Nick to put the cooktop in right after that.  Then I'll be back in business!!  YES!!  I'm really impressed with his efficiency!!

Finished Floor (Almost)

Today is (hopefully) the last day that I will need to use this as my refrigerator. 

For the last 2 days, access to the kitchen has been completely off limits.  This includes the stairs to the basement where the fridge is currently living.  So we have been roughing it.  I never thought I would say this, but I'm getting a bit tired of hummus and salad.  Even though I've tried to mix it up the last 2 days by putting it in a wrap...  I'm also sick of sausages.  I could really go for a nice mushroom risotto, or some miso soup.... stuffed pasta shells....vegan pizza!!  I could go on.  This is really the first time since becoming vegan that I feel at all restricted by my diet.  And it's not that I miss eating non-vegan food, it's that I miss the diversity due to a lack of available vegan convenience food. 

The good news is the floor is finished....except for a few holes where we ran out of tiles.  Apparently there is often breakage of the tiles (especially the larger ones) in transit.  BUT they don't allow you to return extra tiles, so you can't order extra just in case.  This I see as a flaw in the system.  It may protect the wholesaler, but it screws the customer.  Now we're stuck waiting for the delivery of more tiles.  Luckily they are supposed to be in later this week and they will be installed on Friday.  As long as that doesn't interfere with the other workers!!

Despite these minor setbacks, the floor is absolutely delicious.  I could stare at it all day long.  The picture really doesn't do it justice because it is still all covered with grout that needs to be washed off.   I can't imagine ever tiring of it.  My recent love affair with travertine has led me to wonder....  What the heck is 'travertine'??  So I did a little research....

Travertine is actually a form of limestone, an intermediary between limestone and marble actually.  It is more porous than marble.  It is formed by the rapid deposition of minerals (calcium carbonate for all you science geeks like me) out of mineral springs, often at the mouth of a hot spring or in a limestone cave.  As such, the sources of travertine in the US include geothermal areas such as in Yellowstone National Park.  Turner Falls is the tallest waterfall in Oklahoma; 77 feet of water cascade over a travertine cave.  But, the US is not a major supplier of travertine.  It is mostly imported from Italy, Iran, Mexico, Turkey and Peru. 

This particular stone was often used as a building material in Italy.  In fact, the Colosseum is the largest building built mostly of travertine.  Sacré Coeur Basillica in Paris is also built largely from travertine.  I can imagine a travertine world tour!!

Given that breakage is common in transit, I was worried about the durability of the stone once it was installed.  But it is said to be quite strong as a flooring; however, proper sealing is important.  Being porous, the stone is susceptible to acids such as vinegar, orange juice and (gasp) wine!!  But once it is sealed it is easy to clean and is considered hygienic!  Sealing is done by painting or rolling on a liquid sealer.  The sealer should be reapplied on a regular basis.  Depending on the wear on the flooring, I have been told that reapplying every 3-5 years is wise.