Winter Again

We were spoiled for a couple of weeks there with weather just around freezing.  It was beautiful.  But old man winter has returned with a vengeance and today it is -16C.  Since I am not cooking at the moment, I thought I would share this list for a winter driving kit.  It is a huge list but considering where you might be driving, most of these items would be useful, if not necessary.

AMA Winter Driving Kit
▶   shovel
▶   tow cable
▶   traction aids
▶   jumper cables
▶   window ice scraper

▶   antifreeze
▶   firewood (kindling and starter)
▶   snacks
▶   distress sign
▶   cell phone
▶   flares
▶   flashlight and batteries
▶   first aid kit
▶   survival candle
▶   matches
▶   blankets
▶   extra footwear
▶   hat and mitts

I have a long way to go to complete my kit but it will be my summer project this year to collect as many of these things together as I can.  Safe driving!



Canadian trivia - this building is a hockey rink  with an attached curling rink in a village.  It is no longer in use because the costs to maintain it are too high.  This is a common sight in villages and small towns on the prairies.

Drive in the Country #7

I have one more light fixture sitting at my sister's house in Regina.  And I need to apply for a new passport.  So after waiting for good weather, I decided to set out this weekend for a quick trip to the Queen City.

No trip into Regina is complete without a drive down Albert Street.  I love the bridge.  I have always love the wonderful hand crafted spindles.  And then to see the Parliament Building is always emotional for me.  I cannot visit without driving past.

We had a great home dinner.  Smoked pork chops, stuffed pork tenderloin, whipped potatoes camouflaging carrots and an Oreo cake.  It was a great family dinner with my sister, her husband, step daughter, son and daugher-in-law, and grand son.

After a rather quick interview at the passport office and an even faster visit to Fanny's Fabrics looking for drapery fabric, Pete and I had Tim's breakfast.

The drive back to Swift Current was more true winter driving.  The roads were slick and vehicles in the ditch along the way.  Even though my eyes were on the road, it was lovely to see the winter landscape.

I love the yellows of harvested grain fields covered in snow.  I love the blues and whites in the sky.  There are pinks in the sky at all times of the day.  Sometimes there is bright sunlight and other times it is dull.  The wind blown snow forms beautiful waves along the highway that seem like a surfers paradise.  The folds of snow reveal all shades of white and blue.  It is truly amazing.

Today I was fortunate to see some wild life.  The one lone coyote was in a field.  It made me wonder how he will find tonights supper.  And on the other side of the road were some deer grazing in the snow covered field.

Haskap Crumble Squares

 

These are some squares I made back in the summer.  I have been holding back, but I think I should share!  Haskaps are also known as Blue Honeysuckle and have been brought in from Russian.  The soil conditions and climate in Saskatchewan seem to be ideal. They can be picked in June, which is way earlier than any other fruit.

I have been experimenting with them and have come up with a few really good recipes.  This is one.  Please check here for the recipe for haskap jam to be used in this recipe.  A rich raspberry jam would also work if you do not have access to hasksaps.

Haskap Crumble Squares

1 ½ c unbleached flour

1 ½ c rolled oats

¾ c chopped almonds

1 c brown sugar

1 t baking powder

½ t cinnamon

¼ t salt

1 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 - 1 1/2 cups haskap jam

Preheat oven to 375F.  Grease a 9”x9” baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients except almonds.  Cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.  Set aside 1 cup of the mixture for topping.

Press the crumble on the bottom of the baking pan.  Evenly spread the jam over the crumble.  A thin layer is all you need.  The berries are amazingly intense and a little goes a long way.  Sprinkle with the chopped almonds and then the reserved crumb mixture.  Pat down gently.

Bake for 30 – 35 minutes until golden.  Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Winter on the Prairies

I know we are all having weird weather this winter and there are some very bad storms.  I have been shovelling snow for almost an hour a day for the past week.  Please stop snowing soon!

Snow on my strawberry patch.

Update on My Reno

I know I have not given many pictures lately, but they have been downright boring.  Everything has been going very well.  These pictures look rather dull but until I get my appliances and furniture back in, it won't be exciting.

Haskap Jam

Okay, so I have been holding out on you.  I made this last July but I was not sure if this post would be interesting.  Especially since most of you will have no access to haskaps aka  Blue Honeysuckle.  Haskaps are relatively new to the Canadian prairies and are very well suited to our climate.  This is also known as the edible Blue Honeysuckle.  The season is early,  June to be exact.  I had never heard of this berry until I started visiting my favourite U-Pick, Treasure Valley Markets near Cadillac, Saskatchewan.

These berries are originally from Russia.  The University of Saskatchewan is studying the adaptability of this berry to our area.  The soil conditions and climate are ideal.

And yes, in Cadillac, the streets are named after models of cars!  Isn't that wild!

Linda of Treasure Valley Markets gave me a bag of frozen haskaps and challenged me to come up with a few recipes.  I had great success.  I made four different recipes and quickly went back for more.

But I have now been adapting my first tries and starting over.  I made haskap jam without pectin.  Last time I made a tiny batch and used liquid pectin.  It seems that haskaps have a lot of natural pectin and I had no problem getting this jam to set up.  In fact, I think I boiled it a little too long and have a very firm jam.  Remember the recipe for jams and jellies?  Fruit, sugar, pectin and acid.  I have not tried this without lemon juice, but there may be enough acid in the haskaps to make a good jam.

This jam is so intensely flavoured that a little goes a long way.  In fact, I prefer to use it in a recipe rather than on toast.

Haskap Jam

2 cups frozen haskaps
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Mix the haskaps with the sugar and bring to a boil.  Add the lemon juice.  Continue to boil until it has reached the jam stage.  Skim off any scum that forms.  Test your jam on a plate that has been chilled in the freezer.  Put a half teaspoon of jam on the cold plate and let it cool down for awhile.  If the mixture does not run when you tip the plate, it is thick enough.

So I know that you are scratching your collective heads and thinking, what the heck is a haskap?  What does it taste like?  They are an odd shaped berry and look almost like a lima bean.  They are very tart and must have sugar added.  But once cooked and sweetened, my gosh, they are the most flavourful and amazing berry I have ever tasted.  The common descriptor is to say they are a raspberry, blackberry, saskatoon and blueberry rolled into one.  In my sense of taste, they are a very intense raspberry/blackberry.  I would use it like I would use a raspberry.