Making Perogies

24 Friday May 2013

Posted by in Canning & Preserving

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

Last weekend, I made a huge batch of perogies with my mom (who, incidentally, is of French-Canadian background; the Ukrainian heritage comes from my Dad’s side of the family.  This has not, however, stopped her from becoming really, really good at making perogies).

Making perogiesThe dough was so easy.  It only has two ingredients:  flour and sour cream.  We dumped a 500ml container of sour cream and added 6 cups of flour. That’s it.  You just knead it and work it until it’s no longer sticky.  If it’s sticky, add some more flour.  Let it rest for 20 minutes.  Then roll it out as thin as possible.

(If you’re confused why I use both metric and imperial measurements, it’s because I was part of the first generation of Canadians who were taught metric in school.  However, our parents and grandparents still used the imperial system.  So my generation is really messed up when it comes to measurements.  I measure speed and distance in kilometres, but height in feet and inches, and weight in pounds.  A kilogram means nothing to me; neither does a metre, a pint, a quart or an ounce.  Liquids are measured in litres and milliletres, but dry measurement in cups and teaspoons/tablespoons.  So screwy, right?  Anyway, back to perogies . . . )

We made the perogies for supper that night, and none of them burst while cooking – perogy success!

My perogies!(And I only burst into tears once because it made me miss my Baba).

Have a great weekend, everyone! 

Related articles

The Garden Thus Far

22 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in Gardening, Thrifty Style & Decor

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

We planted the rest of the garden this past weekend.  It was beautiful outside.  Everything is in now, and the more delicate plants are safe under plastic domes.

The garden thus farThe winter onions and chives are ready to eat, and we even managed to make a tiny salad of baby spinach and green onions.

The asparagus had a slow start but is going strong now.  Tonight, for supper, we steamed a bunch, sautéed them with hoisin and chili garlic sauces, and sprinkled them with sesame seeds.  Yum.

Every year, we go seed shopping, and it’s a total gong show.  We can’t remember what we planted last year, what we liked, what we didn’t like, or even what we have left at home.  (You’d think we’d plan better before we go to the store, but we just get so bloody excited).  This year, I came up with an ingenious plan – store the seed packets in an old photo album.

Seed packets stored in a photo albumThis way, we know what we bought, we can make notes on what we liked, what we didn’t like, and even store leftover seeds.  Plus, we plan to do a little seed saving this year, so now we can go back and look at what was Heirloom variety and what wasn’t.  Total genius.  (I didn’t even find it on Pinterest.  I thought it up all on my own).

P1030525

Related articles

The Transformation is Now Complete

20 Monday May 2013

Posted by in My Life

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

It’s official – we’re hippies.  We have the VW Westfalia Camper Van to prove it.

In less than two months, Will, Ryan (my brother), and I will hit the open road for four weeks.  We are heading West, and then South, and that’s about all we’ve planned at the moment.  We’d like to get to San Francisco, but the Westy tops out at 90 km/hour, so we’ll see how far we get.

We bought this little beauty on Saturday.  We’ve been looking for more than a year.  They’re hard to find in Saskatchewan.  If we lived in BC, it would be so much easier, but in Saskatchewan, they’re rare.  And expensive.

VW WestfaliaWe got it from awesome guy who lives about 15 minutes out of the city.  He had listed it for $3750.  We offered him $3500, and he warily accepted.  Just as my brother and I were getting into my car to go get the money order made up, the guy said to us, “Make it out for $3250.”  I’ve never had someone accept less than what I’ve offered on a vehicle before.  What an awesome guy.

VW Westfalia 2As the awesome guy was screwing on our new license plate, he said to us,”Well, I guess I’ll tell you what the guy I bought van from told me – you’re not just buying a van; you’re joining a family.”

Related articles

What a Week!

17 Friday May 2013

Posted by in My Life

≈ Leave a Comment

I’m exhausted. I got nothing for you today.

I did Spring Festival this week (three days of workshopping a new play plus a public reading), and taught pole dancing in the evenings, and went back to my temporary office job, plus attended the opening of Will’s Young Company show last night, and I still have to work today.

The weekend cannot come soon enough. Thank goodness it’s a long one.

See you Monday!

DIY Coconut Oil Deodorant

15 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in Thrifty Style & Decor

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Two years ago, I accidentally bought deodorant at the drugstore instead of anti-perspirant.  I didn’t mind it so much, and I liked that it didn’t have any aluminum in it.  So I stuck with it.

But even drugstore deodorant is chock full of chemicals that I can’t pronounce, and I sorta got on a hippy kick of making my own personal products so as to reduce the amount of unpronounceable chemicals that I was slathering on my body.

To the Internet!

I tried a couple different recipes before I found one that I liked.  I don’t even remember what site I found this recipe on, so unfortunately, I can’t give credit where credit is due.  But I’m certain you could find it on any number of websites now.

I kept meaning to blog about this because I’ve been using it for over a year now, and I really like it, but I keep forgetting to take pictures when I make it, and one little tub of it lasts me about 4 – 6 months, so it’s been awhile since I made a batch.

Coconut Oil Deodorant

1/3 cup Coconut Oil
1/4 cup Baking Soda
1/4 cup Cornstarch
5 – 10 drops of Tea Tree Oil
(or Lavender, or Peppermint, or Eucalyptus – whatever your nose likes!)

DIY Coconut Oil Deodorant

Mix the baking soda and cornstarch together in a bowl.  Add the coconut oil on top, and microwave it for about 25 seconds on high.  Once the coconut oil is soft, mix everything together really well.  Stir in your choice of essential oil, and scrape into a small tub.  Let it cool.

Coconut oil will melt at body temperature.  You take a little bit of the deodorant on your finger, and rub it into your skin like a lotion.  If you find it irritates your skin, reduce the amount of baking soda and essential oils.

Simple, thrifty, and no unpronounceable chemicals.  You will sweat, but you won’t smell.

Related articles

 

Only Amateurs Wait Until June

10 Friday May 2013

Posted by in Gardening, This Week on the Homestead

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Ask anyone in Saskatchewan, “When do you plant your garden?” and the answer will be, “Potatoes on May long weekend, and the rest during the first week of June.”

Not us.  As soon as you can work the soil, we say.  We’ve already got spinach sprouting in one of the raised beds.  Apparently, peas like the cooler weather, too.  We’ve also planted garlic, onions, potatoes and cabbage.  The chives are well on their way, as are the winter onions.  We’ll be eating fresh garden produce in a few weeks.

Yes, it’s possible some of the peas may not sprout, or the potatoes will refuse to grow, but so what?  Then we go buy another $2 package of seeds and try again.  It well worth the financial risk to be eating garden fresh veggies three or four weeks earlier, especially when you live in climate that has such a short growing season.

Plus, the sooner things grow, the sooner I get to start canning again!

Planting the garden

Liesl supervised all the activity. She’s dying to get out and eat those spinach sprouts.

Coffee will get me Through

08 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in My Life

≈ Leave a Comment

Today is the second day of three 12-hour days in a row. Drink up. I think I may have over-committed myself, once again.

I promise a better post on Friday. Just wanted to let you know I am alive (but not really awake).

20130508-073723.jpg

Growing Up

06 Monday May 2013

Posted by in My Life

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

, ,

It must be that time in my life.  So many people I know are having babies this summer.  So many friends are becoming parents, like they’re real grown ups or something.  I suppose now that we’re in our mid-thirties we actually are grown ups, but it doesn’t feel that way to me yet.  I still think I’m 25, not 35.

I wonder where that decade went.  Sometimes, it feels like I go to sleep and five years go flying by.

My grown-up moment of the day was spent pouring over garage quotes, trying to figure out when and how to replace our garage.  I may have muttered a couple of times, “I hate being a grown up.”  And sometimes, I really do.  Almost as much as I hated being a kid.  Here’s hoping my senior years are easier.

My friend, Anita, had her baby shower today.  She looked beautiful.

(And so grown up).

Anita's baby shower page 1Boy or girl?  Still a secret.  That’s why there’s blue AND pink punch.

Anita's baby shower page 2I bought her the book, “Go the F**k to Sleep.”  Yes.  I’m THAT friend at the baby shower.  Wish I could take credit for that hipster/mustache pacifier though – that is seriously awesome.  Especially if it’s a girl.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 266 other followers