You could roof your house…

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Who Knew! You probably did know, but I didn’t. This morning, as we were sitting chatting on the back porch, Attila rose from his chair and wandered into the garden. I watched him with some interest, as he leaned into the garden area by the fence, and pulled out a huge plant. What was it? I could not tell, it was not familiar to me. I thought it might be a big weed, as unlikely as that would be, a huge weed in Attila’s garden. But Attila, after removing dirt from the roots, walked toward the porch, prize in hand. It was a purple Kohlrabi! It is a Heritage Variety, Early Purple Vienna, the seeds were purchased from the Baker Creek seed company. It was about 5 inches in diameter, with an impressive three foot array of leaves. And that was my morning, learning about Kohlrabi, then putting putting that knowledge to practical use. Nutritionally, Kohlrabi is a great food, related to Kale and Cabbage and other Brassicas. Not only is it tasty, it is low in calories and carbohydrates, and high in nutrients you want in your diet. One cup (135 grams) of raw kohlrabi provides: Calories 37% Daily … Continue reading →

Catching Up

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In January we stopped bringing our mail as-is directly into the house. At first I misted it with hydrogen peroxide, following hand washing protocols. But it was soon impossible to purchase hydrogen peroxide, so that strategy was not sustainable. Then we setup a system of cardboard shelves to quarantine the letters for a week before handling them. But out of sight, out of mind, took over that strategy. Attila kept adding mail to the shelves, but wasn’t taking it out. I luxuriously forgot that there was any mail. He did know what was coming in though, so only one tax bill snuck by us, and was not paid on time. So today I took the sizable stack of mail, which had accumulated since January, and sorted through it. I paid the tax bill that had slipped by unnoticed, and the rest have to be processed, then filed. It is lunch time and I have only just got the initial sorting done on the pile, and I’ve been working on it since 7:00 a.m. this morning. Administration is one of my least favourite activities, but it needs to be done, and going forward I am hoping we can stay on top … Continue reading →

Ahhh… That’s Better

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The temperature dropped. The humidity dropped. It is still reaching 30C mid-day, BUT with the lower humidity, it feels close to 30C! And it is a bit cooler than it has been at night too, so that sitting out on the porch of a morning is just that much pleasanter. I had an odd experience today. About the middle of June I was hoeing in the garden. A few days later a hard lump appeared on one of my fingers. I didn’t think much about it, thought perhaps it was bug bite of some kind, or that it was a Ganglion. But it didn’t go away, and it didn’t stay the same, it began to spread, my finger looked a bit swollen and red. So I made an appointment to talk to the Nurse Practitioner over the phone, and she arranged to have an ultrasound on the finger. The clinic where the appointment was made for me called me last week and we setup an appointment. The appointment was today. Masked, I waited my turn in line to speak with the receptionist at the ultrasound clinic. Other clients were masked, keeping their distance, and the staff was masked and sitting … Continue reading →

Tired and Happy

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It has been a busy day here at Mist Cottage. Here is what we did today, it is 9:33 p.m., and I am still not done! Last Weeks PicklesI made Dill Slice pickles last week, from our English and Pickling Cucumbers. We couldn’t wait the seven days recommenced before opening a jar. We opened one jar, and they are fantastic! We had them for lunch, Attila with cheese and crackers, and I had a cheese and pickle sandwich. We finished off the first jar, we opened a second jar. Wow again, these pickles are amazing, a new favourite here. All of our Cucumbers will be preserved in this way. GroceriesAttila picked up our groceries this morning, which is a lot of washing and drying before they can be put away. CeleryWe bought four heads of celery as they were on sale, fresh Ontario produce, and at their peak. The leaves were removed, cleaned and placed in the small dehydrator, they are still out there on the back porch, needing my attention before I can go to bed tonight.The stalks were cleaned, diced, blanched, then spread out on pans and put in the freezer. Tomorrow I will need to package the … Continue reading →

Map of Cows

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Thursday, July 23, 2020 – in the first summer of the Pandemic The garden is beginning to get bossy. I have been making my lunch from the produce Attila brings in from the garden every morning, since early June. These sauteed meals have featured Spinach, Beets and Greens, Swiss Chard, Peas, Carrots, and Zucchini from the garden. Chopped onion and garlic are always added to the mixture of the day. Our garden is organic, ten years now with no chemical anything. The price we would have paid for my lunches over the last seven or eight weeks, would have paid for all of the seeds, peat moss, manure, t-bars, netting, and municipal water that was used to get this years garden going. By the time the snow flies, I think the price of the rain tanks and the evestrough will have been covered as well. But really, we could not have purchased this quality of food in our grocery store, it isn’t available. A few days ago there were too many English Cucumbers from the garden to eat! It seemed a perfect opportunity to try Refrigerator Dill Pickles. Two 500-ml jars are now sitting in the refrigerator, waiting until the … Continue reading →