First Day of Spring

It has been snowing all morning, the world around us was white. The temperature is hovering around 0C, so there is some melting going on, but not enough for my liking.

Our first walk of the day was early, only a few inches of snow had accumulated, footing was good, it was cold and cloudy, but there was no bite to the wind.

Our second walk was a miserable affair. We got about three inches of wet snow during the morning hours, heavy and soggy and dense. The road was tough going, white wet ice wherever a vehicle tire has passed over the pavement, and clingy snow everywhere else. The sidewalks were even worse, the snow stuck to our footwear, requiring the foot to lift high with each step to make progress. It was a so tiring that we decided to shorten the walk, as not to overdo things physically.

Today kitchen activity erupted. The project for the day was to bake a double batch of breakfast muffins, make a batch of Kombucha, and roast a chicken for dinner. That would have been enough kitchen activity to fill the day.

It hasn’t worked out quite like that though. Assembling ingredients revealed empty ingredient jars, not enough contents to proceed with baking. There was not enough oil to add to the recipe. The ground flax seed jar was emptied into the muffin batter, the baking powder jar was emptied as well, and there was just enough flour left for the muffins. Now I need to sort wheat berries and mill flour. Flax seed needs to be ground to refill the empty jar. The canola oil bottle needs to be refilled.

The baking powder jar was emptied, there was just enough left or a double muffin recipe. Our last 2.5 kg container of baking powder was opened and the contents distributed between three one litre mason jars, two of which went into a cool, dry, dark cupboard until needed.

The Berkey water filter did not contain enough water to process the Kombuch, time to empty the last of the water into the kettle, and to refill the Berkey.

All of these peripheral tasks took or will take much longer than actually baking the muffins, or processing the Kombucha.

We buy our ingredients either in bulk, or when they are on sale, for the most part. This meant that the ingredient jars were filled from our bulk supplies stored in the basement. No need to visit a grocery store.

That is how we shop. We know our recipes, we know what we like, we know what we can preserve, cook, and bake. We know what local fruits and vegetables are in season in Ontario. We know what ingredients we use regularly, and buy them when they are on sale. We do not make menus for the week, we don’t make menus at all. Our grocery store visits are either to take advantage of sales, in which case we spend a lot of money to buy in quantity, then store properly for future use; or to pick up perishables such as dairy and fresh produce.

Every day I eat the same breakfast. Every day I have one of my regular foods for lunch, right now it is Cream of Tomato Soup. Every day Attila enjoys leftovers for his breakfast and lunch. Every day we talk about what we will prepare for our dinner. All the ingredients for these meals are stored here at Mist Cottage, ready to be transformed into healthy and delicious meals.

Today, feeling a bit deflated by all the snow, we are focused entirely on food, a source of great pleasure!

Worldly

Weather

-1°C
Date: 1:00 PM EDT Friday 20 March 2026
Condition: Light Snow
Pressure: 100.9 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: -1.0°C
Dew point: -2.1°C
Humidity: 92%
Wind: NE 24 km/h
Wind Chill: -7
Visibility: 5 km

Quote

“Sometime they’ll give a war and nobody will come.”
Carl Sandburg
1878 – 1967