Raspberry Jam

Raspberry picking is hard work.  We picked a few raspberries, just over a pint.  I didn’t want any more that that because they go bad really fast and I don’t like raspberry seeds in my teeth.  So, we used a pint of berries to make a small batch of jam to keep in the fridge and use over the next couple of weeks.  It has a beautiful deep raspberry colour and smells great too.  Even though there are seeds I do like the jam.

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Raspberry Jam

2 cups fresh raspberries

1 cup sugar

1tbsp lemon juice

1&1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch salt

In a small saucepan bring all ingredients to a boil, stirring constantly and mashing berries with the spoon.  Boil hard, skimming off any foam and stirring frequently, until slightly reduced and thickened…about 5 minutes.  Pour into a container, preferably glass, and let cool completely.  Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 weeks.

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Bacon Cheese and Chive Quiche

Reposting this as WordPress seems to have lost my original post and I am looking for the recipe!

Watching an episode of Madeline made us decide on quiche for supper.  Probably not the one they had at Le Hotel Riche, but I had all of the ingredients in the fridge so we just made this one up.  The chives were added because we had alot growing in the garden and Evie has been desperate to go cut some and carry them in her basket, so we added chives!

I didn’t have time to make the pastry so I just used a frozen store bought one.

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Preheat oven to 350F.  You will need:

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1 & 1/2 cups grated cheese, I used half mozzarella & half cheddar)

3-4 strips bacon, chopped and fried to well done

1-2 tbsp chopped chives

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

whisk eggs with milk and add other ingredients, stir to combine.  Pour into pie shell and bake for about 40 minutes until done.

It turned out really well, very tasty.  I was unsure if Evie would eat it or not but she devoured it, and asked that we make it again soon.  I guess this recipe will go into the recipe book.ImageImage

Kingston, Ontario

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This past weekend we visited Kingston, Ontario.  It was a beautiful sunny day, but really hot.  First we visited the market in the town square, it is such a nice market.  After the market and a little walking we went for lunch at one of our favorite spots in Kingston “Chez Piggy” the patio is so nice and little birds flutter around looking for crumbs and chirping.  Lunch was very relaxing and the food was awesome too.  After lunch we went down the street to Pan Chancho, a bakery that makes delicious everything.  We walked around Princess Street to do a little shopping and then went to the Buskerfest, which was crazy busy and it was boiling hot.  We stood in a long line for what seemed like forever for a balloon animal and then left to go meet a friend.

Later, for supper, we went back downtown to our favourite burger place in Kingston, Harper’s.  Evie was thrilled because she loves burgers and these are really good and the kids meals comes with two little burgers and a milkshake!  I had a classic, Ray had a weird burger concoction, with an egg on top.  He paired this with a stout with a scoop of vanilla ice cream thrown in, I guess that would be a beer float.

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Usually on the old highway that we take to Kingston we see wild turkeys and deer, but today we saw peacocks and deer.  Yes, peacocks crossing the street and a group of them on a lawn.  Not what I expected to see.  Then Evie went to sleep after a long hot day.

Sunday was also a hot day so we went to the wading pool.  Then we tested a new recipe, fried chicken.  It was sort of a take on southern fried chicken, but a little healthier because we were using boneless skinless chicken breasts.  This really was an experiment and it was questionable and being changed, sort of made up, as we went.  I stopped taking pictures because we thought it was going to be a flop.  It actually worked well and was really good and tasty.  I took a picture of the chicken at the end.  We will make it another day and post the whole recipe.

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Happy Canada Day!

Today is Canada Day.  It was so nice to have an extra day off work.  We went to the Mackenzie King Estate (for non-Canadians, he is a former Prime Minister) in Gatineau Quebec.  We listened to the Sons of Scotland bagpipe band, Evie loves bagpipes, she said it is her favourite instrument.  God help us if she wants to learn bagpiping.

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Last night we made “Canada Day Strawberry Yogurt Ice Pops” to use up the rest of our strawberries.  It is really easy. Take 1lb strawberries, washed and hulled.  Puree with ¼ cup powdered sugar and 2tsp lemon juice.  In ice pop molds alternate layers of strawberry puree with vanilla yogurt.

 

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Freeze.

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