KAT'S COOKING KORNER: From the Orchard

The weather has been kind of funky around these parts this year. Way back in March, we had temperatures that soared into double digits, when we should have still had a blanket of snow covering everything. Beautiful and all, with barbeques getting dusted off all over town, but there was just one problem. It wasn't just the people who were fooled into thinking it was spring; the plants were as well. What's the problem with that, you  might wonder?

LOTS!

Warm weather in March is fine to shed the scarves, but when the trees and bulbs think about getting into the swing of things too, bad omens hang in the air. I don't care if temperatures fluctuate on my behalf, as I can get used to slopping around in my winter boots again, but when the trees start to bloom, they can't change their minds and go back into hibernation mode again so easily. Winter is bound to be back again and this past Spring it returned indeed. The result was instant death to the flowers that had valiantly attempted to awaken to the falsely-promised Spring. Magnolias molted their blooms in an instant. Lilacs luckily paused with buds on the verge of unfurling. The many fruit trees in the area were not so blessed though. Their pretty, scented flowers curled into brown petals that would never bear anything.

That equated to an absolute dearth of fresh fruit this summer.

Well, not exactly a complete dearth, as we still enjoyed strawberry picking in June and my raspberries are scrumptious even today. As far as the poor apples went though, I heard tell that 85% of the crops were destroyed when the impending frosts returned, killing fruit blossoms rampantly.

Last Year's Apple Picking

"No!", I cried, when I read the dismal facts. We are a family of foragers and I love traipsing around the countryside collecting fresh fruits and veg in season. We have gone apple picking since the girls were babes! Apple Land was apple-less. What were we to do?

Never fear my friends. I am an industrious individual and I've got computer access to the world. If there was an apple to be picked in Southwestern Ontario, I was determined to find it.

Click, click, click...

And don't you know, I found a place! A little closer to the lake is apparently a little more protected by the warmer winds. The lucky folks at Great Lakes Farms weren't completely immune to the early blooms and subsequent frosts, but they had apples! While it's early in the season, knowing that apples will be at a premium this year encouraged me to act fast. When I read that they had Galas and Macintoshes, we were out the door like a shot!

These trees were plenty full!

The apples looked even better close up!

Concensus was - Delicious!

We managed to collect a slight 25lbs worth of fresh, tasty apples for our consumption. The kids have had apples in their lunch every day since then. Today they got applesauce too! My favourite recipe for apples though is smooth and delicious Apple Butter. Pies are perfect for holidays, but butter is better for all the nut-picky schools around Ontario. Apple Butter makes a sandwich a scrumptious snack and this recipe comes from a favourite cookbook of mine called jam it, pickle it, cure it, by Karen Solomon.

APPLE BUTTER

Ingredients:

• 8 lbs sweet apples (try using 3 different varieties for a more complex taste)
• 2Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/3 Cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsps ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom

Directions:

• Peel, core and quarter apples. Place them on 2 lightly greased cookie sheets in a 350F oven for 2 hours. After 1 hour, rotate the trays 180 degrees and switch the trays from bottom to top and vice versa.
• Remove apples from oven and puree in a food processor or blender until very smooth (approx 4 min). Add remaining ingredients and process for another 2-3 minutes.
• Store in a covered glass container in the fridge for up to 1 month (if it lasts that long!)

*Oh, and by the way. If you didn't figure out what my mystery gadget was the other day, it was an antique apple/potato peeler. Not near as handy as I would have liked, but none the less, it helped. Now get buttering and Enjoy!

Winter Whimper

So hold onto your hats and check out the worst storm of the season!

Neighbouring cities forewarned that vehicles would be towed

(if left on the street overnight).

Radios announced the coming of the storm

and local Twitter streams 

were burning up 

in anticipation

of Armeggedon

Umm, yeah

I think there was more snow on the ground yesterday

before the storm hit.

It's raining at present

and I am okay with that.

Have a toasty weekend folks!

A Drip in Time

So does this mean that winter is done? 

Not likely, as the good folks in Illinois have some winter weather headed my way tonight. Just when I was beginning to believe that rascally groundhog that suggested that Spring was on the way, the weatherman declares that we will get 10-15cm of snow tonight and into tomorrow. I have seen more grass than snow this winter, but about once a week we get a taste of Arctic airs again. Apparently, its on the way for another blast!

The 2C we had today was pretty sweet though. Mmm Spring, I feel you around the corner! I even pruned my butterfly and burning bushes today, just to feel like a gardener again. It helps that I wrote an article about pruning trees in the winter yesterday, I guess. Nice to have the sunshine on my face though.

Back to the harsh reality that it is still February in Canada at present. There is a snowfall warning for Middlesex county that is threatening to be the biggest storm of the season! Oh joy! Back into the snowpants again!!

Maybe tomorrow I will post pictures of my winter wonderland and the transformation that we go through. Excuse me while I go throw some of the mud-caked mitts into the next load of laundry in anticipation. Can't forget my warm woolly hat!

So, what's the weather like in your neck of the woods?

Speed Posted - SLOW

Monotone of wiper song

Swish, swish,

Swish

Ping, pling

of icy pellets bouncing

their lax suggestions

Jarred back

by tires aloft

ditchside

that ceased spinning

as I passed

~

I made it home in one piece from a weekend jaunt to Michigan. The drive home was not fun though. The speed was slow and there were constant reminders in the ditch that slow was the speed to go.  Chilling. I would rather grip the wheel a little tighter for a little longer, than sail spinning wheels through the air in the slush that filled the world and slicked the highways today. The OPP and Michigan Highway Patrol were earning their pay cheques on this sloppy day, pulling people from stuck vehicles galore. I do not relish them their jobs, but am glad that they were making some poor folks days a little better. They deserve accolades on this miserable, wet Sunday.  I am grateful that I am home and get to wish you a Happy Sunday 160. May you all be safe and snug for another day.

Friday Weather Systems Around the World

I woke up this morning to a world of white. Mother nature had dumped 5cm of snow on our city, with 20+expected before the end of the day. Argh! Enough already!

While disappointing, as a road trip is planned, the radio had worse news. Across the world Mother nature was wreaking much worse havoc. An earthquake measuring 8.9 on a Richter scale that only goes up to 10 hit Japan with a force to spawn tsunamis there and beyond. A nation not a stranger to earthquakes, this is the largest earthquake they have experienced since they began measuring 140 years ago.

When I turned on the radio at 8:30am (est), announcements of school bus cancellations were quickly superseded by evacuation reports from Hawaii, where a tsunami was expected to hit any time. Hundreds of people were killed and missing in Japan with damage probably running into the billions. Hawaii is still on high alert, but looks like it might be spared the worst of it.

I look back out my window at the snow steadily falling and cannot help but think that having to cancel a road trip is a pretty small price to pay. Life in perspective is a pretty heavy thing. My thoughts are with the people in Japan and beyond that are affected by this devastating disaster. Peace to them.