My thank you for subscribing contest.

I'm getting close to 400 subscribers on my YouTube channel, so I thought I would have a thank you to my subscribers contest. Once I reach the 400 goal or a few days after if that should happen immediately, want to give people a chance to enter, I will draw a name and announce the winner.

The rules are very simple subscribe if you haven't already done so and leave a comment below this video saying you would like to enter the contest. The prize is a $25.00 gift certificate from Vesey Seeds, King Arthur Flour or Murrary McMurrary Hatchery.. Click the link to have a look at their website http://www.veseys.com/ca/en/ I always order almost all of my seed from them, King Arthur Flour http://www.kingarthurflour.com/ wonderful source for kitchen gadgets and Murrary McMurray Hatchery http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com a great source of poultry and poultry keeping supplies. If you live outside the USA or Canada I will ship you the supplies but obviously not live poultry LOL.

Thank you for subscribing and good luck with the contest.

Ruby Throated Humming Bird resting on a finger.

This is amazing not sure who the owner of the video is but I think it was filmed on Campobello in 2009.

Victorian Kitchen Garden: OCTOBER

Maddening but all I'm able to find is the first 10 minutes of the October episode, if I ever find the rest I will post it.

Victorian Kitchen Garden: September

I have seed available in my Free Open Pollinated Seed Exchange for the Blue Podded Pea, mentioned in this episode. To go to the exchange just click on the name. The instructions for requesting the seed are outlined at the top of the blog.

Victorian Kitchen Garden: August

Victorian Kitchen Garden: July

The Victorian Kitchen Garden July episode in three sections.

Last Hoop House Harvest of 2011

The title just about says it all. I harvested the last of the crops from the hoop house with the exception of the kale which is still looking good today January 9th.

Roquefort -- Making the King of Cheese

I was so glad to discover this video today it brought back some very pleasant memories of my visit to Roguefort with my friend Pru in February of 2010. We had a guided tour of the caves and of course a visit to the cheese and gift shop and a chance to sample the wares. In the photo below that's Pru walking down the street to the left of the trompe l'oeil mural. Our tour didn't include the cheese making process as you will see from the video the cheese is made in a different location and transferred to the caves when it is ready to be aged. The video begins with very interesting vintage black and white footages from the early 20th century then moves into the more modern mechanized methods used today. I remember from our cave tour being amazed at the relative short period required to produce the king of the cheeses, I always had the idea that it was likely aged for years. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

The Victorian Kitchen Garden: June

For some reason I'm only able to find the June Victorian Kitchen Garden episode in two short videos, it all seems to be there though and as usual is very enjoyable.

Butterball Abuse: Undercover Mercy For Animals Investigation Reveals Cru...

WARNING this is very graphic and hard to watch, but something to think about next time you are shopping for a Butterball Turkey.

Pizza di Patate

Pizza di Patate, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

Pre heat oven to 475 degrees.

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough of your choice

1 medium potato sliced very thin
1 small onion sliced very thin
grated or slivered cheese of your choice
1/4 cup olive oil (there will be oil left over makes great garlic bread)
1 clove garlic minced
Fresh or dried Rosemary to taste
sea salt and pepper to taste


Mix oil, salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary. Roll out dough and put it on an oiled pizza pan. Withe a pastry brush coat the dough with the seasoned oil. Arrange a layer of the potatoes on the dough and then brush the potatoes with the oil. Top the potatoes with the thinly sliced onions and cheese.

Bake in the preheated over for 12 to 15 minutes.

The Victorian Kitchen Garden: May

With the arrival of May transplanting and sowing are in full swing in the Victorian Kitchen Garden.

Victorian Kitchen Garden: April

The wonderful Victorian Kitchen Garden series continues with this look at all of the hard work of early spring in April.

Victorian Kitchen Garden: Episode 4 March

Victorian Kitchen Garden:March

Great Horned Owl - The jig is up !!!

Great Horned Owl, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

The jig is up !!!

I must admit that when I took the top photo from a friend's car window I thought I was taking a picture of a real owl. It was only after I got home and saw the picture enlarged that I suspected there was a joke going on here and maybe I'm the fall guy. I have waited three days and nobody has fessed up so there is the chance that the other people on the Sunday walk with me were fooled too or were they? If it is a ruse they have played their parts very well.

There were seven people on the walk and as usually happens people walk at different speeds so we end up with several smaller groups . I was with one other member of the group out in front of the rest of the pack by several hundred feet. When the walk was over we waited for the group behind us to catch-up. When they arrived they were talking about the Owl they had seen and asking if we saw it too, we hadn't. Here's where the plot thickens, when we got in the cars to leave I think it was I who suggested to the driver of the car I was in that we drive back to see if the owl was still there. If the driver and a second friend in the car, lets just say their initials are P & G, were aware of the plastic Owl they should start playing poker now !!!!

Since Sunday G tells me the photo has been sent on to the local Audubon group for possible publication in their news letter. I have had several friends comment on the photo asking if it is real and I have either tried to convince them of the authenticity of the Owl or avoided replying to their questions. SORRY !!

I decided this morning that I don't dare let this go any further on the off chance that the photo might get published as a real sighting, so I drove back to Centerville and took the second photo below. Now like the cat I'm dieing with curiosity to know who knew what and when.

Gâteau au fromage de Montréal - Montreal Cheese Cake

Gâteau au fromage de Montréal - Montreal Cheese Cake


From Epicure Magazine October 1981

Pastry:

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/2 cup (4 oz.) butter
1 egg yolk

Filling:

2 1/2 pounds cream cheese
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp.vanilla extract
3/4 cup honey
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup whipping cream
toasted almond slivers and apricot preserve or honey to glaze and decorate.

To make the pastry combine the sugar, flour and lemon rind in a large bowl. With a pastry blender, two knives or food processor cut in the butter until the mixture resembles corn meal. Mix in the egg yolk with a fork. Squeeze the crumbs together into a ball.(Mixture will be crumbly.) Refrigerate for an hour or freeze for 20 minutes.

Grease the sides and bottom of a 9 inch (23cm) springform pan. Remove the sides from the pan. Spread 1/3 of the chilled pastry over the pan bottom. Use a rolling pin to flatten it to prevent puffing while baking. Place the pan bottom in a pre heated 400 degree oven and bake for 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Carefully reattach the sides to the pan. Roll the remaining pastry into 1 inch ropes. Press these on to the sides flattening and patting to form a lining about 2 inches deep. Refrigerate the pan while you make the filling.

Place the cream cheese in your mixer and beat until fluffy. Add the lemon rind and vanilla. Continue beating while adding the honey in a thin stream. Beat well. Combine the sugar, salt and flour and add to the batter a spoonful at a time while continuously beating. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time. Add the cream and beat well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again.

Pour the mixture into the pastry lined pan and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 8 minutes then reduce the heat to 200 degrees and bake for an additional 2 1/2 to 3 hours until the cake is set. Turn the oven off and leave the cake in the oven with the door ajar to cool for 30 minutes.

Cool the cake on a wire rack for at least an additional hour. Place the pan on a large can or firm support and remove the sides of the pan. Transfer the cake still on the pan bottom to a serving tray and refrigerate.

Before serving glaze the cake with apricot preserves or honey and decorate with toasted almond slivers. If the cake cracks in the centre or separates from the pastry at the sides the almonds will cover this up. Serve chilled.

Victorian Kitchen Garden: Episode 3 February

Unfortunately this seems to be the latest episode of the Kitchen garden series and it was posted three months ago, hopefully there are more and they will be posted in the near future. I will bring them to you here if they become available.

Victorian Kitchen Garden: Episode 2 January

It's January in the Victorian Kitchen Garden.

Time lapse growing winter greens for my chickens

Time lapse growing winter greens for my chickens, originally uploaded by Campobello Island.

Growing a mixture of white clover and buckwheat under lights as a winter treat for my chickens.

Victorian Kitchen Garden: Episode 1 Introduction

Peter Thoday meets up with Harry Dodson as they both turn back the clock to recreate a typical walled Victorian kitchen garden.