Winter Entertainment in the Coop

Minus 17 degrees and the girls in the coop are enjoying a breakfast of hot cereal and a new toy to play with and eat for the remainder of the day.

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Victorian Kitchen Garden: NOVEMBER

Unfortunately for October, November and December all I can find is the first 10 minutes of each program. I have written the distributor to see if the whole videos might become available but haven't had a reply yet. If they become available I will post them.

The Way - Movie Trailer (2011) HD

Don't miss this if you get a chance to see it or rent it on DVD it gives you a real feel of what the Camino is like. The experience of a lifetime.

Martin Sheen plays Tom, an American doctor who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son, killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking The Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James. Driven by his profound sadness and desire to understand his son better, Tom decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage, leaving his "California bubble life" behind. Armed with his son's backpack and guidebook, Tom navigates the 800 km pilgrimage from the French Pyrenees, to Santiago de Compostela in the north west of Spain, but soon discovers that he will not be alone on this journey. While walking The Camino, Tom meets other pilgrims from around the world, all broken and looking for greater meaning in their lives: a Dutchman (Yorick van Wageningen) a Canadian (Deborah Kara Unger) and an Irish writer (James Nesbitt) who is suffering from a bout of "writer's block." From the hardship experienced along "The Way" this unlikely quartet of misfits create an everlasting bond and Tom begins to learn what it means to be a citizen of the world again, and discovers the difference between "The life we live and the life we choose". THE WAY was filmed entirely in Spain and France along the actual Camino de Santiago.

Tarte aux Pommes Mapie Traditional French Apple Tart

Tarte aux Pommes Mapie
Traditional French Apple Tart

1Unbaked Tart Shell
2 Large firm apples peeled and sliced thin
8 tbsp/120 ml Butter
1 1/4 cups/300 ml Sugar
4 large eggs (Fresh from the coop)
3 tbsp/45 ml Flour

Optional but I add a teaspoon of vanilla and a few good grinds of fresh nutmeg.

Pre heat oven to 450F/230C.

Line a removable bottom tart pan with the pastry. Arrange the prepared apples in the pan. Melt the butter over medium heat and continue heating until it turns a light brown colour. Add butter and seasonings to the sugar and combine. Add the flour and mix in well. Add the eggs one at a time and beat to combine. Pour mixture over the apples and put in the pre heated oven for 8 minutes then reduce the heat to 350F/180C and bake an additional 45 to 55 minutes until the tart is brown and doesn't jiggle in the centre when shaken lightly. Cool then remove the tart from the pan serve as is or dusted with confectioners sugar.

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.