Tick ToCk TiC ToK

Wow

It's almost here...stress. Today i woke with sweat dotting my forehead...no really, i'm seriously freakin' out! I have been busy trying to organize, meal plan, purchase food. As well our plain old life has been keeping us very busy. We have been desperately searching for recipes...bread without rising agents=questionable! We found a substitution chart online and found that you can replace 2 teaspoon of baking powder with 1 egg. So we tried a recipe for Baking Powder Bread and did the conversion. Used two eggs, it made one very measly loaf. It rose but not half as much as normal bread! Also it was very dense. Tasted alright with a whack load of butter, although you could put enough butter on a piece of bark and it would taste good! Also tried a Mennonite sausage soup that Amber's neighbor graciously came over and helped us make. She also showed us how to make pasta. it will work without salt, just a little on the bland side. As well she shared her cookbooks and we found her to be a wealth of information. So I will be sharing all the recipes as well as my meal plans with you, in case there is anyone insane enough to do this...I hope my family won't disown me!

Local Food Security

I found this on another local food blog out of Ontario...pretty self explanatory and very informative! Go figure it is from Hellman's! Interestingly enough Hellman's has a very cool website that includes a "Real Food Movement" portion. Their recipe uses 100% Canadian free run eggs. Their principle is "real, simple, ingredients". They have removed ingredients that you cannot pronounce such as Xantham Gum, Phosphoric Acid and Beta Carotene. O.K, also i have been doing the research on the five grocery items tht my family will most the most in the up coming week!!


Post Shreddies: Could not even reach these guys by phone! Disappointing website with very little pertinent information

Kraft Canada- Cristie's Premium Plus Saltines: Very easy to get on the phone...an actual person no doubt! He did not have information on where the wheat came from in the Shreddies. Although he did let me know it was "Winter Wheat" that they used. I began some research on the winter wheat production. It lead me to realize that, shockingly, Canada is not even on the top 5 for wheat production! Crazy right? We are actually 6th on the list behind China, India, United States, France, Russia( I didn't think anything grew there!!). We are, however, second for world exports. U.S being the first. This is due to the large number of people in the top countries. They simply cannot be self-sufficient, so they are importing from us! This blew my mind as I have married into a long line of grain producers, who really we not kidding when they stated "we feed the world!" The problem is, we need to be feeding ourselves first! Also the gentleman I spoke with mentioned that if there is even one ingredient the is not manufactured or produced in Canada, they will with hold the "made in canada" label.

SunRype Fruit Bars: I left a message with these guys, awaiting their response!

Aylmer Tomatoes Cangro Foods: Yay!! another human voice on the line!! All tomatoes are sourced in South western Ontario and also manufactured in the same province...

Histories and New Additions...

One thing that I love about life is that is is ALWAYS changing. I love change, it means growth, adventure and never-ending knowledge. I figure, if you can adapt to change you will be richer in ideas. Capable of greater things are the people who thrive on trying new things. When i was little I hated a lot of things. I say hate because as a young child you are two things; hostile and overly exaggerated. I never hated people or things so much as the idea of trying new things. Like stir fry. I "hated" stir fry. Why? Probably because i wanted to drive my mother crazy. But also because I didn't want to TRY all my favorite vegetables TOGETHER. Stupid right, i wasted all those years fighting an idea, a change. Now, stir fry and I are buds, long lost soul mates if you will. My children today are so much like me that it freaks me right out. Our one rule at the dinner table is that you try it once. Just once. If you don't like it that much, forget it and eat the rest. But I WILL make you try it again later. Because your palate for food and all great things should, and will change. My husband mind you is in a WHOLE other ballpark. Stubborn is really the only way I can explain it, kinda like a mule. There are many foods he doesn't "appreciate". Does this affect his attitude and daily capability for growth? I don't think so, I think he just knows what he like and likes what he knows. But he is missing out on the wonders of mushrooms, the splendor of rhubarb and the palatable squash ripe from the garden simmered in butter and brown sugar.
We have been changing greatly in other ways out here on the ranch. Our children have learned about loss with the passing of grandpa Littler; a man who taught me it was ALWAYS o.k to speak my mind, even if it was bullshit. We have planted our garden and watched it grow. We have suffered through the trauma of teething with Riel. Poor little man got 5 new teeth in a matter of 10 days(of course the days we decided to vacation in SK) And we have collected a bouncy Boston Terrier named Bow and said goodbye to Lily our doodle. She went to a home back in the city as she was having a hard time out here...so lots of change. good and bad. Excited for this project to get back on track. Next blog will try to post pics of the garden, it is beautiful.