Cleaning Out The Freezers

I've been trying to clean out my freezer a bit before we butcher our cow this winter so I've been boiling up ribs for beef soup stock today to make room :)

I always seem to end up with a ton of ribs and soup bones at the very end and not a lick of hamburger, sausage or roasts and since I never know exactly when it will be cold enough for the cow to hang and age before we cut and wrap it I thought it would be best to get a jump on it before it was to late *grin*.

One thing I always find though is that the ribs Hubby cuts are always so fatty and after they simmer all day there is quite an oil slick on top of the stock. A fantastic way to get rid of it is to put your pot of stock after you have strained out all of the meat, bones and veggies into the fridge for a couple of hours and all of the fat will firm up nice and solid right on top so you scoop it out without loosing any of your delicious stock!

Now that I have lunch taken care of for the next couple of days I can focus on tweaking the new bread recipe I've been trying. I found one that I can use the canned pumpkin I made in the fall along with my freshly milled flour but it needs a wee little adjustment. I can't wait to share the recipe with you :)

Happy weekend!
Rosina

Soaked Fruity Oats ~ Recipe

Oatmeal is a main staple during the winter months and to keep the children happily munching away on it without growing tired of it I like to spice it up with fruit :) I use steel cut oats which can take considerably longer to cook than quick oats and since I usually don't beat my children out of bed I needed a fast track cooking method!

Soaking the oats the night before provides this. By popping them in a bowl with water right after dinner (so I don't forget to do it) I have soft oats first thing in the morning that cook up in a matter of minutes :) The perfect solution when surrounded by a pack of hungry monkeys as soon as my feet hit the floor each day *grin*.

You will need:

3 3/4 cups of water

1 2/3 cups of steel cut oats

(rolled oats or quick oats can be substituted)

Assortment of chopped fruit

Maple Syrup

~ Serves 4

The night before place your oats and water in a glass bowl or jar, cover and let stand until you are ready to use them in the morning. Like I mentioned above, I like to do this when I'm cleaning up after dinner so that I don't forget and then they get a chance to soak a little over 12 hours :)

When you are ready to make breakfast in the morning, transfer your oats to a pot, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir continuously as they cook for 5 - 10 minutes. The shorter cooking time will provide a chewier texture. Remove from the heat and stir in some yummy maple syrup to sweeten it. I usually use 2 - 3 tablespoons of maple syrup and find that it is sweet enough. Pour into bowls and top with chopped fruit.

Right now we are using an assortment of kiwi, pomegranates, oranges, apples and banana :) After Christmas the pomegranates came on for a super good price so I couldn't resist buying some and since not everyone likes the same fruit I like to have a few different kinds in the fridge.

Nuts, seeds and dried fruit are other delicious additions to your oatmeal to. Oh there are so many different ways to spice up your breakfast... literally! Try adding cinnamon with your apples or a touch of pumpkin pie spice with pumpkin seeds :)

Enjoy making your oatmeal a little more exotic the next time you cook it and don't forget to sing *grin*.

Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold,
Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old;
Some like it hot, some like it cold,
Some like it in the pot, nine days old

Hugs,

Rosina

PS. Looking for more yummy recipes?? Check out this week's Hearth and Soul blog hop :)

Gold River

I've been totally absent again for a couple of days but I promise I'm not ignoring you all *grin*. We hitched up the trailer to head off camping along the Gold River on Friday morning and meet up with hubby's family. There's only one word to describe the weather.... SCORCHING!!

We knew the forecast was for the high 20's low 30's but when we arrived on Friday it had actually clouded over and even sprinkled a little. I had teased everyone that I had done the rain dance before leaving home because I really didn't want to get caught in the dead heat! No such luck. By Saturday the sun was back in full force and it was a sweltering 34 degrees in the shade and I heard someone say that the humidex made it more like the 40's. UGH, I so can't do heat :(

The kids seemed to fair okay in the heat and we tried to keep them extra hydrated with water. Their poor little bodies were so sweaty that the dust just stuck to them instantly as soon as they left the camper *grin*. K had fun playing with his cousins as my SIL's youngest is only 4 days older than him :) So they played in the tent, drew board games with crazy rules and wandered around the campsite.

My little princess stripped every huckleberry bush in site and even tried her hand at making huckleberry juice by smooshing them up and putting them in her drink bottle *grin*.

Where we camped it isn't far to the harbor where fishing boats and tugs can be found tied up...

and they have a fair sized dryland sort and booming ground as well :) I always love to see the machines working with the logs. It reminds me of the haydays here when logging was the driving force of our community. My dad was a heavy duty mechanic and fixed the old off road logging trucks and machinery and one of his friends would take me out in the logging trucks every summer. What a blast!! Some of the roads that we took were so narrow that it felt like you had no road to drive on, and then there was the thrill of spinning around in some of the log loaders that clung to the mountainsides like spiders *grin*. There definitely was never a dull moment out in the bush!

Air Nootka also operates out of harbor and the kids got to see one take off while we were there :) Now if only it hadn't been quite so hot it would have been a perfect trip LOL.

I was so happy to finally make it home to the cold and windy north. As I type this the sky has partially clouded over and the wind is screaming in through the windows so hard that it's making everything on the counters and fridge fly all over the place. I am not going to complain because that icy cool wind feels FABULOUS! *grin*.

Hope you all had a great weekend to :)

~ Rosina