Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas Eve.  For those celebrating Christmas and Christ's birth this is a special time of the year.  We will spend the holidays with family and friends travelling, visiting and of course eating.  I am looking forward to our gatherings and watching the kids on Christmas morning.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Halloween baking!

My daughters and I did a little fun Halloween baking.  We used sugar cookie dough and smarties and almonds and created our own "monster fingers".

Aren't they fun?

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is quickly approaching!  It seems as though it was just summer but autumn is moving right along!

My kids start to count down to Halloween in summer.  As soon as they see the costumes and decor for Halloween out in the stores they are asking me, "How many more sleeps mom?"  This excitement continues right up until the big night.

My kids are still small enough to really enjoy the Halloween season.  I love to watch them and their excitement;  it reminds me of my childhood and how excited my siblings and I would get up until the big day. The kids and I decorate the house after Thanksgiving and carve our pumpkins the day or two before Halloween.  We have done all kinds in the past, from traditional faces to more complicated ones in the last few years.

Our spooky Halloween window

One of our more tradtional Halloween pumpkins

A more complex Halloween pumpkin

 My kids love to plan out their costumes and eagerly await Trick or Treating.  Here in the country, our neighbours are really generous to the little ghosts and goblins that come to their doors on Halloween evening.  We maybe get only 15 to 20 kids maximum to come and visit so the treat baggies they receive are filled with chocolates and candies and maybe even a pudding cup or a juice box.

My kids a few years ago on Halloween

My kids are very excited to help plan out the treat baggies that we give away each year.  As a mom, I was very happy to find out about Allan Candy Halloween treats.  They include Allan intense Jubes & Jellies, Allan Chewy Rascalz and Allan Fruit Buddies.   Allan candies are made in Canada (yeah!) and are peanut-free.  I know with the growing number of peanut allergies out there finding peanut-free alternatives is sometimes a challenge and it is great to know there are companies out there producing peanut-free alternatives.

Allan Candies - Made in Canada and peanut-free!

My kids have tried these candies out and have approved 100%.  I must admit, my husband and I have tried them out too.  It is cool to see some of my old favorites like Bigfoots and Hot Lips come pre-wrapped making it easy to give them out on that fun evening.

I am happy to be able to share some of these Allan candies with the kiddies that will come to our house on Halloween evening.  Of course, we will have a few other surprises in our goodie bags but they will definately contain several Allan candies in them!

How do you celebrate Halloween?  Do you have any special traditions you would like to share with us?  Please feel free to do so and

Happy Halloween!!


Disclaimer:  I am participating in the Allan Candy Company program by Mom Central Canada.  I received compensation for my participation in this campaign.  The opinions on this blog are my own.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving day here in Canada.  I am very thankful for many things....my husband and fantastic kids, my home and all of my wonderful friends and family.

I hope everyone out there takes a little time out today to give thanks!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Autumn!!!!

Today is the first day of autumn!  Summer has sure flown by!!!

It is starting to be the time to put away the summer clothing and bring out the warmer fall and winter (ACK!) stuff! Ok, I am not quite ready for snow yet!!!!

Autumn is also the time to bring out my slow cooker and make some wonderful comfort foods like chilis and casseroles! I hope to share some of my favorite recipes in the coming months!

 Happy Autumn!!!

Prairie Harvest by T. Farthing

Baking....Zucchini Bundt Cake

Last night was our first frost. It actually got down to minus 5 Celcius...brrr! Considering last week it was plus 30!

I have a few zucchini left that from the garden that have to be used up or grated and frozen. I thought I would share this recipe that I love to make every fall.

I have yet to find oodles of zucchini recipes that I love. I did find this one recipe from FabulousFoods.com for a chocolate zucchini bundt cake. I must say it is very dark and rich and tastes wonderful. It is not really sweet either, which I like. This is definately a keeper! I make a chocolate icing glaze for the top but it would be just fine sprinkled with icing sugar.

Here is the recipe:

3 cups shredded zucchini
3/4 cup cocoa
1 2/3 cup flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs (or 3/4 cup egg substitute)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat a 9" bundt pan with cooking spray and lightly dust with 2 tbsp. cocoa powder. (I just dusted with flour as I was low on cocoa powder)

In a large bowl combine cocoa, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a small bowl combine eggs, oil and vanilla.

Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and beat vigourously to combine until well blended. This mixture is VERY STIFF!!

Stir in shredded zucchini until well blended, pour batter into pan and bake for 50 - 55 minutes until cake tester comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.

Do you have any favorite zucchini recipes? Please feel free to share them!

Hail!!

Last night we had a wicked hailstorm here. It came really fast and lasted for about 10 minutes or so. The hailstones were probably the size of golf balls. Needless to say it made quite a mess of our property and garden as well as the farmer's fields.

The local news even came out to tape some footage of the damage in our area.



Here are some photos from the storm.

Summer's Bounty

I have been enjoying summer here in Saskatchewan. Well besides all the mosquitos which have been very rampant this summer.

So far this summer we took a little time to have a nice family vacation. It was great to be able to spend that time together as a family.

We returned home to find changes in the yard. The garden is coming along (well the parts that haven't flooded with all the rain this summer), the grass is growing and the strawberry patch has been producing nicely.

This is a photo of my first harvest from my sour cherry tree. Its a few years old only and I am happy to say that these cherries will be combined with Saskatoon berries and become a pie or crisp.....YUM!

Ducks!

I love going outside in my yard and enjoying the wildlife that live there. My yard is quite large, much larger than any city or town lot. One section of the property there is a slough (or pond as many would call it but slang here is slough).

When my dog isn't out there wading in the water scaring away the birds there are a few ducks that like to swim there.

I snapped this photo of the Blue-winged Teal last week as I was exploring the yard.

Some of my flowers

Its been a little bit since I posted. It seems spring and summer are always very busy with mowing the lawn and upkeep of the yard and garden.

I went wandering around the yard this morning and took a few photos of my yard that I wanted to share with all of you.

Here are a few beauties I found in my garden:






Hope you enjoy my photos!

Baking Day! Banana Bread Recipe

Woo hoo! Today I am going to share my first, hopefully of many recipes with you! I love banana bread as do my kids and of course hubby too. This recipe has become a staple in my recipe box. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

I am not sure where I got it from...I have had this recipe forever though. Here it is:

5 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups mashed banana
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a loaf pan.
Beat butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add sugars and beat well. Add egg, egg whites and vanilla and mix until well blended. Add mashed banana and beat on high for 30 seconds.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternating with cream and ending with flour. Add walnuts and mix well.

Pour into a loaf pan and bake until browned and toothpick inserted in center comes clean (about 1 hour 15 minutes).

Cool in pan on wire rack for about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely.

I love to put margarine or butter on the loaf when its warm and enjoy it that way. You can also eat it with jam which is also tasty. I omitted the nuts as my dd's school is nut-free and I cannot send anything containing nuts.

This is the result, complete with melting margarine (it was still warm and very yummy).




I hope you try this out and enjoy it! Let me know what you think it!

Spring on the Prairies

I love springtime on the prairies! Everything seems so fresh and new. Here is a little collage of some of the photos I have taken of my garden and some of the plants growing in it.



From top left to right: rhubarb, chives, asparagus, plum blossoms, honeyberry blossoms and dandelion.

Enjoy!!

Welcome to my new blog!!

Hello and welcome to my new blog! I hope to share all sorts of things with you from a bit about me and my life here on the Canadian prairies to my hobbies and crafts to recipes and even a few of my own photos.

First, a bit about me! My name is Tina and I was born and raised in Saskatchewan, Canada. I love life here on the prairies and am so happy to raise my two children here with the help of my fantastic husband! I have always loved to craft and spend time crafting when time permits me. I love the outdoors and gardening and spending time outside. I even partake in a little fishing during the summer months. I love to take photos and hope to share some of them on here with you. Cooking and baking is also a passion of mine and I also hope to share a few recipes with you on here.

I hope you enjoy spending time with me and follow me on my journey here as a Canadian Prairie Mom!