Making it : Herb Infused Vinegars

We really enjoyed our herb garden this summer, using the basil, oregano, tarragon, sage, mint, thyme and rosemary we had planted in pots in the spring, in all kinds of dishes. And the goodness does not stop giving just because the growing season is over! Today I gathered the rest of the oregano, thyme and rosemary to make 3 varieties of infused vinegars to use throughout the winter. (I would also have used the tarragon but alas, I left it too long and something got at it last week and ate up the last of the leaves.) Infused vinegars are good to use in dressings, marinades, sauces, soups and sprinkled over cooked vegetables.

The flavours I chose to make were: (1) Thyme and lemon in White Wine Vinegar (2) Rosemary in Red Wine Vinegar (3) Oregano in White Vinegar (especially to use in Nick's Greek Salad, in the winter months when fresh oregano is more difficult to find. Recipe : here).

Infused vinegars are created by soaking herb leaves in vinegar for at least a month. The vinegar takes on a concentrated flavour of the herb and can be used as an extract, meaning that a small quantity will flavour a dish and if you want more vinegar you add some new unflavoured vinegar to your recipe. For example, a teaspoon of infused vinegar plus a tablespoon of unflavoured can be combined in a salad dressing, at the time of preparation. This method of using it sparingly will ensure you have more to enjoy!

A bit of this and a bit of that

Here are some shots taken throughout last week, which ended up in this miscellaneous post because they had no other way of showing themselves!

1. Crosse and Blackwell building located at the foot of Bathurst Street, built in 1927 and restored in 1979. Apparently there is an original stained glass lantern hanging in a hexagonal pavilion just beyond these doors. I'll have to go in to see it sometime.
2. There is a home with a big apple tree out front on Adelaide Street, west of Spadina. This was the last apple still hanging, as far as I could tell.

Halloween Decorations : Candle Displays and a Wreath

Alternate title: Will you boa out that candle please?

This series of easy DIY projects are to demonstrate what can be done with inexpensive feather boas. With Halloween costume planning in full force (wherever it is celebrated), feather boas are relatively easy to come by at this time of year. I grabbed a couple of black ones recently and used them to decorate our home.First I made some candle displays, using things I already had around the house, including a small plant pot, a juice glass, a shot glass, some tarnished silver trays, some pine-cones I recently gathered from under a tree in the neighbourhood, and a globe from a vintage lamp (three of which I found in a 'Please Take Me' box a neighbour had put out to the curb.) Oh, yes and some candles too of course. Then, in less time than it took me to find some matches to light them, I had these 3 candle-pieces set up.To do it, cut the boa to the length of the diameter of the vessel. Then cut some craft wire 3 inches longer than the boa piece. Secure the wire, about an inch in, to one end of the boa piece. Wrap it around the length a couple of times and then secure the other end with the wire, leaving about an inch of wire at the end. Then wrap this around the vessel and twist the two wire-ends together to form a ring. (The feathers will hide the wire.)

Eddie Learns to Share

Eddie: Are you serious?! You want me to share my Caturday post? Really? You relegate me to one post per week and then you expect me to share it?!!

Loulou: Shhh, Eddie. Let's take it off-line. We talked about this ... today you will be sharing your post. Now sit up straight, please.

....

ahem .. Oh hi friends. Welcome!

For today's Caturday post we welcome a guest. I'm not sure what this fine feline is called, as we just met in the alley. But he or she was very friendly and was happy to pose for some shots.

Food Friday : Fruit Filled Crepes

Just in time to be served for a nice brunch over the week-end, today I have the recipe for delicious Fruit Filled Crepes.

This recipe will make 2 servings (with extra for the first one or two, which might get ruined ... see below), but can easily be doubled/tripled for more.Crepe batter:2 cup milk2 eggs1 1/2 cup flourpinch of saltA bit of oil for cooking, such as olive, vegetable, peanut.Mix the milk and egg together in a bowl. Then whisk in the flour and salt. (Mixture will have lumps so don't worry about them.)To make the crepes:Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Once it's hot, add some oil (about a teaspoon) and swirl it around to coat the bottom of the pan. Remember this motto: "Hot pan, cool oil ... food won't stick".With a soup ladle, add a scoopful of batter and swirl pan again to coat bottom. Cover the pan and cook for about a minute. The top of the crepe will form bubbles on it, which are a good indication as to when it's time to flip your crepe, but you can also slip your spatula under a bit and see if it's lightly browned on the bottom.Once flipped, cook for another 1/2 minute or so, then slide onto a plate. Repeat until you've used all the batter, keeping the ones you've already made in a warm oven. Please note: it is very common that your first crepe doesn't work out nicely. This happens to everyone for some odd reason! I remember reading this once: "The first crepe is always for the pan".Filling:Mixed fresh fruit. We used pitted cherries and blueberriesMint leaves. Very nice to add if you have some.1/4 teaspoon each of real vanilla extract and rum.Finely grated rind of one lemon.One or two tablespoons of white sugar.Sour cream or Greek YogurtMix everything together, except sour cream, in a bowl before beginning to make the crepes.Serving:Note: each serving uses two crepes. Put them on the plate so they're overlapping by about an inch. Add your fruit filling. Dauble sour cream on and then fold the two sides of crepe over, to cover the filling. Done!Serve with butter and maple syrup!