So Long, Farewell

     Wow did that week just disappear. Monday again, making lists with Stasha. Here is what she left us with last week.

I am giving you an allowance of (pretend) $1000 and ask for a list of 10 things you will spend it on

     Very timely because, .... I'm getting my house ready to sell. Huge pain in the backside but I'm weirdly excited too. Out with the old and in with the new. This time I want a real yard where I can garden to my heart's content and maybe even swing a pool eventually, but that's getting ahead of myself. I have even looked into moving to..... The 'Burbs. As a downtown boy for the last 25 years that is a truly scary proposition.

1 Paint for the kitchen

2 Tiles for the upstairs bathroom

3 Tiles for the downstairs bathroom

4 Paint scrapers for the porch railings

5 Wood screws to finish fixing the back step

6 Parging mix to fix the little crack in the basement stairwell

7 Paint for the newly scraped porch railings

8 New light for the living room

9 TSP to get ready for all the painting

10 Lots and lots of cleaners, bucket loads of cleaners.

     Done and done. I'm sorry to say, with all that is going on the Kitchen will be on hiatus. I just don't have time to keep up with everything. I'll miss you all over the summer but hopefully I'll be back on track soon. Wish me luck.

PS Here is that good for you scone recipe I promised you Stasha. No need to deny yourself. Gluten, dairy and refined sugar free but still enjoyable with your morning cuppa.

Hmmmm

     Listicles again, time to link up with Stasha. This week our prompt came from The Sisterhood of the Sensible Moms, 10 things that make you go Hmmm. Here is my list of things I ponder from time to time.

1 Why does that time saving technology work only until you actually need it, then it crashes, can't get a signal, breaks...

2 Why are there always either pieces left over or not enough when you buy "some assembly required"?

3 Related to 2, when there are instructions in 8 languages, why does the item (when assembled) never look like the picture?

4 What the H E double hockey sticks have you been eating? You all know what I mean? Light a match.

5. Why when I have a bazillion channels is there nothing on worth watching?

6 Why do movie studios buy the options to great books then ignore the story?

7 Why does the likelihood of unexpected guests dropping by increase exponentially depending on the messiness of my house?

8 Why?

(Although watching the guy actually lose his pants then be unable to pull them back up because the belt was cinched so tight was pure comedic gold. No, not that guy in the picture, that's pulled off the interweb)

9 Not to ignore all the women out there. Why?

Yes, I know they are Louboutins. I know they cost a fortune. I even understand wanting to get a little more height. But really, why spend so much money for something you can't walk in and makes your feet look vaguely like hooves. Just sayin?

10 Why can't people just accept I'm right? With out question. Or argument. All. The. Time. Is that so much to ask?

     Swing by Stasha's to see what else has us scratching our heads.

     Thursday again and time to link up with Susi over a Boca Frau. I think she's been peeking through my window because again this week we are on the same wave length. Both of us are doing scones. Maybe the Diamond Jubilee is to blame. Gettin' all fancy like.

     This week a healthy recipe, because I promised. Everyone seems to be getting fit and toned for summer so I give you this recipe to help along, courtesy of my friend Erin. It can be made gluten free and vegan.

Multigrain Scones

Ingredients

1 egg (or EnerG egg replacer)
1/4 cup maple syrup
5 tablespoons grape seed oil
1/8 teaspoon lemon zest
3/4 cup oats
1 1/2 cups spelt flour (or combination of rice, buckwheat etc.)
2 tablespoons millet
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 and 1/2 cups frozen berries
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup milk alternative (almond, soy, rice etc.)

Topping (optional):

3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2 Lightly oil a cookie sheet or use a nonstick pan.
3 In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients including the lemon zest.
4 Mix the egg (or egg replacer), maple syrup, and oil together.
5 Slowly add the dry ingredients into the "egg", sugar and oil and mix into a thick dough. Add the "milk" and mix well.
6 Scoop up tablespoonfuls of the dough and drop onto the baking sheet leaving 2-inches of space between.
7 You should have enough for 8-10 scones.
8 Bake for 15-25 minutes, just until the crust is barely golden and the dough is dry.
9 Remove from the oven (and optionally, drizzle with lemon topping).
10 Let cool for 10 minutes.

Notes

You can use ground flaxseed to replace the egg. Whip 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water until you get a gelatinous texture similiar to egg whites. Great source of your omega acids and an excellent source of fibre as well.

You can use any vegetable oil instead of the grapeseed, same as if you were making muffins.

Use gluten free baking flour and oats to make this a gluten free treat. If you are just avoiding wheat, spelt flour is a great baking flour. Has kind of a nutty finish but a great texture similiar to wheat flour. Many people who are wheat rather than gluten sensitive are fine with spelt.

     A scone to have with your tea or coffee that you can feel good about. Enjoy.

Unfortunately, this is what's currently on my counter

I guess I can always wear a wetsuit to the beach

They're slimming right?

Summertime

     Ah, the summertime. My favourite time of year, and that's what Stasha wants us to talk about this week, summer memories.

1 Being the son and grandson of farm folk, the one thing summer meant was..... Hay. Thousands of bales of hay. First cut, second cut maybe even a third in September. Good times.

Click to enlarge the pictures

Katey, Dad and Cathy out of the loft, waiting for the next wagon

I was at the bottom unloading, in shorts and sandals

2 Horses. Summer was/is the time for riding. Lazy trail rides, playing tag in the "sallies" or real cowboys. (Or chasing cattle all over hell's half acre.)

Mom training

Mom and Dad taking Katie and Julie out for a ride

Mom trick riding

Even a little bull riding LOL

My uncle Bob on Magician

3 Hand in hand with the horses, country fairs and horse shows. My grandfather carted us all over Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec.

My grandfather showing buggies

My cousin Lindsay, proudly displaying her ribbon

4 Reunions. Both sides of the family try and get together at least once over the summer.

The Fisher clan

Some of the Craigs and Dowsetts

5 Weddings. I love going to weddings. Family, friends, all good, just not mine LOL

My aunt Janice with her husband Ken

My favourite picture of the two of them

My aunt Donna with her husband Pat

And my cousins Jason and Darren

My aunt Rita (Rorybore's mom) and her husband Frank

We even have horses at our weddings

My grandfather driving the carriage for my aunt Karen's wedding

My friends, Monica and Llijah, the Pearces

6 Watching thunderstorms. I've been fascinated with thunderstorms since I was little. Now, I love watching them roll into Toronto from over Lake Ontario. Awesome.

7 Water.The beach, the pool, a cottage. Summer on the water is the best.

Rita with a bunch of us at Marlyn and Donny's cottage

Same cottage, my uncle Gordon and his wife Sue

Tried, Tested and True Mommy's parents

Another favourite picture

Aunt Jean and my Mom relaxing at either Silver Lake or Sandy Beach

Uncle Leonard coming in from water skiing

Water = Fishing

Grandpa Craig and my uncle Ken

8 Hanging out. Patios, BBQs, corn roasts, pig roasts, tailgate parties, bonfires and fireworks.

One particular memory that makes me laugh, the look of horror on my cousin Adam's friends as Ferd went on to describe, in great detail, a traditional Filipino recipe for the pig's head. Priceless.

Our hiking/canoeing day trip

Hitting the patios with Andrew after work

Mu uncle Donny BBQing

He makes the best burgers ever

Parties mean casualties

And because I live with the Nerd Herd,

FanExpo, or any comic book convention really

9 No surprise, gardening. After all, I started this, didn't I? I can't lie, summers spent weeding our or either of my grandparents gardens as a kid were not the most joyous of memories. Acres, by hand. Now however, I enjoy  gardening on my little 1/100 of an acre. As I type, pies are cooling on my counter made from rhubarb and strawberries just out of my garden. Being able to walk outside and snip some herbs, grab some beans, cucumbers, tomatoes or salad greens, incredible.

All kinds of flowers

My winter onions putting up next year's  seed sets

Peas sprouting up

I'm pretty sure this is what is happening in my garden when I'm not looking

The swath of destruction they have caused, now explained.

10 Very closely tied to the last one, picking berries. As kids, we roamed all over picking wild raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. We'd get home with stained hands and faces with our haul and ... nothing beats wild blackberry pie. Wild raspberry for my cousin Sherry.

     When my grandmother was ill, she was telling my aunt Barb she wouldn't be able to make Sherry's favourite, raspberry squares. My aunt said she was pretty sure she could make them to which my grandmother replied, but will they be wild raspberries.

I don't have to work quite so hard any more

My thornless blackberry bushes are putting up an amazing bounty this year

     One final thought, being the musical kind that I am, a favourite tune. Have an amazing summer.



A Sexy TGIF

     Another Friday, another link up with Jennifer. The summer sun is finally here and it has been hawt outside. And I'm not just talking about the temperature. This week a SEXY link up. That's right, read on if you dare.

     Here's the back story. What seems like ages ago, when I was first blogging, I stumbled across a list of awards on someones site. I have tried in vain to re find that site, one because it was hilarious and two because I'd like to credit the creative genius behind this post.

     I'm assuming the list was of fake awards, I've never seen any of them and they made for a very entertaining read. One in particular stuck in my head.

     Since then I've been trying to figure out how to make it an award in truth. A back spasm later, hours of  boredom free time and voila, I give you the coveted  "Sexier than a Garden Gnome" award.

<a href="http://theossingtonkitchen.blogspot.ca/2012/06/sexy-tgif.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://i1065.photobucket.com/albums/u397/pdcraig/sexierthanagardengnomecopy.jpg" /></a>

     How does one win this sexiest of awards?

      It is bestowed on those deserving few who post awe inspiring pictures of their gardens. Actually, it really is a celebration of the great outdoors and Mother Nature in all her glory so any pictures at the park, hiking, at the beach, amazing sunsets,  hell throw in some pictures of actual garden gnomes. It's all good.

The Rules

1 Graciously accept. Feel free to gush in my comment section how I have changed your life by granting this most discerning of awards to your deserving self.

2 Find one other person who deserves to be honoured. It can't be the person who gave it to you, no backsies and preferably not someone who has already won. Let's spread the happy around.

3 Link up the post/picture that won back here in the Kitchen. (It will go until Halloween, the absolute outside edge of my growing season) There may be voting and a final grand prize (or two) awarded.

4 The fun part. You can choose to either, use my button to pass on the award or create your own version.

     That's right, let your imagination run wild and get those creative juices flowing. I've seen a lot of mad skills out there, have fun with it. If you choose to make your own, link it up as well. If there are enough we'll judge the awards themselves and the winning pictures. Sound good?


     Now to get the ball rolling, the first recipient. Drum roll please........RoryBore over at Time out for Mom for the picture of her gorgeous poppies, or maybe the bi coloured columbine. Although the forget-me-nots aren't too shabby either. Yes, perhaps a little garden envy going on, I'll admit it. Finally, some recognition for being the dirty girl you are Rory. Congratulations. Feel free to slop sugar all over her and you may be next.

      That's what's making me happy this Friday, the anticipation of summer fun. Dirty or otherwise.