Sunday, December 29, 2013

Well if that isn't the yummiest bread ever.


am a very literal person. I tend to be left brained. Now that said...this is how my first bread making in the Breville started. I carefully read the ingredients, amounts and the directions. I started by adding the ingredients one by one in the order listed. Exactly as they say. I got to the flour and dumped it into the container. It was quite a moment. The flour hit the liquid and floury liquid splashed up and all over the inside of the breadmaker. You see, I hadn't removed the bread pan from the inside of the machine. The goopy water ran down the inside all over the elements etc. I had to detail the Breadmaker. "But it didn't say to remove the pan before throwing in ingredients. What!!??" Now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense.....
The new Breville Breadmaker is a hit. I made a little loaf and it is delicious! As soft as a purchased loaf and the right density. The reason this makes me so happy is that Allan buys bread. That soft 100% whole wheat bread from the supermarket that is full of a bunch of things I don't like to eat. So I don't want him eating them either. He found the organic bread just too hard and seedy. We each made a piece of toast today from the bread, and we both feel it is the best toast we've ever had. 

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Christmas...Erin and Allan style

So here's the thing. I have a store. It gets busy in December. I get behind in everything, even though every single year I promise to have it all done by the end of November next year. This year just to throw a whole new twist into it, I've caught a cold. What!? 
Usually decorating the tree takes about 6-8 hours. Allan did it this year. We always put up an artificial tree. Allan could not resist the lure of a free tree on December 24th. 


And look closely, you can see the decoration. I was calling the tree a giant smudge stick.


I asked him when he was going to cut it free from the rope. "That will just make it impossible to get out and get needles everywhere." That is my man!


This is last years tree. You really have to look close, but you can see the subtle difference in our decorating style. 


My David Winter Cottages.


Emma LOVING the burlap my mom wrapped gifts in. She is so clever. Everything can go into the compost bin rather than the garbage.


Kinda cool vintage sign. I am going to alter this a bit for next year, but it is nicer that this picture shows.


This warmed my heart. A dear family member seemed to be as OCD as me!!


I hope you had as wonderful a Christmas as we did. Ten of us eating at my little house, our funny tree which got more attention than mine ever did, and the house smelled like evergreen. Younger people playing a game I was completely unfamiliar with. And an abundance of butter on EVERYTHING.
Merry Christmas everyone. 

Thursday, December 19, 2013

It's here!!! Bread Maker...we will flash it up this weekend.



It sure is pretty isn't it. I have not decided which recipe to try first, but this weekend I am going to bake bread. 

Monday, December 16, 2013

Finally....a Bread Maker on the way to my house.

I have done a ton of research on Bread Makers. I knew I would use one a lot. My cousin, who lives in Inuvik, bought one of these Breville BBM800XL's and raves about it, so the decision was made.

In addition to growing as much of my food as I can, I am making everything I can from scratch. I started making bread as a teenager, so it's not that I can't bake bread, I just find that between the garden and the store, my time is a bit stretched, so the decision to get a bread maker was easy. It took almost a year to finally make a decision on make and model.


Here is a link to the best price I found on my Breville Bread Maker. And the shipping was free!!!

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Crazy time of year in retail......but god it's a hoot.


Forgive me for the lack of posts at this time of year. I have a store and it just gets a bit crazy now. You can see a teeny bit of the store behind me in this picture. I will post when I can and I'll be back in full force in a few weeks. 

Tuesday, December 03, 2013

Cymbidium is in fine form this year

My Orchid Warrior...an un-named burgundy Cymbidium...is absolutely amazing. It has sent out five HUGE flower spikes this year. I put off a transplant until it is done. Last year I put a branch into the cedar and holly bouquets I made for the store. It looked wonderful. This years will be even better. 


This orchid was a gift from my husband years ago. It is indestructable and flowers on cue. Thank you Allan. 

Sunday, December 01, 2013

Just in case it snows....lots of clips for the hoop house


I cannot believe that I forgot my camera at the store again. I think I am going to have to buy another. I take so many store and garden pictures, it's hard to remember to be moving it back and forth. So today you have to put up with phone camera pictures.

They are calling for snow in the next week, so I need to get the hoop house tightened up. It is a bit floppy right now. Today it is 10 degrees on the island, so it will be a pleasure.


It was a pleasure. 11 degrees. The plastic feels nicely supported now with an abundant use of office supplies. Did a bit of pruning and puttering. A day well wasted.