Milk Chocolate Covered Shortbread

Last night, we were watching christmas movies: Home Alone 2, Charlie Brown Christmas, and Elf. Needless to say, I felt inspired to do some christmas baking. The results was a delicious pan of milk chocolate covered shortbread.

I started out with a simple, standard shortbread recipe. Then things got a little crazy!

YAY for the Better Homes and Gardens Bridal Addition Cookbook!

I wanted to add chocolate to it, and lots of it! Time to break out the mini fondue crock-pot and melt it up! 

Here is the results: 

Delicious, buttery melt in your mouth chocolate covered shortbread. 

Here's the Recipe:

Milk Chocolate Covered Shortbread

1 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour

3 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar

1/2 Cup Butter 

Melted Chocolate -- As Much Or As Little As You Want! 

***In order to fill a 9" by 9" pan, like I did, you will have to double the shortbread recipe***

Preheat the oven to 325. While preheating, mix flour and sugar. Slowly cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling. Knead and form into a ball. Place in an ungreased 9" by 9" pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the bottom starts to brown and the centre is set. While baking, begin to melt your chocolate. Make sure to stir it constantly so it doesn't burn. Once the shortbread is done, let it stand for about five minutes, and then coat with the melted chocolate. Set in the fridge overnight. 

Enjoy everyone! 

Winter Greetings

Hello One and All!

It has been a little while since my last post. It's funny how the school semester catches up with you sometimes and can keep you from doing some of your favourite things (like writing and recreational reading...I have so many good books to catch up on!)

Here is my little thought for the day:

Yes, I might be a little crazy, but  I LOVE being outside in this windy, cold and sometimes really wet winter weather. I love the feeling of the fresh mountain air on my face. I love a good North-Easterly wind that howls and whistles through the valley. I love living in town and seeing the streetlights reflect off of a rain glazed side street. Its comforting to know that my horse is tucked away in his stall, happily munching on hay in his winter blanket during a cold snap. 

Although the weather outside is frightful (I'm in full on Christmas song mode here!) it's so delightful to get outside and enjoy the winter beauty. 

I'll have another post soon....possibly with a recipe for some yummy shortbread that I made last night...and some pictures of it! 

Renewing An Old Barn Window

My husband is a wonderful man. He knows how much I love old farmsteads, and a few months ago when he was working at a dairy farm, he came across an old window frame. He thought of me, and asked the farmer if he could have it to give to his wife. It was the best surprise ever, and I love it.

It's full of character, crackling paint, and a rusty latch. None of this is prefabricated. This window earned its marks over its years.

When he brought it home, it was covered in cobwebs, dust, bugs and dirt (lots and lots of dirt.) Today, I pulled it out of the storage room and decided to clean it. I leaned it up against the kitchen island, found a soft rag, and began to wipe away the dust. At first, I was apprehensive; afraid that I would take off too many pieces of the crackling paint. I was getting braver, as I realized that my gentleness would do nothing to get the cobwebs and dust off of my beautiful window frame. While I was mindfully wiping it down, a verse popped into my mind:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God......

Romans 3:23 

This verse played on a loop track in my mind while I was wiping, and rinsing clean, then wiping again. As I was wiping clean this glorious structure, I became more and more satisfied in it. I was delighted to discover that on the back of the frame, someone had painted one side of it hunter green. It was hidden under all of the grime. I thought that the window was beautiful before. Slowly, this frame was becoming a masterpiece. 

I continued to be more brave while wiping it down. Some of the paint chips floated freely to the ground as I did. At first, I was horrified. I was ruining this piece by changing its original state as I cleaned it. Then a thought crossed through my mind: 

I'm not ruining it, I'm instilling it with some of my own character. 

I will now be a part of what it is,

and what it is becoming. 

I smiled to myself, still replaying the verse above over and over in my head. Then, I got the idea to actually wipe down the individual paint chips that were still attached to the window. My level of appreciation and satisfaction in this window deepened even more as I took the grime of at least a decade off of the creamy, white paint. I discovered that some of the paint had faded into a lovely, light pink shade over the years where the sun had touched it. I was thoroughly delighted in this frame now. 

And that was when He spoke:

My child, this is the same satisfaction that I have in you. 

I looked at the frame, then at the ground, where all of the cobwebs, paint chips and dust were lying. Anything that wasn't meant to be on that frame had been removed. Yes, there is still dirt on it in some spots. The latch is missing it's other piece. There is no glass in the windows. One corner of the window has seen the effects of rot. But this is the most beautiful thing that I have ever had to call as my own. It is salvaged, but it is so delightfully, gloriously beautiful. 

And now, it is saved. Just like myself. Every single day, His satisfaction in me will grow as well as His delight. 

And all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by 

Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:24 

It's Harvest Time in this Little Town

Honor the Lord with your wealth,

with the firstfruits of all your crops;

then your barns will be filled to overflowing,

and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Proverbs 3:9-10 

All Pictures were taken by me! 

Autumn Bucket List: Part Two

Hello everyone! Here's what my finished edition of my bucket list looks like for 2012: Pretty much all of my supplies came from Michael's (yay for 3 for $1 scrapbook paper!) and the stickers were in little booklets from Michael's. The only thing that I didn't get from there was some string off of some burlap sacks that I have at home waiting to be used for another project!

I tried to find stickers that matched the theme of each item listed to place beside them! 

Too much flash in the first one! Now you can read what I wrote! 

I titled my Bucket List "Autumn Days: Gather Together"

Here it is on my fridge, waiting to be fulfilled!

Happy Monday to everyone!

Autumn Bucket List

Hello Everyone!

I love all of the adorable bucket lists that come out with every season! Autumn is just so happens to be one of my favourite times of the year. It's the busiest in a farmer's eyes, but it is the time where you truly reap what you have sown! In between all of the busyness of being a wife, student, and farmer's daughter, here is my personal (and realistic! that helps too!) bucket list:

• Go to a pumpkin patch (Apple Barn, Here I come!) 
• Make at least one yummy dessert with pumpkin in it
• Decorate a pumpkin or two
• Plant fall mums and pansies 
• Take a fall nature walk  
• Host a fall dinner party
• Make some hot apple cider
• Have the first hot chocolate of the season
• Visit Fort Langley on a chilly autumn day
• Watch Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
• Toast pumpkin seeds!!!
• Watch The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
• Give thanks for at least one thing every day during the fall season
• Eat candy corn
• Eat lots of apples! 

Leave me a comment telling me what's on your fall bucket list! Enjoy your first official weekend of fall everybody! 

This is Love 

Three Times a Day

Three times a day, seven times a week. It  seems like it's been FOREVER since I last wrote a little message on this thing! My time is tied up with all of my business courses at university. I'm loving it (and I'm loving not working even more!) I love this quote that I found! It accounts to everyone about how much we rely on farmers. I don't think that we even realize that three times a day, we're counting on these hard working, agricultural men and women to provide us with one of life's basic needs. 

Hopefully, now that I'm caught up with most of my homework, I'll be able to post something interesting soon! Take care, everybody. 

Autumn

The season of golden inspiration, divine shades of red, and harvest moonlit nights.

   

Regard it Just as Desirable to Build a Chicken House as it is to Build a Cathedral

Hello everyone!

My title for this post is from Frank Lloyd Wright.

 I love farming. Just in case you couldn't tell from the general theme of my blog here. It's what I grew up knowing, and my passion for it flows into everything that I do. I'm slowly gathering up information on my own while I live in town so that one day, I can do what my mom and dad do for the rest of my life!

While doing some research into chicken farming in Canada, I discovered that there are 2,682 broiler farms in Canada. That's a lot of fresh, wholesome, lean protein being produced for all of us to eat! One other interesting thing that I learned today was that British Columbia (where I'm from) ranks as the third biggest broiler bird producing province after Ontario and Quebec. That's quite impressive as well.

Not to mention, it generates thousands upon thousands of jobs for Canadians. These jobs can be direct or indirect. In BC alone there's 3,147 jobs that are related to just the chicken farming industry.

And I love the Chicken Farmers of Canada's mission:

"To build a strong, competitive, consumer-centred Canadian chicken industry that meets the challenges of a changing world, and to profitably grow its position as the protein leader in Canada" 

Being a chicken farmer in Canada is most definitely a consumer-centred industry. I worked in the meat department at a farm market for a year, and people long for the proper education on knowing about their food. We strive to educate people and give them the best product available.


I often take my knowledge about the food industry for granted. Growing up on a farm, and being surrounded by many others, I always knew exactly what went into the food that I ate. I also knew all of the processes for producing food products. So one of my goals now is to pass on the information in a simple way to give everyone a good idea as to what makes their home-grown food so good for them!

A well maintained farm here in Canada thanks to our highly efficient
Biosecurity program. 

Click here for all of the info on chicken farming

The Forgotten Homestead

Decaying wooden planks that extend across a frame like spindles. Splintered glass and wooden shingles. The old farmhouse door is suspended by a solitary hinge. It is an abandoned spot that carries with it years of untold glories. This is spooky. This is beauty.

One of my own photos 

Dirt roads. Dusty fields. Simple things. Tales of hard labour, backbreaking ground, love, life, Jesus and family whisper through the walls. Signs of newer times take up the space between the barn and the house, but the untold stories mingle with it.

This spot can be found on the backroads of Armstrong, BC if you'd ever like to experience it for yourself.

The Rooster May Crow, But The Hen Delivers the Goods.

Good Morning! I discovered this picture on pinterest this morning, and I love it!  

Here are some facts that I bet you didn't know about chickens:

Chickens are the closest relatives to T- rex.

They have a communal way if raising their young when they are in flocks. Different hens will incubate different sets of eggs.

In breeder farms, each chicken can lay 150 to 155 eggs in a cycle! Talk about a lot for one chicken!

Chickens need to eat around 4 pounds of feed in order to produce a dozen eggs.

A chicken's heart beats 300 times a minute.

There are more chickens on this earth than there are human beings.

The average Canadian eats 30kg of chicken in a year.





Learn More about BC Chicken Farmers Here
Check Out Canadian Chicken Here
Find Out About Canadian Chicken Farmers Here

You Stand Out Like a Strawberry in a Bowl of Peas

Make yourself a summertime treat: Chocolate Filled Strawberries. Much better than just being dipped in chocolate! This was inspired from a Facebook post by Lepp Farm Market, a little country store that I used to work at. Talk about a brilliant idea! 

Apple Butter.

The other day, I made some decadent crock-pot apple butter. Pork chops taste so good when they're marinaded in that stuff overnight! Today in my boredom, I looked up some quotes about apples. Here are a few of the better ones that I found:

Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness. 

(Well said, Jane Austen!) 

Almost all wild apples are handsome. They cannot be too gnarly and crabbed and rusty to look at. They gnarliest will have some redeeming traits even to the eye.

(True, true, Mr. Henry Thoreau) 

It is remarkable how closely the history of the Apple-tree is connected with that of a man.

(Another valid point by Thoreau) 

If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe.

(This revelation is from Carl Sagan)

Here is the recipe that I used for making my apple butter. It made two mason jars worth of the appley goodness. (One to use for yourself and one to give away!) I made mine with gala apples, and I cooked it overnight, so when I woke up in the morning, our home smelled like fall! 

It can last 7-10 days in the fridge, and you can freeze it! Also, to get a smoother consistency, you can blend it up after you're done making it! 

Crock-Pot Apple Butter

1 Dozen apples, peeled, sliced, cubed

1/2 Cup water

1/4 Cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 TSP Allspice

Cinnamon to taste

Toss apple cubes in sugar and spices. Put water and apples into crock-pot. Cook on low overnight. 

PS: You want to know why apples float? It's because 25% of their volume is air! 

Love Them Locals!

Did you know that one of the definitions for jewellery is: a form of personal adornment that has no other purpose but to look appealing. Humans have been creating these personal adornments for a long time. The word itself is from late Middle English that was a spin off of the Old French term jeulerie. In the past, jewellery has been used as currency. It's been a public display of wealth. Sometimes it carries symbolism with it (such as marital status, and religious affiliation). It could be stored and used up as a wedding dowry.  In other words, jewellery has been a very influential thing in this little world! The oldest piece of jewellery is 75,000 years old! It was discovered in Kenya, where the beads were made from perforated ostrich egg shells.

One thing has never changed over time: us women. our tastes, and how we love it! And one young lady that I know loves it so much, that she has put her heart into creating beautiful jewellery.

I love it when people follow the desires of their hearts, and this wonderful young lady that I attended high school with (she graduated one year before me) is well on her way to turning her dreams into reality. She has combined her outstanding artistic creativity into a business. It's called: LeShelle Designs. It is a "sisters-in-law" jewelry designing thing of beauty. Both Michelle and Leni Schroeder make unique, beautiful, and personal designs out of mainly local, British Columbia lampwork beads and Swarvoski crystals. Talk about AWESOMENESS!


Let me give y'all a little background information about why I love this girl's stuff so much. I'm a very very VERY picky jewellery picker. I love jewellery, don't get me wrong, but at the same time whenever I see a piece of jewellery, I can almost always find something that I would like to change on it. While looking through all of Michelle's Facebook page, I discovered a piece that I absolutely fell in love with. There was nothing that I could possibly want to change on it. A miracle, yes. Yes indeed! So, of course I had to buy it, and now share all of the goodness with the rest of you!


These ladies have created beautiful necklaces, bracelets, earrings, jewelry sets, bookmarks, and cellphone charms that have so much character. They've also done custom jewelry based on customer ideas and they've even done custom pieces for weddings! How special would that be?

My Garden Pond Necklace. Unfortunately, my camera doesn't do this piece justice, so make sure you check out Michelle's Facebook page pictures under the "sold" category to see what it's all about! I love that this necklace does up from the side. It makes it so easy to put on by myself. 

I absolutely love my Garden Pond Necklace. Everyone who sees me wearing it comments on how pretty it is.....I have my eye on the Pinecone necklace for this fall....

So check out her Facebook page, and like it if you like what you see! You can also click on the link above (LeShelle Designs)and purchase her gorgeous little works of art via Etsy.

Have a blessed weekend everyone!

Down Where I Was Born Was Heaven On Earth

The Sun Sets Low,

And the Stars Shine Bright.

You Either Lived on a Farm,

Or Wish You Did.

Jesus Always Walked Close by Our Side.

Where I grew Up, We Rode In Trucks.

That's Us,

Haulin' Hay in the Field With The Radio On.

And That's Us,

Headin' Straight Into Town When The Work Was Done.

With Our Tailgates Down in the Parkin' Lot,

With Mud on the Tires When It Rained A Lot.

Where I Grew Up, We Rode In Trucks. 

-Luke Bryan 

Grain Bins 

Handprints to last a lifetime 

The Barn 

Free and Easy Down This Road

I'm back! (Finally, and with a good post!) Here are some of the highlights from our Armstrong, BC trip. 

The land is beautiful up there, and it is definitely God's country. This is one of my favourite places in the entire universe, and even though I have never lived here, it its my home. 

We took my mom and dad's trailer along and we stayed on our friend's property. These friends of ours also own a custom farm operation. The drive up didn't look too promising, since it rained most of the way up there, but after that, we had blue skies and 35 degree-plus days up there. 

It was perfect. the view from one side of our trailer was all fields, and the other view was of all of the equipment at their yard. I was happy, and David was very happy! We were also staying up there during prime cutting time. It was incredible to see (and work on) such large scale farms, and huge parcels of land. 

 We spent an entire day out in Sorrento, BC raking up huge fields. The one field only had two outside rounds down in it (it was 160 someodd acres) and it took us an HOUR to rake up the two rounds. It was so much fun. I even did a little raking that day. The song "Flyover States" by Jason Aldean was in my mind that entire day. I know I live in Canada, but the message still covers any beautiful place! 

We also did a lot of day trips. We spent time in the old part of downtown Vernon, where they have an awesome bookstore, and this amazing restaurant called The Palace. They serve up the most delicious, ethnic East Indian food that I have ever tasted! In the newer part of Vernon, we discovered this place called The Bulk Barn. They have every single thing that you could imagine in bulk there. Baking stuff, candy, nuts, chocolate...you name it! The best little marked that we checked out was the DeMille's store in Salmon Arm, BC. They carried local products, and they all looked so delicious. David knows some people who live out in Enderby, so we also did a few drives out there. The water was still exceptionally high in Grindrod and Enderby. I got to visit my sister store out in Salmon Arm as well! It was very neat to see! 

I took a lot of barn pictures, but those will show up in a collection some other time! I want to dedicate a whole separate post to them! 

Our truck hauling the trailer. We were stopped in Merrit, BC. I really had to go to the bathroom! 

The view from the trailer 

FENDT 

The BEST ever ethnic East Indian food in old downtown Vernon, BC. 

Driving to Sorrento, BC. 

Salmon Arm, BC. 

Entering Salmon Arm, BC. 

Somewhere in the small town of Tappen, BC. The rake is ready to go! 

Chillin' on a dirt road.....

The huge dairy that we spent the day at. 

Like Tatoos on this town

Raking begins! 

The buggy and chopper behind us 

Such sweet alfalfa! 

Just as free....free as we'll ever be....

Break 

I took a lot of pictures. 

I decided to stay outside for a bit and take some pictures

Raking the upper fields by the barn 

Fence line 

Beauty. 

We worked until the cows literally came home 

Alfalfa leaves 

Wildflowers and a gate 

Even their weeds are pretty up there! 

I was goin' out with my boots on. 

Stirring up dust. 

My sister store in Salmon Arm. 

High waters in Enderby, BC. 

More high waters

Water where it shouldn't be! 

More water! 

A cute red barn

An old brick house in Vernon, BC. Looks like a plantation home! 

Oh the ponies that were up there! 

The best store ever! Candy everywhere! 

The most delicious European caramel wafer bar I've ever had. 

Round bales. It took them four days to work this field. 

Golden. 

Individual shot. 

Alfalfa and wheat. Just starting to turn gold. 

Loading up a piece of machinery that sold. 

The hubby tying it down. 

He's goin' out with his boots on too! 

Beautiful.