Covid-19 Lockdown - the weather improves

Finally we are starting to feel an improvemet in the weather.  Temperatures are above 0c and perennial plants are starting to come through the soil and reach for the sky.  The birds are abundant right now and their music fills our ears with a beautiful melody.  Spring is finally here.

I've started planting some of my vegetables outside.  Green onions are planted, the leeks have been moved out and the first spinach seeds have been placed in pots.  I've filled up my other pots in anticipation of transferring my tomatoe and pepper seeds but I think I'll need to wait still for a few weeks to pass before any planting takes place.  As I inspected my vegetable garden this morning, I saw the first signs of the onions starting to peek through.  It's so exciting to see things grow.

I've been taking a landscape photography course online and it has taken up the majority of my days.  It's an extensive course which is being offered for free up until the end of April.  I really wanted to do the whole course so I dedicated time every day to listening and watching the videos.  I sure have learned alot.  Sadly I only got about 30% completed, but I feel good with what I have done and look forward to continueing with my education.

Some of the things I learned about were specific to camera settings that are required for "all" landscape photography.  These aren't necessarily the same that you would use for "portait" or "nature" photography but with minor modification its easy to switch these settings and accommodate those types of photos as well.  Some of the key learnings that I have absorbed this week is around the importance of the Histogram and how "colours" affect what is shown on the back of my camera.  When shooting in RAW format, the Histogram on the back of the camera is shown in JPEG format which reflects how the camera has taken what it see's and adjusts to provide the correct image.  RAW format allows me much more leeway with correcting exposure issues so understanding what is seen on the back of the camera vs. what will be seen on my computer is important.  As well, understanding that the colours red, yellow and green need to be taken into consideration when reading the histogram.  I've learned that it's best to set my exposure compensation as far to the right as I can without over exposing my picture but when green, red or yellow is involved, I need to use care and go as far right as possible and then step it back by 1 stop.  It's also best to look at the RGB histogram after the photo has been taken to ensure that the colours are not over exposed.  On the histogram that is presented before taking the picture, it is more reflective of the darks and lights that the camera see's.  It sounds complicated, but once you see how it works it makes alot of sense.

Another thing that I have really come to appreciate is the use of "back button" focus.  Back button focus removes the ability to focus the shot using your cameras shutter button.  The focus capability is moved to another button on the camera.  When focusing I push the back button to focus and then I don't have to worry about my camera attempting to refocus when I push my shutter button which often causes the shot to be blurry. This works amazingly well on landscape and also on nature photography.  

 I really didn't have much time for anything else this week as I was watching video's for most of my free time.

Since the course has ended, it's time to put into practice what I have learned.  They provided some good instruction on Photoshop so I've been trying to practice developing using this tool. As I've said before, Photoshop is very complex.  I have lots of notes so I hope that I can follow them.  Here is an example of a few pictures that I developed using my new found knowledge.   It's a start but I still have a lot to learn.

My vegetables continue to grow and the battle with the squirrels is non stop.  I am forever finding my veggies "dug up".  Today it was my celery and I've been picking up loose onions all over the place.  I wonder if there are any that are still in their pots?

My green onions are thriving and starting to grow vigourously.  These were from store bought onions were I cut the bottom.

I have started to see the beginnings of my "onions" that Ed brought me.  I'm still not exactly sure what kind they are, but we'll see what happens as time progresses.

I have transplanted my leek into pots.  Sadly one has already shot into flower so I suspect that we won't be able to enjoy this one as part of our dinner, but Ralph and I thought it might be nice to see what it looks like with the flower blooming.

I saw a nice fun recipe on Facebook this past week as well for "mashed potato" balls.  These are very simple to make using left over mashed potatoes.  These are a little larger as I made them for dinner (this was enough for 3 meals).  Simply add bacon, green onions (I added chives as we had already eaten our green onion) and some spices that you have on hand ie. garlic, parsely or whatever. Cut up small chunks of "cheddar cheese" about 1/2 inch square. Roll the mashed potatoes into balls and then stuff the cheese into the center. Then roll the ball in the flour, dip in an egg wash and roll in the breadcrumbs.  Add oil to a pan and fry for about 4-5 minutes, turn and cook another 4 minutes.  Place onto a paper towel lined plate and enjoy.

It's been a busy week but very rewarding.  I feel blessed to have this opportunity to have time to work on my hobby and also enjoy time doing new things.

As we continue to deal with issues surrounding Covid-19, I was thankful that our bible study was on Peace.   We learned that Scripture reveals that peace is threefold:

1. Peace with God
2. Peace within ourselves
3. Peace with others

The basis of our peace with God is our justification by faith in Jesus Christ.  This is the point at which all peace begins.  We cannot have peace within or peace with other people until we first have peace with God.  

1 Peter 5:7-9 New International Version (NIV)

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

New growth

It has been a week since I planted my heirloom tomatoes. Waking up to a sunny morning, I decided to look closely to see if anything was happening with these small seeds.  To my pleasure and surprise, I saw that some had started.  I had a grin from ear to ear and couldn't wait for Ralph to wake up to share in my excitement.  The seeds have started to sprout.  They are just tiny little shoots that are sticking up in the soil.  Now I'll have something else to keep an eye on.  I can visualize the pots now with their beautiful lush tomatoes growing in them.  I know I'm being optimistic but if this pandemic goes on into the summer, I'll have nothing but time to nurture and coax the fruits on the vine. I'm really enjoying growing these vegetables. 

On Friday I decided to try to grow romaine lettuce and celery from their core.  The celery started growing right away. Seriously, in 1 day I saw a tiny little shoot and it continues to grow.  The romaine has also started but is a little slower growing. I planted my onions on the weekend as well.  It's funny, as we don't even have our garden hose out yet to keep them watered, but after several trips with a jug I think they have enough to get started.  I had to spread the  bulbs over 3 pots and used up about 1/4 of my side garden.  I was thinking of "Holland Marsh" as I planted and wondered if our little plot of land in Rexdale will smell like onions in the summer. Wouldn't that be funny.   After church service on Sunday morning, I looked out of our back window and exclaimed in shock "look at my pots"...someone has been digging out my newly planted onions.  Grrrr, those darn squirrels.  Upon closer inspection I discovered that some of the onions have gone missing and I suspect that I might find them elsewhere in the garden or the squirrel enjoyed a nice snack.  Can you believe that?

Ralph made some cookies this week.  The recipe is a variation from the "famous" Hilton Hotel cookies which are placed by the front desk during the evenings when you are visiting.  I'm not sure that I've ever tried them, but supposedly the recipe is well sought after and the chain decided to release it to the public because of the Covid-19 virus.  Ralph modified it to be "gluten free" so that he could enjoy them as well.  I have posted the original recipe below for your enjoyment.  These cookies are huge as you can see.  He reduced the size on the next batch as these were big enough for two people to share. They were really tasty though and the batch made quite a few.  Ralph shared the recipe with his sister Ingrid and she took it one step further and used them to make ice-cream sandwiches. The picture looks so yummy!!  A nice Covid treat in the summertime.

While I was on youtube, I saw someone had posted a video on how to make bacon out of carrots.   Hmmm I was pretty intrigued so I watched it.  It seemed simple enough and I had carrots in the fridge so why not give it a try.  These are "vegan" and contain less fats so they are supposed to be more healthy for you.  I decided to make a batch for Sunday morning breakfast. My carrots weren't large like some you see in the store, but smaller bacon is fine. After washing the carrots I sliced them thinly lengthwise using my vegetable peeler.  Once that was done I mixed up the marinade which consisted of maple syrup, garlic powder, smoked paprika, celery salt and a few dashes of liquid smoke.  Simple enough and the smell made my mouth water.  I left them to marinade while I drank my coffee and heated up the oven.  I cooked the bacon on a silpat thinking it would be easier for cleanup.  The oven was set to 375c and I let them cook for about 12 minutes after which I turned them over for another 3 to finish.  Overall the end result was pretty tasty but if/when I make another batch I think I would add some salt as bacon (to me anyways) always should be a little salty.  I reserved the left over marinade so I can modify it slightly to enhance the flavour the next time. I enjoyed them, but Ralph thought they still tasted like carrots.  

I've always been curious about the photos I sometimes see displayed in Facebook which is done using simple household cooking oil and water.  It sounded easy enough.  I watched several videos to get an idea on how these are made noting that everyone seemed to do it slightly different.  The common elements included "light" ie. a flashlight or coloured lights of some sort, water and oil. Most used professional looking Macro lamps or "torches" along with "coloured" paper of some sort.  Since my flashlight batteries were dead, this wasn't an option as I needed the spares for my insulin pump.  I dug into my storage cupboard and found a roll of Christmas lights (LED).  These should work.  The next challenge was to find an oblong bowl made out of clear glass.  Hmmm, what could I use?  I don't typically have any "clear" cooking casserole dishes and my pie plates are all scratched up.  In the end I opted for a "round" mottled glass plate to use.  I thought it might enhance the look of the bubbles adding a bit of texture. After many attempts and not being pleased with any of them I walked away a bit frustrated.  All in all I had spent about 2 hours trying to figure this out.  Time for lunch and more research.  I decided to look for another bowl to do this in.  I had a covered baking dish in the cupboard that was deep and could hold a fair amount of water.  That might work.  The challenge was that it had a large stamped name imprinted on the bottom.  I'd have to avoid shooting towards the middle.  So I started again.  After figuring out that I needed to get "higher and higher" above the lights (after many failed shots), I slowly started seeing some results.  By the time I was at the correct height I had totally destroyed the water/oil mixture by over mixing it as I was encouraging ithe bubbles to "flow" to the right side of the bowl (to miss the stamp). How frustrating.  Time to step away for a while and do some puzzling.  A break is always good to refresh the mind. After dinner I decided to give it another try.  With fresh water and a different oil (the first time I used vegetable oil, this time I used canola oil) I was ready to start again.  I decided to "raise" the bowl higher away from the lights so I needed to build up my stack, and I added more lights to give more colour.  It wasn't fancy but it worked.

Finally I have started to see the results that I was hoping for.  With all the fiddling and adjusting the oil kept flowing together to make one big blob in the middle, but I managed to get it to separate and give some nice bubbles.  Hah hah, it sure was an interesting way to spend a day and in the end I am happy with the results.

On April 9, I posted that I was drying seeds and attempting to germinate them from a pepper that was store bought.  Upon closer inspection this week I saw that they had finally started to grow.  I was so amazed that it was actually happening.  Each morning I have been faithfully giving them a little water ensuring that they were kept moist.  They are each laying on a small piece of kleenex to ensure that the moisture remains constant.  In retrospect I probably should have used toilet paper as I could simply take the seed and toilet paper and place it into soil.  I may need to do some finagling with the kleenex later as I don't believe it breaks down as easy as toilet paper.  It will probably be a while before I can transfer them into pots, but I'm still pretty excited.

Clara, one of our neighbours came by earlier this week with masks for Ralph and I.  She and her mother have been making them for members of their church, family members and neighbours.  What a blessing it is to live on Clearbrooke Circle.

I continued this week in my quest for photography knowledge.  Hours have been spent researching how to make double exposure images using only my camera.  It sounds simple enough, but in practice was actually very difficult.  I know I'm doing something wrong, but haven't been able to figure it out yet.  After many attempts and performing lots of "clean up" editing (which I shouldn't need to do), I have created two portrait images of Ralph and I using what I have available in the backyard.  I think I'm using the dreariness of the season right now as an excuse for my lack of creativity and need to get myself into a better mindset.  This can have a very artistic effect if done correctly and maybe one day I will succeed.  Maybe I'll try it again next week.

As the week draws to an end I ponder at how quickly the time goes by.  We enjoyed celebrating Wilf's birthday with a Zoom birthday party which was really nice to do.  Ralph and I reconnected with friends of ours that we haven't seen in probably 35+ years.  What a blessing to meet them at the zoom party.  Somedays I look back and wonder what I have accomplished.  I find it's easy to get into a bit of a "why bother" frame of mind and just to let things go.  I'll look at a task and think - that will be here tomorrow, why bother today.  I really don't like that feeling and find myself giving "me" self talks about getting things done.  I'm thankful that I have my camera and that I've been able to use this time to learn new things.  Sometimes I feel limited because of the restrictions that are being enforced, but thats just me limiting myself.  There is so much here in our "home" that can be enjoyed and God is using this time as a reminder.  We have a lot to be thankful for.  As I was reflecting on this, God reminded me yesterday morning that he is in control and gave me a beautiful sunrise to enjoy. As I looked out of my back window the sky was painted a beautiful red colour.  This is my favourite time of day.  I'm thankful for these reminders and look forward to another week of isolation with Ralph.  I wonder what new adventures will come our way.

Every week we ladies get together and enjoy a glass of wine while keeping each other updated on how we are managing during this time.  I look forward to being able to get out and golf with the ladies sometime this summer.  Hopefully we'll be able to get out.  Time will tell.

I have started a Landscape Photography course this week.  Its being offered for free up until the end of April so I'll be spending many hours on line absorbing the information being shared.  I've followed the instructor Dave Morrow for a couple of years and practice quite a bit of what he has taught via youtube videos.  Its a good way to pass the time and I look forward to one day applying this new found knowledge.

May the Lord of peace Himself give you His peace at all times and in every situation.  2 Thess. 3:16

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Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon juice
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (we substituted "Cup for Cup" Gluten free flour)
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 2/3 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts (we substituted Pecans)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 300F Line a baking sheet (s) with parchment paper
Cream the soft butter, and both sugars in a stand mixer for 2 minutes until light and fluffy, Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. You can use electric hand beaters if you like.
Beat in the eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice. Beat for 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Lower the speed and blend in the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts, making sure to get them evenly distributed
Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the dough (3 tablepoon amounts) and place 2 inches apart on your lined cookie sheets. I flatten the balls slightly. Bake for 20-23 minutes until starting to turn golden. I found that 20 minutes worked for me.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

The planting begins

It's another  week and in my efforts to keep myself busy I have been researching how to grow vegetables in pots and in the garden.  As well, I've been trying to figure out what to grow by direct planting and what to grow by germinating the seeds.  I saw a youtube video describing how to start "Leek" by cutting off the ends of the store-bought products.  Since I have a package in my fridge, I've cut them off as instructed and have placed 3 ends in "jars" of water.  In a few weeks, if successful, I should start to see the roots growing the leaves start to come out through the top.  As they grow and mature, I'll be able to plant them in the garden or even possibly in a large pot.  Apparently leek require a lot of space for the roots, so I haven't quite figured out where to plant them once they get started.

Here is the leek at day 1 which was Good Friday.  Imagine my excitement at the growth rate when I looked at them on Easter Sunday.  Thats only two days of growth as I planted them late in the afternoon and the photo is from first thing Sunday morning.  I never knew that these would be so easy to grow.

As the week progresses the leek are growing vigorously.  Its almost as if you can see them grow.  It's exciting to get up every morning and see how they are progressing.  

Ed brought me some seeds which I blogged about last week.  I have planted some of the heirloom tomatoes (Brandywine) into styrofoam cups and have them placed in the window to see if I can get them started.

As well,  Ed brought me plenty of "green onions" or are they "shallots" I'm not really sure?  After counting them I realized that he provided 65 of these small bulbs.  Based on the youtube video that I watched, these have the potential of providing up to 5 sets of onions per bulb.  That would provide about roughly 325 green onions (or shallots).  More than Ralph and I will be able to eat, so if you find a mystery package at your door with these lovely green onions, theres a chance that they came from this batch.

My pepper seeds haven't done much.  I still keep them moist and they look like they might be swelling, but it appears to be a long process.  I'll continue to keep them moist and see if they will germinate.

I am waiting patiently to plant the spinach and lettuce seeds.  With the colder weather, I think it's probably best to wait till May.  I've seen some snow flakes every couple of days and know that I am probably rushing the spring weather.  I'm getting plenty of enjoyment out of this.

I continue to work on my pictures.  I've been researching how to do some creative Macro photography.  This really interests me and given all the time that we have, its a chance to practice and learn.  These are ends of an old pair of earrings that I had.  I used a needle and. placed a drop. of water on the end to try to capture a picture of  it.  The. picture is ok, but I think I need lots of practice in this area.

I picked a few flowers out of the garden to see how they would. photograph.  As I said earlier still more practice needed,  but with all the time we have, there are many days to experiment.  The biggest problem is finding something to practice on.   With the up and down weather I have noticed that my daffodils are not really doing much and I think I may loose them early this. year.

As I was watching some youtube video's I came across a one showing how to make abstract photo's using photoshop and existing photographs. I find Photoshop to be a very complicated un-user friendly application so I was hesitant to try. With nothing but time and using my cell phone and computer simultaneously I decided to give it a try. 

Here are the results of my attempt:

It was fun and can be quite addictive.  There are quite a few steps to complete this and I've watched a few different video's providing additional suggestions on how to enhance the pictures.  Its just another way to create art from a simple photograph.  When the pandemic is over, I may try to print a few of these to see if they would look nice hanging?  We'll see, otherwise I could make a few cards out of them.

As I am updating my blog, I glance out of the window and see snow falling gently.  I thought winter was over but it seems to be persistent in staying around for a while.  The flakes are very large and looks like they will cover everything again in a blanket of snow.  I'm happy though that I was wrong and after a few hours it all melted away.

These last few days have been spent working on my photobook and puttering around in the kitchen.  I found a nice recipe for Caesar salad dressing which I have included below.

While talking with my friend Anne on the phone, she gave me the idea about growing Romain lettuce using the core from now that was store bought.  Since Anne has a small glass house that she can grow vegetables, she says she simply plants the ends right into the soil in a pot.  In my research I have decided to start them first in a small jar in the same way I have done the leek.   Once some small roots form and leaves start growing out of the top, I can then move it into soil and then slowly start "hardening" them off to get ready for outdoor  planting.  I have also started a celery plant following the same method.  I am really pleased with the growth on the leek so far and I see that small roots are also starting to form.  The growth has been really something and soon I'll be planting them into pots.  I hope I have enough room to store them all before they can go outside permanently.

Over the Easter weekend we received a few nice surprises in our mailbox.  The Salvation Army was delivering Easter chocolates in the neighbourhood and the local realtor left flower seeds for everyone to enjoy.  We thought that was very nice especially since our chocolate "stash" is running low.  I'll be attempting to grow the seeds in pots as well.

Below is the Caesar salad Dressing recipe that I followed.  I didn't have all the correct ingredients so I substituted what I had for example, I used minced garlic. from a jar, teriyaki sauce in place of the worcestershire, miracle whip in place of the mayonnaise and skipped the anchovy.  The end result was still pretty tasty.  It made a lot of dressing, which I have put in a jar in the fridge.   I guess we'll be eating Caesar salad for the next while.

Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing

By Jennifer Segal, adapted from Gourmet magazine

My family loves this rich and creamy Caesar salad dressing. It’s not overly garlicky or fishy — it’s just right.

Servings: Makes 1-1/3 cups (enough for about 10 starter salads)

Total Time: 10 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 small garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon anchovy paste (found near the canned tuna in the supermarket)
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from one lemon
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I like the brand Maille)
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's Real
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the garlic, anchovy paste, lemon juice, Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Add the mayonnaise, Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt and pepper and whisk until well combined. Taste and adjust to your liking. The dressing will keep well in the fridge for about a week.
2. As another week goes by its good to remember that....
3. Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.  They will soar high on wings like eagles.
4. Isaiah 40: 31