In The Field: O'Keefe Ranch

          On a recent trip to the North Okanagan it was decided that a trip to the corn maze at O'Keefe Ranch was a must. The skies were hanging low and rain was threatening but our Littles were admit that I would love the ranch( I didn't have the heart to tell them I visited as a child) and that the corn maze was a-maze-ing! Get it? Hillarious I know! So we piled into the van along with my Father In Law and fully expecting to get soaked but trying to stay optimistic.

        Upon arrival at the ranch we were delighted to find horses to ride, kittens to love on and sheep to share secrets with. The Littles love to take any opportunity they can to get into the saddle- their Opa was a very accomplished equestrian rider once upon a time and he was happy to see both kids excited to ride. These city kids of ours are getting more time on horses than I ever did as a kid- and I grew up in a town where horses walking down the street was an every day occurrence! So horses, cats and sheep- oh and chickens- our kids were in heaven. The campaign for pets is reaching a fever pitch around here these days and this trip certainly fuelled the fires.

        O'Keefe Ranch is nestled in amongst the rolling hills of the North Okanagan just outside of Vernon- a few minutes from town.  The end of the wagon road with a self supporting town O'Keefe Ranch recently celebrated it's 149th birthday. Primarily a tourist attraction today the ranch still retains much of it's charm and plenty of historic buildings that are open to the public to explore in season.

         So we did horse back riding , followed by a trip through the corn maze- we played it safe and visited during the day- if one is brave enough to go through the corn at night be prepared to be terrified- but during the day it's all kitty cats and pumpkins! Once we made our way through the corn maze we sat by the camp fire and had hot dogs and of course mini donuts.

           With the rain holding off until we were safely on our way home we enjoyed our time at the ranch through and through. What I loved best about the set up at O'Keefe Ranch was the amount of space- not the overwhelming crowds one finds at the Coast when trying to do anything seasonal! With their bellies full of mini donuts and heavy eyes threatening naps our Littles declared O'Keefe Ranch as having the best corn maze ever- it was a-maze-mg!


P.S. because I know folks will ask Miss Lo's dress is the Gardinia dress pattern from Cali Faye Collections- sewed out of a ever so soft piece of Cotton & Steel double gauze- I will likely write about the dress details in another post- for now it's all kitten & horses!

Favourite Cake Friday: Rustic Pear Tarte

Rustic Pear Tarte

The Goods:

Crust

1 cup all purpose flour

pinch of salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter- cold- cubed

2 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons ice water

Filling

3-4 medium sized pears

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon corn starch

3 tablespoons brown sugar

a pinch of cinnamon

The Deal:

- making the crust: whisk together flour, salt and sugar. Add cold cubed butter and cut into the flour with a pastry cutter or two knives until the flour mixture is coarse and pebbly. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture- slowly add in ice water and milk- blending as you go. Once the dough has come together in a compact ball wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

- while waiting for the dough to chill preheat the over to 425 degrees and prepare the filling. Peel and slice pears in about 1/4 inch slices. Toss together with lemon juice, cornstarch, brown sugar and cinnamon- toss until pears are evenly coated.

- roll out dough on a lightly floured surface- roll out into a large circle roughly 10 inches across. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer dough to the middle of the prepared baking sheet. Arrange the pears in the centre of the dough- leaving roughy a 2 inch boarder. Fold the boarder over the filling- leaving the centre explodes. Remember this is a rustic tart and things do not need to be perfect!

- Bake the tart at 425 degrees for 15 minutes- reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for another 40 minutes- until the pears are tender and the crust is golden brown.

- Transfer to a serving plate and allow to slightly cool- we like this lightly dusted with powdered sugar but whipped cream or vanilla ice cream would also be fantastic!

        I will admit this is the second week that the Favourite Cake Friday isn't in fact a cake- personally I'm just fine with that as I don't hold grudges against desserts! I promise- though- to have a new cake for next week and more knitting- of course more knitting! Always with the knitting- because I have started on Holiday gifts- which is terrifying but true! Can you even believe it is now mid- September?!!

     Anyways it is Friday again- our last Friday of summer holidays - finally! We are looking forward to celebrating the end of the season with some good friends this weekend- there will be home made pizza and fine boxed wine. Happy Friday Friends- much peace and love!

PS- putting an "e" on the end of "tarte" makes it more french of course!

Favourite Cake on A Friday

      Yesterday was gloomy- we said good by to our friends from California with heavy hearts and waited for the next batch of visitors to arrive from Wisconsin. With the rain pouring down and a bit of time on my hands I decided to bake a cake while we waited. Not just any cake- a Cherry Clafoutis with the end of our Okanagan cherries- picked by my Littles on a hot, hot day not too long ago.

Cherry Clafoutis

The Goods:

1/2 cup of sugar
1 1/2 cup of pitted cherries
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups of buttermilk or yogurt
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon of salt
confectioners sugar for dusting

The Deal:

-preheat oven to 375 degrees- butter and sugar a pie dish

-lay out cherries in a layer on the bottom of the dish- set aside

-whisk together eggs, buttermilk(or yogurt), sugar, vanilla, ginger, lemon zest- once combined sieve in flour and whisk in smoothly

-bake for about 50 minutes or until golden brown around the edges- test the centre of the clafoutis by inserting a tooth pick- if it comes out clean the clafoutis is ready

-allow to cool and dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

    In case you are interested just what a clafoutis actually is the Wicki definition explains that it is a baked French dessert, traditionally with dark cherries, arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan like batter. Basically it is like a French version of the upside down cake- made with pretty summer fruit an with a more modest amount of sugar. All I know is that this is a delicious and easy dish that I will come back to again and again!

    Friends it is Friday again- this summer is just flying by! As mentioned we are entertaining visitors from out of town- my chum from University days who I have not seen in quite some time! It goes with out saying that a fair amount of wine and knitting will take place as will multiple trips down memory lane. Happy Friday Friends- hope your weekend is wonderful!

Simple Family Fridays

        Last week I touched on the topic of keeping life simple- or K.I.S.S.- keep it simple stupid- and while the name stupid is not a word I would regularly use- the acronym still sticks in my mind. I was asked by a few readers to elaborate on some of the things we utilize while striving for a simpler life. Now that school is in session I feel like I need these reminders as much as anyone- so I thought I would try something new here- Simple Family Fridays- where I will share some of my tips and techniques in creating a simple family life!

     Simple Tips #1- Eating Sustainably

        We made the switch from more conventional eating to striving for a sustainable diet in Ernest about a year ago- this is not to say that a grocery store threshold never shall be crossed- quite the opposite. What eating sustainably means eating locally, seasonally and organically- planning while staying flexible at the same time. Let me explain this contradictory statement further- we shop a great deal at our local farmer's markets which means that we need to be flexible to substitute one item for another if a particular vendor is not at a market- working from a master grocery list but making substitutions if needed.

      We shop what is in season at the farmer's market- right now tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and corn and then flush out the remainder of our list at grocery stores- carefully. For example we shop at Costco quite a bit- I mean what growing family doesn't? Costco has great deals on chia seeds, organic ground beef, walnuts and organic milk- plus toilet paper- obviously!

       We shop the farmer's market for eggs, sausages and the Bean Boy's Hummus- but hit Whole Foods for dry bulk items like black beans, lentils, oats and bananas- cause bananas* don't grow on trees around here and are a vital part of our morning smoothies! We try and stay away from the interior isles of the store as this is typically where all the packaged goods reside in any grocery store- and at Whole Foods that can be dangerous!

      Shopping at the farmer's markets is so much more fun that shopping a conventional grocery store- in fact mock me if you will- but I get anxiety in grocery stores- I panic and end up with only half the items I came for. Farmer's market shopping can be much more relaxing once you get over the fear of the crowds and sticker shock. Shop wisely and with a list- shop on a full stomach.

     To balance out the cost of local and organic foods as well as do the environment a solid we try and go meatless at least once a week. By choosing to go meatless we are reducing the stress on the land- plus it is heart healthy. Opt for a hearty lentil soup and baguette or bean burritos- with lots of cheese of course!

     In order to keep this whole grocery shopping situation simple I make sure to meal plan for the coming weeks- from the meal plan I can look in our pantry and decide what items we need to stock up on. Now that school is back in meal planning is key- it means at 4 pm I am not scrambling to defrost something- I already know what's for dinner- simple. Needless to say we try and make much of our food from scratch- I have a handful of recipes that are family favourites that rotate with the season- that doesn't mean that we never eat a frozen pizza or take out- cause we do- just very occasionally!

        I hope you like my first post on simplicity- I chose the topic of food and eating as it is always on my mind- feeding my family- planning- being healthy- if you are a regular reader you will I am sure have noticed my food obsession by now. FYI it runs in the family. My final thoughts on food and simplicity are this- food doesn't need to be complicated- it doesn't need to come from a lab- food should be nourishing, tasty and simple.

* I know that bananas aren't local or seasonal but hey we are human and we like bananas- at least the ones we buy are organic!

PS- wow- I almost forgot it's Friday again- you would think by the name of the post I would be aware- duh! Clearly I need more coffee- always more coffee! We are packing up for the last hurrah of this summer- camping in the Okanagan with some dear old friends- yes they really are old- my age at least! Friends I hope where ever you are in this fine world of ours you are surrounded by light and love this weekend- Happy Friday!

Farmer's Market: Trout Lake

         Our latest and by far biggest market to visit was last weekend - the Trout Lake Market is located just off Commercial Drive and is by far one of the more vibrant and busy markets. All our favourite vendor's from the Winter Market were here as well as a few new ones we were more than happy to discover! 

       SO much goodness was happening here! As you can see BC is coming into cherry season- where I grew up this was a big industry- lots of family farms still getting by on one crop of cherries a year- such a short window to make an entire year's worth of income. Although the cherry orchards of the Okanagan are not as plentiful as they once were you can still hear the bird cannons going off with much regularity this time of the year- every few minutes- BOOM!

       One of the things I am totally loving at this year's markets are all the swaps- magazines and now cook books- what a super idea! I am always on the look out few fresh inspiration and if the market wares were not enough now we have inspiration on what to do with all that fresh produce!

        When I think back to how we shopped as a family even a little less than a year ago I am shocked at what we considered to be normal- crammed grocery store- shopping buggies battling in traffic- fluorescent lighting. Now I am not claiming there is anything wrong with grocery store shopping- not everyone has Farmer's Markets in their towns such as we do. It just works for our family really well- even in the hubbub of the Trout Lake market I felt relaxed and happy- to be outside- buying good clean food- all of us together- shopping as a family.

         The Trout Lake market is open Saturdays 9am- 2 pm- starting May 11 and running through until October 19. The market is located in the North parking lot of John Hendry Park- due to construction in the old location. Parking is super limited at this popular market so walk, cycle or take transit if you can!