The shocking loss of an amazing women who gave so much to the community and the animals in Wallaceburg, shook so many within the animal community as well as with the many other organizations she worked with.
Marlene and her husband Larry bought the Wallaceburg Animal Shelter in 2005 they took a shelter that didn't adopt to the public, that killed every 72 hours and turned it into what it is today. The Wallaceburg shelter is no kill, offers a safe place for dogs to go when they are lost, when owners can no longer care for their animals and they also are the animal control for Wallaceburg and surrounding areas.
I can only imagine what her husband and family must be going through with her untimely death. My thoughts and prayers are with them in their time of need.
I have had the honor of working closely with the Wallaceburg Animal Shelter and was only getting to know the women who helped create this safe haven.
At this time things are business as usual at the shelter, I hope with the continued work at the shelter and within in the community we can honor her memory in a way that would make her proud.
This is the link to the Chatham Kent news paper article on Marlene.
This is the link to the Windsor Star article.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Ladybug Cake
Last minute cake orders never have really brothered me but, this one had me extremely stressed out. With this cake if it could go wrong it did go wrong. First off they ordered the cake 36 hours before they needed it. I bought a new contoured pan it came with no instructions. With the size of the pan I figured it needed double the cake mix, boy was I wrong! I had to bake it twice in order to get a usable cake. Then of course with the time frame that I had to work with the butter cream did not have proper time to set so the cake was not as smooth as I would like. Then as I am moving it onto the cake boards it slips and just about lands on the floor if it wasn't for good reflexes it would have been a mess on the floor instead of only having a figure indent, which of course was fixed. Personally I would have added flowers and leaves; however, the client said no flowers.
The head and body of the cake is marble flavour. The icing is butter cream and the accents are fondant.
The head and body of the cake is marble flavour. The icing is butter cream and the accents are fondant.
Canning: Sweet Pickles
Pickles, never thought they would be so easy to can. I am in love with this canning website, called Pick Your Own. They have simple and amazing recipes for canning. This is now my go to site for all my canning recipes. I check here before I look anywhere else.
I got my cucumbers from our local farmers market!
I am only posting the ingredients here you will need to go to the website for the rest of the instructions. There are tons of photos as well.
I was able to make 12 jars from this recipe and all of my jars sealed
I got my cucumbers from our local farmers market!
I am only posting the ingredients here you will need to go to the website for the rest of the instructions. There are tons of photos as well.
Ingredients
- 8 lbs of 3- to 4-inch pickling cucumbers
- 1/3 cup canning or pickling salt
- 4-1/2 cups sugar
- 3-1/2 cups vinegar (5 percent)
- 2 teaspoons celery seed
- 1 tablespoon whole allspice
- 2 tablespoons mustard seed
- 1 cup pickling lime (optional- for use in variation below for making firmer pickles)
I was able to make 12 jars from this recipe and all of my jars sealed
Sweet Cornbread
I have loved cornbread since I was a child; however, I have never made it before. It always seemed like it would be hard to make. For Southern Night I decided to give it a shot, this recipe made it sound very easy to follow.
It turned out awesome! Everyone loved it even the kids. We ate it for days and it is what they asked for at snack time.
This is the website that the recipe is found on.
This is the Pinterest link.
It turned out awesome! Everyone loved it even the kids. We ate it for days and it is what they asked for at snack time.
Ingredients
- 1 c. cornmeal
- 3 c. all-purpose flour
- 1⅓ c. sugar
- 2 Tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup. melted butter
- 2 Tablespoons. honey
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Pour in the vegetable oil, melted butter, honey, beaten eggs, and milk, and stir just until moistened.
- Pour the batter into the greased baking dish and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Watch the cornbread towards the end, you want it to be turning golden and starting to show some cracks.
This is the Pinterest link.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Peach Pie
I have never made a peach pie before. I figured for southern night and peaches being in season I would give it a try.
This pie was super easy to make and tasted awesome. Sawyer (age 3) loved it.
I used a small star cookie cutter to cut stars into the top crust instead of the normal full cover or stripes.
This pie was super easy to make and tasted awesome. Sawyer (age 3) loved it.
I used a small star cookie cutter to cut stars into the top crust instead of the normal full cover or stripes.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 4-1/2 cups sliced peeled peaches (I didn't peel my peaches)
- Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice (I used bottled lemon juice)
- 1 tablespoon butter (I used real, unsalted butter)
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine sugars; add peaches and toss gently. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom pastry; trim even with edge. Set aside. Drain peaches, reserving juice.
- In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt; gradually stir in reserved juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in lemon juice and butter. Gently fold in peaches. Pour into crust.
- Roll out remaining pastry; make a lattice crust. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cover edges loosely with foil. Bake at 400° for 50-60 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Remove foil. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 6-8 servings.
Southern Dinner Night
I decided to start doing a cultural night each week. For the first week I decided to go with a southern night. I love southern cooking.
I made pulled pork in my crock pot. I didn't use a recipe for this as I have made it many times. I shredded the left over ham from the night before put it in the crock pot with about 3 bottles of BBQ sauce, salt, pepper and garlic. I turned it on high for about 3 hours. Stirring it whenever I happened to walk by.
Next was maple brown beans these just came from a can.
Roasted potatoes. These are simple and I love to make them. Slice up as many potatoes as you need. Lay them in tin foil, through a glob of butter in add salt and pepper fold tin foil over and either place right on the BBQ or if doing them in the oven put them on a cookie sheet. Cook for about 20 minutes or so, flipping half way. Sometimes I add onions or bacon to these as well.
Corn on the cob. Everyone knows how to make this. I use local fresh corn.
Cornbread, now this is something you can never forget. I love cornbread but have never made it before. I found a recipe on pinterest. It turned out awesome even all three kids LOVED it. I will make this again. cornbread recipe
Last but not least the peach pie made with fresh local peaches. I cut stars into the crust to make it more southern like. Peach Pie recipe.
I made pulled pork in my crock pot. I didn't use a recipe for this as I have made it many times. I shredded the left over ham from the night before put it in the crock pot with about 3 bottles of BBQ sauce, salt, pepper and garlic. I turned it on high for about 3 hours. Stirring it whenever I happened to walk by.
Next was maple brown beans these just came from a can.
Roasted potatoes. These are simple and I love to make them. Slice up as many potatoes as you need. Lay them in tin foil, through a glob of butter in add salt and pepper fold tin foil over and either place right on the BBQ or if doing them in the oven put them on a cookie sheet. Cook for about 20 minutes or so, flipping half way. Sometimes I add onions or bacon to these as well.
Corn on the cob. Everyone knows how to make this. I use local fresh corn.
Cornbread, now this is something you can never forget. I love cornbread but have never made it before. I found a recipe on pinterest. It turned out awesome even all three kids LOVED it. I will make this again. cornbread recipe
Last but not least the peach pie made with fresh local peaches. I cut stars into the crust to make it more southern like. Peach Pie recipe.
Trip with the Kids: Niagara Safari
I am not sure where to start with this one. I am beyond unhappy with the way the Niagara Safari is set up for their animals.
I will start at the beginning. A friend of mine posted a link on Facebook that offered a great deal on tickets to a place called Niagara Safari, which I had never heard of it before, but from the looks of their website it would be a great place to take the kids and you can't argue with $13.00 per ticket regular $20.00.
I bought and printed tickets for Keira, James, Sascha and myself (Sawyer got in free because she is 3 years old). We decided that we would go on a Sunday as it's a 2.5 hour drive at least.
The trip there was awesome. We left at 6am, all three kids were asleep by 7am. They slept until we were almost there. Once we were there, the staff were awesome, and to our delight they offered wagon rentals. The place was pretty much empty when we first got there. We arrived when they were just opening, in hindsight I wish we hadn't gotten there that early.
As we took the tram through the park to stop 7, I saw things I wish I hadn't, such as the wolves pacing inside an extremely small enclosure, and the bears were doing the same thing. At stop 7 Sascha took the kids on the paddle boats (which is included in the ticket price), everyone used the washroom facilities and had snacks. We started through the "Safari". We saw many different kinds of animals. The children were so excited to see them all. By the time we got to the Kangaroos I had already made my mind up about the "Safari" and we would never bring the children there again. The Kangaroos (which I think were one of the few animals that actually looked happy), were hopping around, socializing and playing with each other. The kids decided they were going to hop like the Kangaroos, and it was neat to watch the Kangaroos become very interested in the kids once they started to hop all around.
The budgies exhibit was one of the only animal areas I enjoyed. You buy a seed stick (it is a Popsicle sick dipped in sap and covered in seeds), enter the area and the birds come up and eat off the stick. It was quite a neat experience. While we were getting ready to leave the budgie enclosure the young man running it said we could not leave because when the last family was leaving a bird had gotten out. The poor young man couldn't catch it so of course I jump in, Sascha and I help catch it and put it back in the enclosure. With about 30 other visitors watching, I gained the title the bird whisper. It was kind of an ironic title as I am not much of a fan of birds, yes they are pretty to look at but, I would rather not be pooped on or attacked by a flock.
We came to the Adventure Zone. This was a rope maze that was extremely high. They had a little one for the little guys. Sawyer and I stuck to the little one, Sascha, James and Keira decided to give the big one a try. You are harnessed off, it was kind of neat and all the kids enjoyed it for the most part. This was included with your ticket price.
At this point we have been walking and doing things for 5 hours, kids are getting cranky and I am as well. We decide its a great time for lunch. We packed a cooler the night before so we wouldn't have to pay for food within the park. We took the wagon out to the car grabbed our cooler and sat in the grass under some trees for a much needed break and lunch. Once lunch was finished we didn't have too much of the park left to do.
The bears was one of our next stops, the black bears were bored and pacing along the fence. The brown bears were playing and interacting with each other. It was neat to watch how they played together and got along. Their space was far too small for what they needed.
Oh the monkeys, how I love monkeys and watching play and interact it amazing to watch, these ones were bored and wanted attention. The babies played a little bit, but mostly they were reaching out to you.
The big cat section was a big let down, they didn't have even close to enough space for them. Many had their backs and heads turned out of fear or just wanting to be left alone.
We didn't end up doing the splash pad because it was cooling down, the kids were tired and so were we.
There was lots to see and do at Niagara Safari, but the way they keep their animals, the way the animals behaved, the longing looks in their eyes made saying we will never go back and I will never recommend it an easy call to make.
The Niagara Safari should be called a zoo, not a safari because that is just what it is. I give it more credit then the road sides zoos but not by much.
http://www.safariniagara.com/
http://www.groupon.ca/
I will start at the beginning. A friend of mine posted a link on Facebook that offered a great deal on tickets to a place called Niagara Safari, which I had never heard of it before, but from the looks of their website it would be a great place to take the kids and you can't argue with $13.00 per ticket regular $20.00.
I bought and printed tickets for Keira, James, Sascha and myself (Sawyer got in free because she is 3 years old). We decided that we would go on a Sunday as it's a 2.5 hour drive at least.
The trip there was awesome. We left at 6am, all three kids were asleep by 7am. They slept until we were almost there. Once we were there, the staff were awesome, and to our delight they offered wagon rentals. The place was pretty much empty when we first got there. We arrived when they were just opening, in hindsight I wish we hadn't gotten there that early.
As we took the tram through the park to stop 7, I saw things I wish I hadn't, such as the wolves pacing inside an extremely small enclosure, and the bears were doing the same thing. At stop 7 Sascha took the kids on the paddle boats (which is included in the ticket price), everyone used the washroom facilities and had snacks. We started through the "Safari". We saw many different kinds of animals. The children were so excited to see them all. By the time we got to the Kangaroos I had already made my mind up about the "Safari" and we would never bring the children there again. The Kangaroos (which I think were one of the few animals that actually looked happy), were hopping around, socializing and playing with each other. The kids decided they were going to hop like the Kangaroos, and it was neat to watch the Kangaroos become very interested in the kids once they started to hop all around.
The budgies exhibit was one of the only animal areas I enjoyed. You buy a seed stick (it is a Popsicle sick dipped in sap and covered in seeds), enter the area and the birds come up and eat off the stick. It was quite a neat experience. While we were getting ready to leave the budgie enclosure the young man running it said we could not leave because when the last family was leaving a bird had gotten out. The poor young man couldn't catch it so of course I jump in, Sascha and I help catch it and put it back in the enclosure. With about 30 other visitors watching, I gained the title the bird whisper. It was kind of an ironic title as I am not much of a fan of birds, yes they are pretty to look at but, I would rather not be pooped on or attacked by a flock.
We came to the Adventure Zone. This was a rope maze that was extremely high. They had a little one for the little guys. Sawyer and I stuck to the little one, Sascha, James and Keira decided to give the big one a try. You are harnessed off, it was kind of neat and all the kids enjoyed it for the most part. This was included with your ticket price.
At this point we have been walking and doing things for 5 hours, kids are getting cranky and I am as well. We decide its a great time for lunch. We packed a cooler the night before so we wouldn't have to pay for food within the park. We took the wagon out to the car grabbed our cooler and sat in the grass under some trees for a much needed break and lunch. Once lunch was finished we didn't have too much of the park left to do.
The bears was one of our next stops, the black bears were bored and pacing along the fence. The brown bears were playing and interacting with each other. It was neat to watch how they played together and got along. Their space was far too small for what they needed.
Oh the monkeys, how I love monkeys and watching play and interact it amazing to watch, these ones were bored and wanted attention. The babies played a little bit, but mostly they were reaching out to you.
The big cat section was a big let down, they didn't have even close to enough space for them. Many had their backs and heads turned out of fear or just wanting to be left alone.
We didn't end up doing the splash pad because it was cooling down, the kids were tired and so were we.
There was lots to see and do at Niagara Safari, but the way they keep their animals, the way the animals behaved, the longing looks in their eyes made saying we will never go back and I will never recommend it an easy call to make.
The Niagara Safari should be called a zoo, not a safari because that is just what it is. I give it more credit then the road sides zoos but not by much.
http://www.safariniagara.com/
http://www.groupon.ca/
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