The Little Cottage

Popcorn Balls

2009-10-31T13:24:00.003-04:00

Treats for the kids!

Daisy

I miss blogging, quilting and crocheting and even baking!

2009-10-28T08:12:00.006-04:00

I am having crochet, sewing, baking and blog withdrawals. Oh yes I am. Unfortunately the leaves need raking, the fence needs staining, the patio furniture needs to be put away/covered up, the children are sick (H1N1,I think) and school work needs to be done, along with the housework and laundry. Did I mention that I feel exhausted lately? My hands long to pick up a hook and finish my afghan, oh the luxury of crocheting ... I have hearts to finish sewing for Christmas and Oh the baking I want to do!
Although I did bake some wholesome Cheesy Vegetable Muffins last night. I altered the recipe by using whole wheat flour instead of the white. I suspect that the baking time is wrong, I think the recipe is suppose to say to bake at 280 degrees instead of 180 degrees. Anyway I really liked them, next time I think that I'm going to add some onions or perhaps red peppers to them as they are plain. Mind you, I used potato and carrots to make them. Perhaps a different combination of veggies would add more flavor as well. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't mind the plain-ness of them at all, they were moist and reminded me of a roll ... but the Handsome Man did mind. I will enjoy them for lunch today. You can bet that I will be making them again.

Now I think the dryer went off and it's time to run downstairs and fold those clothes before they get wrinkly! I do not like wrinkly clothes, as that means I have to iron. ;)

Daisy

Chocolate "Frosty"

2009-10-08T08:51:00.007-04:00

I found this particular recipe on this site here

It was pretty good! It was banana-y and you could taste the cocoa, however for my preference I added about 1/2 tsp. of stevia extract to mine and mmmm, it turned out to be a quick and satisfying delight. I'll have to make some for Dolly and Crick soon as they were at school when I made it. I hope they like it!

Here is the recipe:

1 frozen banana
1/2 cup natural plain yogurt ( with active bacterial cultures)
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. powdered stevia extract ( the "now" brand)

Blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Red, Blonde, or Brunette?

2009-10-07T09:05:00.014-04:00

Here is a light brown color.

Here is a what is considered a dark, golden, blonde.

Here is a golden blonde picture.

Here is a picture of a dark strawberry blonde color. Isn't it pretty?

I however am not sure what color to say my hair is! I get various responses all the time. My hair had a lot more red in it when I was younger, but then it turned a light brown color at around age 11. I remember praying that God would make my hair brown, I so didn't want to be a red head! Now, as I age, I want to be one ...lol! So anyways I always assumed it was light brown. BUT, some people say I'm a dark blonde, some say golden blonde, some say light brown and just yesterday at the grocery store an older gentleman commented on my "red" hair. I'm not sure what it is, I guess it doesn't really matter, it's just one of those unsettling things of not knowing what catagory I fit in ...hehe!

I've been using a diffuser on low setting in the mornings. It seems to be making my hair a little more wavy and more uniform.

I am now trying a new product by Marc Anthony and I'm loving it ... so far!

Daisy

Some More ...

2009-10-06T18:42:00.002-04:00

Hearts! :) I had to change the button as I didn't have enough! So I found some black buttons and a little brassy spray paint and voila! Six more to go!

Little Pink Hearts

2009-09-30T09:39:00.006-04:00

I put everything aside for a bit yesterday and made myself a little pink heart. It's not a perfect heart, but I like it. It's like therapy for me. When things get too hectic, it's time to pull out the crochet or do a little sewing to forget everything and relax and concentrate on the good things in life. I plan on making many more, as I've been wanting some pink ornaments for the past few years and regret that I don't have any, I can't wait to be hanging them on my Christmas tree this year!

In a few weeks it will be the Canadian Thanksgiving. I sure do have many things to be extremely grateful for!

Daisy

Treasures

2009-09-24T11:53:00.007-04:00

I snuck out to go thrifting the other day. Here's what I bought!

Two pretty rose plates

A candy dish.

A little teeny tiny fancy shamancy box for Dolly. She likes things like this. So do I!

It's got a little mirror inside.

And two picture frames.

Boy that's addicting! Maybe next week I can sneak out again!

Spending My Days

2009-09-22T07:08:00.002-04:00

Studying!

Homemade Sugar Free Ketchup

2009-09-09T11:28:00.008-04:00

Oh boy, since starting this sugar free diet, I think that I missed my ketchup the most. Try having a burger sans le ketchup! I've tried sugar free dill salad dressing on my burgers, sugar free salsa ... nothing is the same as ketchup!

In the picture you see ground plum tomatoes with allspice, cinnamon, dry mustard, stevia powder, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. After I gave it a stir I added some cider vinegar and cooked it.

I got this recipe from one of my books called "Stevia Sweet Recipes". Now I don't like all the recipes in this book, but there are a few that are a hit. This ketchup one is going to be a hit I think. I stuck my finger into the sauce to taste, and it was good! My dh tasted too and was pleasantly surprised.

It lasts two weeks in the fridge or it can be frozen even!

Daisy ~ I can't wait until I start my courses. I'm getting antsy! Would Friday hurry up and get here already!! I bet in a few months, I won't be as excited ..hehe!

More Crocheting Going On

2009-09-04T20:19:00.005-04:00

This afghan will be made with 100% cotton! I hope it turns out nice!

Daisy

p.s. I'm going back to school! Yay! I'm SO excited. I'm taking on-line courses for 2 years through our local college. Can you guess for what? Please pray I'll be smart enough. It's been a long time!

Zucchini Lasagna

2009-09-03T10:56:00.017-04:00

A friend of mine gave me another huge zucchini last week from her garden. This means another zucchini lasagna is in order. She gave me another zucchini a few weeks back and told me how to make this dish. I was skeptical at first, but then she gave me some of hers to try and it was delicious! So .. this is the second time I've made it in the matter of 3 weeks time. The handsome man and I love it. Unfortunately the left over lasagna that I made last night and the baking dish were dropped by Dolly this morning as she went rummaging through the fridge for some milk. Both the baking dish and the lasagna are gone. :( Goodbye lasagna! I was so looking forward to another evening with you!
This is a little time consuming, yet very easy. It's well worth the effort.

Brown 1lb of ground beef with some onions and peppers.

While that is browning, you'll want to slice your zucchini ( since my zucchini was so big I sliced it in circles ... for smaller zucchini you may want to slice it length ways and depending on the size you may need 2-3 zucchini's if they are small). Beat by hand 2-3 eggs on a dish and onto another dish scoup out some flour. I used whole wheat flour, so that's why it's not pure white in the picture.

Dip your zucchini slices into the egg and then into the flour and brown in a frying pan with a little oil. Salt and pepper them. This is the time consuming part. You'll have to do this many times. The zucchini will only take a few minutes to brown. You want to do this, to seal in the zucchini juices and to make it a bit crispy.

While the ground beef and the zucchini are browning, beat 2 eggs by hand and mix with a 600g container of cottage cheese. Here I am ready to stir this up.

Shred up some mozzerella cheese.

When everything is finished browning ...it's time to put everything together in layers. As for the red tomato sauce, you can make your own or you can go to the grocery store and buy your own. If you were Italian, you would make your own beautiful tomato sauce. Since I am only half Italian, I went to the grocery store and bought some Classico 4 cheese sauce. I rejoice at the convience. Thank you Classico!

You can layer this any way that you prefer. I first put a layer of zucchini on the bottom of my baking dish.

Next I spooned the cottage cheese mixture over top of it along with some mozzerella cheese.

A little sauce on top of that and then another layer of zucchini.

I put the ground beef on top of the zucchini and more sauce. You can add another layer of zucchini on top of the ground beef, some more sauce and lots of mozzerella.

Put it in the over at 325- 350 degrees for a few hours. Then enjoy! :)

Tofu Mayonnise

2009-09-02T12:41:00.009-04:00

I'm really not a mayonnaise person. I actually do not like mayo at all. However I do like Miracle Whip! BUT, Miracle Whip has sugar in it. So does ketchup and I so do miss my ketchup. I found this mayonnaise recipe as I was searching the web. It had 11 reviews that were all positive. So I decided to give this a try replacing the TBSP of sugar with 1/2 TBSP Spoonable Stevia.

There are times when you need mayo (Miracle Whip).

If you click the title of my post it will bring you to the site where I got the recipe. I am rather pleased with it. If you don't like Miracle Whip but you do like Mayo, you could probably leave the sweetener out of it.

Now I can make myself a Tuna Salad Sandwich ... on rye. Mmm!

Why don't you come over for lunch and I'll make you one too? ;) Don't let the tofu scare you. It really DOES taste good!

Daisy

Cloth Napkins

2009-08-31T13:25:00.005-04:00

Economical

Environmentally Friendly

Elegant

Just busy sewing away! Hope you all are having a great Monday! :)
Daisy

Banana - Peach

2009-08-28T13:13:00.007-04:00

Shake. I used a banana, a peach, some rice milk, some silken tofu, wheat germ and a bit of stevia! Mmmm ... good and nice and filling. What a treat! Dolly and Crickie liked it too! Who would have known? Tomorrow, I'll try raspberries instead of peaches!

I'm pondering giving up dairy. I get an awful lot of phelgm and wonder if dairy contributes to that? Except for maybe all natural plain yogurt with those active bacterial cultures :) I'll still eat that. Could I go without cheese is the question. I just made broccoli cheese soup ..heehee! There's both milk and cheese in there. Milk I can go without because I can just substitute with rice milk instead ... but cheese?? I'm not sure I can go without cheese. I need to ponder that some more.

Daisy ~ endeavoring to loose the last 10 pounds and eat realistically and healthy while I attempt this feat.

p.s. I bought a new scale today. The old one was giving me mixed readings. Now I know EXACTLY what I weight. I'm not going to tell you though! :P

Crocheted Lion Afghan

2009-08-27T20:36:00.008-04:00

It's finished! I sewed on a backing too!

It'll be going in my Etsy store tomorrow! Wish me luck! :)

Now on to my next one ... ;)
Daisy

Pants To Skirt

2009-08-25T20:30:00.005-04:00

Yes, I am standing on my tub! ;)

Ever wonder how to make a pair of pants into a skirt?

Here's a tutorial I made. You can find it by clicking here

Just a little something to kick around the house in.
Have Fun Sewing! :)

p.s. It's really easy and you can sew one up easy in a few hours.
Daisy

Fun In The Sun

2009-08-24T11:19:00.014-04:00

I have been a baaad blogger I know. But it's the summer time, my favorite season. It doesn't last long here, and I want to enjoy it to the fullest, and that means much less computer time.

So what have I been up to?

1. Lots of baking

Ricotta Cheese Pie ( made with stevia, no sugar)

Mmmm! I added lemon rind to it and it was delicious!

Zucchini Carrot Bread ( again sugarless and delish, even the handsome man liked it!)

Mmmm! It's filled with walnuts and raisins ... who wouldn't want to take a bite?

Cherry Cheese Danish for a bake sale at church.

Today I hope to make a zucchini lasagna and a stevia sweetended peach pie.

2. Picnics, Birthday Parties, Visiting Old Friends, Swimming Lessons and Just Plain Swimming In the Pool

A pinata at Dolly and Crick's Birthday Party. I got to see my Sis and her beautiful family. They came for the party, and blessed our day with their presence.

A cute little puppy at a church picnic. I was trying to show the size of the puppy. So ignore the hands ..hehee! Isn't he adorable???

Birthday Cakes For Dolly and Crickie ( their birthdays are 2 days apart)

Oh there's never been a day where I haven't been busy doing something. I know it will all slow down when the children are in school in a few weeks. I do regret not canning, I really wanted to can this year, but money has been kind of tight. Maybe I'll be able to do some peaches in a few weeks if it's not too late. I have really enjoyed this summer, with good friends and sweet fellowship. I don't think life gets any better then this. We all go through the good and the bad times, Oh the bad times can get so rough, but even then we have a God who strengthens us and brings us through. So I say enjoy life to the fullest, appreciate every single blessing that comes your way, take none for granted and thank God for the people that are in your life. Sometimes my cup overflows and runs over. Thank You Lord, I know it's all because of You.

Up North Fun

2009-07-27T20:01:00.011-04:00

I thought I would share a few pictures of last week up north we spent with friends. We had wonderful weather it did rain the last few days we were there but the rest of the week it was sunny and warm! Here was our view from the cottage.

The fire pit where marshmellows were roasted.

The cottage we rented.

The fishing was okay. There were lots of young small mouth bass. We caught a few good size ones too.

Dolly and Crickie spent their days in the water.

We had a really nice time.

Daisy

p.s. Dolly received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at church camp while she was worshipping the Lord at the altar. We'll never forget the date as it was my handsome man and my 15th anniversary the very same day.

Getting Rid of Cellulite

2009-07-10T07:47:00.005-04:00

Okay, besides loosing a little weight ( I still need to loose more in my thighs and hips) I wanted to tell you guys that being on my sugarless diet has erased the majority of cellulite I had on my thighs. I just had to humble myself and tell you that ... there is a cure for cellulite and that's eliminating ALL sugar (check your products carefully) and white flour products completely out of your diet. Now mind you the only "sweetener" I am using is stevia and I can't believe the results. Of course I get natural sugar in fruits as well. I thought I was stuck with cellulite for life and was so dismayed! So that's the answer that I found is definately working for me. I just had to get this out there.

Now having said that I'll probably wonder off my diet some what in a few weeks. I'm going to be working at our childrens church camp for the first week and the next week we are leaving for up north with good friends. I'll try hard to stay on it the best that I can.I am cringing at how hard it will be to get back on my sugar free diet. Sugar addiction is very real. Please if it comes to mind say a prayer for our travels ... the first week I will have children in my van, and going on that crazy highway, I could use some prayers.

Daisy

It's Hard To Say GoodBye

2009-07-07T14:03:00.004-04:00

To a faithful friend. We had to put Ernie down today. He had a big tumor and there were others that were starting. We are extremely sad. It's amazing how an animal becomes a big part of your lives.

Goodbye Ernie! It won't be the same around here without you!

Sewing

2009-07-06T11:25:00.006-04:00

I sewed up two skirts! I only got a picture of one though! I'll take a picture of the other one soon!

Daisy
p.s. This skirt was made from thrifted material for around $4.00
p.s.s Does any one else get over joyed when their dentist appointment is OVER?

Summer Days

2009-07-03T14:19:00.013-04:00

Here are my Sweebs impatiently circling the driveway on their bikes waiting for their Mom to put down the camera and get ready to go biking already! We are on our way on just one of many, maaaany bike rides this summer.

We rode the long way to the park. I must admit to enjoying our bike riding. Here is Crickie running around the park track ... just for the plain fun of it!

"Wait for meeee!" says Dolly.

Oh to have that kind of energy! As for me? I think I'll sit at a picnic table and crochet.

Where are you now Crick?

Oh your going up the hill! I raced him when he came back. There was nobody else at the park at the time. It was overcast in the mid 60's and ready to rain. A school mate saw us out there and ended up joining us later.
They love that hill in the winter that's one of the hills they go tobogganing on and in the summer they love shouting "Geronimo" and riding their bikes down it at full speed.

I'm going to leave you with an AWESOME banana bread recipe! Mmmm! Mmmm! It's so addicting and very hard to stop eating it.

I found it here. Banana Bread

Banana Bread

2 eggs
2 banana's, over ripe ( I used 3)
1/3 cup skim milk ( can use brown rice milk)
2/3 cups unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups whold wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon stevia powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Walnuts - optional( I use about 1/2 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9x5 loaf pan.

2. Beat eggs by hand. Then add in the applesauce, vanilla, milk and bananas.

3. In a seperate bowl combine dry ingredients- flour, stevia, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

4. Add scoops of the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, mixing after each scoop until all combined.

5. Pour into loaf pan. Bake 45 minutes to an hour

To my American friends ... have a nice 4th of July!
Until next time...

Daisy

Come With Me!

2009-06-24T09:49:00.016-04:00

Let me take you around my yard. Just so you know, some of these pictures are cropped, I'm not keeping it real! Cropping is an amazing tool! You can crop out things you don't want to be seen.

Let's go outside onto the porch! As you can see the Canadian flag is proudly flying and it just so happens to match my red chair ..hehe!

If you look past the flag you will be able to see my window boxes with my purple ( they were suppose to be red!!) cosmos! They aren't doing so well, and it's not a very good shot is it!

Downstairs and to the right is my huge blooming spirea. The blooms are much brighter then what the picture shows. I wish that it bloomed all summer, but it will only bloom a few weeks.

My front yard trees. Yes it is garbage day. And yes, we recycle here in Canada. Today it is "blue box" day. That means we put our blue boxes full of empty cans out to be collected. The green bins are food scraps and/or yard wastes, which we keep seperate from our regular garbage. Next Wednesday will be "grey box" day, which means we can put our grey boxes out full of paper/ plastic products.

A close up of the hosta! I wish you could see how huge it is!

Do you remember my Mother's Day fushia that was on top of my fridge? Here it is blooming very nicely!

Come around with me to the back yard. To the left you'll see my favorite flower bed.

And to the right you'll see my not so favorite flower bed. The Chinese lanterns have taken over everything! They are great for filling in empty areas, but awful if you have other plants in the same flower bed! It was a huge mistake planting them here.

The English Ivy growing on the corner of the house.

And the cosmos around the pool deck. We have not opened our pool yet, due to the fact that the fence blew down in the winter time, and by law we need to put the fence back up or put rails around our pools for safety. Seeing we have big expenses after MANY break downs last week and since we already planned many months ago to go up north in July, we may not open it until August ... if at all.

I hope you enjoyed your tour! I must say that I made every one of those flower beds all by myself. I dug out the grass, put in extra soil, and planted everything. My dh helped a tiny bit but I did most of it! It was a lot of hard work. But hard work almost always pays off.

Daisy

When It Rains, It Pours!

2009-06-19T08:08:00.024-04:00

Well there has been a lot of excitement around here lately. Let's just say we have had LOTS of break downs! But with the break downs, it makes me count my blessings too! After having to visit the laundromat this week, I'm soooo grateful to be able to have a brand new washer to wash our clothes with! Thank You Lord!
Let me take you down to my basement and show you my new machine! Okay close your eyes, don't peek at the basement surroundings ... now open your eyes!(p.s. in my post below I was complaining about doing my laundry! I need to keep quiet and be grateful I can!) Here it is! It's red and shiny! :) And yes, I have started my laundry! It's sooo quiet!

I've also been working on another afghan. Let me give you a sneak peek at the hexagons! It doesn't look like much right now, and the colors may shock you, but you're in for a surprise! :) I can't wait to show you all when it's finished!

And some stevia desserts! This is a pumpkin custard. Once again there are eggs in this recipe ... yikes! ... why do recipes with eggs always taste so good? I'm having fun trying out these new recipes! And there is NO sugar at all in these recipes! Not even in the whipped cream! Mmm!Mmmm! Mangia! Mangia! ( I'm half Italiano!)

And here is a homemade blueberry yogurt popsicle. Oh this is delicious ... again .. no sugar! Make with plain organic yogurt, filled with active cultures and now my Crickie loves these and even choses them over store bought frozen yogurt! I'm grateful that I have found a few things that taste good with stevia. I've tried lots of recipes and so far these are my favorites. I find with stevia, you have to have a fruit (eg. raisins, pumpkin, berries) in the ingredients to help with the flavor.

By the way my scale says I gained 5lbs! Huh? Why I aughta heave ho that thing right out the window! Why does it do that to me? One week it says I've lost 10 lbs and the next week it says I've only lost 5. I NEED a new scale. This old thing has got to go!:)

Also if anyone is interested I made a tutorial on how to make "Yo yo's!" Just click on the title of this post and it should take you there!

Until next week ...
Daisy

Yo yo's and polka dots

2009-06-11T10:04:00.007-04:00

I had just a bit of left over polka dotted material so I made my Dolly a pillow. I wanted to see if I could make some yo yo's too, so I made a few and decided to put them on the pillow too. They are VERY easy to make. Maybe some day I will make a yo yo quilt. Maybe.

Also this is the very first time I made a dessert with stevia that I thought was totally delicious! I made a brown rice pudding custard and even though it may look gross in the picture it tasted yummy! Now it does have eggs in it, so it's not something I can make all the time, as I think eggs trigger eczema. Anyway I'm anxious to try more recipes out of my new cook book.

I received my stevia naturally flavored orange drops that I mentioned in an earlier post. I didn't really like it mixed with water, but I really enjoyed it mixed with vanilla rice milk. Mmmm! I could drink that any time!

As for today, I already ran my errands, so it's off to do the laundry and clean the bathroom. Two of my very most favorite chores ....NOT! The grass needs cutting but it looks overcast today, that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Bye for now!

Daisy