Month: December 2018

2018’s Top Ten

/ Re-Farmer / 4 Comments

The old year is slipping by quickly! A time to look back and plan forward.

This blog is not much past a year old, which means I can actually do this: make up a list of the top 10 most popular posts!

The Re-Farmer Top 10 posts of 2018

Let’s start with number 10.

Of the top 10 posts, 7 of them are recipes or food related.

I think our readers are hungry. 😀

Thank you all for visiting our site and sharing this past year with us. I hope you enjoyed your stay.

Happy New Year ClipArt Free For 2015

We wish you all a Happy New Year, and may 2019 be a year of blessings, good health and prosperity.

The Re-Farmer

Had a snow-down – and I won!

/ Re-Farmer / 5 Comments

Happy 6th day of Christmas!

Things have not gone as planned, thanks to some rather unfortunate weather. We were supposed to go into the city for a family gathering yesterday. We drove maybe 5 minutes on the highway, before turning around and coming home. Blowing snow, icy roads, poor visibility… and knowing it would be worse when we were driving home in the dark. Too risky. Maybe if we had a 4 wheel drive and winter tires, but not with our van.

We didn’t have a lot of snow, but it did get to the point that we needed to clear the driveway. Which meant time to break out the snow blower for the first time! 😀

Except, of course, it wouldn’t start…

Continue reading →

Critter of the Day: Queen of the Trees!

/ Re-Farmer / 1 Comment

Got two for you, today!

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We saw a whole bunch of movement out the window, and discovered it was Butterscotch, chasing Beep Beep.

Beep Beep is a much better climber than Butterscotch, who never got more than a few feet off the ground.  Beep Beep, on the other hand, is about 20-25 feet up, in this pictures.

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Beep Beep, the mighty huntress – queen of all she surveys!

Cracker Toffee with Bacon Salt

/ Re-Farmer / 3 Comments

A super easy and quick recipe to share with you today. Warning: these are amazingly addictive! 😀

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This recipe takes something I don’t normally like – chewy toffee – and turns it into a delectable treat (that doesn’t stick to my teeth!). Using semi-sweet dark chocolate chips and unsalted crackers helps keep the sweet and salty flavours from becoming overwhelming.

Cracker Toffee with Bacon Salt

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • unsalted saltine crackers (about 35-40)
  • 2 cups semi-sweet dark chocolate chips
  • Bacon Salt for topping
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil. Spread a layer of crackers on the tray. Lift the edges of the aluminum foil around the crackers to keep them snug and in place. Set aside.
  3. In a small pot, melt the butter and sugar together. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. After 5 minutes, pour the toffee over the crackers and spread evenly, making sure all the crackers are completely covered.
  4. Bake for 5 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven, then spread the chocolate chips evenly over the crackers and toffee. Let sit for a few minutes to melt the chocolate (if necessary, place the tray back into the still-warm oven to soften the chocolate), then spread the chocolate to cover the entire surface.
  6. Sprinkle a small amount (a little goes a long way!!) of bacon salt over the top, ensuring that each cracker gets a bit. (Note: you can substitute coarse Himalayan Sea Salt, or any other sea salt, in place of the bacon salt.)
  7. Let cool completely. Can be refrigerated to harden faster.
  8. Once completely cold, peel away the foil, then cut or break apart into pieces.
  9. Can be stored in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Not that they will last that long. 😉 Can also be frozen.
  10. Enjoy!! 🙂
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A thought occurred to me as I was resizing the above photo, noting my very grungy looking baking pan. A 9×13 jelly roll pan, I’ve had this for many years. In fact, when I moved off the farm at age 18, it was among the items I took with me, along with cutlery I still use today, and a few other necessities. I have had this pan for 32 years and 18 moves. My mother had this pan for longer than I can remember.

It’s entirely possible that this pan is older than I am!