The Black IPA...hoppy, roasty and BLACK. Another success..a la
Northern Brewer.

This ones from a few weeks back now. O and Grandpa sliding. Pretty proud and amazed by O's (2 1/2 years old) agility and coordination on two planks.


The 35th Sleeping Giant Loppet was a blast as usual. Though colder and blusteryer (i don't think that's word) than normal. Lots of smiling faces and determination. Snapped this one just before the start of the 50km race. Didn't really mean to get this dude front and center...but he's got a great getup on and is clearly excited to go ski for 3+ hours.

Snagged this one from a link on the Loppet website. Taken by Jon Nelson somewhere along the first couple of kilometers of the course.



peace all

photo's by eric berglund
Except the last one, as previously mentioned.

Had fun yankin lake whitefish with dad on sunday...what a great day. unreal weather and enough fish to keep the smoker blazin, plus several meals of baked whitefish.

Tools


been keying in on skiing, being healthy and all the other good things life provides, which unfortunately has put the sitting at the computer in the evenings lower down on the list of priorities. so be it. keep getting out there and pushin it folks.

peace
e


photo's by e.

e's kanelbullar magic.


Unbelievable morning light while out in the woods saturday...and the camera...sitting by the door. Some moments are not meant to be stolen i guess.

peace
e


phot's by eric berglund

All in a days work. Nothing like turnin out a bunch of loaves on a Sunday.

A little rip through the neighborhood.

Evening light



keep well

peace
e


photo's by eric berglund

We've been going a little nuts the last two weeks, harvesting some bounty and cashing in on some good deals on cases of fruit and then canning the living daylights out of it. It's a bit of work, but knowing the cellar will be good and full come the winter and that we won't have to buy tomatoes from say, Mexico is a small price to pay.

Some garden treats.

These were some of the best peaches i have ever had in my life. I shit you not.



So far this week:
- 1.75 bushel's of local apples to apple sauce
- 70 peaches into cans and a about 30 eaten fresh
- 1 bushel of Norfolk Ontario Roma Tomatoes slow roasted in the oven and frozen. These were topped with fresh basil and local garlic.
- 8 liters of Andrews awesome dill pickle recipe (passed down through generations) (cukes from sleepy g farm).
- 1 bushel of the same tomatoes and a pile of peppers into tomato sauce.

photo's by
eric

peace
e

Flash back to March, when everything was still cold and covered in ice around here. A buddy and i finally order up a couple kits from Northern Brewer. This would be my first 'serious' attempt at making beer. I say serious, because many years ago some friends and i tried to make a batch of beer and it came out gawdawful, mostly cause it was a crappy kit and b/c we had no idea what we were doing.
Anyways, this one was perfection.

The hoppy goodness, formerly known as 'Three Hearted Ale', now called 'Dead Ringer IPA'.



It's a rainy day today and to go along with smoking whitefish and baking bread, i'll brew up a strong but pale Trappist-style ale, lighter in color than a Dubbel but with a higher gravity and alcohol content...also from the good folks at Northern Brewer. Should be fun.

peace
e

photo by eric berglund

On Smoking. Smoking fish that is.






Until now, i've never really tried my hand at smoking meats. Jerky in the oven, yes. Charcoal BBQ...always. But no smoking of fish. So when a friend offered up a day before christmas to help me smoke 36 cisco (lake herring) that i had in the freezer i took him up on it. eric v's secret family brine recipe and attention to detail combined with a well stoked fire of birch logs for 8 hours produced some outstanding results. These smoked delicacies were enjoyed by many over the holidays. Many thanks to 'other eric' for his insight into this world of smoking. i'm hooked.

peace
e

photo's by: eric v-wal

Boreal Birch Syrup

Check this fun vid from Boreal Birch Syrup of Thunder Bay, owned and operated by Dave Challen and Beth Kuiper. They make some mean syrup.