SHIFTING ROOTS

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White Chocolate Dipped Snowflake Shortbread

December 2, 2020

Christmas is almost here!  If you’re searching for a last-minute cookie recipe, you’ve come to the right place.  Classic melt in your mouth shortbread comes together quickly and is guaranteed to be a hit with Santa (or on the family baking tray).  A quick dip in white chocolate and a special sprinkle mix take them to the next level.

Your Christmas cookie exchange isn't complete without these easy, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies dipped in white chocolate and snowflake sprinkles. Make a double batch, because the soft and buttery taste will have everybody coming back for more! #shortbread #cookies #Christmas #baking
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Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

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Filed Under: Baking, Christmas Tagged: Christmas, Christmas baking, Holiday, shortbread, shortbread cookies

Easy to Make Rustic Minimal DIY Christmas Wreath

November 25, 2020

Every year I want to make a Christmas wreath–think modern, rustic, and full of natural greens.  I love looking at all the options in the stores, but the prices make me pause.  So I set out to make my own.

This version is super easy to make and the supplies are minimal and cheap. Even if you suck at crafts, you can make this wreath. Better yet, You can make it for under $10.  I’ll show you how.

Want money saving Christmas decorations at dollar store prices? This DIY Christmas wreath is sure to suit your wallet and your home decor. You'll love the rustic and minimal style. #christmasdecor #christmaswreath #holiday #rusticchristmas #rustic #minimalism #minimalchristmas #ppholiday
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Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

26 Comments
Filed Under: Christmas, DIY, Simple & Easy Tagged: Christmas, DIY, easy, floral hoop wreath, Holiday, minimal, minimalist, rustic, simple, wreath

Oven Dried Oranges & Grapefruit

November 22, 2020

This year I’m really into natural, rustic Christmas decor–think lots of boughs of evergreen and cedar, pinecones, berries, and dried oranges and grapefruit. The other elements are easy, but drying oranges in the oven takes a bit of finesse.

Sure, it might seem simple, but when you dry orange slices without a dehydrator, you have to get the timing just so, otherwise they burn.

For those of you who like your content in video form, here’s a short video so you can watch the process. If you prefer to read, read on!

1. Pick Tired Looking Oranges

The whole process is actually a lot easier if you use older oranges and grapefruit to begin with. The fruit is drier inside, which makes the time in the oven faster. The outside skin is firmer, which makes it easier to cut. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with drying fresh oranges. The time in the oven will be longer.

2. Slice the Oranges as Thinly as Possible

Slice your oranges or grapefruit as thinly as your knife skills allow–around 1/4 inch or 5 millimetres. Keep them as even as possible. Use a mandolin if you own one for a much easier time slicing and less waste.

3. Arrange the Oranges on a Silicone Sheet or Parchment Paper

Arrange the oranges as tightly as possible on a silicone mat (set on a baking sheet, of course). Don’t worry if one or two oranges has to overlap ever so slightly to make everything fit, as the oranges with shrink with dehydrating in the oven.

4. Put in the Oven to Dehydrate

Here’s where things get dicey and the Internet has many opinions. I put my oranges in the oven at 225 Fahrenheit for a total of 2-3 hours. Wow Kristen, that’s a ridiculous range of time and not very helpful. I hear you.

The thicker and larger the slices, the longer the oven time. So for grapefruits and larger varieties of oranges, it will be 2 hours and 45 minutes to 3 hours. For smaller mandarin oranges, it will be more like 1 hours and 45 minutes to 2 hours.

The process also goes slower if you try to do two batches on the 3rd and 4th racks. This might not be the case if you have a convection oven, but I have the cheapest and most basic oven you can buy, so I don’t know.

Finally, some ovens tend to run hot and others run cool, so you’ll have to adjust your expectations based on how your oven tends to bake. If your oven tends to finish baking something in the least amount of time suggested on a recipe, you’ll want to check your oranges & grapefruits earlier.

Using dried oranges and grapefruits to create a wreath with natural greens.

5. Flip the Oranges around an Hour in

Easy enough.

6. Check the Oranges for Browning

The line between an underdone dried orange, a perfectly done dried orange, and a burnt crisp is surprisingly fine. I found that in my oven, in order to get a full tray of perfectly dried oranges that were crisp with no remaining juicy/leathery bits, I had to sacrifice at least 4 to getting too burnt.

Since I need to take pictures for this blog and burnt oranges are not appealing, I tended to take a tray out even if not every single orange was crisp. More on this later in the post.

After making a couple of batches, I learned the sweet spot was to watch for when the oranges started to get a very slight brown on them. At that point, most of them will be hard enough and completely dry, and you won’t lose any to burning. Even if some oranges are still tacky in spots–TAKE THEM OUT! Or watch them like a hawk. If you insist on keeping them in the oven, commit to checking on them every 10 minutes or risk having a lot of them burn.

Can I Use Dried Oranges that Aren’t Perfectly Dried?

I live in a pretty dry climate, so I’m willing to take the risk of not having perfectly done oranges, and am hoping that the tacky bits will air dry. However, if you live in a more humid climate, you might end up with mouldy oranges.

Don’t store any oranges that aren’t completely dry for next year. They will mould and should go into the compost instead. Any oranges that are completely dry should last for years.

What Do you Use Dried Oranges For?

I use dried oranges for Christmas ornaments, in garlands, and wreathes. They add a beautiful hit of colour to Christmas decor and look really striking paired with blue spruce.

If you’re looking for how to make all these decorations at a fraction of the cost of purchasing them at a boutique store, get your name on the list for the Natural Christmas Decor Masterclass. You can make simple and beautiful decor with foraged & natural items, that makes your friends drool with envy.

Sign up here and be the first to know when it drops!

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

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Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged: Christmas, Preserving

Beef Birds

October 9, 2020

One of my family’s favourite foods to make for special occasions like Christmas or Thanksgiving are these beef birds, or rouladen, filled with stuffing and baked in tomato sauce. Think of it as an all meat version of a cabbage roll.

As with any of these family recipes that I post, like Hutzelbrot or Beet Leaf Rolls, once I research the roots of them I usually discover that our version is a bit farther removed from the original than I thought. You can go down the rabbit hole yourself, but I’ll give you the shortened version.

There are two main versions: The German and Swiss. Since our family is more German/Hungarian/Luxembourgish I assumed our version would be closer to the German one. No.

German versions tend to have bacon and dill pickles in them, whereas the Swiss version has more of a vegetable stuffing like ours does. Neither of them have the tomato sauce. However, that really doesn’t matter, because once you start researching the terms beef birds, steak birds, veal birds, or rouladen, you realize that there are probably at least 50 different versions on the Internet, and you’re just going to have to pick the one that sounds the best (and maybe easiest!!) to you.

I hope it will be mine and that you’ll love them just as much as our family does.

Beef Birds in Tomato Sauce (Rouladen)

Beef Birds in Tomato Sauce (Rouladen)

These rouladen take a little extra effort, but are so worth it to celebrate a special occasion. My family usually makes them for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3-4 lbs beef roast
  • 2 packages Stovetop stuffing
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • oil for frying
  • 2 cans tomato soup
  • 3/4 can of hot water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp dried onion flakes
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Instructions

  1. Cut beef in 1/3 inch to 1/2 inch slices.
  2. Tenderize each slice.
  3. Wrap a small amount of stuffing in each beef slice and secure with a tooth pick. Approximately a tbsp worth, but it will depend on the size of your slice of beef.
  4. Fry rolls until browned.
  5. Place the rolls in a 9 x 13 sized casserole dish.
  6. In another bowl, mix together soup, water, and spices. Pour over the rolls.
  7. Cook at 350 degrees Farenheit for 90 minutes.
  8. Serve over rice or pasta, and enjoy!
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

1 Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged: beef recipes, Christmas, Thanksgiving

20+ Gift Ideas for the Gardener in Your Life this Christmas

November 2, 2019

What do you get the gardener who has everything?  Sure, tools or gardening gloves are the obvious choice, but they will probably only be appreciated by the most serious of gardeners. I’ve come up with a list of pretty and practical Christmas gifts for beginners and advanced gardeners alike, as well as a few options for kids who love tagging along in the garden.

Bonus—Most of these gifts are $30 or less!!

A selection of the best gardening gifts for the gardener in your life this Christmas.

So start making your 2019 Christmas gift list and checking it twice with these finds for the plant lover in your life. I’ve linked to Amazon for all of these gifts, but I’m sure you can also find some beautiful local options as well.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you purchase something.  You can learn more about it in my Privacy Policy.  Thanks for supporting Shifting Roots!

[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

2 Comments
Filed Under: Gardening, Uncategorised Tagged: Christmas, Garden, garden tools, Gardening, gift ideas, Herbs, Mother's Day, seeding square, succulents

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

Recent Posts

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Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Are you gardening in containers this year? When y Are you gardening in containers this year?  When you're shopping for vegetable seeds, look for varieties that have names with words like patio, tiny, small, etc.  While lots of vegetable varieties will do fine in a container, you'll have an easier time with ones that are specifically bred for that situation.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I'm living the pepper dream in this photo. While I'm living the pepper dream in this photo.  While these ones are a bit on the small side, who doesn't want ripe peppers in July in zone 3?!?! ⁠
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Over the years I've gotten better at growing peppers, and I promise I'll spill my secrets in February when it's actually time to start them.  Until then, get yourself all or one of my four favourite varieties: ⁠
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🌶️Carmen⁠
🌶️Escamillo⁠
🌶️Candy Stripe⁠
🌶️Hungarian Hot Wax⁠
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Do you have a favourite pepper variety?⁠
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Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately? It Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately?  It's so easy to get completely overwhelmed, especially if you're new to gardening.  Why are there so many varieties of everything and which ones do I choose?⁠
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Here's how I try to narrow it down.⁠
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🌤️ Short growing season like me?  Try and prioritize varieties that have short dates to maturity.⁠
🥗 What do you or your family actually eat?  While I think you should always try a couple of new things, there's no sense in planting a giant garden filled with vegetables that you're not going to cook with. ⁠
🥒 Do you care whether your vegetables are heirlooms or hybrids?  Heirlooms are the kind that have been around for 50+ years and you can save seeds from.  Believe it or not, this year we're prioritizing hybrids for some of our garden.  The Hermit @mgsraney is obsessed with production this year, so anything that's going in "his" greenhouse better be able to produce a lot.  I'm using more heirlooms in my "glamour garden" as we call it, because I want things that are pretty and I can save seeds from.⁠
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What do you prioritize when you're picking out seeds?⁠
Last week we started thinking about our plans for Last week we started thinking about our plans for cut flower gardening, now this week we start thinking about plans for our vegetable gardens.  Unlike cut flowers, there's not as many vegetables that need to be started ridiculously early.  However, it's still fun to plan and dream and get your thoughts sorted.⁠
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I'm curious--what size of garden do you have to work with?  Are you on an acreage or farm, city backyard, or do you have a couple of pots on an apartment patio?⁠
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As for me, I have quite a mix.  I have my container garden on my backyard deck, the small cut flower garden in my yard, then vegetables in raised beds.  We also garden at my Mother-in-law's acreage, so there's a giant garden over there where we're figuring out how to grow food on a larger scale.  Then finally, sometimes my Mom grows things for me in her garden if I'm nervous that I'll ruin them in my own garden--call it a backup garden if you will.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I hope you've enjoyed this week of chatting about I hope you've enjoyed this week of chatting about the best flowers to plant in a cut flower garden.  There's so many options, these 5 that I talked about all week don't even come close.  If you need more help creating a small cut flower garden, I created this plan intended for a raised bed (but you can plant it in-ground too.⁠
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Head over to my insta links page on my profile, and you'll see the button to click on that will take you directly to it.⁠
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#cutflowergarden #cutflowers #raisedbedgarden #raisedbedgardening  #growyourown #greenthumb #raisedbeds #urbangarden #urbanfarm #squarefootgardening #slowflowers
Hey friends! There's a lot of new faces in this l Hey friends!  There's a lot of new faces in this little corner of IG, so I wanted to introduce myself.  My name is Kristen and I'm the gardener & content creator behind Shifting Roots.  I'm wife to @mgsraney and mom to 3 kids, ages 8, 23 months and 7 months.  Needless to say, our house is BUSY.  I garden in zone 3 in Saskatoon, SK, so if I can grow it in my short growing season and cold temperatures, you probably can too.⁠
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Here's a few fun facts, can you relate to any of these?⁠
🍅I don't like raw tomatoes, but I grow a ton of them because I like tomato sauce.⁠
💐I probably sound like every flower is my favourite flower, but my two favourites are peonies and zinnias.⁠
🌈I can't pick a favourite colour--I love so many of them in different circumstances.  If you force me to choose, I think I've got it narrowed down to coral and turquoise, but even then I still want to throw in yellow, emerald green, fuchsia. . . ⁠
🖤Even though I love colour to the moon and back, you'll often find me wearing black and white in real life, because it's just easier and I don't have to think about it going together.
When you think of rudbeckia, do you think of those When you think of rudbeckia, do you think of those maybe-slightly-boring flowers with yellow petals and a brown centre? (Please don't come at me with your pitchforks if that's your favourite flower!!)⁠
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Rudbeckias, like these orange and burgundy ones, can be so much more!  Pair them with sunflowers & amaranth for an especially striking late summer bouquet.⁠
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🤞I'll have amaranth and sunflowers this year to play around with.⁠
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Need help planning the cut flower garden of your dreams?  It doesn't have to be complicated.  Grab your copy of Cut Flowers Made Simple and have pails of flowers like this one at your fingertips.⁠
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See my link in bio and click on the ebooks button.
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