The Rural Voice, 1980-09, Page 38add 1 scant cup salt and again cover
with boiling water. Let stand overnight.
Repeat this procedure for six days
altogether. On the seventh day, drain
onions and wash well in fresh water.
Return onions to crock and add the
alum. Cover with boiling water. When
water has cooled, drain onions well and
pack in hot sterilized jars. Make a
syrup of the sugar, vinegar and spices.
Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve sugar.
Tie spices in bag. While boiling hot,
pour over onions in the jar. Seal tightly.
Mrs. Art Henderson
Seaforth Women's Institute
GREEN TOMATO CHUTNEY
Makes 6-7 pints
10 pounds green tomatoes, washed,
stemmed, and coarsely chopped
3 tart apples, peeled, cored, and minced
1 pint cider vinegar
3 cups sugar
2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
11/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon powdered mustard
'/z teaspoon cayenne pepper
'/z teaspoon turmeric
'/z teaspoon ginger
'/: pound sultana raisins
Wash and sterilize 7 (1 -pint) preserv-
ing jars and closures. Mix all ingred-
ients in a very large enamel or stainless-
steel kettle, cover and bring slowly to a
boil. Uncover and simmer, stirring
occasionally, 11/:-2 hours until thick.
Ladle into jars, filling to within 1/8" of
tops. Wipe rims and seal. When cool,
check seal and label. Store in a cool,
dark, dry place. Let stand at least 2
weeks before serving. About 25 calories
per tablespoon.
PICKLED WHITE BEANS
Cut in 1'% -inch pieces, cook 10 minutes:
3 lbs. white sugar
1/: cup flour
'cup mustard
1 tbsp. celery seed
3 pts. vinegar
salt
Cook till thick. Pour over beans and
pack in sterilized jars.
Mrs. Alex Pepper
Seaforth Women's Institute
PICKLED BABY CORN
6 qt. husked small corn on the cob
Corn must be picked just as the tassels
are starting to form and the small cobs
are no more than 2 long. Field corn is
usually used. Husk and remove the
small silks from cob. Boil cobs 7
minutes in salted water.
SYRUP
5 c. vinegar
4 c. white sugar
2 tbsp. pickling spice (tied in a cloth
bag)
1 tbsp. tumeric
Boil syrup for 5 minutes, then remove
spice bag. Pack hot corn cobs in sterile
jars. Cover with boiling syrup and seal
immediately.
Vera Nicholson
Bluevale Women's Institute
Millers Barn —
Packed full of handmade treasures
BY DONNA THIEL
Do you like hand made articles to
give as gifts? You'll find them at a place
packed full of hand made treasures,
Millers Barn. Tom and Carol Miller,
owners of the Barn, have kept the
quality high in their shops.
• Millers Barn is at RR1, Mitchell, just
1 mile west of Russeldale on Highway
83.
Millers Barn consists of four shops -
The Craft Shop, The Calico Shop, The
Antique Loft and the Country Kitchen.
In the Craft Shop, hand made sewing
is prominent. Patchwork pillows and log
cabin place mats are only a sample.
Hand made dolls and stuffed animals
are available and for children knitted
sweaters, hats and mitts are available in
many sizes and colours. Quilts are here
as well. The sizes and colours are as
varied as the quilt patterns represent-
ed. Wooden toys and wall plaques with
decorative painting also add to the Craft
Shop. Unique apple dolls are also on
display.
Miller's Barn is not a quiet place.
"The average busy day has 200
customers come and browse. On a slow
day perhaps 50 customers come," says
Carol Miller. "I enjoy talking to people
and listening to what they are interested
in."
Carol Miller felt there was a real
need for a fabric shop that catered to
quilters, in the area. There are several
fabric shops, but none has a big variety
of calico material. Thus the Calico Shop
was born. Named after the material it
carries, the shop carries every colour
imaginable in the calico line. Plain
materials are also available to mix and
match. There is also a local interest in
quilting, another reason for opening the
shop. Also in the future, if money
becomes scarce, sewing may well once
again become a necessity.
Another feature of the shop is the
homemade dresses, smocks and skirts
for which custom made orders are
taken.
Coinciding with the Calico Shop is
The Barn's quilting courses. If you have
an interest in quilting, then these
courses put you to work. The beginner's
class introduces the quilting world with
practical and useful projects. The
advanced course offers instruction in
making your own templates and
advanced patterns.
The courses begin the second week in
September with Tuesday morning class-
es beginning September 9. The evening
classes begin September 10 from 7 to 9
p.m.
The quilting courses are given by
Rosemary Schaefer. As well, Carol
Miller has taken a quilting workshop at
Fanshawe this past spring. Here she
learned to design and make her own
quilt patterns from paper templates.
REFINISHING TOO
Tom Miller works at keeping The
Barn's Antique Loft in operation. He
spends many hours refinishing furni-
ture that he buys at auction sales. He
will also do custom refinishing as well.
Tom Miller also enjoys working with
wood and is busy making toys, jewellery
chests and wall plaques.
ITS OWN RESTAURANT
Millers Barn's Country Kitchen is
an added attraction. The Kitchen has
catered to several large groups and can
serve 30 people at once.
The menu features quiches, green
salads, scotch eggs and delicious fresh
rolls and butter.
In the summer, Carol Miller has four
part -full time waitresses on staff. One
girl works all day and the preparation of
the day's menu keeps the girls busy
during the morning.
Tom Miller played professional hock-
ey for several years, before he was hurt.
It was at this point that the Millers
realized that hockey was not a life -time
career. Tom Miller tried to find work
that would use his engineering degree.
But there was no work available.
The farm which now houses Millers
Barn was bought in 1971, while Tom
was still playing hockey. The barn and
house were in need of repair. The
carpentry work started and the Miller
family moved in in 1975. The Millers
have two children, Brook, 9, and Amy,
6.
The idea of the shops came from
many shops the couple had visited in
the United States. But the Millers
wanted a shop that would specialize in
hand made quality items.
After months of hard work, the
Country Craftman was opened. The
name has since been changed to Millers,
Ram.
THE RURAL VOICE/SEPTEMBER 1980 PG. 37