Spring into Summer

How about a little update on what's been going on around here?

1. Mom & I went to the big city Farmer's Market twice this month. Oh how I love the thrill of the hunt of every Farmer's Market I attend!
2. 

 We camped & boated & hung out on the beach for Memorial Day Weekend. I read this book, its good!

3.  I love having the fan in the window. this is not the ideal size for this window but it worked for us & it make a pretty cool phone pic I think.

 4. Our 'reading program' this summer.  Now that all of my childcare bigs have their own electronics of varying sorts, they want to bring them for quiet time. I have no problem with that & even welcome them for both of our sanities. I shook things up a bit this year & they have to earn their time on them. One minute of electronic for each 2 minutes they read from a real, live, paper book.  they took off running with it!! Its not perfect or even a spreadsheet but this is how we keep track, every single, day. LOVE.

 5. from a winter the didn't want to end to a stormy spring that has brought us a LOT of great cloud formations.

 6. the 17 year cicada is this year around here. we collected about 30 of them yesterday & had them 'have a party' on the roof of one of our playhouses, then the boys were walking around 'wearing them' as they clung to their shirts, I believe they even went so far as to name a few..

 7. New sand in the sandboxes. hip hip hooray! Happy faces all around.

So, what's going on in your world lately? 

another one

yet another busy weekend for the books!!

Friday night was the normal groceries & bumming around.

Saturday I met my coffee girl friends at the Des Moines Downtown Farmer's Market YAY! we also met another friend w/her fiance while shopping so it was a major catch up session all the way around! so fun!!  I did some of my normal shopping (lettuce mix, radishes, chevre, & garden plants) in addition to our coffee stop @ Java Joe's as well as making more contacts for the rehearsal dinner I am helping to host in June.  (I am doing the food & keeping it as close to local as possible, Mom is doing the photo display & I am going to ask Grandma if she would do fresh flower arrangements for the tables from her garden) Then I took a nap in prep for the itty bitty visitor we were expecting overnight.  My brother & his fiance were both in a wedding that evening & their day sitter couldn't watch him past 9 so we met her & got the lil man for the evening.  So easy going & fun for 4 months old! We took him with us to some friends' house where we sat on the deck chatting until late into the night (where he slept most of the time) so then when we got home, he was awake & hungry.  after a couple of trial runs in the play pen, he & I decided to snuggle on the couch to catch some zzzz's for the both of us.  3.5 hours was welcome!

After returning him to his parents on Sunday& loading the pickup box 1/2 full of campfire wood, I needed a nap! Then I planted the 4 plants I bought at the farmer's market, sorted thru the camping kitchen tote, unloaded the weight room (where we store everything) & by the time I was done, it appeared that the camping department store had thrown up in the house! a cooler was moved to the deck to air out, the picnic baskets to the dining room to start packing, the kitchen tote & boat bag to the living room where there was more room to check its inventory, the bedding in the hallway, our bags in the bedroom floor & the tent & tarp in the doorway of the weight room. *whew* I very quickly did some serious organizational damage to the house. but every situation gets worse before it gets better, right? After wreaking havoc on the house, I decided I needed a break so I plopped on the couch & started reading the 5 Love Languages & am hooked! He had me nodding along at just the preface! I think this will help any relationship. Later in the evening while I watched Jesse Stone I packed my bag of clothes for the camping weekend & sorted thru the boat bag to be sure it was fully equipped with the towels, sunscreen & water socks we would need on the boat.  I was definitely ready for bed when it rolled around!

What a great weekend! pretty well balanced with naps & activities.  Really looking forward to our long weekend at the lake!

weekend recap:

Friday night was boring - groceries. 

Saturday was the opening day for the closest big farmer's market & I was in HEAVEN!!! I love the little stands w/different goodies, so much to do, see, smell & buy. *sigh*    I ablsolutely live for farmer's markets in the summer time!  Saturday I bought asparagus, sweet onions, spring garlic, radishes, spinach salad mix & a rawhide bone for Sam.  I did buy & choke down an aweful coffee (its the 2nd stand & 2nd bad one I've had so I think I learned my lesson!)  & spent just over $20! I'd say that's really good for all those fresh goodies!!



 While in the 'city' we did some shopping... new shirt for each of us for photos this coming weekend, lunch out at Red Robin w/free drinks *score*, Scheels, Boat shop & Hobby Lobby then HOME. exhausted!   Here is a pic of my free drink, Speckled Lemonade.. YUMMMMMY!!




Sunday we were woken up even earlier than last Sunday but a different neighbor mowing but once I got up & stepped out I could understand why, these storm clouds were rolling in & their ours too yard needed cut before it hit.  Tim did get our front yard done in time but the back is still in sad shape.  You know its a bit tall when Sammy loses a tennis ball in it ;) 

So the rest of the day was housework, DVR clearing, & scrapping! We've gotten a nice routine down that I make a dip or 2 & we snack the day while he smokes a meat on the grill & I make the side.  it always makes leftovers that I turn into something else for Monday night's supper.

Do you have weekend routines?

the weekend & a recipe

minus photos as I have no camera battery right now :(  super sad!!

Saturday: Sammy had a checkup @ the vet, then I picked up 30+# of tomatoes @ the local farmer's market, then we spent the day @ the Iowa State Fair!! I love the state fair.  The people watching, the food, the exhibits, the food, the people watching, the exhibits. We even ended up spending much of the night there too, totally unplanned LOL those darn co-workers of Tim's that keep a cup in his hand ;)

Sunday: Tim slept in... hmmmm wonder why ;) but I was up & running ready to do those tomatoes!  I remembered (all too well) the misery I was in after spending 4 hours on my feet cleaning tomatoes last year so I set myself up on the living room floor w/a bowl of scalded+iced tomatoes, a bowl w/a sack in it for the compost & an empty one for the clean pieces, a towel & washcloth.  I watched Knight & Day on blu-ray then Mister Eleven on Netflix stream while I cleaned my tomatoes.  Then they simmered all afternoon w/veggies & seasonings to make seasoned sauce YUMMMM 3 quarts & 2 pints later, TADA! I was even pretty good @ keeping up w/my mess this time  ;)  planning another round each of the next 2 Sundays.

here is the recipe I use:

Seasoned Tomato Sauce
(from the ball blue book of canning)
yield: about 14 pints or 7 quarts

45 # tomatoes
6 cups chopped onions
12 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 TBS oregano
6 bay leaves
1 TBS black pepper
1 1/2 TBS sugar
1/4 c salt (optional)
2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)
bottled lemon juice

Wash tomatoes, drain, remove core, & blossom ends. Cut into quarters; set aside. Saute onions & garlic in olive oil in a large saucepot. Add tomatoes, oregano, bay leaves, black pepper & sugar. Stir in salt and crushed red pepper, if desired. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves. Puree tomatoes using a food processor or food mill. Strain puree to remove peels & seeds. Cook pulp in a large, uncovered sauce pot over medium-high heat until sauce thickes, stirring to prevent sticking. Reduce volume by one-half. Add 1TBS lemon juice to each hot pint jar, 2TBS to each quart jar. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 35 minutes, quarts 40 in boiling-water canner.

linking up with the girls over at:

more food.

I absolutely love eating fresh summer veggies!!  This is the easiest time of year to eat healthy! The fruits are cheaper in the grocery store & the veggies are plentiful at the farmer's market!

this was my lunch on Sunday. From the farmer's market: 2 kinds of tomatoes, onions & cucumbers, topped w/some Babybel Gouda Cheese, sea salt & pepper. The first bowl was so good, I had to have a second! :)

Wow, sorry for all of the food posts this week.. guess its what's on my mind right now.

5 on Friday

the end of July?! what?! already?! I can't believe it!!  Summer is almost over :(( I am not ready for it to go yet! I have so much left to do! *Sigh*

Five Summer Favorites:

1. 4th of July- this is my all-time favorite holiday! parade, sunshine, food & family! think we'll add water games for the 'kids' next year.

 2. camping/boating- we've done much better this year than the past 2 in keeping a schedule @ the lake, we've even been able to take a Sunday & go on an off weekend.

3. Friday Fun Days(Thanks Stacey)- getting the childcare kids out & about, learning, exploring & experiencing our small town.
4. Gardening-experimenting, learning & loving the experience.

5. Farmer's Market- whether its the big city one, our local one or a random one I happen upon, I am in love of them! Just can't get enough. the people, the vendors, the produce, the whole experience!

These are all things I have blogged extensively about but still needed te gtt them all together in one list. Next friday, I will shoot for a list of things I haven't blogged about so much!  What are your 5 favorites of Summer??

shopping high

its a healthy one, I promise ;)

I finally remembered to photograph my goods from the past 2 Saturday's shopping trips.

the first is from the 16th & I only spent $10.25!  Cukes, carrots, potatoes, jalapenos, green beans & onions.  Where else can you get so much for so little??



this is my summer shopping high.  I absolutely love our little local farmer's market.  I love going from table to table, vendor to vendor getting to know them & their practices while I purchase their wares. 

This photo is from the 23rd. I spent (and got) more.  I spent $21 & got 2 kinds of bread, 4 cukes, 4 onions, 4 garlic, 2# (?) potatoes, 2#(?) green beans, broccoli, 1 zucchini, & 3 gree bell peppers.

Then, Tim bought some peaches & cream corn on the cob from a roadsite stand and then later, over the weekend, we received a bag of carrots & one of cucumbers delivered! THANK YOU!!! fresh is best :)

Menu Plan Monday (on Sunday)

a couple of notes about my menu:
*B, L &Snack are childcare meals that I usually eat too. *the photo @right is of this Saturday's Farmer's Market goods (detailed blog later). *fried green beans= a bit of bacon grease in cast iron skillet, green beans & granulated garlic fried together until tenderness of choice

Monday:
B:granola+milk + choice of blueberries, bananas, strawberries
L: browned ground beef, fresh peaches, fried fresh green beans, pasta
Snack:homemade cheese its (also use oven heat to bake more granola) + 100% juice popsicles
S: leftover smoked pork loin, fried fresh green beans, corn on the cob, farmer's market dill bread

Tuesday:
B: homemade pancakes+homemade mulberry syrup, applesauce
L: homemade corndog muffins, farmer's market veggie tray (cucumbers+carrots+green peppers), homemade ranch dip, strawberries (also use oven heat to bake bread)
Snack: build your own parfaits: yogurt+granola+choice of fruit
S:leftover smoked tbones, farmer's market dill bread,  farmer's market veggie tray

Wednesday:
B: cheesey quesadillas, fried farmer's market potatoes
L:homemade chicken nuggets, homemade mac n cheese (from freezer stash), corn on the cob, fried farmer's market zucchini
Snack: leftover corndog muffins, 100% juice popsicles
S: leftover biscuits & gravy

Thursday:
B: french toast+homemade mulberry syrup, bananas
L: leftover ground beef+pasta+mozerella cheeze bake, farmer's market veggie tray, fried farmer's market potatoes (use oven heat to bake bread)
Snack: build your own fruit burrito (blueberries, strawberries, peaches, bananas + yogurt + tortilla)
S: taco salad

Friday:
B: build your own breakfast burrito (tortilla+eggs+salsa/ketchup/ranch+bacon+shredded cheese+fried farmer's market potatoes)
L: bean/beef/cheese quesadillas, farmer's market veggie tray, homemade ranch dip, any fruit left
Snack: either ice cream cones or 100% juice popsicles & homemade bread w/homemade mulberry syrup

WOW! Feels good to have it down! what's on your menu for the week??

Food.

What does the word "food" mean to you?
Does it mean simply what you eat?
Or does it mean what you fuel your body with?

 

Food is an important subject to me. I love to eat. I love to eat good food. I love to eat good food that is both good tasting and good for me.  I also strive to feed this doubly good food to my childcare children. With some encouragement I have spent most of 2010 thinking a lot about the food we eat around here. 

 

In the past few years, I have chosen to avoid aspertame, high fructose corn syrup, most soy & bpa from an abundance of canned products for my childcare children.  This has been an educational experience for all of us. Here is what I do & why I think its 'so great' :) wow was that hard to type w/a straight face LOL 
I:

1.  Shop local when at all possible. Even if it *is* a bit pricier initially.  Why? Because its local, it was picked when it was meant to be picked not 2 weeks ahead to ripen on the way to the store, I know who grew it & they will honestly tell me what they used on the dirt & plant to get it to grow, they grew it for me with love & concern with their own two hands, not just because they were paid to plant, transplant, pick, & load it, never caring where it ended up or what condition it was in when purchased. Fresh has such a better flavor! I get to help support a local producer.
1. Shop the farmer's markets. What a fun experience! To get to talk to the 'farmers' & ask questions.  They are all more than willing to tell you how to clean, prep & cook their produce. They are often times, untapped resources. I shop the local Clarke County Farmer's Market June-October, Saturday mornings & Tuesday afternoons, I also visit the Downtown Farmer's Market a couple of Saturday mornings thru the summer months & finally, I have gotten to visit the Winter Market both November & December weekends it was open.  This year I hope to get to explore nearby markets too. 
2. In peak season, get bulk purchases of tomatoes that I used for canning sauces last year (a first for me). I also bought a bulk amount of peaches & habaneros that combined, make a yummy jam/meat topping.
3. After the squash & pumpkins have out-lived their season of decoration on the front step, they came in one by one to be split & baked for pureeing & freezing in portions for baking with in the winter.
1. Join the Iowa Food Coop.  This is new for me and I am loving it! Shortly after the first of the month the online cart opens as the producers have entered what they will have available for the pick up day on the third Thursday. Everything is labeled on the site; free range, grass fed, corn fed, hormone-free, Iowa grown, etc. Very straight forward. Some even have links to their websites with easy access to email the producer directly with any questions or concerns.
1. Today for example, our lunch was: scrambled eggs w/bits of chicken, fried potatoes, apple wedges, homemade onion bread topped w/pumpkin butter & milk.  Eggs, potatoes & pumpkin butter-Coop, chicken - private purchase from a free range farmer, apple wedges & milk were the only store bought items. :)
2. 2 mornings this week we have had oatmeal (steel cut from an Iowa farm) & the other 2 mornings we had homemade wheat pancakes. I feel great knowing I am serving them a grain item that will stick with them & isn't loaded with junk.
2. I order my grains (breakfast granola, steel cut oatmeal, wheat & white flour & assorted beans) from an Iowa organic farm.  It is like Christmas morning for me when it arrives although I do pity my mail carrier that day.
2. I make all the bread I serve in my childcare from scratch.  I might cheat a little by using the bread machine to mix it but then I raise it on & bake it in the oven but its still from scratch. I purposefully put each ingredient into that mixing pan. I plan to add tortillas, bagels & english muffins to my baking list this year.
3. Barter. I have found a couple of people willing to make noodles in exchange for a loaf or 2 of homemade pumpkin bread. (remember that pumpkin I talked about above-24cups of it in the freezer) Great trade to me!  I have also bartered childcare services for beef products we didn't have in the freezer as well as jam for jam. Everybody wins.
4. Grow our own.  We have a very small organic garden producing green beans, cucumbers, lettuce, green onions, assorted peppers & tomatoes.  We hope to use the 3 sisters method in our new area this year as we are moving into the play yard & will be a little tight on space until we figure it all out.
5. Know our farmer.  We get a full beef(460ish pounds) from my grandpa every fall. We are comforted in knowing where it's coming from, what it has eaten, how it was treated & THAT it is coming.
6. Be alert.  I found a raspberry vine on our old property last summer that I never knew was there.  I spent a couple of hours on a couple of evenings picking but then chickened out & let them dry up in the fridge instead of using them. I will change that this year.
7. Keep my ears open, chat it up & don't be afraid to ask.  This past summer we were able to collect apples & pears from a couple's tree for free. I am ashamed to admit I didn't do anything with the pears but the apples, I cooked down, made into applesauce & froze for the childcare this winter. Later in the year, I found some mulberry trees to pick in the spring/summer for free and am hoping to find some wild plum to make jams.

 Not to say I don't shop at the grocery store because I do. I do a lot. I just very much prefer to shop small, local and fresh.

Wow....November....

Already???/ Really??? sheesh! where has Twenty-Ten gone? 

I am feeling the need to make a list (big surprise I am sure ;)) of my accomplishments for the year:

• I started running
• I completed 2 races, a fun run & have a 3rd race on the calendar for this Sunday
• I lost 15# (then gained 3 back)
• I inspired a neighbor & another friend to try the c25k program
• I got back into reading
• I participated in 2 girls nights outs
• I quit coffee in the spring, then started again when the weather cooled
• I put up alot of fruits & veggies from the garden & farmer's market for winter
• I have continued to get more positive outlook on everything, being more & more of a duck 'letting it all roll off my back' -even being dubbed (& accepting it) 'Miss Silverlining' :)
• I successfully decorated (& Un-decorated in a timely manner) for each holiday
• I organized & held weekly field trips for the local childcare providers this summer-we hope to expand it w/the Clarke county mom's group in Twenty-Eleven
• I bought myfirst stainless water bottle-a Sigg- & proceeded to beat the tar out of it LOL
• I found & stuck w/a chiro that listens, as well as believes the same things I do
• I learned to sew, can & make freezer jams
• I used facebook for constructive communication rather than whining, complaining & rumor spreading
• I organized & pulled off 2 successful crops
• I am still addicted to list making ;)
• I am boycotting alot of store bought items, mixes, canned goods, high fructose corn syrup, soy, & toxic people/relationships

ok.. done ;)  What does your list for twenty-ten look like?

pumpkin baking

remember these?& I said there were more added after the photo? welllll yesterday being a blustery day I decided it was a good time to bake pumpkin.  So I grabbed a medium one from the step, cut it in half,

scrapped the seeds & almost all of the strings out,

put it in a 11x15 glass baking dish w/an inch of water & popped it in the oven @350 for an hour or so until the skin was pierce-able (is that a word?) -see the fork holes?    I let them cool & depending on the kind of pumpkin, some will just peel like an orange, others (like this one) need scraped, I used the same ice cream scoop I used to take the seeds & strings out.

From there, I put it in the chopper (& I have a whole other post about that lil machine) & what seemed like another hour later,(from the chopper NOT the scraping), it was beautiful pumpkin puree.. 3.5 cups worth from one medium pumpkin! yahooooooo!! money well spent!! Farmer's Market bay-bee!! 5 more to go :)

I put 3 cups in the freezer & used the other half cup to make pumkin cake yuuuummmmmy!

I also cooked a turk's turbin squash but have no pics of it :(  Luckily, I have 3 more out there to do yet but its the sammmmmmme process only w/alot more product in the end!  they are the big ugly things in the back of

 my pile o produce.  Speaking of this pile.. its going to continue to shrink this week as I keep cooking up the goods. that lil orange pumpkin & the rest of the squash, all that will be left will be a small basket of gords.

the tour

here is our home as decorated for halloween. I will swap out some of the halloween decorations for more fall decor the first week of November.

I have since added several (5) more pumpkins to the step.. some for carving, some for eating...

I have a collection of plastic canvas magnets they love to play w/.

this arrangement is in the old tin waterer that sits in the childcare

this is my paycheck basket that hangs on the rail of the 'down' steps & the leaf garland that is wrapped around the rail

heading up from the front door, is the banister (at least that's what I call it) that holds lots of goodies.

 

 

a wider shot of the 'skull shelf' @ the top of the stairs (you've seen this over & over this month-sorry)

one of Tim's scarey 'toys' that stands in the front window & 'greets' everyone in the driveway.more of Tim's scaries.

 

 ah... the bountiful front step! I love this arrangement!

on the floor of the entry way.

one of my many scarecrows.. I kind of collect them. I guess.

one of the 5 spiders we made for childcare.

the lovely swag I was able to save from last year's farmer's market! love love!

its not much of an organized tour but ... there you go..my decorations for October. Now that I've shown you mine, time to show me yours :)