Healthy Food Talk

I'm baking bread with regularity again.  I don't know why I stopped in the first place, but I did.  I just bought a copy of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day (from the same authors of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day) and it's pretty much rocking my world in a good way.  The photo shows my first batch of the master recipe dough.  It has a much higher wheat to white flour ratio than any of the recipes in the first book.  I haven't eaten it yet, but the oven is heating as I type.  I'll report back once I have sampled it.  My bet is that it is going to be good.  I also have some Avocado-Guacamole bread rising.  I'm pretty psyched to try that.

Speaking of healthy, I'm at a standstill for after-school snacks.  Specifically, after-school snacks that are portable and easily eaten in the car.  There are two days a week that I pick the girls up from school and we drive straight to an activity.  I admit that we do stop at the coffee shop frequently.  I want to change that for health and pocketbook reasons.  I can dream up all kinds of food combinations that I think are fantastic, but don't enthuse my kids.  If you care to share your ideas, I might just make up a master list for downloading.  Is that incentive enough?

Simplifying meal time

Over the past few months, I have been working hard to simplify my daily life.  One key has been that I cut my grocery shopping down to one big trip, normally on Monday, and a second, smaller shop later in the week.  Now, this may be the norm for most of you, but there was a time when I was a DAILY grocery shopper.  Seriously.  I'd figure out what we were having for dinner, go buy the ingredients and whatever staples we needed that day.  It's amazing how much time and running around this has saved me.

Another thing I am trying to do is make meals in advance.  This is a bit trickier for me.  We aren't big casserole eaters and I really like fresh produce.  So, this week I bought a family pack of chicken thighs and made a double recipe of chicken taco meat in the slow cooker.  We ate some of it last night and I used the leftover meat to make empanadas.  Rachel's empanada dough was super easy to make and it made 12 individual meat pies which will cover three meals for us.  Sweet.  I also made a double batch of marinade for tuscan lemon chicken.  I put the chicken in ziploc bags, poured the marinade over it and put it in the freezer.  That's two more meals done. (Both the chicken taco meat and tuscan lemon chicken recipes are in this post).

I'm also back on the bread baking train.  I pulled out Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and made a batch of dough.  We really enjoy the peasant loaf that has whole wheat and rye flour in it.  I cut off one hunk and baked it on Tuesday.  I'm pretty sure there will be another loaf in the oven tomorrow.  Nothing is more satisfying to me than freshly baked, homemade bread.  The house always smells good too - bonus.

Dinner is coming together faster on our busy days thanks to these little steps.  I'm always looking for more ideas so if you have something to share, please do.

Popcorn two ways

Looking for a quick, inexpensive, non-cookie food item for gift giving?  This year, I have been popping lots of corn.

First up is Molly's recipe for Caramel Popcorn with Salted Peanuts.  UNBELIEVABLE.  It is really, really good.  And quite easy to make.  Follow her suggestions, have everything at the ready and you will be in great shape.  A candy thermometer is a must here.  I didn't have one so I picked one up at the grocery store for about $12 last week.  I have used it about five times since I bought it and will probably use it again today.  Well worth the investment.

Maple Popcorn is the other variety I have been giving this season.  I found this recipe from Jennie.  I love this one because it is super simple and you can double or triple the recipe.  Maple syrup, popcorn, salt and oil are the only ingredients making this a vegan treat - super nice for your vegetarian friends or those with dairy allergies.  A candy thermometer comes in handy with this recipe, too.  I packed some of it up in jars I bought at Target last year (I think they still sell them, though) and tied some red and white string around the lids.  I made the label in photoshop using the Reprodepot Flora Pattern disc.  (I have the Folk Pattern disc, too.  I have used them both in various ways and really like them --- they probably deserve a post of their own).

Back tomorrow with the winner of Applique Your Way.

Ready for more randomness?

 

Monday morning I read Molly's post about getting kids outdoors.  Immediately I decided that we would do homework outside.  As luck would have it, the ice cream truck was practically at our driveway as we biked up the street after school.  That made homework extra sweet.

I received my October issue of Everyday Food yesterday.  I was super excited that I had everything on hand to make one of the chicken recipes.  I looked on the Martha Stewart website, but couldn't find a link.  If you have the magazine, go to pgs. 88 - 89.  You basically take a whole chicken cut into pieces (I had thighs and legs on hand), place them in a roasting pan with cut up new potatoes, the cloves from a head of garlic (unpeeled), some thyme, a quartered lemon and a red onion (cut into eighths).  Whisk together some olive oil  - the recipe calls for 1/4 cup, but I would reduce this to 3 tbsp. - and 2 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar.  Toss everything in your vinaigrette, season with salt and pepper and roast in your oven.  The recipe calls for 450 degrees for 50 minutes - I did 425 degrees on convection bake for 45 because that is how I normally roast chicken pieces.  I steamed some green beans, sliced some tomatoes and called it a meal.  It was a winner - everyone liked it.  It would have been extra good with some crusty bread to spread those roasted garlic cloves on.  Next time.

I found an acorn in the cuff of my pants this morning.  I am pretty sure I picked it up while biking the girls to school.  I never felt it fall in there so I was surprised when it rolled out.  Just another sign that Autumn is on its way.

Finally, if you want to hear me prattle on some more, Amy interviewed me as part of her Mama Views series on Progressive Pioneer.  I was flattered that she asked me to join her there.  I just re-read my answers and, again, am amazed that I didn't make a total fool out of myself.  Seriously.  Being the "A" of the Q&A takes some getting used to.  Thanks for the opportunity, Amy.

Chat with you all soon.

Rambling thoughts

I know fall is on it's way when Fatty decides it's time for a one-pot meal.  He cooked up a yummy Cuban black bean stew from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper.  Well, at least the two of us thought it was tasty.  One girl doesn't like black beans and the other doesn't like ham.  Meals that don't go over well with the kids are extremely frustrating for all of us.  At the same time, I refuse to give in to them.  How are they going to learn to like anything new if they aren't exposed to it?  There was rice and homemade bread.  No one went hungry.

I know I promised more about the skirt - it's coming.  I just need a few more photos.  And I wish I had something else to show and tell about, but both projects I worked on this weekend have to remain under wraps for awhile.  Frustrating, especially since I think they both are coming together really well.

I'm very excited about the new fabric line, Hope Valley,  by Denyse Schmidt.  And the Amy Butler one, too.  Both look so promising - colors that speak to me and patterns I like.  I had better start saving my pennies!

And did you see what Blair did for Value Village ?  Oh my word.  I don't even like Halloween a whole lot, but her projects have me plotting a few trips to the thrift store.  They are that good.

OK - this post is pretty random.  Thanks for listening to my ramblings.

Four

 

The girls and I baked cookies on Monday.  I love to bake, but don't do it often because I have a huge sweet tooth.  And when I bake, I sample.  A lot.

Yesterday I finished four quilt squares.  And four cookies.  I was hoping for a little more sewing and a little less chewing.  But, today promises to be a bit better.  There are only two cookies left in the jar and 27 quilt squares waiting to be sewn.

I think we all know which I will finish first.

This is what remains

A few days ago, I suspected that our tomatoes were suffering from late blight.  I did a little research, but wasn't convinced until I saw the first rotting fruits.  At that point, I knew for sure.  I got up this morning, had a cup of coffee and then went outside to pull my tomato plants.  It was sad - I may have actually cried a little bit.  I harvested all the green tomatoes uneffected by the disease.  The rotting fruits and every part of all seven plants were closed up in large, plastic garbage bags to contain the blight.

The green tomatoes fill two large pyrex bowls and the better part of a shopping bag.  It would be a terrible shame to waste all this food.  I am hoping that some of them will ripen on my windowsills.   We will certainly fry some of them and I hope to find some recipes for pickled green tomatoes (like tomolives) or maybe even a green tomato relish.  If you have any tried and true recipes, would you email me (hillroad at bellsouth dot net) or comment with a link?  I'd appreciate that.

Also, if you are growing tomatoes in your garden this year, take a minute to educate yourself about late blight.  There was a great op-ed piece in the New York Times a couple of weeks ago and this video will show and tell you more.  Many farms and gardens have been effected by late blight this summer  - even Martha Stewart's tomatoes got it.  Left untreated, late blight will spread to other gardens and farms as it is an airborne disease.  Taking care of the problem is being a good and conscientious neighbor.  As much as it hurt me to lose our tomatoes, I know that pulling them was the best thing to do.

We won't be able to plant tomatoes or potatoes (it affects them both) in the same soil for a number of years.  I'm still researching, but I think there is a good chance we can plant some fall crops there now and other vegetables in the spring.  That's the silver lining for me.   That and the fact that I really wanted a third raised bed for next year.  If Fatty wants tomatoes, it looks like I'll get it.

Deep dish peach pie

Care to join me for some breakfast?

 

Having leftover dessert for breakfast is one of my favorite things.  This pie was killer both last night and this morning.  In fact, Fatty said it was maybe my best pie ever.  Uh huh.  If you have peaches like me, I highly recommend you do this, too.

Make your favorite pie crust, or buy one - whichever you prefer.  Roll it out into a deep dish pie pan.  My pan is 9" wide and at least 2" deep.  Take sliced peaches (I used about 6 cups) and mix them with a 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, 3/4 cup sugar and 3 tbsp. flour.  Dump the peaches into the pie pan.  Now make the topping - 1 cup flour, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup cold butter mixed together until it's crumbly.  Sprinkle on top.  Cover the edges of your pie with a strip of aluminium foil (to prevent burning) and bake at 425 degrees for at least 45 minutes.  The time will vary depending on how deep your pie is and the diameter of your pan. My pie took over an hour, but I started checking at 40 minutes.  You are looking for a nicely browned top and bubbling juices.  Watch it towards the end to make sure the top isn't getting too brown.  If it is, cover it with foil.  Best served warm.  And then still good cold with a nice cup of coffee the next morning.

* * *

A big thank you to everyone for the anniversary wishes.  One part of me is amazed that it has been 13 years - it seems like we just met a few years ago!  Thank you, too, for the nice words on last Friday's post.  I was feeling pretty low and you guys really made me feel so much better.  So much better that I got motivated and managed to meet my deadline early - hooray!

Just a reminder that if you would like a chance to win Vintage Baby Knits, you need to comment on yesterday's post before 12 noon EST tomorrow.  You can also visit STC Craft for a chance to win one of three copies that they are giving away.

Back here soon.  Hopefully with something made out of fabric.

Kale chips

It's hard to admit, but I am never happy when I see kale in the CSA bag.  I have tried cooking it a few different ways, but no one around here really liked it.  My neighbor mentioned that she makes chips with kale that her kids love and then Jennifer gave me the link to this recipe so I gave it a go.

I mixed 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar and 2 tsp olive oil and tossed it with 1/2 bunch of kale, torn into pieces, on a parchment lined baking sheet.  I seasoned them with salt and put them in to bake.  I had the oven at 350 degrees and kept them in there for about 18 minutes.  Next time I would up the temperature and and decrease the time a bit to see if I could get them a bit crisper that way.

Fatty and I ate the whole batch Wednesday night before dinner.  They were delicious!  I saved half the kale so I can make them again for the girls.  My bet is that one will like them and the other won't.  We pick them up from camp later this afternoon and I am so excited to see them.  They have been sending letters which has been fantastic and funny.  I finished painting Jane's room and got the curtains made and hanging.  I didn't get to everything I had hoped to, but I think she will be surprised nonetheless.  I'll share some photos when we have it all put together.

Happy weekend to you.

Jam time

On Saturday morning, I was up unusually early.  I puttered around a bit, went for a run and then took the girls to the farmer's market.  I went to get strawberries, more specifically strawberries for jam.  I bought 6 quarts with the intention of making 5 batches of jam and having some left for nibbling.

I made freezer jam, just like I did last year.  In my mind, I look forward to this day and I dread it all at the same time.  I want to make the jam, but it is somewhat of a production.  There is the gathering and washing of the jars, the trip to buy pectin and sugar and more often than not, another trip to the store when I run out of either jars or pectin or sugar.  This year was different.  I bought 5 boxes of pectin, 1 case of wide-mouth jars (which are my favorite, by the way) and a 10 lb. bag of sugar.  I had just enough of everything.

Last year, I received lots of questions about freezer jam so I'm going to try to tell you what I do know from my experience.  It doesn't make it right or wrong - it's just what I do.

1 quart of berries is about enough for 1 batch of jam.  I say about enough because sometimes it's a little too much or sometimes a bit too little.  I wash the berries, cut off the stems and slice them.  I then mash them with a potato masher, leaving little some little chunks.  I measure 2 cups of the mashed berries (and juice the mashing makes) for each batch.

Freezer jam uses a lot of sugar.  I am okay with that.  The recipe in the pectin box is 2 cups mashed berries to 4 cups of sugar.  Yes, A LOT.  But you have to use the right amount of berries and sugar or the pectin won't set up properly.  There are lower sugar pectins available, but I have never used them so I can't speak to them.  My mom has tried a low sugar one and did not like it.  I trust her judgment and continue to do what we have always done.  I use Sure Jell pectin and I buy it at the grocery store.

A canning funnel is key.  It cuts down on the mess in a big way which is good since it is a very sticky mess.  You can normally find one in the grocery store with the canning supplies.  If your grocery doesn't have the jars or the funnel, try a small, independently owned hardware store.  You know, the mom and pop kind.

I use glass jars.  I always have and my mom and grandma did too.  Don't worry - they will do fine in the freezer as long as you leave about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch at the top of the jar for expansion.  Glass jars break in the freezer when the contents expand and there isn't any room left.  If you leave the space, you will be fine.  According to the recipe, the jam lasts a few weeks in the refrigerator or up to a year in the freezer.  I've had jam for up to two years in my freezer and it's been just as good.  In fact, we will be finishing our 2008 supply before we crack open any of the 2009 jars.

It took me one and half hours to make the five batches - I normally have two different ones going at a time.  There is some finicky timing, but this is what works best for me.  I clean one quart of berries, mash, add the sugar and then start on a second quart. By the time I am finished cleaning, mashing and adding the sugar to the second quart, the first quart is ready for the pectin.  Once that batch is jarred, the second batch is ready for the pectin.  Once I have the second batch in jars, I start over with two more quarts of berries.  Make sense?

The jam has to sit for 24 hours before it goes in the freezer.  It's just about time for me to take care of that last step.  And then I will take a break from jam for another year.

Or maybe just until the raspberries ripen.

My crowd pleasers

Yesterday, when I answered Molly's simple question about magazines, I laughed when I realized that four of the six I receive are about food (Everyday Food, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Food and Wine) and one always has some good food in it (Martha Stewart Living).  Even number six (House Beautiful) has recipes in it.  Add to that a huge collection of cook books and you might think I like to cook.  And I do!  Both Fatty and I enjoy spending time in the kitchen and we love to try interesting taste combinations and new recipes.  The problem is the kids.  Like many other moms, I struggle to find nutritious meals that are kid friendly and still satisfy grown up tastes.  The pre-dinner hour is normally hectic so I like meals during the week to be basic enough for me to manage it in a small amount of hands on time.  I can tackle the fussier recipes and exotic ingredients on the weekend.

Right now, we have two meals in our rotation that everyone loves.  The first is Tuscan Lemon Chicken from Ina Garten's Back to Basics cookbook.  The second is Chicken Tacos from the October 2008 issue of Everyday Food.  After making both of these recipes numerous times, I have tweaked them to suit our family and can now make both of them without consulting the recipes.  Here is what I do.

Tuscan Lemon Chicken adapted from Back to Basics by Ina Garten
(click here for the original recipe)

1 whole chicken cut into eight pieces, bone in, skin on
(You can use whatever pieces you prefer - we sometimes just choose thighs)
2 or 3 lemons
1/3 c olive oil
a couple sprigs of rosemary, chopped
4 or more cloves of garlic, chopped
kosher salt
pepper

The night before make the marinade by combining the zest of two lemons with the olive oil and 1/3 cup lemon juice.  Add the rosemary, garlic and pepper. (I use freshly ground pepper and totally eyeball it - I'm guessing it's about 1/2 tsp.).  Generously salt the chicken and place in a shallow dish.  Pour the marinade over the chicken and refrigerate overnight.

Pull the chicken out of the refrigerator about 20 minutes before you are ready to cook it.  In the cookbook, Ina calls for grilling, but we roast it in the oven.  I turn my oven to 425 degrees on convection bake and roast for 40 to 45 minutes.

We often use any leftovers for a salad or for sandwiches.  Emily makes hers with parsley instead of rosemary and she grills it.  Super easy and really tasty, even for my pickiest eater.

Chicken Tacos adapted from Everyday Food, October 2008
(original recipe here)

1.5 to 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 c roasted tomato jarred salsa (I buy the Frontera Grill Roasted Tomato at Whole Foods)
6 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tbsp. chile powder
salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, coating the chicken.  Cook in a slow cooker for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.  When the chicken is finished, shred with two forks and serve with your favorite taco toppings.

I often eat this on top of lettuce with salsa and a side of black beans and rice.  Leftovers make great quesadilla filling.

So there you have it- two sure-fire crowd pleasers.  What are yours?

It's almost time

School is out in two weeks.

The strawberries should be ripe right about then.

Then come the raspberries.  And the blackberries.  And the black raspberries.

I'm ready for the you-pick bonanza, the jam sessions that will follow and the sweet bursts of summer in my mouth.

Melissa just listed some berry bowls yesterday.  If you plan on eating lots of berries, you might want to buy one before they are gone.  I love mine - use it all year round and not just for berries.  It's seen grapes and even small batches of pasta.  Super handy and so well made.

We're off on a road trip.  Happy weekend, all.

The bread chronicles - part two

Friday afternoon I mixed up a batch of No Knead Bread.  I really, really like this recipe.  The only thing confusing is the timing.  You have to work backwards and figure out when to start based on that.  Because I wanted to bake early Saturday afternoon, I mixed it up about 4:00 on Friday afternoon.  This gave me an 18 hour rise, plus two hours for the second rise and a little bit extra time for good measure and cold temperatures.

I also baked baguette number two from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  That's it resting on the pizza peel in the top part of the photo.  The no knead bread is under the plastic wrap on the bottom.  Anyhow, I made the baguette a bit skinnier this time and cut the slashes deeper.  It was prettier and tastier and dummy me never took a photo.  You'll have to trust me.

Anyway, back to the no knead variety.  I mixed up this batch with 1 cup whole wheat flour and 2 cups all purpose.  It was the best yet.  Before I have done it with half wheat and half white and it was good.  This one was better, though.  I also cooked the other no knead loaves in a cast iron dutch oven.  This time I used one with an enamel coating.  I think that may have added to the success too.  Not sure.  Anyhow, it was really tasty and so satisfying to make.

I will make both kinds again.  I loved having the Artisan bread dough in my fridge, ready to go at my whim.  The small loaves are perfect for a family meal or for appetizers.  The timing on the no knead variety is a little tricky, but it makes a much bigger loaf which is perfect for a crowd.  I took both loaves to Caroline's on Saturday night.  I was not above bragging that I had made the bread!  Fatty and I did a little taste test...he preferred the baguette and I liked the no knead better.  I think the nuttiness of the whole wheat flour did it for me.  So, naturally, I am thinking something wheat or multi-grain from the Artisan Bread book should be next.  I'll keep you posted.

Enjoy your Monday - see you soon.

The bread chronicles - part one

For Christmas, my parents gave me Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  So far, I love this book.  I started with the boule, or the master recipe.  You mix the dough, let it rise for a couple of hours and then stick it in the refrigerator to keep for up to two weeks.  You cut off a hunk, form the loaf, let it rest and then bake.  The recipe supposedly makes four loaves of bread.  And it does, if you like really small loaves.

Above is loaf number one.  I followed the directions to the letter for this one and had some issues.  After much consulting with Sarah and Emily, I think my house is not warm enough to let the dough rise properly after I take it out of the refrigerator.

With loaf number two, I let the dough rest for 2 hours (instead of the 40 minutes) before I put it in the oven.  That did the trick - this one was far better.

For loaf number three, I decided to try the baguette.   It is made using the same basic dough recipe.  Again, I let it rest longer before I put it in the oven - about 1 1/2 hours instead of 20 minutes.  Apparently, I did not slash the top deep enough so it really isn't as pretty as I had hoped.  It didn't matter - it was really good.  So far, this one is my favorite.

I'm anxious to try another recipe from this book - perhaps a sandwich loaf.  It's really nice to have the dough sitting in the fridge, ready to go at my whim.  I'm also thinking up ways to get my girls in on the action.  It really is easy enough for kids to do with some supervision.

Before I mix up another batch from this book, I am going back to the dutch oven, no-knead variety like Leslie just made.  It's been awhile since I made that and I want to do a little comparing.  I'll let you know how it all turns out.

What's cooking?

It's been a slow week, crafting wise over here.  OK, I take that back.  It's been a slow week, crafting wise, since Sunday afternoon when I sewed up a storm.  I've knitted a bit, but the rest of the time, I have been cooking.

We went apple picking last Friday and Saturday night, I made Ina's Apple Crisp.  Emily told me to do it and then someone else I know said that it was her favorite recipe, too.  So I did.  And it was good.  Really good.

So good that I ate it for breakfast the next morning.

And it was lunch too.  That good.

We still have tons of apples left so I am going to cook up a bunch of applesauce tomorrow.  I don't follow a recipe for that - I just cook the apples with some water.   Easy peasy.  I don't like adding sugar so I don't.  It'll go in the freezer right next to the jam.  I am also going to make this apple cake.  Doesn't that look fabulous?

The latest Everyday Food has some really good recipes in it - if you don't subscribe, you might want to buy this one.  It is the best I have seen in a long time.  There are lots of great recipes in there - the chicken tacos will be a staple around here, for sure.  Easy, inexpensive and liked by all four of us, even the picky eater.  We made the pot roast on Saturday and it was really good, too.  Both the tacos and the roast were done in the slow cooker - bonus!  There is a fabulous section on dark chocolate desserts that aren't too taxing.  Leslie, I am thinking of you here.

Enough rambling.  I have a studio to clean out.  I have big sewing plans this weekend so I have extra incentive to get my little space organized and spiffed out again.  Wish me luck.

The torte

I've been wanting to try this potato and summer squash torte that Tracy made from this recipe by Smitten Kitchen.  It sounded like a new and different way to get through all the squash we've been receiving from our CSA.  I finally made it on Friday.

I hadn't used my mandoline for a long time and I forgot how great it is to slice veggies thinly and fast.  I quickly had a mound of squash and a mound of potatoes.

I cut the recipe in half and followed it except I didn't butter the pan.  Instead I used my olive oil spray.  Oh, and like Tracy, I added some heirloom tomatoes to the top.  I didn't have a red onion on hand or I would have added that too.

I didn't get any photos of it after it came out of the oven.  We ate it too fast.

The verdict?  Well, Fatty kept saying, "Why haven't you made this before?"  Yes, it was that good.

For those of you, like me, who are counting:  I cut it into 6 servings.  After placing it in the recipe builder on Weight Watchers, it came out to 3 points per serving.

Strawberries for Jam

Saturday morning, I went to the farmers market just to buy local strawberries for jam.  I wanted to take the girls to pick our own, but the forecast was for temperatures in the high 90's.  They would have been fine for about, oh, five minutes in that heat.  And considering the amount of jam I wanted to make, it would have been in exercise in whining (for them) and frustration (for me).  I took the easy route.

I make freezer jam just like my mom does and like my grandma did.  (Recipe here).  It's all I have ever known, really.  As a child, I didn't realize how lucky I was.  There was never store-bought jelly in my sandwiches or on my toast.  We had a chest freezer in our garage and when the jam jar was empty, you just went and got another one.  Some years there were choices, too.  We always had strawberry and sometimes raspberry.   One year my brother asked for blueberry and my mom made it for him.  I was spoiled and I intend to do the same to my children.

Cleaning and washing the berries was my job once I was old enough to help.  I didn't much care for it then, but now I enjoy holding the familiar paring knife in my hand and cutting the tops off of the warm berries.  My mom did the rest.  The process was always a mystery - it involved sugar and sure-jell, but beyond that I didn't pay much attention.  Now I do, though.  Freezer jam is one of the easiest things I make.  The process is just as familiar to me as making chocolate chip cookies.  I have established a good rhythm, working on multiple batches at a time.  It takes a few hours, but in the end I have jam to last us the entire year.

Saturday afternoon as I sliced and mashed berries, stirring in sugar, I thought about my mom and my grandma.  I remembered being at my grandparents' farm, getting up in the morning and walking out the door to pick berries for my breakfast.  And then returning a bit later to get some more.  I remembered how much my mom hated to pick berries when she was younger, so my grandma told her if she didn't want to pick, she would have to cook.  So she cooked and my grandma picked instead.  I thought of my mom's old kitchen, the counters splashed with sugar and lined with jars, the smell of berries everywhere.  And I remembered the jam - all those jars, stacked in our freezer, labeled in my mom's handwriting.  The taste!  How nothing will ever bring me right back to my childhood as quickly as homegrown berries and strawberry jam.  And then I wondered what my girls will remember.  What thing will take them back in time?

My secret wish?  I hope it's jam.

I heart three day weekends

Over the three day weekend:

I read this book.

I watched this movie with Fatty, the girls and one of Jane's friends.  Scarier than I remembered.

I pieced the back for the x quilt.

I ran three miles two days in a row.  Woo hoo!

I helped the girls cut and sew nine-patch pillows.  And then ran out of stuffing.

I wanted to chuck the little machine out the window.  I hate it.

I made ribs. And corn salad.  Twice.

We went to some friends' house and let the kids stay up too late.

I made my craft for my local craft swap.  And then swapped.  Details to come.

I took lots of photos of peonies.

It was great - hope yours was too!

Green, part 2

This time, the real deal.  While the ceramic version is good to look at, you can't eat it. And, bonus, it'll be in season really soon.  Gotta love spring.

Morning Snack

It's pretty much the same every day while the clementines are in season.  Have a great Friday!