Jack's Juice

Move over Welch's!

Hubbs has his power juicer going....

(no, we're not stomping them with our feet!)

and we are making fresh-from-the-farm grape juice.

Our grape arbor is full of juicy, ripe Concord and Mars grapes.

This year's harvest is the best yet.

We planted our grapes about 4 years ago.

Each year's harvest is better than the year before.

Fresh grape juice.....so much better than store bought!

Well Preserved

Well preserved!

Isn't that what we all hope we end up being?

Living on the farm may not keep me well preserved,

but it has afforded me the opportunity to make plenty of preserves!

Here is this summer's bounty, preserved for use this winter.

Fear not, I am not yet finished.

This morning I am going out to the garden to pick more tomatoes

and start another large kettle of spaghetti sauce.

Puttanesca sauce to be exact (we love olives)

Everything in the sauce will be home grown,

except for the olives.

Which, believe me, if I could I would grow olives.

They might be my most favorite food of all!

(Did I mention that at one time I could fit 18 in my mouth all at once?)

Don't ask me whatever possessed me to try that!

(Or was it grapes...oh well, same size!)

Oh, and here is the kitchen help....

Joe Cool!

No, his feet are not that big....it's just the camera angle!

Speaking of buddies,

Here's Hickory.

She has just discovered (after 15 years if life... in her previous home)

the world of toys!

See how she's smiling?

Who would have known that balls can be such fun!

Especially ones that we can keep away from Maddie!

Still in The Kitchen

This summer has brought us a wonderful harvest.

Most of my spare time has been spent either in the garden,

or in the kitchen dealing with what comes out of the garden.

I have canned spaghetti sauce, salsa, stewed tomatoes,

peaches, beets, pickles, and hot pepper spread.

Blueberries and blackberries have been transformed into jams.

I have frozen green beans, corn and broccoli.

I have also tried my hand at infusions.

This jar is the start of Blueberry Basil Vinegar.

This concoction has been brewing in my cold cellar for a month, now.

Four weeks ago I put 4 cups of white wine vinegar

4 cups of crushed blueberries (from our bushes)

1 cup of basil (from the garden)

and the zest of one lemon
into a large pantry jar and covered it.

Every 3 days I would gently shake the jar to mix the contents.

Then this morning I filtered the mixture

 through several layers of cheese cloth.

One lastl filtering through a coffee filter....

And here is the final product...labelled.

I am happy with the clarity 

and will use this vinegar for salad dressings.
The label is courtesy of the Graphics Fairy.
I imported it into photoshop and added the text.

In the Kitchen With....

Tyler!

I remember when my kids were babies.

My saving grace was a front pack.

With baby in the front pack carrier, 

I could cook, clean, do laundry...

just about anything that I needed to do....

with hands free.

It seems so natural to strap Tyler on,

and work around the house.

(With an apron on, of course.  I find that the 

apron adds another bit of support, 

and keeps splatters off of baby.

Tonight we cooked dinner together.

Mexican night.

Cilantro and lime rice

Chipotle chicken and beef

Salsa Fresca

Topped with sharp cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Yummmy!

Look how we've grown in the last 6 weeks!

My Little Buddy

It has been a while since I have posted one of Tyler's pictures.

Most of his pictures are "sleeping" baby pictures.

He still has his days and nights a bit mixed up.

Periods of wakefulness during the day are short lived.

So I took the opportunity to snap a few pictures

while he was wide awake.

Oh, how I look forward to the days when he is toddling around.

What fun adventures we will have.

BlaCKbeRriEs

Every so often I hear a faint call from the second floor.

I climb the stairs and look longingly at the sewing room door.

"Come and play, Bev" I hear faintly.

Unfortunately the only time I have spent in that room lately

has been to whittle away at the pile of ironing that has been accumulating.

Now, I am not complaining,

because the things that are keeping me from playing 

are outdoor activities....gardening, picking berries, harvesting veggies, etc.

But, oh how I miss spending the afternoon humming away on my sewing machine!

Today I headed out to the woods to pick berries.

We have had just enough rain to plump up the blackberries and black raspberries.

That means it is time to make my yearly batch of triple berry jam...

blueberry, blackberry, black raspberry....

yummy, berry goodness to enjoy throughout the coming months.

I donned my purple Wellies,

(boots to help keep the chiggers from crawling up my pants!)

loaded the 4 wheeler with camera equipment and a bowl,

and headed out to the woods.

I picked for an hour or so

and came back with quite a bounty.

Now to get busy in the kitchen!

I use just a small amount of sugar in my jams.

Mmmmmm, what a delicious aroma this gives off as it cooks on the stovetop.

4th of July Party

We had the pleasure of meeting our Amanda's beau (Tim)'s 

parents for a 4th of July celebration on Sunday.

(Amanda and Tim)

Amanda and I fixed lunch...lots of fresh fare from the garden and herb garden.

The menu included

Hamburgers from local grass fed (only) beef

Salad Nicoise

Cucumber Salad with oregano mint vinaigrette

Deviled Eggs

Fresh snow peas and scallions with curry dip

Fruit salad

Homemade tortilla chips with mango salsa

Drinks in patriotic mason jars

Mango salsa 

Salad Nicoise 

Cucumber and fruit salad 

Veggies with fresh curry dip

And my cute photo of the day is baby Tyler

dressed in his swim suit.

Have you ever seen a baby laugh in his sleep?

Tyler does it all the time.....so funny!

Canning

Besides new grandbaby activities,

(oh my, we are both asleep!)

this is what I have been up to lately.

Canning, canning, canning.

This week I made 10 pints of blueberry lime jam.

I turned a few piles of these...

into Dill Pickles.

Yumm!

Oh, how I love preserving summer's bounty

to enjoy the rest of the year.

Herbalicious

My herb garden floweth over...

With its inhabitants wrestling for position.

It's time to use as much as possible.

Today's project was Pesto!

Basil, garlic, parmesan, walnuts (can be used in place of pine nuts)

olive oil, and a little fresh oregano for zip....

Into the food processor....

Presto!  Pesto!!

I served this delectable spread with homemade Crostini

as part of tonight's dinner fare.

FAQ

So many of you questioned what

my new little grandson will call me.

"Grammie" it is!!

The Wonder of Life

This will be a rather short post.

I am writing to you to tell you

something wonderful.

Today I fell in love again.

It happened at exactly 11:55 AM.

It is a moment that will remain

a sweet memory for the rest of my life.

You see, today my first grandchild was born.

Tyler Andrew.

He came three weeks early.

5 pounds  14 ounces 

of pinkness

and sweetness

and innocence

and everything good about this world.

My life is forever changed.

Better.

To my daughter Jenn, I say "thanks"

for working so hard.  You will be an awesome Mama.

PS....He has my chin (mine and Kirk Douglas')

Cherries Jubilee

I have had this fabric for a few weeks...

waiting for a rainy day.

Those rainy days came and went

and were filled with other things.

So, today I set aside a little time and

finished this one.

I love it!  It is so cheerful and makes me

just want to make a cherry pie!!

Now, to place it for sale in my shop....HERE.

Fantastic Freshness

There is nothing better than the fresh tastes of summer.

My garden is the best it has ever been.

All of my vegetables are growing in raised cedar boxes.

Tonight's dinner was out of the garden....

eaten on the deck.

 Cajun seasoned Mahi Mahi with fresh salsa 

(organic tomatoes and peppers

with cilantro and onions from my garden)

Organic potato salad

with onions and dill from the garden.

Steamed sugar peas from the garden.

Salad with freshly picked butter lettuce,

homegrown broccoli, cucumber, scallions, and Nasturtium flowers.

Wine made by my brother in law.

Homemade strawberry sorbet from our own strawberries.

Mouthwatering delicious.

As healthy as you can possibly get.

Everything eaten within an hour of being picked.

Oh, how I love summer!!

Les Fraises

Ooh La La!!

It's strawberry season again.

We started picking our strawberries this past weekend....

and will continue to pick for a good part of the summer.

Some of our plants are ever-bearing,

so that means we will have some strawberries for a few months.

Today was strawberry preserves day.

Oh, and we had strawberry shortcake for dessert, of course!

Mmmmmm...I can hardly wait for toast in the morning....

with fresh strawberry preserves.