on the way to cape may!!
still crossing things off of that summer manifesto.
there is still some time left.
Archives for August 2012
our neighbors are away this week and have asked us to house sit.
you know the usual. take in the mail, water the plants, feed the cats and oh yeah, pick and eat as many figs off of their tree as we like!
oh yes!
they are so beautiful and so delicious fresh off of the tree.
i have been revolving our weekly menus around figs.
tonight i made a simple dessert by cutting the figs in half, coating them in sugar and caramelizing them in a skillet.
after they cooled down a bit i then added a huge dollop of greek yogurt on top.
so delish!!!
if my living room could talk it might say…
i am counting down the days until autumn, when you will all come back to me.
i miss you.
i am a bit envious of the back porch and patio.
but i know soon it will wish to be me when it is covered in leaves and then snow.
i do appreciate your little visits as you pass through, water a plant, pull a game from a drawer, dust the mantle, choose a book from the shelf and vacuum the rug.
as my windows reflect a different kind of light and the night air turns crisp i know that soon you will be back to play games and make music, to drink tea and hot chocolate by the fire.
i miss your laughter, your conversation and your books and papers scattered on the floor.
yes i am counting down the days.
you will be here soon.
chris took a forging class this summer and has been having fun creating with steel and wood.
he came up with these beautiful bottle openers this week.
the fish one is for his dad, an avid fisherman.
some of these will be part of a collection that he is working on.
stay tuned!
a little tour of the garden over at tend.
it was a perfect day for a canning party.
a breezy day with low humidity.
just right for heating up the kitchen.
there is nothing like working with a team of friends to make the workload light and the time go faster.
and of course to help feed kiddoes and hold babies, clean up a big ol’ mess and laugh a whole lot in between.
we had an assembly line that worked beautifully.
and in the end we were left with 11 jars of san marzanos each.
but we are not done yet.
there are plans for more tomatoes, pickles, dilly beans, blackberry jam and applesauce.
if you haven’t already you should check this site out.
we’ve developed a new summer olympic sport.
cherry tomato catapult.
shoot tomato directly into team member’s mouth.
the team who consumes the most wins!
yesterday i could feel just a touch of autumn in the air.
it’s coming.
it’s only 7pm and the light is low and the shadows are deep.
the crickets are chirping.
i have already pulled out a few pieces from my fall wardrobe to mix in with the summer one.
you have to harden them off like little seedlings you know.
get them used to the elements again.
i got that canner for my 23rd birthday.
during my farming apprenticeship years i had learned how to put up food.
i remember how excited i was to have my very own canner.
one year i canned salsa in a water bath before i had received the pressure canner.
that winter i opened up a jar to taste with my mom.
i had used garlic in the salsa and had read that it could cause botulism in goods that were improperly canned.
so of course that was in the back of my mind as we were eating it.
after a few bites, my mom and i looked at each other and at the same time asked “do you feel funny?”
we started panicking and swore we were to drop over dead.
i frantically looked up botulism in the encyclopedia (we didn’t even have a computer back then!!)
every symptom we read, we had!!
my dad walked in and just rolled his eyes and said we were creating the symptoms and that it was all in our heads.
he was right.
my mom and i still laugh about it.
it didn’t keep me from canning. though i did ask for a pressure canner for my birthday that year.
that canner has sealed many jars since.
i haven’t used it in a few years but have planned a canning party for thursday with a few friends.
i unearthed all the supplies and am ready to go.
tomatoes and pickles here we come!
today i even scored a huge wooden shelf in someone’s trash for storing all of our goods in the basement.
and while on vacation at the lake i found that ironstone fruit jar funnel at an antique store.
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