Stockings

With the addition of our son this year I decided it was time to make our stockings! All with fabric and scraps I already had, I just traced one i had onto paper for a template and made up the rest.

John's

Daddy's

  

 Annabelle's

 

 

Sophia's 

.

and Mommy's

 

Gasoline.

A few months ago we had to get a bigger car, baby number three was almost here and we were not going to fit in the other one, especially with all the baby gear that would be in tow as well. So hubby got me one.

I love it. I love how it purrs as I am coasting up the highway, I love the GPS that keeps me on track, I love how sexy it is, I love how comfortable the family is inside, and it fits all our gear perfectly.

But lately when I am driving my car and cruising up the expressway I realize how many hundreds of cars are going with me, how many hundreds of cars cross my path, how many thousands of cars are traveling up the highway as I pass over it. So, now when I look at all those cars I see money burning, I see all the gas pumps running, I see all the refineries and trucks full of gas, I see the pollution. I feel sick.

I see the gas running out. and when the gas runs out we are going to be in a whole lot of trouble. Because we are so dependent on these cars to get us everything. What if we didn't have these cars, what would happen to us?

This is very troubling, we all need to start working on a solution. If we all do a little to curb our driving habits we can make a big difference. Little things... little things become bigger things.

• Try to run as many errands at once, plan that trip in a circle rotating to the right. You will sit at less lights by making less lefts, and you wont leave the house repeatedly to go to yet another store.
• Plan meals ahead and buy more at once, keep and inventory of food and items your family needs so you go out less often. I use a checklist on the fridge, I also ask everyone in the house if they noticed anything we have run out of so I can pick it up while I am out.

What ideas do you have so that we are behind the wheel less often?

Applesauce

A few weeks ago I picked up 40 pounds of apples at our local farmers market we chose Jona-gold and Mutsu apples

Annabelle peeling, coring, and slicing the apples

Sophia's turn

Cooking the apples

Cinnamon on the left, regular on the right.

We still have 12 pounds of apples and we need to decide what to do with them fast!

Halloween is almost here

This awesome lady named Bakerella published a book. An awesome book Cake Pops! We love them because they are so tender, so flavorful, and so darn cute! The girls school had a bake sale at their Halloween Happening celebration this Friday, so I thought I would donate some. Another parent donated some too, and so I purchased them. Why not try someone else's right? Wrong!! What a disappointment! Nothing against the cook, but they were made with the commercial cake pop mold, and they were unfortunately dry and plain. Below is the correct way to make cake pops.

 

 Bake a boxed cake, make sure not to use a supermoist,

if that is all you can find add less frosting (thats what I did)

 When the cake is cool crumble it into a bowl and add some frosting.

 Make sure the frosting is incorporated and helps the crumbs stick together.

Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls and refrigerate.

 Melt some chocolate candy coating.

 Dip the end of a lollypop stick in the chocolate and then insert into a cake ball.

  Dip the ball into the chocolate to coat

 Then decorate as you wish

 I burnt the orange candy coating in the microwave,

luckily I had some in brown on hand.

 

 

I had some labels, by Martha Stewart Crafts, for goodie bags but decided to stick them on some mason jars instead. Now we can use them year after year!

 

 Happy Halloween!!

Mama is getting her groove back!

Here are some pics of yummy goodness. I am so happy I found my way back into the kitchen after having my little boy!

Caramel Sticky Buns by Ina Garten

 Banana Bread by Americas Test Kitchen

 Potato hash with spinach and eggs by Everyday Food

 This dish was soooooooo good, Chicken with butternut squash and cranberries!

It is in the October issue of Everyday Food

 Split pea soup, also in October Everyday Food, we used yellow split peas.

 Pumpkin Whoopee Pies from the November Everyday food that just came out

 Molasses granola with pecans

I have little knitters

My girls are as stubborn as me. Miss Annabelle is especially stubborn. She wants to do things her way regardless if there is a tried and true way to do it already. A lot of the time her way is not a good way and  does not work, however the stubbornness doesn't let her listen to reason sometimes. Miss Annabelle watches me knit she has been watching her whole life and wants to be a knitter just like her mommy. Mommy wants her to be a knitter too, but mommy is stubborn and wants things to be done properly and runs out of patience. Luckily Miss Annabelle's school has a knitting class every Thursday. One session had her knitting! The nice mommies, that have incredible patience, at the school taught her to knit. She is still practicing and has her own backwards way of doing it, but Miss Annabelle is knitting! 

Mommy couldn't be happier!

Next year Miss Sophia can enroll in the class. So for now she can continue to knit on her loom.

You say tomato I say tomato

 First get some tomatoes

 

score their skin

 Toss them in simmering water for a moment

 Then toss them in ice water

 peel off their skin

Sophia enjoys helping her mama!

dice tomatoes and place in a pot

smashing them every couple of additions

 TAAA DAAA!

Sometimes we have catastrophe!

 

It was supposed to be a loaf of whole wheat bread!

Tin Can's garden update

Since this May the garden has produced:

• 10 pounds of carrots
• 3 leeks
• 6 pounds swiss chard
• 18 3/4 pounds of green beans
• 17 heads of garlic
• 2 beets
• 16 zuchinni
• 1/4 lb shelled peas
• 3 1/2 lb. head of cabbage
• 2 english cucumbers
• 1 beefsteak tomato
• 2 green zebra tomatoes

The Basil already wants to go to seed, I keep cutting the flowers off. 

I want enough to make a few batches of pesto to freeze!

 

Broccoli has not been that good and its was not last year either.

I may try a different heirloom, these are small florettes.

 Beautiful Green Zebra Organic Tomatoes,

 CORN!! There are maybe 10 ears hiding behind the tomatoes

 San Marzano tomatoes

 The only tomato I bought at the Home Depot, beefsteak!

 More pretty Beefsteak babies!

 My mini rose from Mothers Day last year

 I just like this picture

 Painted Lady runner beans They are so tall grew all the way up to the roof and now I am training them sideways. The pods are about a foot long. and we will get dried beans from them.

 

 Gallons of parsley

 English Cucumber

 A rainbow chard is hiding amongst the basil

 Random Romain growing amongst the pursulane

 First Carnival carrots my belly snuck into this picture

All the veggies are from seed this year except for a Serrano, a beefsteak and bell peppers.