sorry no pictures today

So this is a brief post to say sorry but I may not be posting for the rest of this week as my computer has decided it wants a new battery and I can't pick one up until Friday. So I have borrow my sisters computer for a moment to get this post done. Sorry to those few people who read this blog. But I will have back up and running soon since I need my computer to do my photos and such now that that is going.

Have a great day!
Dyanne

My First Veggie Garden

So we have lived in this place going on 5 years come October. Every year we planned on starting a garden but never got around to it. Well this year with some help from Grandpa Mathes we finally dug up the garden area and the kids had fun planting a few things. We were worried for a while there that we weren't going to get anything and that we had made some huge mistakes being our first time, but then we saw green in the garden. I thought today I would share a few picture of a few things we are growing out there.

We have 2 types of tomatoes growing.. Cherry and Beef Steak. We were sure these were dead because they went yellow for a couple of weeks but came back

The Peas and Beans have been our best growers so far! I can't wait for the peas to be ready to pick as I LOVE fresh from the garden peas.

Josh planted zucchini's and squash as those are his favorites. He's had a few starts but having trouble getting the fruit to keep growing after it is formed from the flower... the little squashies seem to die with a few days of the flower falling off. Any tips will be great as Josh is getting discouraged. But as you can see he has lots of flowers budding out.

Sam planted a ton of carrots but after a mistake happened when they went digging for worms when they went fishing on the fathers day weekend he lost most of his seeds. He has since replanted and loves seeing the few first survivors growing.

We planted 2 types of lettuce for our salads and they are finally starting to look like we can enjoy our first salad soon. YUM!!

We also planted swiss chard. I love these yummy leaves. I also love spinach but we couldn't find any seeds for them so we planted lots of this one to enjoy. Almost getting there too!

The other things we planted are radishes, beets, onions, cucumbers, and corn. The corn is our weird plant that is kinda growing. The few seeds that feel over in the grassy area are growing strong but the ones we planted were the ground was tilled and everything is struggling. it is very interesting and the strong plants in the grass is my last picture for this post. I can't wait to tell you all how yummy it all is.

I Heart Face Week 29: Over My Head

I have missed out on the last few challenges as they were teen weeks and until next year I don't have any teens. So I was glad when this week I saw a new challenge that I had the perfect picture for. The challenge is "Over My Head" which could mean anything from hat's to balloons  to well the sky is literally the limit.

So I had posted last week about how I took all my kids to the BMO Kidz Art Dayz plus my 2 nieces. It was a blast but my favorite picture from the whole 2 days was the one of my oldest son Ben helping my youngest child Claudia. These 2 have such an amazing bond and their love for each other shines through in all the pictures I take of them. They are almost exactly 10 years apart so he is over her head ;)

Please head over here and check out the rest of the amazing entries!

Happy Birthday Tommytoes!!!

Thomas, aka Tommy, aka Tom, aka Tommytoes is turning 5 TODAY!!

This amazing boy has been such a blessing in our lives. We would never have been a complete family without him. He may not say much but he is such a strong spirit.

He is always there with a hug or smile whenever you feel sad or frustrated.

He is the first to find the happy spot in everyday.

His big, Sparkly smile is infectious to everyone who meets and knows him.

He is a hard worker, this year making amazing strides in being able to talk and use words so he will be ready for kindergarten this fall.

He is super smart like his siblings, being able to read, count, and get to those things he really wants (even if he knows he is not suppose too)

He looks at the world in a different way and that bring those things into focus for us too.

(like the "take a picture of my nose" picture above)

He is a little jokester and brings humour to everything he does.

We just love this kids with all out hearts and are so blessed he is in our family.

We did a mini celebration of his birthday on Friday with a picnic with my friend Jen and a total of 9 kids.

Jen knew of a place I hadn't been to yet so we met her and she walked us up to where the old mansion of PG use to be. Oh how I love the stone work up there!

She had set up a little picnic area already for us to enjoy.

We put our share of the food down and enjoyed some juice before we continued on as it ended up being a hot sunny day.. perfect for a picnic. Jen had also brought some felts and paper and had the kids all sign a little card for Tommy.

From there we ate some Bologna sandwich and Peanut Butter and Jam ones because those are Tommy's favorites. We had wagon Wheels for dessert with Cherries and Apple slices.

After we were all done eating Jen was brilliant and picked up a few little prizes and divided the kids that were not Tommy into groups of Boys and Girls and had them invent a new birthday song to sing to Tommy.

The girls went more traditional with their version while the boys created a cool rap.

Jen gave them all prizes though of parachute men and bubble bottles.

Tommy opened his couple of gifts from Jen of a book and some laser fingers and then the kids all went to play. They did games of hide-n'-seek and they found a rope swing to swing off of.

It was fun and a nice break from all the work we had at home with canning and veggies.

To end this post Tommy would like me to share with you his 2 favorite pictures from our little shoot yesterday to get his birthday pictures.

One of our kitties is a little girl named butterscotch and Tommy LOVES her. She loves him too but not the constant attention. She however joined us outside for the shoot and I took a couple of the 2 of them cuddling and having fun.

(don't worry she may look made but she is not. that is just how her face looks after she was hit by a car about 4 years ago, we are so blessed she is still with us as she was our first princess)

The Muppets

I have been a huge fan of the muppets since before I knew what they were I am sure. They were my favorite show on tv as a kid and missed them when I became an adult and they were no longer regular programs. We watch all the specials and I use to have (until they were stolen) all the movies. I am glad that I can now get my fix of muppets on YouTube and a awesome modern mix to it. On an easy going, laid back day we have decided to have today we were watching a couple of our new favorites from the new collection and thought we would share a few of those videos here for those few people who actually read my blog (LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!)
Please grab a bowl of popcorn and enjoy!

And the Canning Season Begins...

So today I have spent the day trying to take care of some of these fruits and veggies that I received yesterday. Tomatoes, red and green peppers, onions, garlic, apples, and 3 cases of cherries!! most of that was in trade veggies where if I do the processing of it I could have half and bring him back half. That means for a little work I get food for the family to help get through the winter! IT ROCKS!! He can't do that for everyone because he does pay for all the food out of his own pocket and then resells it, but still I feel really lucky he choose our family to bless with this opportunity. Last year I didn't know much about canning. A few little things here and there but picked it up with full force late in the year when I started this deal with Justin. It was late in the year then but this year we are starting early plus going to have the added benefit of growing what I can in my own little garden for the first time. ( I know I am scared too!) Anyways like I said we spent today working on what we could get done.

First we started with the little bit of yellow and green beans he gave me. There were only enough for two jars but they are the simplest things EVER to can. I had learned how to do peaches quite a few years ago but had never done them alone so didn't have to pay attention to all the steps... Yeah that was dumb! It's like I figured someone else was always going to be around. So the first thing I learned to really can on my own was beans. I will be honest here I HATE GREEN BEANS! Yep there are foods I can't stand to eat, but I do anyway ( in small portions ) because I feel I can't expect my kids to eat foods they don't like if I don't do the same. So when we lived back in Squamish a wonderful lady named Darlene taught me an easy and almost tasty way to can beans. The trick is to not over process them.. so many people make that mistake. To help keep the fresher taste of the beans all you do is cut off the ends and stuff them right into the jar.

Cut them into smaller pieces if you want, but you don't have to.

You toss in a little sea salt maybe about 1/2 a teaspoon and then fill the jar with hot water.

From there you put on your boiled canning lid and then put it in the pot for the boiling process. The reason most canned green beans and yellow etc. seem over cooked when you go to use them is because they ARE! yep if you blanch them and them boil the jar for canning you are cooking your beans TWICE. We don't take fresh beans and cook them for dinner and then before putting them on the table cook them again! Doing it this way you are keeping more of the freshness when you can your beans. I will admit even I eat a few more beans when they are done this way.

The next thing we worked on was getting some of those cherries done up. 3 cases is a lot but Mike and the boys love cherries. Here comes my next confession of this post.. I hate cherries any other way but fresh. You are probably thinking I am crazy at this point doing all this work canning things that I don't like. Well my family loves them and that's all that counts. Plus when I do it at least I know what went into it so I am less paranoid about eating them. Now I have never canned the cherries before, just frozen them as they are good to put in my smoothies. But this year Mike asked me too and since I still have a lot of cherry jam left from last year so Mike wanted cherries canned for cherry pies in the middle of winter. So here I am canning cherries for winter. They again are pretty easy.. first thing you need is a cherry pitter.

I did it the hard way last year for the jams and such where you cut each cherry in half and then then pit... yeah that was hours WASTED in my life that I will never get back. Good thing I got smart this year ;) Even smarter was picking up more than one so I could put a few kids to work and help me with it. Ben did most of the work and even broke one of the pitters at one point and had to put it back together.

We put as many as I was comfortable putting in a jar before fearing I was squishing the cherries. Looking at the jars now I probably could of put a few more cherries in. Good thing I used this first batch as really a test run. Kind of like all my canning last year :D After we were finished stuffing the jars with the cherries we added a simple syrup to them. When I say I really do mean SIMPLE. It is 2 cups of water to every 1 cup of sugar. Yep pretty simple. I also add in 2 tsp Fruit Fresh for each recipe as I find it really helps the fruit keep it nice color and makes it more appealing come winter and you are craving fresh fruit.

You really don't want to open a jar of peaches that is looking all brown and icky... okay maybe that's just me being picky. Maybe I am more of a picky person than I think I am. Hmmmm random realizations that come from blogging. So you top up the jars with this simple syrup and then you stick a butter knife down the side of the jars to get the bubbles out (you actually do with anything you can.. but I forgot that part with the beans when writing about it earlier in this post)

You put your boiled lid on and then you put all your bottles that are ready in your giant pot for the boiling process. Bring the water up to a boil then boil it for 15 - 20 minutes.

When you pull them out sit them on the counter for cooling and wait for the magical sound.. when you hearing the popping you know you did a good job and your food is safe in the jars until you go to use them :) I LOVE the popping sound. It lets me know I did something right that day :)  The best part of canning though is the team work we create as a family and the yummy foods we get to enjoy during the winter that remind of the hard work we did as a family. There was some other things we canned as well but I will save those for another post. I have to admit we did crack open a jar of cherries to taste because who can say no to Sam's super please eyes? LOL!

MMmmmm Pies!

It Is that time of Year Again!! Yep, my favorite fruit guy, Justin, is back and that means baking for fruit and veggies and canning galore! Oh I am soo excited! I LOVE homemade canned goods sooo much more than tin canned stuff. Peaches, Tomatoes, Beans, Jams!!! YUM! But before that can all start we have to bake pies. Yep I am lucky. Because I am one of his best customers (because I have soo many kids) and I am willing to take a little less than perfect produce he gives me cheap rates or even gives me cases of food in exchange for some baked goods and cans for his family. Last year we did a ton of yummy goodies that kept me on my toes as it was the first year I had EVER done that much canning and baking in the summer months. It was WORTH IT! So we start with Apple Pies this year. I like my Apple Pies with a Crumble Topping. I admit I use a simple pie crust recipe that the kids can even help me with (makes tons of baking easier when it's kid friendly because then you aren't spending a ton of your energy trying to fend them off) Phoenix and Cloe were my pie crust makers yesterday. Yes there was a little of a mess but they had fun.

Here's the simple recipe I use for my pie crusts:

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup shortening

4-8tbsp of ice cold water

Directions:

Blend flour and salt together then cut in the shorting until it resembles oatmeal. Then starting with 4 tbsp at first using your hand mix in the cold water. If the dough is still to dry add 1 more tbsp. Continue until you have the right play dough like dough. It can be used right away or stored in the fridge until your ready for it.

Next we had Jordan and Josh make the crumble topping.

Now I make mine a little bit drier than others because when I eat my apple pie I love a splash of fresh cream on top.. not whipped cream but cream which gives it such a yummy soft texture. But no matter how you like it all makes for a delicious treat. Here is my simple recipe that the kids and I use:

Ingredients:

1 cup oats

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar (we use brown )

1/2 cup butter (1 full cup if you like it more moist)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp allspice

Directions:

blend all the dry ingredients and then cut in the butter until it is all blended and you can make it stick together loosely.

After that we rolled out the dough and put into the pie pans. I let the kids all do their own individual pie and that helped make it so they left the big ones, which had places to go, alone. The kids loved rolling out the dough and trying to place it in their own little tins. Most kids made apple pies since that was the free fruit his week but Jordan had to be different and made a Rhubarb pie from the fresh Rhubarb ones of my Visiting Teachees gave me before I left her house that morning. Jordan likes to do things a little different and I adore that about her.

No matter which one you made though.. it was tasty good!!

Of course no pie making day would be the same without a little experimenting. We have our wards Pioneer Days Celebration coming up next week that includes a chili and Pie tasting contest. We have never made it out to one before because I have always been working with flower deliveries. It is nice that this year I am free to join in. Well the boys want to invent their own kind of mud pie for the contest. Here is the trial run... ( won't give all their secrets away just yet but you can probably see the yumminess through the pictures I took of their brain storm process)

First they started with the graham cracker crumb crust and layered it with their secret mix and stuck a whole whack gummy worms into it, because we all know you can't have dirt and mud pies without worms.

Next we poured the fresh cooked chocolate pudding over top of everything and that made a fun looking layer

Of course that was topped with even more gummy worms while it was still fresh.

I am told the best part of making this pie was the clean up ;)

It was fun to come back a little latter and see how the worms were fairing in all the hot, gooey goodness...

What do you think? Look good?

What's For Brunch?

So I have been playing around with achieving a really shallow depth of field lately when taking pictures and took some of the brunch we had yesterday so I thought I would blog about it. The pictures aren't that great but I had fun and love some of the effects I figured out how to create.

So Brunch was suppose to be breakfast but as I decided to get a little more ambitious than normal it ended up being a brunch that we really enjoyed. It sure gave Sam happy eyes (picture above). I had stopped by my favorite fruit stand a couple of days ago and stocked up on some of our favorite goodies. last minute we decided it would be yummy to take some of those goodies and make then in to YUMMY fruit syrup to accompany the waffles I decided to make yesterday. Here's the quick, easy recipe for fruit Syrup that I use.

1 cup fruit*
3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

Cook fruit with sugar and water until thick (Boil for about 5 minutes is what I do and then it cool. Most times that is perfect.. with the cherries I find I need and extra couple of minutes). Smash fruit while cooking.
This makes a nice chunky, yummy topping to pancakes or waffles, or filling for crepes.... my kids love it on ice cream as well.

We made Cherry and Peach yesterday.

We also made a basic Maple syrup as Josh isn't a fan of fruit syrups... yeah I know he is a weird kid but I am sure if I keep making them he will come around ;) He loves making it at home because he likes to experiment with the flavours we can create. Here is the very simple and easy recipe I have used my whole life for making home made syrup.

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

1/2 tsp maple flavoring ( or any other you may feel like we used maple nut from Watkins)

Combine everything in a small pot and bring to a boil then while stirring regularly boil for about 7 minutes or until it coats your spoon nice. Remember it will thicken as it cools.

(this is my favorite photo from yesterday... just loved the way it turned out)

Next we made the Yummy Waffles. That is Tommy's new favorite food and a word he has worked really hard to say. It is sooo cute watching try to say his L's. Here is the simple waffle recipe we used yesterday. I do have one that is a lot more involved that is fluffier but really with 6 hungry kids who were already waiting because of making 3 syrups I am not going to spend 20 minutes whipping egg whites ect. his simple one is almost as good and only take 5 minutes to put together. ( I triple this recipe for my family)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

Directions

Preheat waffle iron and read manufacturer's instructions. Melt butter in microwave. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In another bowl, beat together milk and eggs. Whisk liquid mixture into dry ingredients until just combined. Stir in melted butter. Brush hot waffle iron with butter. Spoon about 1/2 cup of batter onto iron and close to cook. This first waffle will be the tester. Cook waffle until golden brown. Remove to plate and keep warm *you can play around with flavours with this recipe and create anything you want with it.. it is really nice*

We finished completed this brunch with some fried ham slices and a glass of milk. It had everyone so full that we were good until I made dinner that night. It was a nice treat that we love to enjoy in the summer.. having a really big brunch. It's always harder to do this when school is in. What did you have for breakfast today or did you treat you and your family to a yummy brunch as well?