Summer's Bounty

Of course these photos were taken a few weeks ago, right at the tail end of July when the summer really peaks in my neck of the woods, but posting in a timely manner is beyond me at this point.

I love the summer peak. When my flower garden is flooded with color.

Even the unmowed lawn looks lovely. A field of wildflowers.

And our garden is blossoming. My favorite is the Asparagus bean, just based on the lovely blossom it produces.

We went with raised boxes this year. The native clay soil was beating us down. And I knew weeding was out of the question for me this year. So far we're pleased. But when the plant does well it just seems to attract more pests. You win some and you lose some.

And of course my absolute favorite thing to come this summer....

fresh, ripe tomatoes. My mouth is watering at the thought.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I made Irish Soda Bread for the first time this week!

Delicious!

You can find the recipe here at the From Scratch Club blog.

Valentine Cookies

Don't you just love dropping pins on the floor with an almost 3 year old running rampant in the house.

I know I do.

After it was confirmed that no toddlers were hurt in this incident we made some cookies!

These are a one time annual cookie I make for handsome husband just for Valentine's Day.

Apparently I did not make them last year, so he made sure to ask me if these were coming his way soon.

So Whirlwind and I got out our aprons and had a pretty good time. She didn't lose her patience and interest in the project until it was time to pull the cookies out of the oven. Not bad for a toddler.

I even made a few mini cookies just for her.

Red Tomatoes

Would you believe me if I told you we're still enjoying tomatoes from the garden? I know I know. The trick is to pick the green tomatoes off the vine before the first frost, then take them inside and wrap them in newspaper. Check them every few days and take out the ones turning red. The second trick is to try and not get sick of tomatoes!

Back from Vacation

Well I'm finally back from vacation. My husband and I spent just under a week in mid-coast Maine. It was slightly in honor of our five year anniversary (today!) and also just to recharge our batteries as parents and human beings. We spent time hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, sleeping, eating good food and watching sailboats pass by.

Speaking of good food, I loved being in a town where it felt like every other restuarant was touting their local food menu. I've done some reading and soul searching and really felt like I wanted to affect the economy and my health by eating as locally as I could this summer. My husband and I finally went to try the one restaurant in our area that offers a local menu. It was delicious (and slightly on the high end of price), but well worth it. But it was only one place. We don't live in a rural wasteland. We actually live in a beautiful county chock full of agriculture, farmer's markets and CSAs. But we only have ONE restaurant offering local food. It's starting to tick us off. Especially after visiting Camden, ME and seeing so many many local choices. Our nearby, small urban area could defintely support a few more places, or at least we think so. So there you have it Glens Falls, NY. We're calling you out. Start offering more local food. I'll eat it if you cook it!

And speaking of eating, our favorite eateries in Camden, ME were

1. Paolino's Way - crab pizza was excellent and we heard the baked oysters are to die for!

2. Cappy's - classic clam chowder and a surprising healthy salmon dish that my husband loved. Please - DO NOT skip out on dessert. Their cake and pies are heavenly. I had the lemon blueberry cheesecake. I told the waitress how wonderful it was and she said she was going to go have a piece herself. There was half a cake left and they were going to throw it out if it didn't all sell. I seriously contemplated buying the rest of the cheesecake and taking it back to the hotel with me. It wouldn't have lasted the night. My husband gave me the hairy eyeball. I backed down.

3. Shepherd's Pie - technically in Rockport, ME, but still delicious. Their signature shepherd's pie dish and fried squid were oh so tasty!

Well that's all I have time for tonight. But I'll leave you with a sneak peek from the beginnings of the end of the rainbow blocks. Did that make sense? Anyone?

Cranberry Sour Cream Muffins

You'd think I'd been doing nothing but sewing based on my last few posts, but alas, it is not true! I also have a love for baking. I can't resist turning on the oven when the summer heat starts to fade. My daughter and I cranked these out last weekend. Just tart enough for even my husband to enjoy (for those who don't know, his sweet tooth never came in).

Funny story...I let my daughter mix the dry ingredients while I mixed the wet. I look over to see her scooping tiny handfuls of flour out onto the counter top and floor. Yikes! I salvaged what I could, but was prepared for an overly soggy mix, especially since I use maple syrup instead of sugar. Of course they came out perfect! She must know more about baking than I do.

Fall is in the Air

I'm not one for 90 degree heat and humidity, but putting a sweater on in the morning seemed a little ridiculous for summer weather. I can see leaves on the ground, trees are starting to change. I don't like it. Then one night I made apple pie. My husband and I both ate fresh from the oven slices while wrapped in a blanket on the couch. It smelled like Fall. I'm ready now.

Bad Summer Sewer

I am a bad summer sewer. It's just not in me to defeat the heat and overcome the humidity. Instead I have become a human processing machine for our garden's bounty. I've processed zucchini like it's my job, well maybe it is my job...that's just depressing.

The tomatoes are starting to ripen. They taste so sweet! I am nervous for the full crop. I've been blessed with everything I need to can this year. So I've promised myself I will can tomatoes, pickles and relish. Oh boy. I can do this, I'm just not sure I know that!

But I didn't sign on today just to tell you about my garden and how sick I am of it. I wanted to let you all know that yes, I did indeed sit down at my sewing machine yesterday! And it felt good. I just made a couple seams and voila - I upholstered a toddler bed my husband made for our daughter. Alsmost a year ago I found this wonderful tutorial at Design*Sponge, courtesy of Design Mom. I am very thankful for a handy (and handsome) husband who can help me bring these projects to fruition.

We are now on day 2 of using said toddler bed. My daughter is sleeping the hallway. Oh boy. Wish me luck...

ps - I would show you pictures of this fantastic trip back into the land of sewing, but alas, our camera is broken. I'll drown my sorrows in zucchini bread.

Mommy Mondays

Daughter woke up cold (and therefore early)

Cuddle in bed for 5 more minutes of sleep

Wake up starving (nothing new)

Eat oatmeal

Convince Daughter to come downstairs and eat

Say goodbye to Daddy

Read same book 3 times

Trick Daughter into brushing her teeth

Daughter pretends to take nap on floor and refuses to leave the upstairs again

Hang up laundry to dry

Convince Daughter to come downstairs for a snack

Cook goop (anything goes) with Daughter

Make crackers (I'm crazy, I know)

Cook chickpeas for hummus

Watch Sesame Street

Play soccer outside (we're both still in our pajamas at this point and proud of it)

Change out of my pajamas because it's getting hot outside, not because I'm respectable

Take down dry laundry

Play in kiddie pool

(therefore convincing Daughter to take off pajamas and the coat she has acquired,

hence staving off heat stroke)

Convince Daughter to take a nap

Waste 2 hours making a budget

Run upstairs to retreive a screaming Daughter

Make hummus

Start chicken soup for dinner (while feeding multiple snacks to Daughter)

Go for a walk

Play soccer outside

Ride tricycle

Paint driveway with cornstarch paint

Read more books

Wander and run down hills

Celebrate the arrival of Daddy

Eat dinner

Go to work meeting

Sneak in an ice cream cone

Put my Daughter to bed

night night

Did I Sew Today? No...

 Sometimes I just want to do a little baking. After a successful loaf of french bread I tried Challah. Delicious!

Growing

Just so you don't think I stare at fabric all day, here is something else I've been working on and looking at every day for the past few weeks.

mmmmm...pepper seedlings!

Hope Springs Eternal

Yes - it was much too hopeful of me to expect the binding and basting of this spring quilt to be finished last night. Instead I spent my baby free time (8 PM to 10 PM) baking zucchini bread and boiling our left over chicken dinner into chicken broth for chicken soup tonight.

Side note 1 - I am getting quite excellent at homemade chicken soup, not to brag or anything...

Side note 2 - when you freeze 3 cups of shredded zucchini, it does not thaw into 3 cups, more like 1 cup. This is an excellent thing to learn at 9 o'clock at night. I rallied and didn't throw a temper tantrum though. Aren't you proud of me!

But tomorrow I will have a funny little post about the one sewing mistake I found while adding the border to the quilt. Stay tuned and enjoy!

mmm...Pie

Using last season's apples to bake a pie for my sweetheart. This is my second year making frozen apple pie filling. I've used the same recipe twice and I can't say it's my favorite. Anyone have a really good frozen pie filling recipe? I'm all ears...

Birthday Bash!

Well I rested up just in time for my daughter's 2nd birthday! I can't believe my baby is two. I can't believe I've had the privilege of loving her for two whole years. Time flies here on earth and deep in my heart. Here are a few snapshots from the festivities!

Convincing the Grandparents that less is more...

A banner I made her for her first birthday. It hangs in her bedroom when it's not party time.

She is in love with rainbows so I created a few drawings for her during naptime last week. It's amazingly fun to paint with finger paint and brushes!

And of course we had cupcakes to celebrate. A cake mix with lime juice (yummy and festive) with some homemade whipped cream. It was my first time making whipped cream and it came out quite well. I was so afraid I'd whip it into butter. This shot is of my daughter's cupcake after she manhandled the whipped cream on top. She never did eat the whole thing!
I hope you and yours had an enjoyable weekend as well!