Saturday, December 6, 2008

Remembering Lily

December 6, 2006. Two years have gone by....but not one day has been without thoughts of Baby Lily. A tiny angel that God called home to be with him. I think of her everyday and even though life goes on, my heart is and always will be broken.

No farewell words were spoken
No time to say goodbye
You were gone before we knew it
And only God knows why.

Those we have held in our arms for a little while, we hold in our hearts forever.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Busy beavers

Wow! What a month it's been! I thought I should give a quick update since it's been over a month since I last posted. Let's just say I'm not spending much time on the computer these days since we are trying really hard to have our house ready to move in by Christmas Eve.

When we bought this farm we knew there were some things we wanted to change about the house...mostly just freshening up with new carpet, paint, etc. Well, once we got in there and starting really looking around, it has turned into more of a remodel than a freshening up! I wish I could post pictures for you to see but I'm using my parent's computer for the time being and don't really want to dowload my pictures on their computer...so I'll have to do that later (I have taken lots of pictures).

Just a quick rundown of things we've done are painting, stripping wallpaper, tearing down old plaster walls, adding a picture window, adding electrical outlets, tearing down a couple half walls to open the rooms up, ripping up carpet and framing a new ceiling in Leah's room. Still to do are putting sheetrock up where the old plaster was torn down, adding trim, getting carpet installed and of course painting and cleaning. Then all that's left is moving our stuff in and unpacking. All in freezing cold weather when I haven't even started Christmas shopping!! Whew! I'm worn out just thinking about it!!!

We are really hoping to get it done soon. We are doing all the work ourselves so it will feel like such an accomplishment to have it done! I am so thankful to have such a smart, talented husband. Jason is completely doing this remodel. All I can take credit for is painting, stripping wallpaper and holding a few boards for him. I am so proud of him!!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Farm tour

I thought I would post a few pictures of our new farm for everyone to see what we're so excited about. So, come along on a tour with me!

Pulling into the driveway you see this...


If you look to your right you see this....





....the orchard. There are 3 peach, 2 apple, 2 pear and a couple walnut trees there. We plan to add a cherry tree. Leah and I also want to add some kind of berries somewhere. Maybe blackberries....yummy! Those are pears in the bottom picture. I picked one up off the ground and I'm not kidding you, it was the size of a softball!

Wanna take a walk around? You'll see this....





Love this! I am a huge fan of old barns and this one definitely qualifies. It needs some repair but still usable.




The chicken house. It also needs some repair/paint but once it's fixed, it will be perfect for some chickens.



The grapevines are along the fence on the left side of picture. By the way, those tractor tires will be going. They were being used as planters, but we'll till up an area for a garden.


This will be our new home. It's small but will be cozy. I'd invite you in, but since we haven't officially moved in I'd better wait. My mind has been racing lately thinking of all the things we want to do with this place. Among other things, I have paint colors, flooring choices, furniture arrangements and storage space issues on my mind. It's probably a good thing we're moving here during the cold season because that way we can focus on getting the house in order and not get distracted with wanting to be outside.

We get possession next week and then the adventure begins!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Green Acres is the place to be!!!

Remember that farm we were hoping to buy? Well, we bought it this weekend! To say we are excited would be an understatement. I can't even begin to explain how relieved and happy we are to have gotten it bought. If you're new to reading this or have forgotten, it was sold on auction so we had no idea if it would be ours or not until the auctioneer said "SOLD!" and let me tell you.....it seemed like an eternity waiting for him to say it! But he did finally say "SOLD!" and we were the winning bidders.

I wasn't expecting the kindness that followed. The auctioneer asked for our names, introduced us to the crowd and asked them to "Give a hand to the new owners of this farm!" So, there we stood....a ball of nerves wondering if it was really real with all these people staring at us and applauding. The seller (an older man) and his family all immediately came up to us and introduced themselves. The rest of the afternoon, neighbors from surrounding farms would come up and introduce themselves and congratulate us as well. It really was such a great experience and a very nice welcome to our new life.

Several different people said how glad they were to see a young family buy the farm. One of the old man's sons said that he thought it would be easier for his dad to let go of his farm (he'd lived there for 62 years) knowing a young family was going to start their farm life there. I hope so. I hope he and his children know how happy we are to have their farm now. I hope they know that we will take good care of it and will treasure it for what it is. I hope they feel welcome to come back from time to time and revisit their homeplace. A place where so many of their memories were made....and so many of our memories await us.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Flu Shot

I told Leah yesterday that she would have to get a flu shot sometime soon. (We always tell her about her shots ahead of time so that she'll be better prepared and not so freaked out.) So, last night we're laying in bed and.....

Leah: "Daddy, I have to get a flea shot."

Daddy: "You mean a flu shot?"

Leah: "Yeah, a flu shot."

silence for about 30 seconds

Leah: "But, I don't want to get a flea shot!"

Batista


Since I just wrote a post about the chickens, I thought this would be a good time to tell you what we named our rooster and why. We wanted a tough name. Something easy to say (or yell) but really, tough. He is going to be the chicken guardian after all...he needs to have a tough name!

His name is Batista and he's named after the wrestler on WWE. Yeah, you read that right....WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). Isn't that funny? Before you start thinking I'm the wacky person who watches that, let me just tell you it gets even wackier than that! It's my DAD that watches it! He LOVES it. In fact, Friday nights at 7pm are set in stone around their house....Smackdown! Jason and I give him a very hard time about it and try to tell him that it's not real (hence the name World Wrestling ENTERTAINMENT) but I really think he believes it. He knows all of the actors, I mean wrestlers' names (his favorite is The Undertaker) and says things like "I bet that hurts!" when they bash each other with metal folding chairs. Yeah, right Dad.....I bet it hurts all right.

I have to admit that I know several of the actors, I mean wrestlers' names too.....but ONLY because we're at Mom & Dad's house every weekend and that's what's on the TV when we get there. I do feel a little weird about having a link to the WWE website on my blog, but hey...you guys needed to see the inspiration for the name!

We have a lot of fun with the Smackdown jokes and no matter how much we tease him about it, he still loves him some Smackdown!! I bet there aren't many 69 year old farmers watching Smackdown every Friday night! So, that's why we thought Batista was such an appropriate name for the Roo since Dad would be taking care of the chickens most of the time. He can have a little WWE around him every day!!! I do draw the line at one WWE name for the chickens though....we're not going to be naming the hens after the WWE Divas!! Don't get any ideas Dad!!!


Thursday, October 16, 2008

Chicken update


Can I just say that I LOVE my chickens!?! I don't know why we waited so long to get them. We are all enjoying them so much! Leah loves to give them treats and can't wait 'til the end of the day to give them their "scrat" (scratch). I think someone who is enjoying them a lot more than he thought is Dad. He likes to show us how they come running when he calls them and as much as he likes to pretend to be annoyed by them at times.....he's not fooling me! One evening, we were all out feeding the bottle calf and watching the chickens. Dad started to walk across the yard to get something from the shed and he had a steady line of 10 chickens following him!!! Why oh why didn't I have my camera?!?!?! We started laughing and he turned around to see his conga line. He tried to act indifferent and I think even grumbled something like "damn chickens", but he could not hide the smirk on his face. Yeah....he's enjoying them too....even if they are pooping on the concrete around his workbench. We'll just keep reminding him of the farm fresh eggs we'll be getting soon!

Here are some recent pictures of the chickens.




Dad and I fixed a nice little door for them.



Here is the rooster. Isn't he beautiful? He has started to crow....he doesn't have it down perfect yet but he's getting pretty good. Dad said he counted one day and the rooster crowed 14 times in a row! Guess he knows that practice makes perfect.





Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Making the quilt

If you read my last post, you'll know about the quilt I am working on for my sister's 40th birthday. I knew I wanted to make her a quilt months ago, but since I was still working on another gift project (which, by the way, is still unfinished), I didn't get started on the birthday quilt quite soon enough. I realized about a week before her birthday that I wasn't going to get it done so I resigned myself to the fact that I would just give her an unfinished quilt. If I had planned it right, I probably could have paid to have it quilted and had it completed in time...BUT, it was important to me that every stitch in this quilt come from my hands. OK, OK I'll admit that my Mom helped me baste the quilt sandwich but I assure you that's the only help I got!

The first step of picking fabric was pretty easy since I knew what colors I wanted to use. I chose the green paisley as my focal fabric and then picked the others to coordinate with it. I love these fabrics together, but I will say that the green paisley kinda lost its impact once the quilt was pieced. It probably would have been better in a quilt with bigger pieces so you could really see the pattern. Oh well!

The cutting took me about a week.....lots and lots of little squares! I'm also at a bit of a disadvantage because of our living situation. I laid my cutting mat on the coffee table....that was the best option available but really not a good option. I did a lot of the cutting there (aching back!) until my father-in-law came home with a big round folding table that he found at a garage sale. So, he and Jason set it up and made that into my temporary sewing room.
Side Note: I spent the past month hauling my sewing machine and all my quilting supplies back and forth between my father-in-law's house during the week and my parent's house on the weekends. I was a quilting maniac!!




Once the quilt top was together,
I took it to the fabric store to buy the backing fabric which I love! Then, Mom and I basted the quilt sandwich together (aching backs and sore fingers!) so I could start quilting. My original thought was that I would hand quilt it, but then I changed my mind and decided to machine quilt it. That's where I'm at now. I still have quite a bit left to quilt and then will have to put the binding on.

I can't wait for it to be finished!! Not that I'm not enjoying the making of it but it will be so satisfying to see it done and know I did it all myself. I think a quilt is a piece of art and also a piece of family history. I hope to make many more quilts in my lifetime....I LOVE this hobby!!

I already know what the name of this quilt is, but I'm not sharing that yet - not until the last stitch is in place. And the first person to know will be my sister. I hope she knows how much of my heart is in this quilt.




Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Good Times

We spent this past weekend at my sister's house for her 40th birthday. We drove all day Friday and arrived just in time for the surprise...about 5 minutes before my sister arrived! It was a very nice party and she was completely surprised. We had a great time together especially since we don't get many opportunities to "party" together anymore.



My gift to her was a handmade quilt. I am a beginner but I still wanted to do the entire quilt myself which is why it didn't get completed before her birthday. I wrapped it up and gave it to her anyway but had to bring it home with me to finish it. I'll post later about the making of the quilt.


Here we are after several glasses of wine and WAY past our normal bedtimes! Good Times!!





Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Missing my kitchen

Frozen pizza, frozen burritos, chicken nuggets, cereal, hard boiled eggs....anything simple with little prep involved. That's what we've been eating lately. Like I said before, we are living with my father-in-law for a couple of months until we move to the country. So, pantry/freezer/refridgerator space is very limited and I don't have any of my tools. And really....a cook's tools are as important to the meal as a carpenter's tools are to the furniture he makes. What I'm trying to say is it's really hard for me to "do my thing" in the kitchen right now. I am really struggling to come up with meals and most of our meals for the past several weeks have been lame to say the least. I normally cook nice, healthy meals from scratch, but I can't remember the last meal I actually cooked ('cause I don't consider frozen prepared food "cooking"). I love to cook. I love trying new recipes. I love feeding my family a homecooked meal. Simply put.....I LOVE GOOD FOOD!

It's only temporary. I should have a kitchen of my own by Thanksgiving and then my family won't have to wonder if I've lost my mind for serving them plain, browned, ground beef (don't laugh....I actually did that one night! At least it had salt & pepper in it. Hey, what can I say...we needed some protein!).

In the meantime, I'll nuke some frozen burritoes or for a special occasion I'll turn on the oven and make a frozen pizza. Oh, I just heard the front door open. It's Jason home from work.......

"What's for dinner honey?"

"You're in luck...we're having gourmet ramen noodles tonight!"

Friday, October 3, 2008

Retail therapy

I had some much needed retail therapy today. I didn't buy much...just a couple of shirts, but it helped. You see, I've been in a funk lately. One of those phases where I don't like my clothes, don't like my hair and don't like my makeup. Actually, I wore makeup today for the first time in maybe 2 weeks. I have never been a high maintenance person, but I have always tried to keep myself up. I have never gone overboard on any of these but enough to keep myself feeling confident. I have not been feeling confident lately....in fact, I've been feeling pretty rotten. Yucky, blah, plain.

I decided to get out of the house today and go shopping (for something other than groceries). I put on makeup, fixed my hair (who is that lady in the mirror??) put on some cute shoes (not my broken down flip-flops) and headed out. I found a couple really cute shirts....now I just need to wear them instead of always grabbing the same old thing.

So, that's a start in the clothing department....now the hair and makeup. I made an appointment to get my hair trimmed/highlighted next week and I'm researching mineral makeup (my dermatologist recommended it). Do any of you use mineral makeup that you love? I'm trying to decide which brand to try.

Hopefully, I can pamper myself a little and send this funk down the road.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

A place to grow roots?

We are in the middle of a big transition. We are about a month away from moving to a rural area. We have a house to move into which is in the town we will call "home" for a while.....until we can find a farm we want to make our home. My Dad made a great discovery last week and we went to look at it this past weekend. It's perfect for us! It has an older house that is livable for several years until we can build a new one. It has a couple of barns, a machine shed, a chicken house, a brooder house, grapevines and an orchard! The orchard has 4 peach trees, 3 apple trees and 2 pear trees. The apples and pears were abundant and literally making the branches sag from the weight! The grapevines still had huge bunches of grapes hanging even though the owner had already picked 15 gallons. As we were standing in the orchard, I looked at Jason and quietly said "I want it!"

Jason and Dad took a ride around the pastures to check them out and I stayed up near the house. I walked around and imagined living there. It wasn't hard to do. I could see my chickens wandering around the yard. I could see Leah outside playing with her animals (currently on her list is a horse, some ducks and some sheep). I made a mental list of what I would do with all the fruit we would harvest. Let's see.....grape jelly, maybe try my hand at some homemade wine, peach pies, peach preserves, apple butter, applesauce, pear butter and lots and lots of fresh fruit eaten straight off the tree! I can see Leah now standing under the trees eating a peach....warm juice running down her chin! Yeah....I'd say I'm sold. I can already feel my roots growing and we haven't even bought it! The scary part is that it is being sold on auction and you never know how that will work out. I am praying that it is meant to be ours. We'll find out October 18 and if we get it then we'll have the other house to sell. I don't want to wish my life away but I'm ready to be past this transition phase. I'm ready for some roots!!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Kids say the darndest things

It could have been much worse and she was just being honest. Sometimes, I'm able to quickly realize what is about to come out of her mouth and I somehow change the subject. This time, she had an open field because I was laying in the dentist chair with my mouth wide open, unable to say a thing.

First, a little history. I have been going to the same Father/Son dentist office for about 10 years and I love them. Every person on the staff is so happy and pleasant. They actually remember things about me and will ask when I go in every 6 months. I trust them completely. So, it just made sense that when Leah needed a dentist I would take her to them. Apparently, Leah has weak enamel because she already has had 3 fillings and I promise you that her teeth are taken care of probably better than most. We brush twice a day, floss and rinse with fluoride. Her first filling (about a year ago) was scheduled with my trusted dentist (the son) but when we got there he was out sick. So, the father was going to be doing the filling that day. I was a little reluctant because I wasn't sure what his manner was like with small children. Leah had only seen the son before and I could tell he was good with kids. I didn't say anything because I had been to the father before and I trusted him also...as an adult. I should have trusted my instinct and asked them to reschedule her with the son but I didn't.

He assured me that since it was such a small, surface cavity it would be easier on her to just do it quickly without Novocaine. Yes, you read that right....WITHOUT Novocaine. Without ANYTHING! He assured me that the shot of Novocaine would be worse than the actual drilling. I shuddered at the thought of it but he's the doctor, right? She was crying and screaming, of course. I was fighting back tears because I didn't want to scare her more. He stopped halfway through, picked her up and said "If you don't stop crying, Mommy is going to leave the room. But if you stop crying, Mommy can stay." I grabbed her away from him and told her I wasn't going anywhere. I wanted to punch him. I wanted to take that drill and stick it up his ass. I wanted to take my poor, scared daughter and leave that place right then.....but I couldn't leave because he already had drilled and there was a hole in her tooth. I guess I could have immediately gone to another dentist to try and get an emergency appointment but let me assure you my mind was not working. My blood was boiling and I could hear every beat of my heart in my head. It was terrible, awful, scary, traumatic....you name it. I was still mentally shaken by it a week later. Actually, just thinking about it now gives me chills. That's how bad it was.

So, back to the reason for this post! There I was laying in the hygienist's chair having just had my teeth cleaned and the son came in to check everything out. Leah is content in the corner, coloring away (having just talked the hygienist's ear off) when she pipes up "You know why I don't come here anymore?"

"No, I don't" says the dentist

"You guys weren't very gentle. We had to find a dentist that would be more gentle for me." she says.

All I could do was laugh. I wasn't going to try to cover up what she said because it was the truth.

Needless to say, Leah now goes to a pediatric dentist where the tools are "magic wands", the fluoride treatment is "tooth sparkles" and they get tokens for the toy machine, a balloon and a cup of ice cream when they are done! They also use nitrous gas and Valium if needed for doing fillings.

Friday, September 12, 2008

The Greatest Show on Earth or Highway Robbery??

My cousin Kerri and I took our kids to the circus last night. Let me preface this post by saying it really is a great show and the ticket prices are pretty reasonable considering the setup and equipment they must have. The part that made our jaws drop was the price of the souvenirs. Let's see....a bag of cotton candy with a cheap felt top hat $12, a snow cone in a plastic tiger cup $12, lemonade in a plastic drink bottle $9, a plastic light-up sword $20. You get the idea. I'm sure there were pricier items to be had....if you're not cheap like me!

I sat there during the show and knew that Leah was watching other kids come walking in with their cheaply made, overpriced junk....oh sorry, I mean with their souvenirs and I wondered what she was thinking. You know that our kids wanted that stuff just like all the other kids and I have to say that they were very good and didn't demand anything or throw a fit when we said "No". They each asked why they couldn't have a light-up sword and we both told them the truth. It's too expensive.

So, when Leah saw a kid come walking in with nachos or something and said "Mommy, I'm hungry", I pulled out her chicken nuggets from my purse that she didn't eat in the car. Then, she sees some kids walking in with their $12 snow cones and said "Mommy, I'm thirsty". What does this cheap mother do? Pulls out a juice box from my purse. (LOVE big purses!)

As we sat in the car leaving the parking garage we watched family after family walk to their cars, arms LOADED with souvenirs. I mean they had BAGS of stuff and most of them had 2-4 kids with them. We each had 1! We sat there and added up each family's purchases as they walked by. One family had $60 worth in their hands and then had about 2 bags full of who knows what!

It was a bit of a joke of course but then again it makes me think. I don't want Leah to sit through every event like this thinking "Why won't Mommy & Daddy let ME have any of that really, super cool stuff? They're SO cheap!" But, I also don't want her thinking she needs to get something everywhere we go. I don't think it's too early to teach her the value of things. If you should think we are depriving our daughter, come on over and take a look around her "toy room". If you can even get in the door that is!

Bottom line is we had a good time and that's all that matters. After all, who doesn't enjoy seeing little white fluffy dogs in green tutus doing back flips??

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Happiness is....

These days, nothing makes my little girl happier than this.....



She's also awfully fond of her new "cowgirl jeans" she got from Grandma!

Friday, September 5, 2008

DO feed the animals

We're heading to the farm today for the weekend. We're always excited to get there and see the animals. There is a new addition for us to care for....a baby calf! The mother had twins and only wanted to care for one so Dad and Jason took the abandoned one. Leah was so excited to feed him and is very excited to get there today and see him again!








The chickens are still growing and changing. They are 10 weeks old now and pretty much look like full grown chickens but they won't start to lay eggs until 20 weeks or so. The one I thought might be a rooster definitely is...or we have a very manly lady!


The goats got a treat last weekend of stale corn chips. They'll be excited to see Leah coming this weekend with the rest of the bag. She loves feeding her animals!


We have 8 weeks of city living left and then we're off to a more rural life. For now, our weekend trips will have to do.



Thursday, September 4, 2008

Excused Absence

OK, so I'm aware of the fact that you shouldn't have a blog if you're not going to post regularly but I have been very busy lately. I feel so uprooted right now because of this move (we are temporarily living with my father-in-law which is a post all it's own!!) and am having a hard time getting anything done. Probably the biggest reason I've been absent from blogland is that we spent 11 days with my sister and her kids. They came to the farm for a few days and then we went to her house for a few. We had so much fun and it was nice to have such a long visit since we normally just get a long weekend here and there. Leah got to show off her farm girl experiences to her cousins and was an old pro at catching the chickens for anyone wanting to hold one!


At my sister's house, we cooked lots of good food...


had a craft day, took our monkeys to see the kids at the zoo...


and spent lots & lots of time in their new pool! In fact.....we got accused by a certain someone (ahem, you know who you are) of being lazy bloggers because we were spending too much time by the pool.


Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The past 2 weeks

The past 2 weeks have been very busy. We finished up the packing and got moved out of our house this past Friday. We had a family group hug in the kitchen then walked out the door.
Then, it was on to the farm for the weekend where we had lots to do to keep us busy. We spent a lot of time with the chickens. I think one of the Light Brahmas might be a rooster which I am totally excited about! I wanted a rooster but was afraid I was going to have a hard time finding a Brahma one! I'm not 100% sure yet but "he" definitely has some signs of being a roo.....I'll keep my fingers crossed.


We also spent a lot of time in the hay field. Jason just bought an old square baler for $200....they didn't even know if it was going to work or not but for $200 it was worth a try! Dad and Jason spent a little time cleaning, greasing and wrenching on it then took it out to the field for a try.
It worked! This might sound strange, but it was so exciting!! We all kept looking at each other from our "stations" in the field and smiled. We ended up with about 400 square bales!

As I sat there on the tractor, I kept thinking about how this was the beginning of our new lifestyle. I tried to take it all in. I watched my Dad baling with a 50-60 year old baler that was the same as one his Dad used and could tell by the smile on his face that he was completely enjoying himself. I watched my husband bucking bales onto the trailer and knew how happy he was to finally be so close to his dream of farming. I watched my Mom drive Leah around on the 4-wheeler to watch us and hoped that Leah would appreciate the lifestyle we are choosing. I'm pretty sure she will...she has a list of animals she wants to get and also told me "Mom, if we're going to be farmers then I'm gonna have to get a farmer's hat."



Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Anyone want to help?


I have started the packing process. You know...pull everything out of drawers/closets....start making somewhat organized piles...get rid of things I should have gotten rid of years ago....then stand back, look and go do something completely unnecessary. At least that's what I do. Once again, my over thinking mind (or is it a cloudy mind?) complicates things more than they need to be. I can't pack that dish with this one because that one is crystal and this one is pottery. This box is for coffee cups only....and why do I have so many coffee cups??? Where do these things come from? Arghhhhh! I hate packing!!


So, does anyone want to come help?????


Monday, August 4, 2008

Bittersweet

We are finally getting ready to make our move to the country. Our house sold last week and the new owners get possession August 18. In case you don't have a calendar nearby, that's only 2 weeks from today! I have 5 days to get the entire house packed up and ready to be moved this weekend! There's no doubt that it can and will be done but I am having the hardest time getting started. You see....I get really attached to my home. I know it's just a "house" and that "Home is Where the Heart Is"....but it is going to be difficult for me to walk out of this house. We just built it two years ago and we absolutely love it! People were constantly saying Building a house involves the biggest fights a married couple has! We never fought about it one time. Partly because we have similar styles but mostly because Jason just let me choose everything. If we were to build another house anytime soon....there isn't much I would do different from this house.


The hardest part of leaving for me is the feeling of closing the door on a part of our lives. There are so many memories in this house. I know I'll take all of those with me but it really is like the end of a chapter. Two amazing years of Leah's life were here. Our daughter Lily was born in this house. It was here that I broke the exciting news of our twin pregnancy to Jason & Leah only to find out 3 days later that there were no heartbeats. There has definitely been sadness in this house but there has been much happiness - many, many blessings. These walls give me comfort and a sense of security.

I am very excited about the new chapter we are about to start. I'm so happy that we are going to raise Leah in a rural area and that she will get to have some of the experiences I had as a child. This move is a positive thing and something we are very happy about, but I can't help being a little sad at the same time.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

New recipes

I have tried a couple new recipes this week and both turned out to be keepers. I found both of them on this AWESOME blog I stumbled across!! If you love to cook, you will quickly mark this blog as a favorite!

I found it because I was searching for Ratatouille recipes. Leah has the movie and it is really cute. After watching the movie, Jason asked me what ratatouille was and if I could make it. I had never made it but wanted to try it out. Every recipe I've ever seen for it looked like a mushy mess so I was curious if Remy's (the rat from the movie) recipe was actually real. We had eggplant and zucchini from the garden so it was the perfect opportunity to try it out. You can find the recipe here. Let me just say it is 1. Beautiful and 2. Yummy! Mine didn't turn out quite as beautiful as hers but she probably didn't have a 4 year old helping her! It was delicious though.


There are lots and lots of recipes I want to try from smittenkitchen but so far I've only had time to try the Ratatouille and her version of huevos rancheros. It is SO good and SO easy! I had garden fresh tomatoes and onions to make the salsa.....oooohh my!! I did not have a jalapeno so I just put several dashes of green tabasco.
The next night, I had some leftover salsa & black beans so I mixed them together...cooked a couple of ears of corn and cut them off the cob then added that to the salsa/bean mixture. I cooked up some hamburger and seasoned it.....threw in some cheddar cheese....topped it with sour cream.....fried up some corn tortillas and voila.......dinner was served! Jason said they were the best tacos he's had! They were delicious and super easy!


Wednesday, July 30, 2008