Happy Thanksgiving

So much to be thankful for! It's a lovely day in Georgia and actually the day after Thanksgiving but since I am surrounded by family  - who are playing games and we're all stuffed again, it seemed like a good idea to once again give thanks. My contributions to this year's meal were limited - but that's kind of nice for a change. I did make pies - an apple cider pie and Grandma Hansen's rhubarb pie, and I also made the sweet potato casserole - with the crunchy cornflake topping. I am looking forward to a slice of pie in a little bit.
But thankfulness is the topic here so let me list a few things - just to keep record for myself. It has been a good year. We've kept in business another year - even though John had to move the office home and do some layoffs, we still have a business which supports us and several employees and we have work to do. We may even dig out of this hole at some point if it keeps up like this so there is much to be thankful for. I have found work this year in various forms and those jobs have helped as well. The biggest new experience job wise has been the speaking engagements that have come about - who knew I would enjoy that so much! And I have been able to do lots of craft and art projects this year. Travels have been enjoyed and over 20 states have been visited. And best of all has been the new addition to our family - daughter in love, Laura, and the fun family times that surrounded that fun event.
Health issues have cropped up over the year for several of us but God is good and things that could be worse have been solved or  solution options are being sought.
And farming has been fun. We've not spent much time at the farm but we did have a great harvest of sweet potatoes and my globe amaranth harvest was almost overwhelming. I dried tons of it and used some of it to make wreaths for Mike's rehearsal dinner. And photos were successful this year as well. I enjoyed writing the blog for Stoney Lonesome Farm and one of the pictures I used was "found" by Bon Apetit. Woot woot!
So much to be thankful for - its been a good year!

so neglected

4 weeks! since I last blogged - what a violation to blog land. I've thought about it, and certainly had plenty of inspiration around me but just didn't get there. So my apologies to anyone who has missed me and if you didn't well then here's a new read.

I've been across the country and back. Exactly four weeks ago I was packing up to fly to San Francisco and speak at a women's retreat. I had a lovely time, made new friends, saw new places, and made a decision that it was a good time to search out my roots. I've made this decision before and things did not pan out for one reason or another but this time I have committed to the search and the find. I have a very knowledgeable friend working on it who lives locally (I was born outside of San Fran) and I am digging through everything I can get my hands on to get info to her. Adoption was a very different ballgame in the 60s than it is nowadays so we will see what we can find.

Speaking was greater fun than I expected. Aside from the fact that sweat was rolling off my back, I felt calm and felt like it went well. Comments were favorable and follow up emails have been great. I could get used to this as another ministry for this phase of my life, provided there are more people who want to hear what I have to say. I did another retreat here in VA which also went well. It was at Grave's Mtn Lodge which is a beautiful setting. I have one more speaking engagement in December for a senior group in PA and then next year for a MOPS group. I'm also working on some different material so people have options.
On the home front we've been rolling along nicely. Getting used to having John's office in the house and his assistant a couple days a week. I've been up to my usual tricks - made about 8 qts of applesauce and have another batch to do. Roasted 6 pumpkins and froze that for future feasts. I made a delicious apple cake this week which was gone in a flash since I took it to small group. I've also been busy crafting since Christmas is coming. My yahoo art group made Thanksgiving banners and now we are swapping Christmas ornaments. I am having a Mary and Bright sale in early December so working on some surprises for that too. Will start to feature those after Thanksgiving.
Speaking of Thanksgiving we will be headed to Atlanta via Lookout Mtn to see Kayla play basketball. Then we'll all head to Ensign and Lisa's for the weekend.
But first this weekend we have to head to the farm and winterize the place before the pipes burst.So our last trip down there for a while. OF course there will be pictures from there too so perhaps it won't be 4 weeks between posts this time.

thanksgiving banner each member of CPA donated a pennant 

 

 a delicious harvest lasagna with kale, butternut squash, Ricotta cheese and Parmesan

 In the meantime - Blessing to you on this Thanksgiving week. May your attitude be one of gratitude. We have been given MUCH!

playing with the goats and the electric fence

My daughters and I went for a Sunday drive, cameras in tow, to look for pretty pictures. Well actually our goal was to pick up our last CSA share. Yes another season is over - almost - turns out we get a bonus week! Yay! While at Stoney Lonesome Farm we enjoyed walking the farm and enjoying the crisp air and the view. The leaves didn't seem to be too much changed at the farm (there's an awkward sentence). but Fall was definitely in the air. We were walking along minding our own business, calling to the horses and goats in the field, when "something" bit me. "I think that fence is electric," called Kayla! DUH! without thinking she had put her hands down on the wire. As she got zapped she pulled back which cause the wire to rock and hit me while leaning over to take a picture. No one was hurt but it sure gave us the giggles for a few minutes. Kayla refused to open any gates or touch anything after that. The scenery was gorgeous and I am happy to share it with you.

 still coming - pumpkins

 a group of kids were picking beans for "the hungry" in DC

 a little taste of fall

 another "taste" of fall...colorful swiss chard

" come play with me"

keeping her distance from the fence

Fall...My Favorite Time of Year

I do love fall; the cooler temps, the beautiful colors, the pep in the air, the time of renewal. But this year I have let it get away from me. It's been a busy month+ with a wedding, some travels, sickness and more travels. We have been to the farm twice - quick trips each time but oh so relaxing as you drive onto our property and feel peace. If only it were closer! We even missed out on most of the apples this year. It wasn't too great a year for production with the crazy weather but after one picking we returned to find the majority of them on the ground. Darn - I am almost out of homemade applesauce too! The Arkansas Blacks are still on the tree and will get picked next trip. They really are best if they sit a while over the winter so hopefully I'll get a few pies and so forth out of them around the holidays. Here's a review of the last month - in pictures and if you "read" all the way down to the end have I got some fun news for me - squeal!!!

 the last of the flowers from the farm

and "Making Hay while the Sun Shines"

 Baby boy gets married - Oct 1, 2011

Mike and his lovely wife Laura

 playing peek-a-boo - see the bride on the right? 

great shot captured by our friend Steve

 Grandma and Kayla - after collapsing at the rehearsal dinner and spending much of the night in the ER, grandma was present and perky the next day!

 The Underwood clan

My daughter shows me what she'll look like as a mommy - Be Still my Heart

 The Love of My Life!

 The signature Underwood candle holder

available for sale

Goodbye flowers - hello leaves

And my news - which really isn't that big but still exciting - Bon Apetit magazine has contacted me about using a picture of mine in an upcoming issue - they actually found it on my other blog - the one I get paid to do - Woot Woot - will let you know the details when I know them.

Traveling and neglecting real life

This world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through.....
I always have a song in my head - it's a genetic thing I am told. These last weeks have been so busy and then yesterday I sat down to blog about it and after finishing the writing and adding all the pictures, I lost it. Yup pushed the darn button and woops - all gone. This new interface makes me so mad but I suppose I have no one to blame but myself. I am impatient! and I don't take my time! and then I've wasted it!
So I will try again this evening to catch you up on things.

 

Can he always stay this age in my heart?

First of all in less than a week my only son gets married. Yesterday was his 26th birthday. As happy as I am for him and as much as I love his soon-to-be bride I find it is hard to let go. I never thought of him as a momma's boy but I will miss him. We enjoy each other and we do a lot together. He's been home and "in my way" these last few weeks and they have been precious. And in less than a week, he reminds me he is "leaving" and "cleaving" to someone else who will take first place in his life. And in one week after the honeymoon they move all the way across the country to San Diego. I'll miss his always messy room and his creatures that he paints, and the paint spills on the bedding and the carpet and the jerseys that hang on the wall. He has moved it all out of his room and it felt so empty I had him push the elliptical trainer down there to fill up some space. That actually frees up some space in "my" craft room so I am working on organizing that so I can actually get some work done in there.
Aside from the wedding I have been busy getting ready for speaking at two women's retreats. The first is in San Francisco and the second here in VA., all within the next 4 weeks. My material is almost ready to go but I find I am usually doing my best work at night so in the morning I work, in the afternoons I run errands and do household chores and in the evening I write and study. I am definitely reaching my goal of less TV! My CSA job is almost over - just a few weeks left of blogging about vegetables and that unfortunately means time to get them from the grocery store or get up early enough on a Sat morning to go to the farmer's market. I've also started a new job at my church in the childcare department so I work several mornings a week with kids - all ages from 8 weeks to 4 yrs old although I try to get in with the babies as much as I can - that gives me my granny fix for a bit and I can stop pressuring my kids to produce! On any given week I can see and hold and play with up to 60 different kids (Wed is Bible Study, Thursdays is MOPS, Fridays is Body and Soul and they are all attended by different people) so I definitely think I am getting my fix. On Thursday nights I've started tutoring in a low income neighborhood nearby. Everything starts up new in the fall!

 

near Pemaquid Point - after "Irene" had been through

Before all this crazy schedule got ramped up I did have a beautiful trip up the east coast to Maine and then down the southern route to GA. Ten days, 12 states and lots of people in between, made for a really fun time.

 Sunset on North Pond

And getting to see Kayla play volleyball again was a bonus. I almost missed my coaching days - but not enough to sign up for that too!

October 1, 2011

Chapel at Quantico

 the bride and groom

Now in five days I will have a house full of the ones I love. And we'll be making memories to last a life time!

Veggie Sauce or Cleaning out the frig before travel

Tomorrow I leave for Maine - part vacation and part serving someone else- I am looking forward to the time away. Not so much with a hurricane and the forecast but I am sure that we will have some beautiful days somewhere along the way. But first I have to clean out my frig and prepare a few meals for the menfolk who are staying behind.

Enter lots of veggies...between my own garden and my CSA share and my family dwindling in size I have a bunch of misc veggies that need something done to them. A few weeks ago I made a lasagna from a recipe that was submitted for the CSA newsletter and I tucked away the idea that this sauce could really be used for lots of things. So this morning I pulled everything out and began to reconstruct the recipe based on what I had available

Part one - You really want to do the prep ahead of time, there is nothing worse than something burning in the pan while you chop the next ingredient. The only exception to this was I saved my eggplant to chop at the last minute because it browns so quickly.
So: peel tomatoes and chop veggies. I used a leek and a red onion, garlic, peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, okra, chopped tomatoes, fresh herbs and fish pepper.
Cook in a skillet w olive oil in the above order. When the onions and peppers are soft, add the squash, when the squash is soft, add the eggplant, etc. adding oil as needed. Then once you have everything softened add the chopped tomatoes and herbs. Then I added a can of diced tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce. Cook everything until desired consistency, add salt and pepper to taste and you have a delicious multi-purpose sauce.

Excellent in lasagna, yummy on pasta or my favorite - scooped over focaccia bread. Just for fun lets call it upside down pizza. I took one focaccia bread, topped it with grated cheese and some chunks of Brie, then put a scoop of sauce on top. The juices soak into the bread making a cross between a panzanella experience or a soup with croutons. I love it - hope you will too.

As for amounts - you can really use whatever. The first time I made it I had one of each vegetable, and 1 can of each kind of tomato. Made just enough for a 9x13 lasagna. The second time I made it I doubled the ingredients and had enough for pasta with dinner plus put a qt in the freezer. Today when I made it I used about 6 of everything, used three cans of each kind of tomatoes, two pans and will can all of it for later use. Just finishing the canning process - made 6 qts of sauce.

Small Batch Canning

this week's pickle relish

I used to enjoy canning large batches of anything. We had a larger garden so had more produce. I had friends who enjoyed canning too so every summer we would get together and put up food for the winter - salsa and spaghetti sauce with Laurie T., applesauce and peaches with Linda S., Then I got busy - I guess working or something, and canning sort of fell by the wayside. When I found myself with a little more free time and the surge of farmer's markets and CSA picked up I also found that I no longer had the right equipment. My new fangled glass top stove couldn't handle my "antique" hot water bath canner, I had given most of my plethora of jars away. I WANTED to can - I just didn't want to make the investment all over again with much fewer people at home to eat the results. I tried freezing but my freezer always seems to be full of treats from my boyfriend - I mean the Schwan's man, and I don't think far enough out to thaw things. (We do love frozen applesauce though!)

Then I discovered this - aptly named the Ball Discovery kit - and this summer I have fallen in love with small batch canning.
The schnazzy green plastic basket fits in my stock pot - flat bottom I might add, and I "can" do 4 jars at a time or just one if I want. It fits small half pints and large quarts so I can do whatever size jar works for my needs. It plus three jars cost me about $20 bucks at Southern States and I've seen it elsewhere recently so it must be catching on.

To date I have made rhubarb jam, peach jam, peach butter, salsa, and this weekend pickle relish. I love to listen to the ping, ping, ping as the jars settle on the counter. I love the bright jewel colors glistening in the sunshine. I love that I can stick them in the closet and not take up valuable freezer or pantry space. And I especially love the fresh taste of sweet summer each time I open a jar.

2 qts of veggie sauce nicknamed "Clean out the frig" sauce
ready for canning

peach extras from the farmer's market