Friday Wrap Up – My girls are growing up

September 19, 2014September 21, 2014 / Winnie / Leave a comment

It is amazing how fast your own kids grow up. I remember it taking forever for me to get old enough to leave the house but my girls are racing for it.

The previous few weeks saw my 2 wonderful girls heading off to their first days of school. I can’t get over how fast they are growing up……..so cliche……..but DANG IT!!!!

Jules is now in 3rd grade and needs glasses during class. 3rd grade is really when my memory kicked in. I have memories from before that time period, but they are disjointed. 3rd grade seems to be the turning point for me in remembering time frames, activities and actions clearly. That is driving home the reality that my kids are growing up and no amount of want will slow time down.

and then there is Jane….my youngest….sigh. She started pre-school. This is Jane on her first day of school.

Jane is our youngest and last. It kills me that she is getting to the point where she is no longer the ‘mini’ or the ‘baby genius’ ……that’s family code for Jane. She was always small for her age so people were surprised whenever she spoke….baby genius style. She has hit a growth spurt recently so that doesn’t happen anymore. *sniff*

My beautiful, smart, wonderful girls.

Last weekend of camping 2014

September 17, 2014September 21, 2014 / Winnie / Leave a comment

We went on our last official camping weekend and here are a few of the highlights…..with some great shots of father/daughter time.

The Setting:

Father Daughter time:

Learning how to skip rocks:

Papa taking the girls for a ride:

Good-bye Summer

Garden Tomato puree base for future meals

September 4, 2014September 4, 2014 / Winnie / 2 Comments

My garden is exploding in tomatoes…which I love…..I am just adjusting my plans with the tomatoes that are ripening as I go. I have only had a handful ripe at one time, so I have been able to easily make meals and/or snacks with them. This past week, I have had too many to work into our meals and not enough friends who like tomatoes (hello!). Hopefully, towards the end of summer – my mom and I will be canning together….but now I am making a frozen tomato puree to use in future meals.

Like my hard water??

20 roma tomatoes
6 heirloom tomatoes
1 tablespoon basil, oregano, thyme
2 tsp salt
1/2 chopped extra large onion or 1 small onion
1 tablespoon garlic
salt/pepper

I used my blender to puree all the tomatoes with a cup of water and added that to a large pot…..um..that pic doesn’t have all of them.

At this time, I started sauteing the onion with a dash of salt and pepper. Just towards the end, I added in the garlic….being careful not to burn it.

Then it all goes into the pot with the tomatoes. Then add the rest of the spices and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.

I taste tested mine as I went to ensure that it was not overpowering on the spices and still maintained a strong tomato taste. I want to use this as a base in future meals and since I have different options as to what those meals will be….I want to keep it loose.

After the mixture cooled, I poured it into some freezer bags and placed them in the freezer.

All in all – I am happy with the result and will let you know what meals I end up using this for.

Right off the bat, I am thinking – spaghetti, barley soup, chili and chicken makhani.

Labor Day

September 2, 2014September 2, 2014 / Winnie / Leave a comment

We were able to get away as a family this Labor Day….so get ready for the plethora of pictures. Sad story, I was in such a hurry to get out of town and drive the many hours to our camp spot…..that I forgot my camera battery that I was charging on my kitchen counter. So all of these are iPhone pics.