Monday, August 31, 2015

...lots and lots of tomatoes...and okra too...

...we received lots of tomatoes from some of our parishoners...we'd just come home and find another bag on the porch...
...and we couldn't be more grateful...
...so I filled the sink with ice...
...and started washing tomatoes...
...plopped them briefly into some boiling water...
...and then right straight into the ice water...and the skins just fall off...
...then I cut out the stems and peeled them all...
...I was talking to Mom over the weekend...and she was telling me that grandma didn't even boil hers...she just put them straight into the freezer...skins on...and then when she took them out of the freezer the skins fall off as they thaw...

...so...next batch I'm going to try that...
...then I filled up all of my available freezer containers...and now we'll have some fresh and flavorful tomatoes for the winter when grocery store tomatoes are not so flavorful...

...Mom was also telling me that she made a tomato sandwich from canned whole tomatoes...so you can bet I'm going to try that this winter with these tomatoes too...
...oh...and we had another big bag of okra...so it all got washed...
...and got the same freezer treatment as before...
...sliced on a tray...
...and frozen...
...I have 4 gallon bags full of cut okra in the freezer now too...

...what have you been preserving for the winter?...

~Have a lovely day!

Saturday, August 29, 2015

...and another college visit...

...so...we went for another college (university) visit...UNCW...
...so we gathered on a gorgeous day...on the beautiful campus...
...with a bunch of other prospective students and their parents...
...to learn all about UNCW's history...
...and course offerings...
...and toured all of the buildings...
...this is our 4th university tour...and I'm not sure that the decision will come down to how well the school did presenting themselves on the tour...I mean they're fun and all...to a point...but just based on the tours...they are all pretty perfect...so in the end Scout will have to decide where he wants to be for those (short) 4 years...

...and...we actually have a couple more tours planned for the near future...

...did you do a bunch of tours...or did you just know?...

~Have a lovely day!

Friday, August 28, 2015

...a cool and refreshing zero calorie drink...

...it's been a really hot and dry summer here...
...but I found these flavored seltzer waters...
...vanilla is my favorite...
...I just add a pinch of stevia to the glass...and some ice...
...and pour the seltzer over the ice...
...it tastes just like cream soda...

~Have a lovely day!

Thursday, August 27, 2015

...a Rustic Vegan Blackberry Cobbler...

...in addition to all of the neighborly veg we've been receiving...
...we've also been taking advantage of nature's bounty...
...and I've got the stained fingers to prove it...
...all of the berried didn't make it into the bucket...
...and the bushes were loaded with berries...
...so I brought them inside and washed them...
...greased a casserole with Earth Balance...
...measured out 4 cups of berries...
...added a half cup of sugar...
...and a couple of Tablespoons of flour...
...gave it a quick but careful stir...
...and dumped the berries into the casserole...
...leveled it out...
...then I mixed up some vegan biscuit dough...Earth Balance and flour...
...enough soymilk to make a soft dough...
...not too stiff...
...then I dolloped it on top of the berries...
...almost covering the top...but with some berries still peeking through...
...baked until golden brown and bubbly...
...we love it still warm from the oven...but leftovers make a good breakfast too...
...it was delicious...

~Have you ever picked wild berries?...

~Have a lovely day!

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

...the last First Day..

...of course there will be a first day of college...and first day at his first job...etc...

...but we are happy to celebrate this milestone with Scout...
...and he gets up earlier here than anywhere we've lived before...it's barely daylight when he leaves...

Previous First Day posts:

2007 - apparently I didn't post him going out the door photo...I have one of course...

2008 5th Grade

2009 6th Grade

2010 7th Grade

2011 8th Grade - in North Dakota...

2012 9th Grade - High School

2013 - 10th Grade

2014 - 11th Grade

~Have a lovely day!

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

...More Cucumbers = More Pickles...

...our neighbor who did the second planting of squash...also did a second planting of cucumbers...and we got a few bags of them...
...and another of our parishoners grows dill weed...and she gave us a bag full...
...so we soaked some more cucumbers...
...and made another batch of Aunt Frances' sweet pickles...
...but that hardly put a dent in all those cucumbers...
...so I got our Aunt Delores' Dill Pickle recipe...
...and some garlic...
...harvested some dry dill seed...
...and chopped a bunch of garlic...
...and mixed everything together in a big bowl...
...for now we're storing these in the fridge and eating them like refrigerator pickles...I may can them later...if they last that long...

~Have a lovely day!