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“My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, war, banished from the earth.”
-George Washington
This past weekend, in honor of those who have fallen we...
There's a new post over at Steady Mom today. A few little ideas for making the monotony of motherly tasks a bit more enjoyable.
Fold your laundry outside!
This morning it is quiet.
Other than the mama mallard duck outside the front door quacking away for her breakfast.
She had an injured foot for awhile and she couldn't walk very well, so she set up shop in our flower beds. The stalking cats didn't even seem to bother her. So Wyatt started feeding her every morning. Now she's gotten a bit demanding and quacks loudly if she doesn't get her morning meal.
I've been busy this morning.
Right now the whole house smells like spinach. When I was a kid I used to hate that particular smell. But now love it. So earthy and rich.
Between the chard that I have raised and what we've been getting from our CSA, my cup overfloweth with swiss chard. I'm trying to be better this year about freezing what we can't use right away. So far so good.
Chard seems to be one of those greens that are a bit new to some of us and if you receive a bunch in your csa, you might not know what to do with it.
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The NYT has a great article about the health benefits of chard and a nice list of recipes. We have tried several of them and so far our favorites are to throw a bit into our pizza like we would spinach and thrown in eggs with a bit of onion and tomato.
From what I've read so far, the only greens you can't freeze is lettuce. So, everything else we're freezing for later use.
Kale, Chard, Spinach, Turnip Greens, etc. can all be blanched and frozen.
I've been collecting recipes using chard. Below is a list of some of our favorites.
How To Freeze Swiss Chard And Other Spring Greens
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Step 1 - Pick the greens!
Remember that the greens cook down quite a bit, so you may feel like you have picked a lot, but they will cook down by more than half.
Step 2 - Wash the greens
Step 3 - Trim off any brown edges or damaged pieces
Step 4 - Blanch
Fill a large pot half way full of water. Bring water to a boil. Add greens and boil briefly for 2-3 minutes.
Step 5 - Cool
Stop the greens from overcooking by dipping them quickly a bowl of ice water. Then drain them in a strainer.
Step 6 - Bag the greens
When greens are drained, seal them in ziploc type bags.
Step 7 - Label and freeze
Using a sharpie marker, label and date the bags and pop them in the freezer.
If you have a great use for chard or other greens, I would love to hear how you are using all of these great spring greens!
Remember we had a very long list of things that we wanted to do this past weekend. In reality there was not way to get to it all.
But the most important things were covered.
--strawberries were picked with two extra friends in tow...that's five little boys in all. And only one (one of mine) had to go sit in the car for jumping over the rows.
--the farm was visited, first csa of the season was picked up! Turnip chips were a complete success. We used the same idea as the terra chip recipe and they were devoured in a matter of a few minutes.
--warbirds were seen over head without even visiting the airport.
--soccer games were won...and lost.
--breakfast with a friend was oh, so worth it! Note to self, plan breakfast out with a friend more often. The boys were able to have their slow Saturday morning and I got out before anyone missed me.
--birthday party for a little friend...check!
This morning I'm trying to get a bunch of these pretty berries prepared and frozen. We did this last year and had enough berries to use in smoothies all winter. Yum!
We'll also try to make a batch of fruit leather as well. It continues to be a favorite of all the kiddos in the neighborhood.
How about you? How was your weekend?
Well yesterday I didn't have an entire day to myself, but I did get a morning. And it could not have been more perfect.
One of my best friends and I have had some time blocked off on the calendar for what seems to be weeks now. We didn't know what we would be doing, and honestly it didn't really matter. But we knew getting together was important, chatting, grabbing a cup of coffee. Wandering...all very important you know.
We ended up driving out to a little rural area just South of here. Just the drive was therapeutic. As the grocery stores and drive-throughs gave way to planted fields and farms stands, I could just feel the pressures and stresses we've both felt as of late melt away.
We ended up at a new little antique/vintage/handmade shop called Southern Fried. We were there 30 minutes before opening time, but the owners let us in and browse anyway. Love it when shop owners are so nice. If you are local you should definitely check it out.
Next we ended up at one of our favorite plant nurseries. It is not the cheapest place to buy plants, but they put things together so nicely it is a great place to get ideas of color combinations and textures. You end up thinking about putting plants together you'd never think of. Kind of like browsing through an Anthropologie store. I can't afford to buy anything, but just looking at different ways of putting together what you already have is inspirational!
We didn't end up buying much. I picked up some Lamb's ear to replace some I lost when I re-did our front flower beds. And my friend picked up a gorgeous dark purple pepper plant (I can't remember the name now) that neither of us had ever seen before.
And I loved seeing all of the new colors, most importantly salmon colored verbena. I have some around our mailbox in purple, but never seen it in this soft peachy color. Love it!
And succulents! I could very well become addicted to all of the new varieties of succulents. That wouldn't be such a bad thing would it?
So happy to be heading into a very busy next few days feeling a bit more rested, calmed, centered.
There is a lot going on this weekend. We'll see how much we can fit in, but our next few days may include any combination of the following:
It might all be a bit too much to ask, but if I get half of it done I'll call it good!
Happy weekend to you!
So, my hands haven't touched my sewing machine since I finished this quilt. But its time to jump back in with both feet.
The end of the year is quickly approaching and end of the year teacher gifts have been on my mind.
I've remember Erin's gorgeous quilt using school children's drawings. And I absolutely love, love Grammie K's auction quilt. And I couldn't help but think that these would make great teacher gifts.
So, last week my friend Penny (Wyatt's kindergarten class room mom) and I cut forty 12 inch muslin squares and took them into Wyatt's kindergarten classroom. The kids used fabric markers and drew pictures using the teacher's favorite colors.
One of the quilts will most definitely have a rainbow theme.
And the other, I think has an bug/flower theme.
This afternoon, I'm watching the rain and cutting 5 inch strips out of purple and orange batik for framing these masterpieces.
Oh, and did you see the pretty purple quilt Amanda and her daughter whipped up?
Such goodness!
...I'm a soccer mom.
I've avoided the title, and the negative connotation it carries.
But I think I'll embrace it now.
My husband played. All three of my boys play.
Saturday night we went to a Piranhas game. We have a vested interest in the team. Our family is hosting a young woman named Alyssa for the summer. She is playing forward for the Piranhas and Saturday night was their first game.
The Piranhas lost 2-0, but Alyssa ended up getting 4 stitches in the knee from the opposing team's goalie. Which for three boys might just be cooler than actually winning the game.
Yes, its official.
I'm a soccer mom.
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“To live in this world, you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go” - Mary Oliver
Sorry I haven't been around more often. If you've read this blog for very long, you know I do that sometimes. When life gets busy and crazy I just have to focus on what's right in front of me. Which lately has been an impromptu upstairs bathroom redo and crazy busy soccer schedule. The garden continues to overflow and I am facing the task of putting up as much chard, spinach and herbs as I possibly can.
And of course, there have been other things. Behind the scenes. Life has not been all rainbows around here. Although we've seen three rainbows in real life the past few weeks as the Spring storms roll through our area. I've been feeling a bit under the weather and there have been marriage challenges and parenting challenges and I have a fever blister the size of Texas on my lip. But if I've learned anything since beginning this blog, it is that I am stronger than I ever knew. I can do this. In the words of the Little Engine That Could... I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. |
In lieu of this last night's news, I'm feeling a bit quiet.
A lot quiet.
I know the act was just. It is done.
But part of me is mourning all of those lives lost and families torn apart to get to this place.
I can not celebrate. And feel a bit confused by those who are dancing and singing in the streets.
So, I am headed out to my garden this morning for some needed quiet and reflection.
And when my boys walk in from their day at school, I will hold them tight. Make them a snack and say a little prayer that we get a few more of these everyday moments in the months to come.
Much love to you all this morning!