We spent the first week of July with Seth’s family having a reunion with the whole gang. It had been years since we had all been together so it was fun to catch up!  We have added kids and continents. We packed the week with lots of fun at the beach, family farm and in between.

The thing our little family needed to do differently throughout the week was to find some balance with some times just as a family, removing the boys from the crowd and helping them to have some quiet! Even an extrovert like me was in need of some down time in a clan of 16 around the clock! You live and you learn.

Here are some picture highlights from the fun trip!

Like the rest of the garden I had very little hope that our blueberry bushes would actually produce many blueberries. Around Memorial Day they were both looking hopeful so we decided to wrap them in netting to protect them from the birds. Turns out the only birds endangering the crop were little boys. They came in one afternoon (the day before I planned to pick) with blue stained teeth and sheepish looks. Once we made a batch of blueberry muffins I decided it was time to set them free on the bushes. They now have permission to eat them as they ripen.  Sweet snacks in the midst of backyard adventures. And they taste much better now that they aren’t forbidden.

I thought this week I would share my mom’s Blueberry Muffin Recipe. These muffins are more dense than some, less cakey and more sconey almost. I made a batch this week and added 1/4 tsp baking powder which helped them to fluff up and lighten a bit.  The secret to their yumminess I think it that you soak the oats in the orange juice while you mix the other ingredients. The orange zestiness combined with the blueberries is a great combo.  Enough “ness”‘s. Here’s the recipe…

Blueberry Muffins

Recipe from Judy Seckinger

1/2 c rolled oats

1/2 cup orange juice

(pour juice into oats and set aside, allowing the oats to soak up the juice before mixing them into the batter)

Mix together the following in a big mixing bowl:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp soda

{1/4 tsp baking powder- I added this, it’s optional}

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup oil

1 egg, beaten

Stir in the oats and orange juice, fold in the blueberries:

1 cup blueberries

Do not over mix or they will not be light and fluffy.

Mix 2 T sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle over the top of the muffins.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Thanks mom for another yummy recipe in the family collection! These don’t last more than a day in our house!

Up next for Garden Eats is homemade salsa! Stay tuned!

Jackson’s birthday happens to roll around each year in the midst of a move, summer break and in this year’s case..morning sickness/just being big pregnant. I wasn’t up for a big bash. We normally do extended family and a bunch of friends. This year I let Jackson invite 5 friends for a simple pizza and cupcake “pirate party”. I really tried to resist the mom guilt that went along with down-sizing but after our big Texas trip this year I just was not up for a big shindig. We filled some water balloons, did a mini scavenger hunt, put on pirate tattoos, ate pizza and called it a party! The absolute best thing that happened was that my friend Annie’s flight got cancelled (good for us not for her so an hour before the party we landed ourselves Annie and 4 teenage girls to help with the party. They made it so much more of a party than I could of and Jackson felt so special!!

on the day of his real birthday we had cake as a family and he got to pick dinner!  I can’t get over how big he is! We love him so much. Happy Birthday, Jackson!!

Last week I called my friend Rebecca and told her that I had about 10 pickling cucumbers that I had to learn something to do with. She jumped on the challenge since she is a pro and came over the next day for a fun pickling day. I took the boys out early in the morning and harvested the cucs. I dunked them into ice water to crisp up the skin and gathered our other ingredients. We decided on the Epicurious recipe for the pickles and made a couple of adaptations.

Fast Favorite Garlic Dill Pickles

adapted from Epicurious 2001

• 8-10 small pickling cucumbers (about 3pounds/1.5kg)
• 2 cups (500 mL) white vinegar
• 2 cups (500 mL) water
• 2 tablespoons (25 mL) pickling salt (we used sea salt…pickling salt is used to prevent funny coloring, our garlic is a little purple but as long as you don’t mind funny coloring they are safe and the taste is unchanged)
• 4 heads fresh dill or 4 teaspoons dill seeds (20 mL)
• 4 small cloves garlic
• we added a tsp of pickling spice to the jars as well

We decided while the kitchen was already messy we would make some sour cherry jam from some cherry’s Rebecca had picked the day before. The kids aided in the pitting, although Jackson was soon dismissed from his services after the pile kept diminishing from taste testing.

We’re headed to Texas for two weeks along with a couple of jars of dill pickles! We are hoping to return to a tomato extravaganza if the neighborhood animals don’t feast before we get back! (I tried to talk Seth into a webcam set up so I can watch it grow but he nixed that one pretty fast…it’s hard to leave when it’s about to be at it’s prime! Slow down babies!)