Sorry for the silence around here. I have 3-4 posts half written and while I have been wanting to get back on here and share things with you all I have been knee deep in school prep, garden processing and some major nesting.

We kicked off first grade yesterday with Jackson! He was very excited to go back to school with only the slightest anxiety. He plowed through the day and I was holding my breath for the breakdown. It came at around 6 pm when I think he was just so worn out from the day and full of things to tell us about. He is most thrilled to have his own desk and pencil box this year. He has a few kids from his class last year which helps to ease the jitters. His teacher seems to be a great fit for him and has a great reputation at the school. Owen heads off to preschool tomorrow and as he says he “has been waiting for years and years to go to school”. We are praying for a healthy and happy school year for both boys. There will be lots of changes with a new baby and all of that good stuff but hopefully school will provide a consistent routine! So far so good.

The garden is winding down but not without lots of tomato processing! My fingers are weary from the peeling, seeding and prepping…but of course thankful for the unexpected bounty. I have nearly given up though and I must admit our watering is slowly tapering off. The freezer is stocked with garden veggies to pull out throughout the fall and winter.  Fall is closer than it feels I imagine so it’s probably time to close down shop. We will be growing a mini fall garden of  lettuces and such but nothing too major. We have a family of mice living in our melon patch so I just avoid that area all together!!

Nesting is in full swing as are contractions. Somehow the increase in contractions makes me feel the real need to prepare for baby girls arrival, which likely leads to more contractions. Seth leaves for Peru on Sunday for a week of uninterrupted sleep, pisco sours and ceviche   work so my projects will need to be on hold in order to focus on keeping the boys alive and the baby girl in! To say I am mildly terrified to have him an overnight flight away at 32+ weeks pregnant with contractions warming up is an understatement. But Seth rolls into adventures and planning with great calm regardless of risk so we will all just roll with him (at least on the outside). I have avoided photos this pregnancy…feeling huge and not so fun about it all but since the camera was out Seth made me take one. Here is baby girl at nearly 31 weeks.   Ignore the puffy eyes, etc. I believe Owen woke up in the 4 AM hour.

I’ll be back here soon to really play catch up! I promised that last time but we’ll see if I can get it done! More on Jackson’s birthday, the rest of summer and the baby nursery coming soon!  thanks for stopping by!

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!

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!)

Throughout the garden season I am going to attempt to share what we are actually making with our produce from the garden. This week we have had two rounds of squash and last night I picked 3 big zucchini’s! We had squash one night this week already for the first time in the season and it had lots more flavor than the grocery store version.

We used the zucchini for zucchini bread. (I doubled the Joy of Cooking Recipe which turns out great. There are a million recipes online if you don’t happen to have that cookbook)! The boys love it and it’s a great way to get them to eat one of their not so favorite vegetables.  I have hope that by the end of the summer they will be eating them more willingly in the sauteed form, but we will get there gradually! They eat them, just not with enthusiasm.

For sauteed squash I have been using a little olive oil and butter and then tossing in a sliced shallot. When the shallot gets going I toss in sliced squash and zucchini and saute until tender and golden. We served it tonight with baked salmon and quinoa.

Last up on the squash and zucchini line up is this “Summer Soup”

Vegetable and Ham Soup

(Bon Appetite I think, if anyone knows specifics please feel free to leave it in comments section!)

2 T Olive Oil

2 med onions

1 large zucchini (or 2 small)

1 large yellow squash (or 2 small)

2 (15 oz) cans of canellini beans

2 (14.5 oz) cans low sodium chicken stock

1/2 lb diced ham (look for a thick slice from the grocery store…normally in the deli section or with lunch meat aisle)

2 med tomatoes, seeded and chopped (if you make this in the fall or winter when tomatoes aren’t in season use a can of diced tomatoes)

1 (7 oz) package premade (or homemade) basil pesto

Heat oil in a large saucepan over med-low heat. Add onions. Saute around 8 mins or until translucent.

Cut zucchini and squash lengthwise into fourths. Add to saucepan and season with pepper. Cook until crisp tender, stirring occasionally for about 6 mins.

Remove from heat. Mix in beans with their liquid, ham, broth and tomatoes. Mix in 2 Tbsp of pesto. Bring to a simmer and serve or bring to room temperature and store.

I actually don’t know the proper name for this soup but if I am remembering right it is from a Bon Appetite cookbook. We eat this soup year round (unless it’s super hot out) and although I know soup isn’t always appealing in the heat this one is light and fresh for not so hot days…or freeze it for the Fall. Unlike most soups that need lots of time to simmer and thicken this one is done super fast and helps get in vegetables! Also I find that I rarely cook with ham and beans so it adds a little variety to our menus.

Top this with a little fresh grated Parmesan cheese and serve with some baguette or, in the case of this picture when we had it in the fall, we had it with grilled cheese.  And while the pesto is out why not spread it on your grilled cheese too?!

Next up… Garden Eats: Pickles!