Mixed Fruit Jam

Today I was blessed with a large amount of bruised-up peaches, nectarines and plums. I spent some time trimming off the ugly spots and ended up with a dozen pints of mixed fruit jam. I even have more to do tomorrow. I think I will freeze the trimmed fruit chunks for smoothie making.

There are only eleven jars cooling on the towel because one pint went into the fridge uncanned to enjoy this week. Don't hesitate to accept ugly fruit, my Thrifty Canning Friends. You can make a lot of good from it!

Green Beans!

I got to go to my friend's house and pick green beans today. I ended up with a full gallon bucket! We had some with dinner, and I hope to get more at the farmer's market Saturday. I need to get some canned. They are our absolute favorite summer veggie. Here's one of the recipes I like to make with them. We haven't had it in a long time, though, since it has tomatoes in it. If you can eat tomatoes, you should try this...tonight. It's that good.

Sizzling Green Beans

1 pound green beans, topped, tailed and snapped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp EACH thyme and oregano
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

Boil beans in water for 5 minutes, then plunge into ice water. Heat olive oil in skillet and add peppers. Cook one minute. Remove pepper flakes. Add garlic tomato and seasonings, except cheese. Turn heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Add beans and heat through. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve hot.

Six Flags Magic Mountain

We made our very first visit to Six Flags today. We had such fun. However, I need to remember to bring a camera and not rely on my iPhone for pictures. Sadly, the battery ran out much too early. Overall impressions from my point of view.....X2 was not worth the wait, Ninja is not to be missed, Colossus is best ridden as many times as possible. Here's a first person POV of Colossus and one of Ninja for you to enjoy. I can't wait to go back!

Haircuts

Many of the Lambies got haircuts or trims today. Missy loves when I cut her hair short. She tells me she feels pretty and light when it's cut. I agree that it's pretty, but I will miss being able to French braid until it grows out!

Milestone

It's not the best picture, but it's the best I could get. I noticed that today's smoothie was Number 500 on my BlendTec. I like nice round numbers.....and green smoothies! Here's a recipe that I plan to try this week.

Primal Toad's Cinnamon Power Smoothie Recipe

3 Large Eggs (pastured only, please)
1/2 Cup Almond or Coconut Milk
1 Pear, Chopped (can sub other fruit, if desired)
3 TBSP (1/2 Medium) Avocado
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 Cup Ice

Blend and enjoy!

TIMBER!

Last night, a branch on our Bradford Pear tree fell. No wind, no rain, no cause but a weak (unpruned!) tree, I guess. So today, My Honey and all of the Lambies are working on cutting the branch up and pruning the tree. I am taking pictures to document the fun and making a Big Breakfast to feed all the hard workers. I love my job!

ETA: Of course, after making, and eating, breakfast I joined the family in the work. It took several hours, but we got it mostly done. Our green can is full, it will get picked up Tuesday, and we'll fill it right away again. It will probably take a month to get all the branches and leaves hauled away. I wish we had a chipper! Then we'd have lots of free mulch rather than a pile that means an extra weekly chore.

Baked Burritos

We had a yummy new 'recipe' tonight. I made the standard burrito fare: spiced ground beef, Spanish Rice, beans, shredded lettuce and cheese, and sour cream. If I had planned ahead, like KidCraze did, I would have made tortillas, but, alas, Costco provided those. I offered four dinner choices: tacos, taco salad, burritos and baked burritos.

Almost everyone chose the baked burritos. They are yummy and simple.


Baked Burritos

Spoon a measure of ground beef, rice and beans into a flour tortilla. Top with cheese. Roll and place in an ungreased baking pan. Repeat until pan is filled. Spread tops of burritos with butter. Broil for a few minutes until golden.