A Visit With Cousins

A Crabby Christmas Eve

mmmmmmm, Fresh Dungeness Crab! 

After our delicious dinner we put out some cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer,

then opened some gifts. Every year we get new p.j.'s on Christmas Eve. Tom got big Onesie p.j.'s, the kind with the feet.  This year we got to open a few extra presents!!! Unkie and Leigh came loaded with gifts! Lucky us. We also got a new "Twas The Night Before Christmas" which Nana and Pop Pop sent. They recorded their voices while reading the book so we hear their voices as we turn the pages.

After such a wonderful Christmas Eve we felt like Santa already visited. 

The only thing crabby about this night was the dinner. 

C - is for Cookie and Cookie is for ME!

Santa Claus Came to Town

Christmas Fun Has Begun!

                                             

Snowy Village

Trick-or-Treat

Today our goal was not to see how much candy we could stuff into our treat bags ............

but to make sure we made it home, in front of the television before first pitch of  

World Series Game 4 - Giants vs. Rangers.  

Luckily the merchants of Downtown Petaluma have trick-or-treating from 3pm-5pm. 

The kids were happy to fill their bags with loot and head home to pass candy to the trick-or-treaters at our door while dad watch his beloved team play ball.   

A little last minute pumpkin carving. 

Check out the awesome, home grown pumpkins next to these happy kiddos.

It was a good night had by all including the Giants!!! 

World Series

I Think I CAN.

I think we can do something with all this??

But what exactly does one do with a kazillion cucumbers, 

tons of tomatoes, plenty of peppers, and an abundance of apples. 

Chop it all up, put it in a pot.......

and out comes chutney!

Tomato Apple Chutney

This recipe was adapted from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. Here it is:

2 1/2 quarts chopped, peeled, cored homegrown tomatoes (about 12 large)
1 quart chopped, peeled, cored homegrown apples (about 5 medium-i grow fuji and granny smith so that's what I used in this recipe)
3 cups organic brown sugar
2 cups chopped homegrown cucumbers
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped homegrown sweet red peppers
1 cup organic raisins
1 hot homegrown jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 clove organic garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger (I used a bit of fresh and a bit of candied ginger)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups Braggs apple cider vinegar 

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepot. Simmer until thick. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Ladle hot chutney into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

This mixture is very strong smelling and tasting and I've read that it is best if left on the shelf for at least 3 months (six might be better) for flavors to develop. 

Chutney can be used for many different recipes. Pair it with a yummy pork tenderloin. Pour it over cream cheese and serve with crackers. Serve with turkey the way you use cranberry sauce. Mix it with rice. Stir it into sour cream to make a dip. Use it like a relish on a sandwich or turkey burger. Mix in a meatloaf. There's so many wonderful uses for Chutney if they flavor settles (like it's supposed to) and it tastes good I'll definitely do it again. 

Monterey

We were fortunate to get to take another trip down to Monterey this year to 

watch Bob race at Laguna Seca. Before the Race we jumped on the 

opportunity to use the aquarium passes that come with the cottage that we stay in. 

A big huge "Thanks" to Bob and Aunt Sandy for a fun time at the race and the aquarium. 

Big Splash

Peyton's Class Hike

If Life Deals You Tomatoes,

Make Tomato Sauce. 

This year I grew Black Krim, Brandywine, Sungold, Tigerella, Isis Candy, Black Cherry, Cherokee Purple, Violet Jasper, Super Sweet 100, Green Zebra, and Costaluto Genovese. With all those plants you can imagine how much extra I had. These varieties aren't generally used for canning or sauces but we couldn't let them go to waste.

So I conned a few friends into coming over for a "canning party." Little did they know, I had over 30 lbs of my home grown tomatoes to pick, clean, cut, sauce, cook and can. All while keeping half and eye on a pack of kids. We made 22 jars of tomato sauce. It took 3 of us about 5 hours from start to finish. Hmmm, I wonder if they'll come to my house for a "party" ever again.

Daddy's Girl

First Day of Kindergarten

Little Chef

This evening Peyton surprised me by making dinner. 

She set the table complete with a lavender and potato vine flower center piece, 

tropical place mats (scrap-booking paper), a freshly picked rose at each seat, 

and served this delicious, home grown, hand made- completely by her - gourmet salad. 

Before we began to eat she explained how she picked the lettuce, purple podded pole beans, peas, 

Lemon Cucumber and Violet Jasper tomatoes from our  garden. 

She peeled and slice the tomato and cucumber and shelled the peas all by her self. 

She added some store bought artichoke hearts, carrots and dressing. 

The final touch was the poppy seeds (little black specks not to be mistaken for pepper), 

which she got from the Pepper Box poppy seed pods also growing in our back yard. 

I had to sneak away quickly and google to make sure Pepper Box poppy seeds were edible. 

Good news is, they are. :-)

What a lovely and delicious surprise. 

J.T.'s 5th Birthday