It's Strawberry season!!!! Fruit Leather

One of my favorite times of year in Southern Illinois is strawberry and blueberry season and right now we are in full swing strawberry season!  I tend to get a little crazy and get entirely too many flats of strawberries.  I act as though I will never get them again so I must buy as many as possible.  I do this with the full intention on preserving them for the winter along with eating as many as possible.  One of my kids favorite things to do with strawberries is make fruit leather.  If you have never had fruit leather it is very similar to fruit roll ups but wayyyyy better for you.  So here is the down low on how to make your very own fruit leather.

Things you need

Dehydrator

quart of strawberries (two cups)

sweetener this can be a banana, stevia, sugar or honey

Food processor or blender

First I toss the berries in a bowl with water and vinegar for a good cleaning.  Then I cut off all the leafy parts.  I toss about two cups in the food processor.  Here is the tricky part depending on size of strawberries you may only need a cup.  You wont know this until the end so I figure too much is better than enough.  If you have left overs save them in the fridge for your next batch, make a smoothie or strawberry syrup with the extras.  This particular batch of strawberries was a bit tart so I added a banana.  It was still tart so then I added some local honey.  Just add whatever until it taste the way you want it.

Then you puree it like so.








We have one of these handy dandy trays for our dehydrator.  If you do not have one of these you can put plastic rap or there is a dehydrator paper you can buy.  I have never used either of them so I'm not sure how well they work.  I recommend putting a little cooking oil on the tray to prevent sticking.  Coconut oil works great.  I forgot to do it on this batch and well picture to come for that.

Next  poor it on the try.  You want to cover the tray with a thin even layer.  The thicker it is the longer it will take and wont dehydrate as evenly.  Set you dehydrator to 130-140.  It will take anywhere from 5-10 hrs depending on thickness.  Most commonly 6-8 though.

Take note how mine stuck to tray.  Forgot the oil dang it.  A little tip, start this early in the day otherwise you will be waking up through out the night to check your fruit leather.  Yep I did that.










There you have it homemade fruit leather!  Store in a air tight container although if your house is like mine its gone in an hour so there is no point.

I had to share my excuse for no oil and why I over poured onto the tray.  I got a bit flustered.   I cleaned up most of it then had the idea to take a picture.  This here is a little bit of the remains of the disaster that happen while I was making the fruit leather.  My windows were open right above the counter and a baseball came through the screen knocking over a potted plant on the window seal.  It went all over everything and yes it most certainly went in the fruit processor.  Gotta love those boys huh :)   The kids didn't seem to mind the added dirt to their fruit leather ;)

Enjoy, Kristi

Potato and Greens Scramble

This is a super easy recipe that my kids love.  You can make several different versions of it. Makes about 6 servings.

Ingredients:

4  organic medium potatoes

8 organic free range eggs

milk

about 2-3 cups Greens/veggies

1 cup shredded cheese

coconut oil

Peel and dice up potato's in bite size pieces

Cut up whatever veggies in bite sized pieces.

The spinach in our garden was starting to "bolt" so I picked everything I could and used that.  I cut off the long stem but did not take out entire stem.  Chopped it up and set it aside.  You could use any veggies kale, swish char,  broccoli whatever you like.  You can also chop onions or peppers to go in it.  Just be creative with a mixture of veggies or just one.

Heat coconut oil in your electric or stove top skillet to med/high heat.  I prefer and recommend non-stick but please no teflon.  I used a spoon full of coconut oil to start off with but added more through out cooking.

Once heated add the potato's.  While potato's are cooking scramble your eggs and milk.

Once the potato's are good and crispy on the outside add the egg mixture and veggies.  Turn down heat to med/low.  Let all of it cook together until eggs are completely cooked.  Turn off heat and sprinkle cheese on top.  Let sit until cheese is melted.  You can use whatever cheese you prefer.

I love to garnish with salsa.  It is also really yummy to add sour cream or greek plain yogurt.  Fresh herbs like basil and cilantro are also very tasty.

Enjoy, Kristi

Harvest and Cayenne Pepper

Today was a beautiful spring day in Southern Illinois.  After I picked up the boys from "school" we came home and started to work in the garden.  Well I worked in the garden while the boys dug worms to put in the compost and worked on watering the garden in one spot.  They are very helpful little gardeners.  They are especially helpful when they get a hold of the hose.  This usually results in all of is wet and one of them freaking out because they got wet.  So then we make our way inside to change loathes just so they can come back out grab the hose and get wet all over agin.  Its a vicious cycle.

Today we got our first small harvest of the year!  Spinach, rainbow swiss char, two different kinds of kale and tow different kinds of lettuce.  There is nothing more satisfying then growing your own food.  I by no means have a "green thumb" and don't even know the half of it when it comes to organic gardening.  Ian is the brains of the operation when it really comes down to it.  With that being said Ian is gone for 28 days and I managed to grow this (picture above)!  So I must be doing something right!  I am actually starting to really enjoy gardening and fine it very relaxing, well when I'm not getting sprayed with freezing cold water.  I can't wait for the day when I have three strapping young men to put to work in the garden whether they like it or not : ).  This is why we have kids right......to put them to work????  Totally kidding the lil guys are here for much more than that.

So here is our small harvest of the day.  We had a very yummy salad and sautéed greens!

Just being outside with the boys working in our garden , listening to all the sounds around me, harvesting a portion of our dinner we worked to grow and just enjoying the beautiful day made me reflect on how lucky we are to have what we have and live somewhere where we do get to be outside and enjoy what mother earth has to give.  Below is a poem that my father in-law wrote that came to mind when I thought of today.

Take a moment, tune into the world

The other world

The real world

The world that is not man-made

Not the indoor air-conditioned, dehumidified,

Audio-amplified, digitally timed, technologically advanced,

Electronically controlled, sanitized, artificially illuminated world.

No, look outward, look back to where you came

Remember??

Soft warm rain

Vibrantly green growing, rampant riotous life

Splashed with blossoming color

Spiced with fecund earthy aromas

Seductive sweet flower scents, pungent wet wood smells.

The drowsy dripping patter on leaves

Periodically accented by the low notes of a dove or

The brief trill of a tree frog

Even the usual background cacophony chorus

crickets, katydids, and cicadas

is stilled this sleepy wet dawn

What a pleasure to take it in......

I mean take it in, literally, through these senses

sight-smell-sound-and touch

Feel it to the degree of feeling part of it

After all, I am - we are-part of it

Remember??

by Fred Hoak 

Summer 2000 

Okay so tonight I am talking to Ryan trying to get some help on how to use our computer when Rio comes running into the room crying with his hands in his mouth.  The amount of saliva coming out of this childs mouth looked like water purring out.  Of course I think the worst, it must be something toxic!  Why I don't know because we have nothing toxic.  So I ask him to take me to what he put in his mouth.  he takes me to the kitchen cupboard still crying, I open it to see a bag of cayenne pepper YIKES!  Rio had chewed on the bag, again.  Yes this is not the first time this has happen.  Why didn't I put it up high you ask, well because I thought after doing it twice before he had learned his lesson.  Nope, there must be something very enticing about that rich burt red color to him.  Well being as thought this has happen before I have googled remedies.  Ice cold milk and holding it in your mouth, easy right.  Yes when your not dealing with a two year old who's mouth is on fire or just a two year old in general.  Oh yes I'm still on the phone with Ryan, why I have no idea maybe because I am too distracted with Rio to say goodbye or I know it will pass so just maybe I'll finish my conversation.  Hahahaha funny right, like that EVER happens.  Have I mentioned that Ryan is the person who would raise our kids if something were to ever happen to us.  I think he may be getting a bit scared of what he has committed too.  I don't think this blog is helping either.  He also just purposed to this wonderful woman Rebekah, I don't think she realizes what she has gotten herself signed up for either.  Okay so I finally say goodbye because its obvious the situation is not getting better.  I hang up the phone with a......see Ryan who could make this stuff up remark.  Well it turns out little Rio has gotten cayenne pepper in his eyes as well.  Call me a horrible mom for not noticing but he has had bad allergies all day and with the crying red puffy eyes are expected.  After a bath, NaNa (blankey) and a lot of cuddles he finally calmed down.  I will have you know the cayenne pepper is now put up high in hopes he isn't drawn to it again.  Which is doubtful considering my children are monkeys.

My poor red puffy mouth and eyed boy : (

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technical problems

okay so I hade many of you say you were having a difficult time following the blog.  If you are not having a hard time please let me know what you did.  I also added a follow by email gadget thingy that will hopefully notify you when I post, so you might want to attempt using that.  Please send me an email with any tips I can post for others or any problems you might still be having.  makandarose@gmail.com

Think PINK and butt cream!

So its been ummm forever since I have written a blog post. This is due to so many factors a big one being my computer was out of commission. Anywho I am up and running and ready to write so my whole five followers can read my blog post!

Today we found out some very very very exciting news! We are do to have a baby girl October 6th! Yikes every time I say it it gets a little more real. The youngest and only girl, this should be interesting. I tell ya I have never been a pink person but bring it on just simple because I can!!!!

Okay so now for one of the chaotic moments in my house (like that ever ends). While I am cooking dinner tonight Rio (the youngest) decides to get a whole tube of desitin and proceed to smear it literally from head too toe! So obviously that calls for emergency stop everything your doing (cooking dinner) bath time. Well about the second I turn the burners off here comes the black puppy Nesta who is now mostly white! You may be asking is there really that much butt cream in one tube??? Well I'm here to tell you there is a new meaning to a little goes a long way! So yes bath time has began, Rio first . Desitin does not easily wash off obviously its meant to protect little bottoms. I finally get Rio clean, he still slighty smells like the cream but I think that will go away over time. Now it's Nesta's turn which I'm a tad bit nervous about being as though it's her first bath. She did awesome and I think actually enjoyed it. So while I am giving Nesta a bath I assume the boys are watching t.v., ha what the hell was I thinking!!! Orion comes running in MOM MOM Rio has something bad. Picture this......wet soapy dog in bath two year old in living room no where in sight with apparently "something bad" this something Orion can not articulate. So obviously safety first I make the on the spot decision to run to the living room. Yes you guessed soapy wet dog is right behind me which is the least of my worries at this point. There stands Rio naked with food coloring! My carpet looks like a damn tye dye experiment! Oh and notice earlier I never said how I went to see if the butt cream was anywhere else hahahaha yep you guessed it little spots all over the middle of the carpet amongst other things. I pulled myself together put nesta back in the bath finally finished up with that. Obviously solution to carpet get out the steam cleaner, yes we had to actually buy one of these a while back due to our children renting one just didn't cut it at a certain point. Well not that long ago I let my 21 yr old brother borrow the steam cleaner. Well who knows what he used it for and I don't want to know but I will tell you this, it was the most god awful smell when I opened that thing up that I have ever smelled in my life! Lets not forget I'm pregnant and the gag reflex is going strong! So now my cleaner is in pieces in bath tub soaking in cleaner. Now I sit here and write because this is my cheap version of therapy while my darling little Angels (heathens) are fast a sleep in their beds. Yep my day in a nut shell.......sigh.

Any suggestions on removing food coloring????

Busy Busy Busy

Is this week ever going to end! We might have taken off a bit more than we can chew on this whole building a deck before Rio's birthday party. It is coming along and we have had some great help. I am getting nervous that at the end of this week we will have a deck but nothing else in the house will be done, so I'm apologizing in advance for the mess. Hmmmm I can't even remember what has happen since last time I posted other than deck deck deck. Oh yes we celebrated our 3 yr wedding anniversary with some great people and had a fantastic time, I will admit the next day I could have crawled in a dark whole and stayed there but I guess thats the price you pay lol. Orion is officially back at daycare and no chickenpox woooohoooo. Rio is running not walking anymore and really starting to hold his own with big brother, I'm not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing.

So on a little serious note, My aunt just recently posted some pictures on Facebook of my father. He died when I was about three so I don't have any memories of him. It has been so nice to see the comments, all the people that knew him and just the kind words in general. I don't think there will ever come a time when I don't miss him or it gets easier. All of this also made me stop and really think about how great of a Dad I do have. Life is so short and my dad is in FL which means I only see him once a year, this I hate. I'm not even sure where I'm going with this. Oh all of us need to just stop and take the time to make that one quick phone call, not email, not even a letter, letting somewhere hear your voice and to hear them say I love you is so much more meaningful. If you truly love someone you are never never too busy to do that, this is something I AM going to change because life gets away from us so fast but it is also too short not to. On that note I love you Dad and you have made more of an impact on me than you will ever know and I am truly blessed to have you as a father blood or not you are my dad. The funny part is he will most likely not read this, he's not too up on all this technology lol. Ahhhhh okay off too bed busy busy day aging tomorrow!

completely exhausted

Well I was without internet for a few days so I couldnt let all of you "5 followers" in on my very exciting life. I have really been slacking lately on everything, house, gym, errands basically everything. So due to that it is after 10 pm and I just got done cleaning my house well most of it that is. We have such a busy month ahead and the ambition is just not there. On a good note no pox so far and amazingly I think we are in the clear, for now. Ian comes home Friday after a very long five weeks on the river and me being a single mom ughhhhhh. I don't know who is more ready......me lol. This weekend we will be putting a deck on the back of our house and I am very very excited,thanks to the in-laws. Ian is excited but not about getting off the boat and building a deck, but hey it's gotta happen some time. A very dear friend of mine Jason is coming to help, which is fantastic. Ian and I will also be celebrating our three year wedding anniversary Sat, not the romantic getaway I long for but lots of productivity and hangin with good friends. Sunday we get our first family pictures with Rio in them well other than when he was in the belly. Any suggestions on what to wear, not white already did that. Geeze just talking about all this is wearing me out. Oh I forgot paint the kitchen and start getting ready for Rio's first birthday party on the 16th, that I just sent the invited for oops. Hey I'm only one woman : ) Ahhhhh so yep just a lil update, guess I could have just put busy busy busy. Sweet dreams all!