A Little Romance

Hubby and I got our eternity tattoos in May 2011 as a renewal of our commitment to each other after 11 years together.  We've been married 12 years now, together 14.  We've been through many ups and downs in our marriage, but I think the thing that works for us, and has kept us together even through the big-bad-awful-stuff is that we are both in it for the long haul. That is what these tattoos mean to us.  Always.  Forever.  Never giving up.

I can truly say that I have never been happier in my marriage than I am right now.  I wholly and completely love this man.  He is my best friend, my confidant, my comfort, my happy place.  He keeps me grounded, and balances me out in all the areas that I am lacking.  We make a good team, and know how to talk to each other to work through things after 14 years together.  We have a type of rhythm between us that just works.

We tend to be a bit non-traditional when it comes to how we show our affection to each other.  Flowers don't usually come into play, especially because they cost so much, and we're both trying so hard to be budget conscious these days.  Still, hubby has a way of surprising me sometimes.  He brought these home to me the other day after working at a teacher's luncheon where there were extra unclaimed bouquets leftover at the end.  He made a point to ask if he could bring some to his wife.  He thought of me.  He thought of my smile when I would receive them. He made a point to bring a little romance into our otherwise practical and hectic lives.  

Those are the moments I hold on to and treasure, and those are the things that keep me smiling long after the flowers fade.

Welcome Autumn

This is the last bit of sunlight that summer had to offer this year.  Hubby and I were lucky enough to soak it in while we went camping, just the two of us on the eve of the Autumn Equinox.

We are so lucky to live in this amazing place, surrounded by the world's largest Ponderosa Pine forest.  I can't think of a better way to welcome Autumn than out in nature, surrounded by our favorite sights and smells.

With the massive amounts of rain we have had this summer the forest floor was lush with all kinds of amazing green things.  I couldn't help but dip my toes in.

20 lbs of Tomatoes

Not quite ripe, but lots of possibility.  Any ideas?

Finding Fall

Anna and I went on an adventure to welcome in the new season.  First we stopped at the farmer's market to pick up some fresh fall produce from local vendors.  After that we went to our city's downtown square to hunt around for the biggest, brightest leaves we could find.

One thing that is glaringly and amazingly obvious to me is how much she changes with each new season.  I love watching as my little girl grows and develops into an incredible human being right before my very eyes.  She has a huge heart and a brilliant mind, and teaches me new things every day.

How did I ever get so lucky to be able to call her my daughter?

Our Life in Produce - 9/22

I am a bit late in posting this due to my crazy work schedule the past 2 weeks.  Still, here's a brief rundown of what types of fruits and veggies have made their way into our home in the past week.

(I'm sorry for the terrible picture - my camera wasn't working right Sat. afternoon)

Anna and I made a trip to the Farmer's Market in Prescott.  I was amazed at how many different vendors there were, and the variety available!  We came home with about $30 worth of produce.  Included in our haul were 4 different kinds of tomatoes (all the little ones have become snacking tomatoes, which I am SO thrilled with - yummm). I got 5 onions, 6 sweet chiles, 3 banana peppers, a bag of tomatillos, a pumpkin for Anna to decorate for fall, and a bag of apples that Anna had been munching non stop all day.

This week from the co-op we got a bunch of bananas, 4 sweet potatoes, 2 lbs of black grapes, a huge bunch of collard greens, two bags of carrots, 7 limes, 8 big slicing tomatoes, 4 huge cucumbers, 2 small zucchini, 5 red apples, and 4 red pears. Not bad for $15!

So What Happened to the Pears?

I made Belgian Pears of course!

I wound up giving away about half of the pears we had left.  They were just too good not to share.  What was still in the box desperately needed to be used, so I spent some time yesterday making Belgian Pears.  I'm not sure why they're "Belgian" (apparently the recipe has nothing to do with being Belgian), but we'll go with it.

I was surprised at how easy it was to make these, and how truly yummy they are.  The vinegar and sugar just helped to highlight the flavor of the pears.  The syrup is wonderful by itself too, drizzled over ice cream.  Next time I may add a little something extra to flavor them.  I'm thinking possibly some vanilla, or caramel flavoring. 

To make them, I used 4-1/2 lbs of pears, 2-1/3 cups apple cider vinegar, and 4 cups sugar.  I peeled and cored the pears (though the original recipe said you didn't need to).  Then I mixed together the vinegar and sugar until the sugar was dissolved.  I then put everything into a big pan and simmered it together 3 hours with the lid on.  I then simmered it all for 3 more hours with the lid off (for a total of 6 hours).  After that was all cooked down, I put the pears into clean jars and covered them with the remaining liquid, leaving a 1" head space.  I processed for 12 minutes at 8 lbs pressure.

I love how pretty they look, and how truly delicious they are!  It will be wonderful to bite into these when winter comes and it becomes more difficult to find fresh fruit.

Pear Butter

 

I found this amazing Rival Crock Pot Roaster at an estate sale 50% off for a total cost of $4.  It came at just the right time, since the big pot I usually use for cooking down large batches of things bit the dust.  Somehow the bottom of my pot separated from the sides while I was cooking, and it didn't make it out alive.  I love my new roaster, though!  It doesn't heat up the house, it uses less energy than cooking on the stove-top, and I don't have to babysit it all the time.

 12 lbs of pears went into this batch of pear butter. Total of 11 and a half pints made their way through my new-to-me crock pot roaster this weekend.  I love the way the house smelled so cozy and fall-ish with the pears cooking down for 36 hours at about 200* with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger (no sugar added to keep them healthy).  I processed the jars at 8 lbs pressure for 10 minutes in my pressure canner.

Now what to do with the remaining 20 lbs of pears? It is a good problem to have!