Vibrant Colors

Vibrant (natural) colors in food signify nutrition, not to mention it just looks good. Todays dinner was full of color, crunch and flavor. Portabello Mushroom Tacos with Salsa Verde were not only pretty, but they were a big hit. They were accompanied by a side of Lighter Refried Beans. I'm always thrilled when J and the boys really enjoy something I've fixed and today was no exception.

I'm not really up for typing out the recipe, but I will tell you what's in it. The ingredients are: portbella mushrooms, sala verde (tomatillos, poblano pepper, garlic, onion, cilantro, agave, salt, pepper) avocado, cabbage, tomatoes and corn tortillas. It's really tasty and simple to make.

Canning Pears

While yesterday was spent on the farm, today was spent in the kitchen canning. I picked a lot of pears. The funny thing is that I don't really care for pears. IJ reminded me of this as I was peeling, cutting and coring the basketful that I had brought home. Know what I told him? "I think I'll like these better because I picked them." I don't know if either one of us believed that, but it sounded good. It took quite awhile, but when I was done I was rewarded with 12 quarts of canned pears. These were canned with no added sugar, just 100% white grape juice. I'll let you know how they turned out.

A Day on the Farm

Today began a bit overcast but soon the sky cleared and the sun warmed up quite nicely. The boys and I headed about 45 minutes outside town to spend the day with my friend Rachel and her children on their 40 acre farm. What an adventure we had. I can't decide what was more fun, so I will not even try. Instead I'll tell you all about it and let you decide.

We arrived later than planned after making an unexpected detour to the dentist this morning. I won't bore you with the details, but luckily the visit didn't last too long. As we headed south and east of the city we watched as city streets gave way to lush green fields. Our first view of the nearly 200 year old farm house and the surrounding beauty brought whispered "wow's" from both IJ and JJ. I had barely stopped the van when we were greeted by the two oldest boys and their dog Patty. The boys had not seen oneanother for quite awhile, nearly a year, and all four were thrilled to be together again. The moms were quickly forgotten as my boys were whisked away to explore the grounds of this haven our dear friends are blessed to call home. Take a look at some of the cool things they saw and did.

Picking muscadine grapes

Checking out the chickens
Riding the zip line

I really thought I didn't have a favorite, but every time I look at this picture I feel joy from head to toe. My boys were having an absolutely awesome time swimming in the pond with the dog and all of the catfish, bass and brim. They were able to catch a couple too.
Earlier in the day they went hunting, bow and arrows in hand, for wild dogs and whatever variety of snake they could find. Luckily they didn't find any dogs and only one snake that they all swore was a copperhead. Yikes! Whatever it was no one was injured, so I was quite happy about that. On the downside, IJ and Rachel's oldest son found themselves on a fire ant hill and came running inside to soak their feet in soothing baking soda water.

My tour of the farm included a garden chock full of wonderful produce. Rachel is such a lovely person and generous beyond belief. We walked through the garden picking tomatoes, squash, banana peppers and muscadines.

After depositing those goodies we grabbed another basket and headed to the orchard to pick apples and pears. The branches of the pear tree were so full they hung to the ground.

The result: I came home with bags of freshly picked produce untouched by pesticides and memories of a day with a great friend.