Thursday, July 14, 2011

Fig Ginger Jam

It's fig season. We were the lucky duck recipients of a bag of fresh figs from our friend, Brenda, who picked them at her mother's house in Reidsville, South Georgia. My mom has a delicious recipe for Refrigerator Fig Ginger Jam, so we thought it would be a great way to use our figs.

The figs were so tender and soft that I let the kids chop them up themselves. It was their first time ever getting to use a sharp knife in the kitchen and they did great keeping their non cutting hand far away from the cutting area.


This is one of those recipes that is so easy that the kids were able to do every step themselves. They squeezed the lemons and pulled the stems off the figs and measured and stirred all the ingredients together.


We filled our jars and are so proud of our finished product. Delaney helped me decorate all the labels. The jam is delicious. Last night we made grilled cheeses with the jam, bacon, and swiss cheese!


Here is the recipe in case you'd can get your hands on some fresh figs this summer:

4 C coarsely chopped fresh figs (about 14 large)
2 C sugar
1/3 C water
¼ C fresh lemon juice (plus thinly sliced lemon halves including rind)
3 T chopped crystallized ginger
¼ tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Cool. Pour into airtight containers. Makes 3 cups (or 3 jelly jars)

Refrigerate in airtight containers up to six weeks



Friday, July 8, 2011

Celebrating the 4th

We enjoyed a wonderful Fourth of July weekend.

It included road tripping from Atlanta, GA to Charleston, SC to Shallotte, NC.


We saw many sights, ate boiled peanuts, drove across this beautiful bridge...


And stumbled upon a few superheroes along the way.


We loved riding around in Grammy and Gus's driveway...


And playing in the giant waves at Holden Beach.


We baked red, white, and blue cupcakes and it was a whole family affair.


Finally, we got decked out in red and celebrated living in the USA!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Strawberry Shortcake's Ice Cream Pie


Delaney's favorite movie is Strawberry Shortcake: Cooking Time


She watches it to the point of ridiculous. Every time it is her turn to choose a movie, she chooses this one and poor Ford is sick and tired of it! She repeatedly asks if we can make the recipes that Strawberry and her friends make in the movie so today her wish was finally granted. We bought the ingredients to make an ice cream pie.


We added a few more ingredients to ours so that the cooking project was a bit more drawn out. I figure if kids are going to be in the kitchen and cook and make a mess anyway, it should take up a bit more time in our day than dumping a carton of ice cream into a pie shell!


First we set out our ice cream and kept checking to see when it was soft. While we waited for that we crushed up coconut cookies with a rolling pin.


Then we added chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and almonds to a bowl with the cookie crumbles. When the ice cream was soft we mixed it into the bowl and stirred it all up really well. We scooped our new ice cream creation into a chocolate cookie pie shell and topped the whole thing with Whipped Cream.

We put it in the freezer until dinner time.

After dinner, we sliced it and served it up and it was delicious. Strawberry Shortcake would be proud!


Friday, June 24, 2011

Yeah!!

Our favorite "green" burgers and fries place in Atlanta is Yeah! Burger. We love everything about it from the yummy food to the easy decor, the great funky wall murals to the perfect outdoor patio and the grassy area to play on after dinner. Tonight there was a storm on its way which gave us perfect breazy weather and a bit of extra play time!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Roar!!!



For the summer, we are trying to have more art time around here. My kids love creating and I love it too. On a recent trip to Michaels, we hit the jackpot and found these balsa wood kits on sale for .49 cents!! Now that is a deal. I bought a whole big stack of them including Eiffel Towers (my fave), helicopters, horses, dinosaurs, etc.


Ford chose the dino to make first. We colored both sides of all the sheets of wood together with washable Crayola markers.


His favorite part was punching out the shapes.


The leftover piece makes a really cool board for stenciling designs and peeking through.


We assembled it and it is fantastic! Not really for playing rough with as Ford wishes it was, but looks awesome and was fun to make.


Next, Delaney is working on her Eiffel Tower. We will post those pictures when she finishes!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Cherry Red


The Cherries were beautiful at the grocery store today. We bought a big bag and came home to see what we should do with them.


We ended up mixing crumbled Gorganzola into greek yogurt. We spread the mixture onto whole grain crackers and topped with sliced cherries. To finish, we drizzled the top with Vanilla Fig Balsamic Vinegar. It was delicious.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Happy Father's Day


I have been thinking more about Father's Day this year than usual. Probably because I am in the throes of parenthood and days that can seem eternal with little ones and trying hard to remember that this job is the most important and wonderful thing I'll ever do. I have been thinking about being a mom and that leads me to thinking about dads. I have spent the week reflecting and being thankful for the kind of dad Brandon is to our kids. I read a heartbreaking article this week about dads that a friend posted on FB. And as I sat reading, I praised God that Brandon chooses to be the kind of father that he is. He works so hard to provide for us and yet he comes home every night ready for us, never complaining that his day was too long or too hard. He comes home ready! Ready for the evening, ready to engage, ready to give me a break and ready to play with our kids, ready to enjoy our time as a family, ready to be the father and the husband that I dreamed of.


Brandon,
Thank you for your strong arms that keep our kids safe and secure.


Thank you for your imagination and fun loving play with our children.


Thank you for the world you are teaching them about and the unconditional love that will carry them so far in their lives.



FORD'S WORDS ABOUT HIS DAD

What is your favorite thing to do with your dad?
Play with him


What do you like to play?
Nerf guns and Pez
and Blocks

How does your dad make you feel?
Good

What is your favorite thing to call your dad?
Da Da


How much does your dad love you?
A little little lot



DELANEY'S WORDS ABOUT HER DAD

What is your favorite thing to do with your dad?
Go on dates with him

What is your favorite thing about your dad?
He is so handsome

How does your dad make you feel?
Happy and so so beautiful

What is daddy's favorite thing about you?
He thinks I have beautiful sparkly eyes of blue

Is there anything else you'd like to say about your dad?
I love him and that's it


Happy Father's Day, Brandon, and to all of you Dad's out there who are doing a marvelous job!