Here's to easing out of the work week...
and changing up the pace of life for a few days.
More books.
Fun food.
Meals outside.
Time with family.
Happy day before the weekend!
It's Friday...
...I'm in love....
Here's to easing out of the work week...
and changing up the pace of life for a few days.
More books.
Fun food.
Meals outside.
Time with family.
Happy day before the weekend!
Here's to easing out of the work week...
and changing up the pace of life for a few days.
More books.
Fun food.
Meals outside.
Time with family.
Happy day before the weekend!
Bringing the Outside In.
It's the beginning of the Fall season, and that brings with it two new obsessions for the Booker household. For Kevy, he's got hunting on the brain. Today is the first day of bow season, then it's bird season, then gun season, then shot gun season, then extended something or other, and so on.
For me, it's all about bringing the outside in!
I've got apples and pumpkins on the brain, and whenever we are out and about, I am always on the hunt for bittersweet.
You've got to cut down the vine at just the right time if you want to make wreaths. Everything is much easier to handle before the yellow shells of the berries pop open revealing the pretty red berry inside. In just a couple of days, this wreath will look completely different - tons of red and orange will be showing instead of just this plain little yellow berried bit of boring-ness.
Kevin really just loves bittersweet season, as well. (Not). Whenever we drive anywhere, I'm always peering out the window, and if we come across a patch of the stuff, I'm begging to pull over, have him help me cut it, shove as much of it as I can into the trunk of the car, and then there's little berries all over the place for days. Good times! I tell him the upside of all of this is that I'm a cheap date. My decor is mostly sticks and twigs, berries and bits of the outside. He's a lucky man....
My tomatoes are winding down. I have my last million downstairs in my basement in various stages of ripeness. I've decided to live on my new favorite soup and use up all of those remaining tomatoes in this way...
Our new all time favorite homemade tomato soup. I will never look at the store bought stuff the same. It's a tiny bit of work, but I double the batch to can or freeze for later, so when you get three or four meals out of it, it's definitely worth the work.
Soule-Mama's super delish Carrot-Tomato Soup.
2 Tablespoons butter.
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.
4 lbs. tomatoes - peeled, and sliced in half with stems removed (To peel, put an x on the bottom of your tomatoes, place them in a pot of hot water for about 30 seconds, and then shock them in a pot of cold water. The stems will come right off)
3/4 teaspoon sea salt.
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper.
fresh sprigs of thyme, oregano, or rosemary - optional but highly recommended.
1 medium yellow onion, diced.
2 stalks celery, diced.
5 medium sized carrots, diced.
3 cloves garlic, minced.
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock.
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped.
3/4 cup heavy cream - or milk, or half and half.
Place sliced tomatoes on a baking sheet. Cover with most of the olive oil (reserving 2 tablespoons or so), and the salt and pepper. If you'd like a little more flavor, add a sprig or two of oregano or thyme atop the tomatoes. I did the thyme, and it smelled like heaven while they were roasting. Place in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes to roast.
While they are roasting, melt the butter and remaining olive oil over medium-low heat in a heavy stock pot. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic and cook until veggies start to get soft. When the tomatoes are done, add those to the pot along with the chicken stock. Remove the herbs and throw away. Simmer on low until the veggies are all tender.
Puree the soup. I used my blender - just doing it in batches. Return the soup to the pot and onto the stove. Heat slowly. Add the chopped basil and cream.
Oh my. It may look a little iffy, but it's amazing.
Happy Fall!
For me, it's all about bringing the outside in!
I've got apples and pumpkins on the brain, and whenever we are out and about, I am always on the hunt for bittersweet.
You've got to cut down the vine at just the right time if you want to make wreaths. Everything is much easier to handle before the yellow shells of the berries pop open revealing the pretty red berry inside. In just a couple of days, this wreath will look completely different - tons of red and orange will be showing instead of just this plain little yellow berried bit of boring-ness.
Kevin really just loves bittersweet season, as well. (Not). Whenever we drive anywhere, I'm always peering out the window, and if we come across a patch of the stuff, I'm begging to pull over, have him help me cut it, shove as much of it as I can into the trunk of the car, and then there's little berries all over the place for days. Good times! I tell him the upside of all of this is that I'm a cheap date. My decor is mostly sticks and twigs, berries and bits of the outside. He's a lucky man....
My tomatoes are winding down. I have my last million downstairs in my basement in various stages of ripeness. I've decided to live on my new favorite soup and use up all of those remaining tomatoes in this way...
Our new all time favorite homemade tomato soup. I will never look at the store bought stuff the same. It's a tiny bit of work, but I double the batch to can or freeze for later, so when you get three or four meals out of it, it's definitely worth the work.
Soule-Mama's super delish Carrot-Tomato Soup.
2 Tablespoons butter.
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.
4 lbs. tomatoes - peeled, and sliced in half with stems removed (To peel, put an x on the bottom of your tomatoes, place them in a pot of hot water for about 30 seconds, and then shock them in a pot of cold water. The stems will come right off)
3/4 teaspoon sea salt.
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper.
fresh sprigs of thyme, oregano, or rosemary - optional but highly recommended.
1 medium yellow onion, diced.
2 stalks celery, diced.
5 medium sized carrots, diced.
3 cloves garlic, minced.
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock.
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped.
3/4 cup heavy cream - or milk, or half and half.
Place sliced tomatoes on a baking sheet. Cover with most of the olive oil (reserving 2 tablespoons or so), and the salt and pepper. If you'd like a little more flavor, add a sprig or two of oregano or thyme atop the tomatoes. I did the thyme, and it smelled like heaven while they were roasting. Place in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes to roast.
While they are roasting, melt the butter and remaining olive oil over medium-low heat in a heavy stock pot. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic and cook until veggies start to get soft. When the tomatoes are done, add those to the pot along with the chicken stock. Remove the herbs and throw away. Simmer on low until the veggies are all tender.
Puree the soup. I used my blender - just doing it in batches. Return the soup to the pot and onto the stove. Heat slowly. Add the chopped basil and cream.
Oh my. It may look a little iffy, but it's amazing.
Happy Fall!
School Today.
Their assignment was that I would give them a boring sentence, and then they would jazz it up with more descriptive adjectives and describers.
Example 1.
Kevin Booker is our Daddy.
Their describing sentence:
Kevin Booker is our fun Daddy who has a big, bushy beard and really long toes.
(Good one!)
Example 2.
Amy Booker is our Mommy.
Their describing sentence:
Amy Booker is our Mommy with long, blonde hair and a big, squishy bum.
(Hmn.)
They're quick learners.
I feel pretty...oh soooo pretty......
Little turds....
Example 1.
Kevin Booker is our Daddy.
Their describing sentence:
Kevin Booker is our fun Daddy who has a big, bushy beard and really long toes.
(Good one!)
Example 2.
Amy Booker is our Mommy.
Their describing sentence:
Amy Booker is our Mommy with long, blonde hair and a big, squishy bum.
(Hmn.)
They're quick learners.
I feel pretty...oh soooo pretty......
Little turds....
Tradition.
As far as I'm concerned, we have our own little slice of Heaven right here in our neighborhood. Our very own "county fair" of sorts.
Treworgy Apple Orchards.
We love, love, love this place! It's all family owned and operated - sweet, wonderful people - and it's just an amazing place to spend an afternoon.
Corn mazes that stump even an adult...
Or at least this one.
I literally was praying that we'd find our way out of this thing.
I have absolutely zero sense of direction.
I would lose horribly on the Amazing Race.
Free concerts on the weekends.
Hayrides, pick your own pumpkins, a little petting area, homemade foodies, and an ice cream stand.
Every fall, at least once, our little family has to make the drive out here and just drink in the country and the wide open spaces.
This place seriously makes me so happy.
It is also our tradition to pick a boatload of apples!
Our friends own the place - and taught Kevin in school way back in the day - so they let us pick up the drops for free. They are gorgeous. They are nearly perfect. And I feel like the richest woman in the world when I leave this place.
Applesauce season begins!
Treworgy Apple Orchards.
We love, love, love this place! It's all family owned and operated - sweet, wonderful people - and it's just an amazing place to spend an afternoon.
Corn mazes that stump even an adult...
Or at least this one.
I literally was praying that we'd find our way out of this thing.
I have absolutely zero sense of direction.
I would lose horribly on the Amazing Race.
Free concerts on the weekends.
Hayrides, pick your own pumpkins, a little petting area, homemade foodies, and an ice cream stand.
Every fall, at least once, our little family has to make the drive out here and just drink in the country and the wide open spaces.
This place seriously makes me so happy.
It is also our tradition to pick a boatload of apples!
Our friends own the place - and taught Kevin in school way back in the day - so they let us pick up the drops for free. They are gorgeous. They are nearly perfect. And I feel like the richest woman in the world when I leave this place.
Applesauce season begins!
A Prayer for Today.
It is fresh.
It is brand new.
The slate has been wiped clean from yesterday and all of its messes, all of its struggles, all of the things that didn't get checked off of the list, and all of the things that shouldn't have happened but did - or vice versa.
Jesus, may we see You in all things today.
May we be present in the now - because that's all we're guaranteed.
May we look past the messes to the sacred that lies beneath.
May we know the wealth and the richness that we truly have in You.
May we lower our expectations - because expectations kill...
And comparison destroys contentment.
May we be satisfied in You alone.
May we cease the striving and just be.
May we see more of You and less of ourselves.
May we go lower.
Might we be empty...so that You alone can fill.
"To receive God's gifts, to live exalted and joy filled, isn't a function of straining higher, harder, doing more, carrying long the burdens of super-Pharisees or ultra-saints. Receiving God's gifts is a gentle, simple movement of stooping lower." ~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts
*****************
1938. New week - fresh start.
1939. Slowing, seeing, "be"-ing.
1940. Stopping to hear their laughter.
1941. Stooping to look into their eyes.
1942. Taking my eyes off of the clock.
1943. Seeing past messes - into little hearts.
1944. Being reminded of what is important - again - because I forget...
Weekending.
I played the "girly card" this weekend.
Around the breakfast table, we were all trying to decide on what we should do for our family day.
I believe my exact words were: "Well, I don't really care what we do. But, I guess I'm not really feeling up to climbing a mountain or anything..."
I felt like being a little more frivolous and lazy.
I kind of wanted something like sitting. On my bum. All day long.
Buuut, being slightly outnumbered in this household....
...that's exactly what we did.
Geez.
My idea would have been so much better.
Not.
******************
1928. Family day outside.
1929. God's creation - vast and wild.
1930. Picnics on top of Chick Hill.
1931. Hearts thumping, blood pumping.
1932. Boys - proud of their accomplishment.
1933. Snakes, nests, frogs, and caterpillars.
1934. Boys ideas better than my own.
1935. God in the trees, the woods, the trails - finding Him everywhere!
1936. Being reminded - again - that I am so small.
1937. And that He is SO great...
Psalm 108:1 - "My heart is steadfast oh God. I will sing. I will sing praises, even with my soul!"
Around the breakfast table, we were all trying to decide on what we should do for our family day.
I believe my exact words were: "Well, I don't really care what we do. But, I guess I'm not really feeling up to climbing a mountain or anything..."
I felt like being a little more frivolous and lazy.
I kind of wanted something like sitting. On my bum. All day long.
Buuut, being slightly outnumbered in this household....
...that's exactly what we did.
Geez.
My idea would have been so much better.
Not.
******************
1928. Family day outside.
1929. God's creation - vast and wild.
1930. Picnics on top of Chick Hill.
1931. Hearts thumping, blood pumping.
1932. Boys - proud of their accomplishment.
1933. Snakes, nests, frogs, and caterpillars.
1934. Boys ideas better than my own.
1935. God in the trees, the woods, the trails - finding Him everywhere!
1936. Being reminded - again - that I am so small.
1937. And that He is SO great...
Psalm 108:1 - "My heart is steadfast oh God. I will sing. I will sing praises, even with my soul!"
Because We Can.
While the majority of our school days are fairly structured - all of us at the kitchen table from midmorning until around lunchtime - often with a toddler and the Smudginator in tow....
...on these lovely summerishly fall days, I find it awfully hard to stay cooped up inside, when we could be doing the exact same thing out of doors!
I can remember begging my teachers - on those gloriously sunny, fall days - to please, please, puh-leeeez let us have class outside...and every once in awhile they would say yes. Those days were the best.
And, hey - I'm the big kahuna over in the these here parts on our school days...
So, this has been our classroom, as of late.
Just because we can, I guess.
All too soon, we'll be cooped up inside from morning until night. There will be no more grass, no more swingset, and no more shorts or capris.
So we're milking it, Baby...
...on these lovely summerishly fall days, I find it awfully hard to stay cooped up inside, when we could be doing the exact same thing out of doors!
I can remember begging my teachers - on those gloriously sunny, fall days - to please, please, puh-leeeez let us have class outside...and every once in awhile they would say yes. Those days were the best.
And, hey - I'm the big kahuna over in the these here parts on our school days...
So, this has been our classroom, as of late.
Just because we can, I guess.
All too soon, we'll be cooped up inside from morning until night. There will be no more grass, no more swingset, and no more shorts or capris.
So we're milking it, Baby...
Spaghetti Sauce.
A step by step tutorial.
Step #1. Start with a large cooler full of ripe, red tomatoes. If you have none, call me, and I shall give you my leftovers. I am done. Kaput. That's all she wrote. Get thee behind me, tomatoes. They are yours for the taking...
Step #2. Use an apple peeler to core the tomatoes, and cut them into large-ish chunks, with the help of some pajama-clad deliciousness.
Step #3. Load up your stockpot, five or six tomatoes at a time - keeping it at a nice, steady boil the entire time.
Step #4. Boil your maters until they are all nice and soft - just a bunch of tomato goosh.
Step #5. Working in small batches, take your tomato puree and run it through a foley mill, or an applesauce mill if you have one. This will remove all of the skins and seeds - just leaving the juice and pulp. You don't really want the seeds in your sauce, as the longer your sauce sits, the more bitter it can become - because of the seeds. (So, the experts say. Is it the truth? I know not).
Step #6. Set your puree aside to cool a bit. Meanwhile, take some fresh herbs and spices - oregano, basil, and parsley for starters - and chop up as much as you'd like for your big vat of yum.
Step #7. Chop up whatever meat and/or veggies you'd like to go into your sauce, and sautee in some olive oil until nice and soft. I did mushrooms, onions, garlic, green peppers, summer squash, carrots, and zucchini.
Step #8. Throw everything back into your pot, along with some tomato paste, tons of cheese, some sea salt, and a bit of sugar if you so desire, and let it cook down, and down, and down for the rest of the afternoon.
Step #9. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, begin to clean up the atrocious mess that you may or may not have just made in your kitchen.
Step #10. Remind yourself that "haste makes waste" and work a little more slowly so as to avoid adding insult to injury.
Step #11. Think pleasant thoughts, and consider ordering take out for supper.
Step #12. When your sauce has boiled down at least a couple of inches, begin the taste test process and gather all the little hoolies to add their input of what might be needed to make said sauce just a wee bit more delish.
Step #13. Load up your pressure canner and process away for as long as your recipe dictates.
Step #14. Gather previously above mentioned hoolies to come and "ooh" and "aah" at all of your hard work and to extol the virtues of your awesomeness.
Step #15. Change your mind about take out, and instead boil up some noodles and have yourself some delicousness for supper.
Step #16. Remind yourself that you are done with your tomatoes...
Step #17. And then step away from the tomatoes.
Step #18. Or...ponder making homemade ketchup.....
Step #1. Start with a large cooler full of ripe, red tomatoes. If you have none, call me, and I shall give you my leftovers. I am done. Kaput. That's all she wrote. Get thee behind me, tomatoes. They are yours for the taking...
Step #2. Use an apple peeler to core the tomatoes, and cut them into large-ish chunks, with the help of some pajama-clad deliciousness.
Step #3. Load up your stockpot, five or six tomatoes at a time - keeping it at a nice, steady boil the entire time.
Step #4. Boil your maters until they are all nice and soft - just a bunch of tomato goosh.
Step #5. Working in small batches, take your tomato puree and run it through a foley mill, or an applesauce mill if you have one. This will remove all of the skins and seeds - just leaving the juice and pulp. You don't really want the seeds in your sauce, as the longer your sauce sits, the more bitter it can become - because of the seeds. (So, the experts say. Is it the truth? I know not).
Step #6. Set your puree aside to cool a bit. Meanwhile, take some fresh herbs and spices - oregano, basil, and parsley for starters - and chop up as much as you'd like for your big vat of yum.
Step #7. Chop up whatever meat and/or veggies you'd like to go into your sauce, and sautee in some olive oil until nice and soft. I did mushrooms, onions, garlic, green peppers, summer squash, carrots, and zucchini.
Step #8. Throw everything back into your pot, along with some tomato paste, tons of cheese, some sea salt, and a bit of sugar if you so desire, and let it cook down, and down, and down for the rest of the afternoon.
Step #9. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, begin to clean up the atrocious mess that you may or may not have just made in your kitchen.
Step #10. Remind yourself that "haste makes waste" and work a little more slowly so as to avoid adding insult to injury.
Step #11. Think pleasant thoughts, and consider ordering take out for supper.
Step #12. When your sauce has boiled down at least a couple of inches, begin the taste test process and gather all the little hoolies to add their input of what might be needed to make said sauce just a wee bit more delish.
Step #13. Load up your pressure canner and process away for as long as your recipe dictates.
Step #14. Gather previously above mentioned hoolies to come and "ooh" and "aah" at all of your hard work and to extol the virtues of your awesomeness.
Step #15. Change your mind about take out, and instead boil up some noodles and have yourself some delicousness for supper.
Step #16. Remind yourself that you are done with your tomatoes...
Step #17. And then step away from the tomatoes.
Step #18. Or...ponder making homemade ketchup.....