Since we have moved to the country, I have embraced the "country way of life"...sorta. Well, I've tried anyway. Let me explain.
My friend Jenny provided me with more corn than I have ever seen in one place before, and we "put it up" for the winter. 
She also gave me more onions that I knew one garden could produce. I sliced and chopped them and then froze them for winter. I have a ton of regular and red potatoes thanks to both Jenny and Grandpa Dud sitting in a bushel basket in my pantry. Grandpa Dud gave me green peppers that I chopped/sliced and froze for winter. As mentioned previously, I made about 6 batches of strawberry jam from berries I bought from a local farm. I am feeling like quite the WOMAN.
She also gave me more onions that I knew one garden could produce. I sliced and chopped them and then froze them for winter. I have a ton of regular and red potatoes thanks to both Jenny and Grandpa Dud sitting in a bushel basket in my pantry. Grandpa Dud gave me green peppers that I chopped/sliced and froze for winter. As mentioned previously, I made about 6 batches of strawberry jam from berries I bought from a local farm. I am feeling like quite the WOMAN.
Well, yesterday Grandpa Dud gave me 2 Target bags FULL of tomatoes. I decided to try my hand at making my own spiced tomato sauce. I was unaware that I had an observer in all of my cooking endeavors. It turns out that Claire (and all of the other kids too, except Nathan...he has NO interest in the kitchen except what he can eat quickly and often! He HATES to get his hands dirty-something that just happens when you are cooking.) was watching and waiting for an opportunity to help. She sat and helped me seed ALL of the tomatoes last night. Collin and Danny helped for about 5 minutes, but Claire sat next to me working the whole time! It takes a long time to seed 2 large bags worth of tomatoes in case you didn't know! She was so proud of herself!
Then this morning, we made peach jam. Claire, once again, helped me cut, peel and chop 8 pounds of peaches. 8 POUNDS! That's a lot of peaches in case you were wondering. This time, Kaylyn helped for a little bit, too. Then Claire measured out the sugar and helped stir 2 batches of jam. I am so proud of her! She is an amazing helper.It has been so much fun doing all of this knowing that we will use this stuff in the winter when fresh produce won't be as available. It's even more fun knowing that the kids watch and want to help. Maybe they will smile and remember Momma in the kitchen making yummy jam when they get older. Now, if I could just learn to make bread from scratch, I might just be a REAL WOMAN!
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3 comments:
You ARE A REAL WOMAN--no bread necessary!! You are putting the rest of us to shame! I need to move back to your part of the world so I will be a better cook (again)!
I am thinking a weekend away in the country is just what I am needing! Best yet...I know quite a few very good bread recipes I have made from scratch over the years and I would love to show you how! I can make Jewish challah bread (AMAZING for french toast!), a really good maple oatmeal bread, plain white bread, and all sorts of whole grain nutty breads.
Come on over Sunday! When would you like to book a room at Robin's Nest? Misty, don't even tease me. You know how much I would love to have you back. All you need to do is get back into the kitchen! You're a fantastic cook!
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