Tomatoes, Take II

Today, as the first snow of the season flurried outside, we prepared our last harvest of tomatoes for canning. 

 There's something so rewarding about cooking with Rudy. I love to see how he chooses to interact with the tools and ingredients.

 He never fails to give me a new perspective on the same old tools.

 And to remind me how much fun cooking can be. :)

 Funny, how pumpkin guts are 'untouchable' but diced tomatoes are fully squishable...

Even snackable. :)

 That's OK-get 'em while you still can, Rudy. This is our last taste of garden fresh tomatoes until next year.

Of course, Rudy's always up for dish duty (so long as he can fill the dishes with water as many times as he pleases).

*Side note: When we noticed the snow flurry, Rudy said, "Is Julia almost ready to come out?" Earlier this summer, when he was asking about Julia's arrival, I'd told him she was going to be a winter baby, like he was, and she wouldn't be ready to come out until it got cold, and maybe even snowed. What a fun reminder that yes, she is indeed almost ready to come out. :)

Dear Julia,

Last night, you were so present with me, it was like we were face to face. I hope one day you'll have the joy of carrying your own children, and feeling their spirits so strongly that it's like you've known them for a long time before you ever get to kiss their cheeks.
You were so full of optimism, excitement, and energy. Your movements were joyful, celebratory dances that your time to enter the world is soon approaching. I was taken aback at how happy, and confident you seemed about your arrival, because I happened to be at the end of a rather exhausting, stressful day. You reminded me about the miraculous gift of life that I've been given. Thank you for your strength, courage, and energetic optimism.
The women we are naming you after, Julia Ward Howe and Julia Mavimbela had such characteristics as well. They preached peace in times of conflict, worked to make their worlds a more beautiful place to be, cherished the gifts they'd been given, and sought to share them with others, less fortunate.
Somehow, even though I have yet to look into your face, I know you'll be a sister to them. Your spirit is full of vigor, your heart sweet and tender. I love you! I'm so glad you're on your way! I'll do my best to open the doors for your sweet spirit to thrive and grow and become all that it can be while you're in my care.

DONE!

We did it. We finally did it! (Almost.) :)

We've been working on Rudy's room since the ground defrosted enough to start digging his window-well out last spring. Now that Fall's chill has come to visit, he's finally sleeping in his cozy new room, which is practically done. (We have a couple ceiling tiles to repair and the interior of the window to finish mudding and painting.) So it took about 2 seasons to complete. Not bad for a family consisting of a full-time student/full time employee, pregnant wife, and 2 year old child.

Here's some BEFORE pictures:

And some AFTER pictures:

 We're all very proud of our work. It's made a big difference in the room-a GIANT difference, really. And we  worked together in (mostly) harmony, which makes the project special. Rudy participated in every stage of work, from demo, to hanging his pictures up.

I can tell he has a sense of ownership for that room that couldn't have been formed any other way. When we have company over, I ask him if he wants to show them his new room, and he's almost always totally stoked too. "It's right down here," he'll say, and give the grand tour of all 10 by 12 feet. 

Moving him downstairs was a big deal for me. The first night, I shed a few tears after blowing Rudy his last night-night kiss from the door. And I listened to the monitor for even a breath of distress from my baby all night long. Maybe I'll get over the monitor thing some time, but for now, it lets me feel like he's still sharing a wall with us, which is important for my mommy nerves. 

Rudy himself has been doing pretty well with the transition. (Having the coolest room in the house probably helps.) The last night he slept in his upstairs room, he woke up early in the morning like it was Christmas day and came hurrying to me to ask if his room was ready. (We had put him to bed the night before, telling him I'd finish sewing the curtains and things so that he could move in the next day.) We went bounding (OK-he went bounding as I went blundering) down the stairs to check out the new room. 

Those next 15 minutes of totally wowed 2 year old were worth every late night, early morning, and nap time I put into that room. I only wish Jason could have seen it. Rudy insisted that we go retrieve his sleeping buddies, Beep-n-Bop and Turtle, as well has his sippy, so that he could pretend to sleep in there right away. Come that night, it took a little firmness to convince him that his days of sleeping upstairs were over, but I really think he was just exploring a new bed time stalling technique, because as soon as the routine was finished and he'd given the monitor a test to be sure I could hear him from upstairs, he went right to sleep and slept soundly through the night.

So now I'm free to begin nesting for the little one on the way. Whew! My nesting instincts have been seriously building up, as I've made myself focus on getting Rudy all set. This week, our laundry lint has has a pink tinge to it, as I've washed loads of blankets, towels, and clothes to outfit our little girl through her first 6 months. I went out and bought all the little infant things we needed to restock on, I've brought all the baby gear out of storage and washed and set up most of the things. We're waiting for the crib my Oma was nice enough to buy for us to arrive, and then we'll set up the nursery in earnest. Hallelujah! I'm right around the corner from being able to sit in my totally stocked and ready nursery and tell Julia, "Alright-we're ready. You can come at your convenience," which is good, since she's due in like 26 days. (Not that I'm counting, or anything.) :)

Pumpkin Carving

 I thought pumpkin carving would be this great tactile experience for Rudy and the little girl I babysit.

 Not quite. Both carefully avoided touching the 'yuckies' and the "eewies" as they gingerly maneuvered their spoons in to try to scoops some seeds out. They looked at me like I was insane when I reached in there with just my hand and squished the pumpkin guts through my fingers. Oh well, to each his own, I guess. :)

 Rudy wanted to make a mean pumpkin. This is his 'mean face' to go with the pumpkin.

And this is him successfully fitting the lid on. (And just  being cute.)

Hee Haw Farms

 A friend of mine hooked me up with some discount tickets to Hee Haw Farms- a little family run business that offers a corn maze, a petting zoo, tractor pulled hay rides, a pumpkin patch, a hay bale playground and a few other fun things. I brought Rudy and my niece, whom I'll call Cutie for the sake of privacy. It was my first outing with a toddler and a baby (albeit 9 month old, not infant), and it was a BLAST! All three of us thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. My favorite part was the corn maze, Cutie's was probably a tie between the corn maze and the hay ride (she liked all the bumps associated with both), and Rudy's was hands down the hay ride. He was riding behind a real tractor, driven by a real farmer. What's more, the farmer even let him sit on it and pretend to drive at the end. It was probably the highlight of Rudy's month. :)

 Rudy leading the way, armed with 'swords' to hunt some monsters in the 'corn jungle'. We had a blast hearing pretend roars and tracking monsters through the maze.

 Here's Rudy on a hot trail. :)

 Unfortunately, the big white rabbit that hopped out of the stalks right next to Rudy had hopped back out of sight by the time I got this picture taken, but that's what Rudy's watching. He did really well at staying still and quiet so as not to startle the rabbit-I was really impressed.

 Aren't these ears beautiful?

 Rudy collecting 'magic' corn pieces. Apparently, when we found the monster we were hunting, all we would have to do was throw a magic corn piece at it and it would either go "KER-PUFFLE!" or turn into a nice monster. Or both, depending on Rudy's fancy at the moment.

 Rudy with his pumpkin he picked right off the vine. I was a bit disappointed with the pumpkin patch-it was really weed infested-like looking for a pumpkin in a patch of morning glory and crab grass. But we did OK, and it was still fun. :)

 At the hay bale playground, they had a big bin full of corn. What a great tactile experience for all of us-I gotta tell you, sitting in a bunch of dried corn is quiet comfortable!

 On the hay ride.

Rudy on Good Lookin', the tractor. He must have felt 10 feet tall to get to sit up there, and 'drive'. What a nice guy, to have taken the time to give my son such a memorable experience!

French Bread Recipe

Several friends have asked for this recipe, so I thought I'd just post it here on the blog. This is a recipe my mom's been making since I can remember. I don't know where she got it. It's a great, simple, delicious way to turn a meager meal into one that can feed a house hold. (It doesn't matter how thin the soup so long as there's plenty of bread to go around, right?) ;)

Ingredients:

2 T yeast

2 1/2 C very warm water (like it's a bit uncomfortably hot to put your hand in, but not scalding.)

2 T sugar

1 T salt

2 T oil

6 C flour

Step by Step Instructions:

 Mix the yeast, sugar, and warm water together first. Then add all other ingredients EXCEPT ONLY ADD 3 CUPS OF THE FLOUR. Mix again. Add remaining 3 cups of flour and mix until the dough is not sticking to the sides, as pictured below. If you need to add a bit extra flour to get the dough not to stick, go for it, though usually with enough mixing, it all works out. :)

 Let it rise for maybe 20 minutes a couple times, beating it down both times. The time's not so important as just letting it double in size-how long that takes depends on your yeast, the room temperature, how warm your water was...etc. Now you're ready to form the loaves.

 Spread a generous amount of flour on the counter. (Kids are more than happy to help with this part.) ;)

 Divide the dough into two halves. 

Working with one half at a time, roll it out into a sort of retangular/oval shap, about 1/4 inch thick. Apparently, for a 2 and 1 year old, this is a very serious, concentration filled moment. ;)

 Now roll your rectangle/oval up like a jelly roll and pinch the dough together at the seam-put that seam on the 'bottom' of your loaf.

 Tuck and pinch the ends  under the loaf as well.

Place the loaf on a cookie sheet with some cornmeal (or Cream of Wheat in a pinch) on the bottom. Make your second loaf and then cut the slashes in the top with a sharp knife. 

Now is when I put the oven on to preheat to 400 degrees. I put the loaves on the stove and let the heat from the oven help them rise faster. In about 20 minutes, your loaves will have doubled in size.

 OPTIONAL: Baste the tops with egg white. All this does is add to the authentic look-it gives them a nice, brown crust. Alternatively, you can baste with butter, or wait 'till after they're cooked and run a stick of butter over them then. Or you could just leave 'em naked. It all works, and it all tastes great. :)

Bake at 400 degrees 20-30 minutes. You'll know they're done when they're golden brown, and you can smell them through the whole house. :) These turned out a bit skeewumpous in their shape, but we'll just blame that on my helpers, shall we? Once they're sliced, it doesn't matter anyway. :)

Making Spaghetti Sauce from Scratch

I finally decided I'd break down and can at least one of my tomato harvests instead of giving it away. (Just looking at them gives me heartburn at 35 weeks pregnant!) I considered my options of how to can them. For some wild reason, I thought canning spaghetti sauce sounded like a good idea. Maybe because the instructions in the Ball Blue Book of Canning were only a small paragraph long. Funny how a one sentence instruction can take HOURS to follow. (ie. Boil the tomato puree on medium high heat until it reduces to about half it's volume.)

Sigh.

Next year, I'm canning diced tomatoes like I did last year. That's a paragraph of instructions that takes a proportionate amount of time to follow! Anyway, my spaghetti sauce canning experience was rather disheartening, seeing as all these tomatoes, 

And all this mess (and that's just the stove!) 

 Brought me 4 whopping quarts of sauce after 5 hours of constant work. (That's not including the processing, when I could finally play with my amazingly self entertained child again.)

Kind of a defeating sight, huh? 

While this canning experience lacked the usual thrill of feeling amazingly industrious and domestic, it gave me a whole new appreciation for tomato sauce. I value my experience, because I learned first hand just how many tomatoes it takes to make a bit of sauce, and how long of a process it is. I'll never take a can of tomato sauce for granted again. Thank goodness I have the privilege of living in a place where I can simply go to the store, and stock up on cans and cans of sauce-no 2 hours of stirring splattering tomato puree involved!