'Preserving' is a great and addicting idea

My new endeavor that has been in the lineup for some time: fermented foods!  I finally got an organic cabbage to make kraut and some pickling cucumbers for some sour pickles.  I can't believe how easy it was.  I pay far too much for naturally fermented pickles to not do it myself when it is this easy.  Literally water, salt, spices and cucumbers.  I have no idea how to store these puppies for long periods of time, but I will have to figure it out as I plan to make at least 10 crocks of these in the next few weeks while the kirby's are in season.  The kraut was a bit late and my cabbage too small but it is a good starting ground for us.  I am not sure of the response I will get when I serve this, they do love fermented foods but this may be over the line. The last jar is a recipe from Put Em Up by Sherri Brooks Vinton. Actually they are all her recipes.  Though you can find similar versions online as they are very simple and time tested methods.  I highly recommend this book for home canners who want to spice up their jars.  I am not a typical canner in that I tend to only do a bit of jam and the rest strange versions of things I like.  Last year I did: blueberry jam, blueberry peach sauce, blackberry syrup, heirloom tomato salsa, green tomato relish, blackberry pear chutney, apple sauce, more salsa than I care to recall from mom's garden and a whole bunch of tomatoes and sauce.  I have the itch to put lots of foods into lots of jars and just sit and stare at their beauty.  Now I just have to find room for it all!
Happy preserving.

Juicing

This is the face of beet juice in the morning.  Well, it is Em's anyway.  She was not too impressed with the flavor profile of fresh beets and spinach.  Strange right?  Surprisingly Cora loved it and even asked for seconds.  I have been juicing for a few weeks and am still tinkering with recipes that the kids will enjoy that are not all fruit.  I have found a few things to be useful in this adventure.  First, a pinch of salt goes a long way.  It adds flavor, minerals and increases the sweetness of veggies that aren't overly sweet to begin with.  Second, throw around some spices.  My kids are very familiar with cinnamon and nutmeg so adding them to a juice that may not have gone over on its own, gets a little boost from something they are accustomed to.  Third, lemon can save just about any juice.  If it's too green(not something I will ever battle) or bland or even just too vegetable-y, lemon brightens the flavor and gives a great tart element.  I have even used lemon oil in a pinch.  cora has now made a list of her favorites.  For some reason all of them seem to be her third favorite.  She doesn't want to commit, I get it.  Here are her third Favorties:
 Carrot Apple Ginger Lemon
3 carrots
1 apple
1 slice ginger
1 half lemon pith and peel removed

Beet Spinach Lemon
3 large beets
half bunch spinach
half lemon pith and peel removed

pinch of salt

Berry Bonanza-more a smoothie
1 c blueberris
1c rasperries
1 peach


Very Green- big batch
1 bunch spinach
2 bunches kale
half bunch parsley
1 cucumber
A few beet tops
pinch of salt

Patience

Let's start by saying that I have little to none.  I actually feel like I have more than I ever have, since having children, but still fill like my stash is low.  Every little element of my world seems to directly correlate to my ability to cope with the overwhelming frustration of small children.  If I sleep too little, don't eat enough, haven't exercised, have too much laundry, haven't made my bed yet, and a million other tiny inconsequential elements of my life will put me over the edge in an instant.  I have been told that I am "the kind of mom who is too busy being with her kids to worry about how clean her house is." In truth, I just can't seem to be able to balance it all without loosing my shit all over the place. I either have to choose to be the mom who spends her day doing crafts, playing outside, reading books and just being with my kids or the mom whose floor is so clean you could eat off it.  I can honestly say that there are times you shouldn't even eat off my table.  Yesterday for instance, I gave the girls craft kits that I failed to notice included paint "that will dry permanently to most surface".  That includes Emme's and kitchen tables.  In an effort to spruce up the place, I had just finished refinishing the table and chairs.  So much for that effort.
I seem to be able to balance myself on the cusp of my tolerance level when it comes to being a mom and a homemaker.  I seem to have the patience necessary for having two small girls that are relatively laid back, happy children for the majority of the time.  But when you include having the patience to let them make a giant mess and then quietly clean it up with a smile as if you have not done this nineteen other times in the last hour, I fail.  Suddenly I become the mom that is flipping out because the mess is no longer directly proportional to the clean.  The mess is winning and I am loosing.  My patient "have fun be kids" persona becomes a raging maniac because I have played this game often enough that I know all its tricks.  I know that if the house gets messy enough that I can't walk through one room into the next without stepping on a hunk of play dough or cold noodle, it will probably take an entire day to get back to the semi-clean state it was at the day before.  If the dishes from breakfast are still in the sink at dinner, I will not have an empty sink for at least two more days as the backup will continue in this fashion until it overtakes me and I order takeout, thus stopping the cycle. If the sink is full of dishes I can't do laundry and the ceaseless pile of  twirly skirts grows to the point of filling all baskets, including the ones that I had to empty that had never been put away since the last wash day.  That was a week and a half ago.
I do however find time to make all our bread from scratch, cook from our pantry, garden and preserve most of our canned goods for the year, sew their clothes, and any other hippy crunchy thing that catches my fancy.  I try so hard to be the mom from that blog that looks like she has got it all figured out.  The one that has 5 kids and a farm and a perfect home.  She's also skinny.  Do you see how I set myself up for failure?  But honestly how does she do it?  And more importantly, why can't I?
I really do feel that my patience level is the problem.  I can only hold it all together for so long before I am overwrought with exhaustion and frustration.  I would like to say that I am practicing being patient and have this 'on my way to success' story to share but I can't even convince myself to try.  I don't have the patience to try and be more patient!How on earth do you have small kids, a clean house, feed your family well, be a conscious member of society, treat the earth kindly, and be skinny?  Without tv I seriously think it is impossible.  I could do so much more if I just put the tv on and allowed my kids to vedge the day away. But that is not my style, so messy house is.  Most of the time I am okay with it.  Though that is because I am too worn out to give a darn. Hopefully I will have a some enlightened moment to share with you some day, once I have it all together.  Most likely that will be when my small children are no longer small.  Off to not clean something.

Guess the beg

"Please Momma, can we go play sidewalk chalk?"  The child loves her some drama.  What if adults openly begged for such simple things?  I could really use this when I would like to go the restroom alone.  I would openly beg for that.

for the tummy

This meal was a surprise hit so I have no evidence of it's beauty.  It was all digested.  But I will be making this again at the request of at least two of my kin.  Feel free to change out the cheeses and the bread.  I know this would go well on flatbread, or in a filled stromboli, or on it's own for that matter.
Kale and Potato Burrito
4 Large red potatoes
1 bunch kale
1/2 onion diced
1/4 c gorganzola cheese
1/4 c parmesan cheese
salt, pepper, garlic

1. Quater and slice the potatoes 1/4 inch thick and place in lidded skillet with oil, salt, pepper and garlic to taste. 
2. cook unstirred about 10 minutes.  add chopped oinion and stir carefully.
3. when potatoes are soft place chopped kale on top of potatoes, and the tortialla on top of the kale, reaplace the lid.
4. after about 3 minutes, remove lid, and tortilla which are now perfectly steamed.
5. stir together the potato and kale mixture and add the cheeses. 
6. fill the tortilla with mixture and serve hot.

Choices and their potential ridicule

As a holistic parent, there comes a time when your choices will be given less than positive attention.  Sometimes it is your choice of poo catching devices that get the side eye.  Other times it is the lack of happy meals that you bring through your drivers side window that will demand explanation.  No matter the choice in question, the challenge is always tough.  I never enjoy the moment when I have to divulge my parenting choices to a person who I know will disagree.  The moment that they decide if they will be offended by your decision, taking it as a slight against their choices.  It truly makes my skin crawl.  I avoid those moments at all cost and have faked-it like a champ as a freeze pop is handed over to my two year old.  But as I grow as a parent and individual I have gained the strength in my decisions that boils down to the simplest idea: I demand the same respect for my choices as I give yours.  I try my darnedest to treat all members of the child-raising community with the same respect, keeping in mind that to each their own.  I slip, daily.  I cringe when i see a child eating a lollipop at 9 am.  Mostly for the mom who has to spend her day in wonderment as to why Johnny is bouncing off the walls and throwing tantrums that could shift the rotation of the earth.  But I would never engage that parent in a face off of values.  It diminishes the parent-potential in yourself.   I find that when I look at Johnny's mom and wonder what possessed her to hand over said pop at the wee hours of the day, I force myself to think of any choices that I made recently that went against my own parenting ethos. I may have bent the rules on tv that morning to get in a much needed chat with a sister or friend in need a few non-screaming moments.  I may have overlooked the mess of toys to get out the door to a playdate to get some much needed mom time.  No matter the reason, it was a sacrifice I made to keep life running smoothly for my family.  I make decisions that work for us but look a hot mess to an outsider.  Who knows, johnny may have finally peed on the potty that morning and not in the dog's kibble.  I would gladly hand over a pop for that feat.  It would be organic and I would feel a bit better about myself for thirty seconds until I felt the earth shift a bit as the tantrums began.   I hope that before you start judging you remember that there are eyes pointed in your direction.  We all need a break sometimes, and commiserating with a worn down member of our parent community will always go farther than judgement.  I personally accept the most help when I feel my ideas are respected and will assume others do as well until I am proven otherwise.  It keeps me in hope that someday I won't have to explain why I don't go to Walmart and why my three year old prefers our necks to a teddy bear as a bed mate. 

Last Day of School

Today Cora becomes a second grader!  I will be very sad to leave behind one of the greatest teachers I have met.  It is truly a pleasure to know that she was so respected for her thoughts and concerns.  It is not often that you find a person who allows children to feel so important.  Thank you for a wonderful year Ms. B.