One of Those Days

It's true, it was one of those days. These band aids really sum it up best.



But, I am happy to say that in between the scraped elbow, the broken window, and the money mishap, we did fit in some goodness... a long walk, some gardening, berry picking and some sandbox playing.



But nonetheless, I am looking forward to a fresh start tomorrow (and perhaps I need to make some more pie).

Black Raspberry Cream Pie

Black Raspberry Cream Pie
1 9-inch graham cracker crumb pie shell (today I made my own)
1 egg white, beaten
1 cup whipping cream
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 10-oz. jar black raspberry spread (I replaced with actual berries)
Fresh black raspberries, lemon peel twist, and/or mint leaves (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush pie shell with beaten egg white. Bake for 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

2. In a medium mixing bowl beat whipping cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form; set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Add black raspberry spread. Beat on low speed just until combined. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon mixture into pie shell. Cover and freeze for 4 to 24 hours or until firm. Garnish with fresh black raspberries, lemon peel twist, and/or mint. Makes 8 servings

This Weekend...

There was time for hamocking...



A lot more berry picking...



Ice cream cones (Jackson's first)...



A lot of family visitors...



Some unexpected swimming in the overflowing river...





Some trike time...



And some very delicious black raspberry cream pie (recipe in next post)...



It was a truely wonderful weekend.

A Date

Yesterday Ryan asked me if I wanted to have a date in which we make jam together... which I of course gave an enthusiastic yes too. So (in what turned out to be one of my favorite dates) after getting the kids to bed we enjoyed a great night together and made some delicious black raspberry jam.

4 cups black raspberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 package powdered fruit pectin
1 1/2 cup honey

Mix the black raspberries, lemon juice and pectin in a heavy-bottomed, stainless-steel pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the honey. Return to a boil and stir slowly for 10 to 12 minutes. The mixture will resemble a thick syrup when done.

Sooooo yummy.

Getting Back in the Swing

I have thoroughly been enjoying my days back at home this week. I made it a point to schedule nothing for this first week back and I'm so glad I did. It feels so good to just be back into our regular rhythm and have the time for all our favorite home things, like...

tending to the gardens (and delighting in how they are growing)...



Having a lot of picnics outside...



And of course picking (and eating) a lot of berries...



It feels good to be home.

Black Raspberries...

are here!

Father's Day

There is rarely a day that goes by that I don't think to myself how lucky am I to have married a man who loves to play with his children.

Happy Father's Day Ryan. We love you.

Garden Festival

Making our centerpiece...



Singing our blessing...



Waving our blessing wands...




Blessing every garden...



Gathering herbs for dinner...




Lasagna and asparagus...



It was a beautiful little festival... hopefully an annual tradition.

Old Fashioned Lasagna

1 lb ground beef
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp. dried parsley
1 tbsp. basil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups of tomatoes
2 cans of tomato paste
lasagna noodles (I used whole wheat)

2 cartons of large curd cottage cheese
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 tbsp. dried parsley
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 lb mozzarella cheese

Brown meat slowly; add next six ingredients to meat. Simmer uncovered about 1/2 hour. Cook lasagna noodles according to cooking instructions. For lasagna- combine cottage cheese with next five ingredients. Place 1/2 noodles in 13x9x2 baking dish; spread 1/2 cheese mixture over noodles, add 1/2 mozzarella cheese and 1/2 meat mixture. Repeat layers. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Sunday night smores...

With guest Grandma Sam.

Nudes

Garden Love

Watermelon


Peas


Potatoes


Digging more beds


Found a toad


Decided last minute to plant corn again...trying a new method

Eight Years

Ryan and I celebrated our eight year anniversary this weekend. Unlike last year, I have zero pictures to show for it (this rose from our rosebush will have to do). It was kind of nice taking a few days off from my camera... as well as my kids, cooking, cleaning, and pretty much everything. Instead we went out to lunch... and dinner, layed around and watched a movie, went out for a glass of wine, slept in, ate ice cream after breakfast... it was heavenly. We made sure to fill our weekend with all those silly little things we use to take for granted before we had children. The perfect way to celebrate eight amazing years together.