Christmas Crafts and Cookies

The kids and I have been doing a little Christmas baking and crafting!  Well really, for the crafts I cheated and found these little light up decorate a Christmas tree thing.  :)

Willow was my big helper when it came to making cookies this year.  Jayden was excellent in the quality control (a.k.a batter tasting and cooking eating) department.

Corn-atopia!

Things have been a bit hectic since arriving home 9 days ago.  I've been getting kids registered for school (homeschool and pre-k), signed up for gymnastics, and swimming, and ballet.  Doctor appointments made, chiropractor appointments made.  We've had playdates almost every single day with all the friends we've been missing over the summer.  Of course we've had to go to the pool too!  So it's been so, so busy!  But we are trying to slow down a bit, get the house under control, cleaned and organized during our last full week of vacation, not to mention get prepped and ready for school.  Jayden has an orientation day for eCademy next Tuesday and then we start school for him on Thursday.  2nd grade!  I can hardly believe it.


So, I thought for sure we were going to miss corn season this year.  I left before the corn was being harvested, and Royal was a working fool while we were gone, so he had no time to do corn by himself.  I figured for sure corn season would be over by the time we go back, but we lucked out!  I was down to about 5 bags left in the freezer from last year, so I was pretty pumped Gaeddert Farms was still selling!

We grabbed 2 boxes of corn (8 dozen) at the farmers market and got 2-1 dozen bags for free (facebook special!  gotta love that!) and we did corn this past weekend.  Royal does all the shucking - 120 ears of corn - that's a lot of shucking!

And I do all the cutting, cooking, and cooling.  We try and get the kids in on the work as much as we can, but hours and hours of corn can get pretty darn boring.  So, when they show an interest in some part of the process, we try to include them and hope that the next year they will be able to do a little more on their own.  Jayden really wanted to help cut the kernals off the cobs.

Willow played out in the river that was running down the street.

And I managed to get all the corn cooked and cooling.

Then Willow helped me bag it.

Royal usually helps bag the corn as well, but it seems all the shucking wore him out and he settled in for being read to and being climbed on while "resting his eyes" as he likes to put it.  "I'm not asleep, I'm just resting my eyes"  Mmmmm Hmmmm, my dad used to say the exact same thing...that looks like asleep to me, as asleep as you can be with a kid on your lap reading and a kid climbing over the back of the chair to try and find a spot on your lap/chest/shoulder as well.

Our freezer is almost all stocked and ready for winter!

The Halloween Party That Wasn't

Jayden REALLY wanted to have a Halloween party this year.

So, we've been planning it for weeks now.  Friends were invited, food menu was picked out, decorations had been put up.  Then last night happened.  In true Lovingfoss, well actually McComb, fashion, Jayden threw up all over the carpet.  I personally think it was a food issue, although I guess we'll find out for sure over the next couple of days to see if anyone else gets sick.  He had eaten a ton of junk over the past few days, and just thinking about what he ate gave me a stomach ache.   So, I really wasn't too surprised when last night he said that his stomach hurt, then a half an hour later he threw up the contents of his stomach that were stained a lovely blue from the ring pop he had ingested about an hour before. (tmi????)  Luckily Royal was around because I can kind of handle the upchuck while it's happening, but the minute I have to actually think about it and cleaning it up, I'm in the corner gagging.  So, while Royal figured out a way to get the blue out of the carpet, I got Jayden in the bath, cleaned up, in clean pj's and tucked in bed.  Half an hour later, Jayden was throwing up again.  And then every 10 minutes (I exaggerate not!) for the next 3 hours, Jayden was throwing up.   Every 10 minutes!  Finally Royal and I started switching off who got out of bed to help Jayden so the other person could get 20 minutes sleep instead of just 10.  It was brutal.  But finally around 3, it all stopped, Jayden finally went to sleep and so did we.  He woke up today saying he felt just fine, just a little tired.  He ate food and drank water and kept it all down, went with us to take Willow to swimming lessons, was acting pretty normal, just tired, and we seriously considered keeping the Halloween party on.  I prepared most of the food, but in the end, we decided to play it safe and canceled it.  I would feel so awful if Jayden really did have something contagious and we passed it on.

So, Jayden and Willow watched movies and pretty much did this all day

And these poor decorations will just have to stay up to have a It's Not Halloween Party with some friends.

And most of our party food will be taken to work with Royal tomorrow.  Mummy Dogs, Nutter Butter Ghosts, Baked Eyeballs, a Bowl of Bones, and a Candy Corn Cake.  (not shown - because once we canceled the party, I stopped working on making food into things and just left them normal - were the vampire (tomato) soup, apples with teeth, our veggies, and funeral punch with bat ice cubes)

We're still going out trick or treating though!  :)

Apples, Apples, Apples

The weather this spring and summer was so bad that the fruit trees around here really suffered.  There was a random late freeze in the spring that killed off the majority of the peach blossoms that had come out, so finding good peaches to freeze and can this year was a little difficult, and we only got enough for freezing into peach cobbler/pie filling.  Then I was crossing my fingers that the pears would turn out, because really, my kids love canned pears way more than peaches.  Well, the time to start finding pears came and we started calling around to the local orchards we knew, but nobody had pears because of how hot the summer was.  One orchard's pears started growing on the trees and were looking good, but never grew past the size of a small ball because the orchard's well ran dry and they couldn't water the trees anymore. The other orchard we called said they got a total of 6 pears off their trees.  6!  So, I guess we'll have to survive the winter with the few quarts of pears we have left over from last year and we crossed our fingers about apples.  Last week, we called up to Regier Orchard in Whitewater to see if they had apples ready to pick.  They told Royal that the apples were so small they weren't letting people come up and pick, but Royal persisted and said we wanted the apples for applesauce, so we didn't care how big they were or if some of them had hail damage, and they finally relented and said they would let us at least come take a look for ourselves and decide if we wanted them.

So, last Friday, Royal took the day off of work and after we picked Jayden up from school, we drove up to the orchard.  I love the owners of Regier orchard, they are the sweetest, old couple.  And the man was so embarrassed about the state of his apples he just kept apologizing for them.  Then once he found out we were from Washington - his mecca of apple growing - he about put the kabosh on us going out to the orchard because he didn't want us to see his trees.  But finally we talked him into it and went out to see what kind of apples we were going to be able to take home with us.

Jayden was a lot more help this year!  He picked lots of low hanging apples, you know the ones I can reach too, and then used the ladder to get up high in the trees.

Willow played in the truck the whole time.  :)

Once Jayden got bored with picking, he became more interested in trying to climb the trees and hang from the branches.

I got to ride in the back of the truck with the kids to and from the orchard.  I'm pretty sure they thought this was the funnest part!

We managed to pick almost 90 pounds of apples!  Pretty good for about 90 minutes of picking the kids let us do before they were begging for dinner!

And then we've spent that last 4 days finishing up our work.  Royal did all of the quartering and coring, and it probably took him a good 8 hours because 1) the apples were so small and 2) he had a new helper this year.

Then, after we cooked them up nice and soft, I did the majority of the milling.  I have to stand on a stool, so I have more leverage on the handle to squish all the apple meat out.  I also had lots of helpers for this part, for about 30 minutes until they got bored....

then they were more interested in doing this :

And finally yesterday I canned up the final batch of applesauce, and my shoulder can finally rest!

Snow Ice Cream

I have never even heard of making snow ice cream until this year.  After all the snow we've been getting the past couple of weeks, I see people posting things about making snow ice cream as a kid, making it with their kids.  And I'm like, 'what in the world is snow ice cream?'  Finally, my friend Molly posted a recipe!  So, since everything around here is canceled again because of snow and the kids and I needed something new to do, we decided to make some.

The kids put on their boots and coats and ventured out to collect some snow.

 

 

Then we brought it inside and took turns measuring out the snow.  Added some milk, sugar, vanilla, and salt.  And took turns stirring it up.

 

And then the kids ate it!!!!!   Jayden said it was the most delicious thing he has ever eaten.

 

Recipe:
5 C snow
1/2 C milk
1/2 C sugar
1 t vanilla
pinch of salt

Mix all together in a bowl and eat

Got Any Corn?

The start of the hard work of storing up food for the winter has officially begun.  Well, we really started stocking the freezer for winter a couple of months ago.  When it comes to berries Royal is like a little squirrel, he's constantly putting them in the freezer, and they always seem to be gone just when I'm looking for them to put on the kid's plates.  We had big plans this year to go to a berry farm and pick a lot of our own berries, but with the driving time, the amount of hard it work it takes to pick the berries, and the young ages of our kiddos, we decided we'd put it off for another year and re-evaluate next May.  But corn is a whole 'nother story!

Last year, we froze 6 dozen corn and we ran out way too early, so since you can get the corn 4 dozen in a box, we just decided to get 2 boxes this year.  We started out the morning, by going and picking up the corn right when the stand opened, because on the weekends they always seem to sell out really fast.  Then we headed North to Newton to go check out the peaches at Beck's Farm and find out what kind of pears she's going to get in this year.  We were hoping to can a couple batches of peaches in the next couple weekends before we left for our vacation to Washington, but it seems like the peaches just might not be ready yet, they are pretty hard still, and I just don't have the time or room to buy a bunch of peaches and then have to lay them around the house waiting for them to ripen.  I'm pretty sure the kids would think they were new toys just for them, and I'd have peaches hidden everywhere!  So, if they don't ripen in the next couple of weeks, hopefully they'll wait for us to get back from Washington!

Anyway, back to the corn.  Like I mentioned, we got 8 dozen corn this year.  That would be 96 ears for all you out there who don't like doing mental math.  :) That's a lot of shucking!  So, I made up a new house rule.  When we got home I said to Royal, "Well, it turns out just like I don't do dishes, I don't shuck corn either"  Ha ha ha, I crack myself up!  So, Royal sat out in the garage for about 2 hours shucking every ear of corn.


He wasn't alone though, he had Jayden (and Sam) out there with him keeping him entertained with a measuring tape.



But don't worry, it's not like I didn't do anything.  I was in the house, cutting all the kernals off the cobs.



and then doing some more...



Royal and I got smart this year.  The last couple of times we've done this, we cooked the corn on the cob and then stuck them in an icebath to stop them from cooking, and then we'd cut the kernals off as fast as we could.  The cobs were usually still pretty hot because we're both a bit impatient and we didn't want to wait until they were completely cool, and so I always left the project with burned finger tips.  But after complaining to Royal's mom about my sore fingers, she oh-so-wisely suggested that we cut the kernals off and then cook them.  Genius!!!  And it took so many fewer batches of water as well!  We're getting smarter over here folks!

I just am always surprised that all the corn fits into so few bags.  96 ears of corn, and we have 20 bags of corn to stick in our freezer!

Bread Bowl

I got a package in the mail today! I knew it was from my mom and I knew it was for my birthday. I told Kaylee, who I was on the phone with at the time, that I was just going to wait until my birthday to open it. Then she oh-so-wisely reminded me that I had declared the entire month of June my birthday month. So, without any further hesitation I opened it!

And this is what was in it :



The truth is, I have been coveting this bread bowl that my mom has had since I started making bread for my family. I figured that maybe I might get it if my parents ever sold their house, and if not then, then when we were going through their will. So, basically, not anytime in the near future. Wichita is not the most health conscious city and when we moved here I was having a lot of trouble finding bread that I liked all of the ingredients in. Enriched flour this, bleached flour that, high fructose this, sugar is the 2nd ingredient, blah, blah, blah. So, I decided that I would just try making bread and see how it went. Turns out it was pretty darn easy! I usually make 2 loaves at a time, stick one in the pantry and freeze the other, and that’s enough for a week! And wouldn’t you know it, but I needed to make bread today and I was totally procrastinating. I was, that is, until my present arrived and then I had an excuse to make a bunch of dough so it could rise in my new bowl!

Here’s the recipe in case anybody wants it

Buttermilk Bread

3/4C water
1/2C buttermilk
1T lemon juice
2 1/4t active dry yeast
3C bread flour
1T brown sugar
1T butter, room temp
3T flax seed (I used golden flaxseed meal, then the kids can’t see it in the bread)
1t salt
Warm water and buttermilk up to about 110 degrees. Dissolve yeast in liquid and let stand about 5 minutes until foamy.

Put remaining ingredients in mixing bowl with dough hook attachment. Pour in yeast mixture. Knead in mixer about 5 minutes until dough is pliable, but a little tacky. Feel free to do the kneading by hand, but I’m about convenience. :)

Put dough in oiled bowl, cover with a towel and let stand in a warm place for 1 hour



It should then look something like this:



Punch dough down and put in bread pan (or pans in my case)



Cover with towel again and let rise until 1-2″ over edge of pan (a couple hours or so)



Then bake at 350 for 30mins. I take my bread out of bread pans as soon as they come out of the oven and put them on a cooling rack, which isn’t as easy when you use glass pans, but is a piece of cake with silicone ones! :)

Voila! Fresh bread! Tastes good and your house smells even better!

No Cake

Royal has been a little difficult about his birthday. I’m pretty sure it didn’t stem from the fact he was turning 32, Royal’s never had much of an issue about getting older. I think down deep he was trying to make his birthday not stress me out or anything, like he didn’t want me to feel like I needed to do something big for him. And while that is very sweet of him to try and make my day easier on his special day, really it just started to bug me. I mean, this is what I do for a living these days. I entertain other people, I fix them the food that they want, I try and make their day fun and special. So it felt a little like an insult to me, like I couldn’t fix or do anything for him that would make him feel special. Well, I didn’t let that stop me!
He told me he wanted no presents for his birthday - I am so not okay with this - I wanted to get him something, but Royal didn’t want me to spend any money. When I asked him what he wanted me to cook him for dinner, he said, ‘Well, I don’t know, maybe hotdogs or hamburgers or something?’. Okay… And then when I asked him what kind of dessert he wanted, like did he want a cake, or cupcakes, or an ice cream cake, or his mom had just taught me her pie dough recipe, so I could try to make him a pie or tarts or something. He replied, ‘Well, I guess I’ll just have an ice cream cone.’ Ugh!!! How in the world was I suppose to fit 32 candles into an ice cream cone????

So, I didn’t spend any of his money on his present. When the in-laws were in town for Jayden’s birthday, they brought Royal and my birthday presents too. And part of my present was money, so I used that money to buy Royal something, but really it was kind of a loan from myself. You see, someone is paying me to make them a couple cheesecakes by this Friday, so I’ll be getting my birthday money back! :) ha ha ha

And then for dinner, since he said he wanted ‘hotdogs or something’, I made one of his favorites, kielbasa and krout. The Lovingfoss’ had brought me some homemade canned sauerkraut and I had some kielbasa sausages in the freezer, so I BBQ’d those and heated up the sauerkraut and they were delish! The best sauerkraut I think I have every had!

And then for dessert. I had to get a little trickier here. When Royal was leaving for work in the morning, I made some comment about how me and Jayden were going to make him some chocolate chip cookies today. They are his favorite and I fed most of my last batch to our small group on Sunday, which he wasn’t too pleased about. So, Royal said, ‘Oh, I like those, they are my favorite!’ Basically he had given me permission to make him something, which meant that when he came home and I had 4 dozen chocolate chip cookies on the counter for him, he wasn’t going to gripe that I did something for him on his birthday. But instead of making him a batch of cookies, I turned my cookie dough into a pizookie (pizza cookie for anybody who has never ate at BJ’s!) It’s basically a cookie in a round dish that is super crunchy on the outside and half baked on the inside and then you cover it with vanilla ice cream and it melts all over it. It’s super good and I could fit all those candles in there!

Happy Birthday Royal!



Look at all that smoke!