Strawberry Orange Rhubarb Preserves

Maybe it's because it's August and strawberries are cheap. Maybe it's because my rhubarb plant was ridiculously huge. Maybe it's because I was actually awake at 8pm. Either way, I canned some seriously yummyness last night.

I found a recipe for strawberry rhubarb jam with no pectin that I used as my base then changed it up so suit my tastes/mood. I'm not a huge fan of jelly but I love fruit butters and preserves. So here is what I did:

Strawberry Rhubarb Orange Preserves

About 8 cups chopped rhubarb
About 8 cups strawberries, hulled
6 cups sugar
2 oranges

Put the chopped rhubarb into the pot you are planning to cook in. Pour the 6 cups of sugar on top and mix together. (My strawberries were wonderfully sweet but if yours aren't, you may need more sugar. Or just leave it nice and tart!) Let this sit for 2+ hours.

Take your hulled strawberries and crush them. I used a potato masher. You don't have to make them super crushed, just enough to release the juices. Add the smashed strawberries to the rhubarb and sugar and stir.

Add in the zest and juice of two oranges and stir well.

Over medium high heat, heat to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to the point that the rolling boil continues but not so high that it scotches. Boil and stir often (depending on how even your heat is you may need to sure constantly) until it is thickened and reduced. This took me about 35-40 minutes. Let it sit off the heat for about 5 minutes and then skim off the foam.

Ladle into hot, sterilized jars. I had enough for 5-6oz jars and 5-12 oz. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. (I follow the more specific instructions from Ball's Home Canning and Preserving.) Let sit on the counter overnight to ensure they are ready. 

Enjoy!!

*note: make sure you follow more specific instructions on how to properly can things. Obviously if you're an experienced canner you know what to do. I see no reason you couldn't freeze this recipe if you didn't want to can it. :)

Lessons Learned from Pinterest Projects

I love Pinterest. I know, I'm one of those moms. I stay at home with the kids, dreaming of all the wonderful DIY things I can do. And I actually do a lot of them. I love stuff like that and I usually manage to convince my hubby that he does too. He's a good sport. His "hubby do" list is almost all projects I've started and can't finish without help. But I digress.

My latest idea was to do a sandbox. We just put down red bark mulch all around the "landscaped" (read: weedy dirt) parts of the yard so the boys have nowhere to dig. More so, I have to run around telling my 2-year old not to dig in the bark. So a sandbox is needed. And a covered sandbox is more needed. And a covered sandbox with a lid that folds back into bench seats is most needed.

 Pinterest directions in hand, I headed to Home Depot with my in-laws and a trailer for lumber. Two hours and way more than I had planned to spend later, we had the necessary supplies. (Note: when the blogger, no offense to her, says it cost her $90, it was because she already had outdoor paint-$40, hinges-$20, and only needed to make hers big enough for two and not four. Cost me closer to $250,)

First step: painting. I let the kids pick the color and they picked orange. Actually a nice shade, too. For round one of painting, the two older boys helped. They did a great job. I only just had to go back and smooth them out. For anyone trying this, I did two coats on each side and it took almost a whole gallon of paint. When you decide you want to protect your garage floor from orange paint globs, remember two things.

1.) The kids will find a way to paint the floor. Now, please remember they are little. And boys. And you handed them a paintbrush. And a shiny new gallon can of paint. What were you expecting? They now have nice orange socks to go with their now-orange pjs. And orange feet. And you will go to church on Sunday with some blue toenails and some orange ones. Embrace it. It's a look.

 2.) Paint sticks to newspaper. That means it sticks to the wood. That means you will have chunks of newspaper stuck on the freshly painted wood and it will take you longer to peel off the paper than paint the boards. This means you will eventually give up and just paint over the paper and have chunky sides. This means you will tell yourself it's for young kids and goes outdoors and it doesn't matter. Then you will tell this to your husband. He will agree it's no big deal. You will then try not to feel guilty about not doing it perfectly. You will fail and go to bed exhausted. Then you will wake up and realize it really isn't a big deal. Sigh of relief goes here.

Of course, you will paint at night while the kids are in bed. Smart idea, right? But then you will forget that your light is motion-activated. And said light will not recognize you exist just like in Better Off Ted (and if you haven't seen Better Off Ted, you will not know what I refer to. So go watch it. Or don't. Totally a personal preference thing.). So every 10 minutes or so you will have to get up, walk to the garage door, and jump up and down like a crazy person. Do not let this bother you.

Ta da! The wood is painted and try. So you will be helpful and bring all the wood and supplies to the back yard so as to begin assembling. First, the power drill will make your infant daughter scream. So you wait until she goes down for a nap and try again. Then you will break a drill bit. Oops. Moving on. You get all the pilot holes drilled and begin to attempt to screw them together. The screws will not go in. At this point you will realize you are a half hour late in making dinner and will give up. At this point, you rope the hubby into helping. Apparently all the screws needed was more strength because he puts the whole thing together in ten minutes. But then the staple gun runs out of staples. And the wind picks up. And the kids are super cranky and have bad attitudes.

Disclaimer: the "you" in this post is me.

So there is not yet a finished photo. Because right now it is sitting in the backyard, not quite finished, and will be finished when 1) we get the right sized screws for the bolts, 2) have some spare time and no wind, 3) the kids are in bed and 4) we get paid again so we can buy the sand (kind of an afterthought ironically).

I'll try to post a finished picture. But it may be awhile.

I am very thankful for the grace God gives us. Sometimes we gets ideas in our heads of projects we want to accomplish. And things don't always work out. But that's ok. The important thing is to do our best and (as my now 6 year old son says) to believe in God. I tend to stress over little things. This is so foolish. It wastes the time I have worrying about things. So I will try to do better. I will try not to get overwhelmed and remember that, as always, He loves us more than the sparrows.

Almond Pesto

I love Lydia's Italy. And I love PBS. I love that I can watch Lydia's Italy on PBS. And other cooking shows. And Rick Steve's Europe. And Masterpiece Mystery. And any/all Ken Burns documentaries.

But I digress.

I had this recipe from Lydia for almond pesto. Here's what I've learned about pesto-you can make it with just about anything. This one was fantastic on chicken. I cooked up some pasta with it too. And it was delicious the next day. My 3 year old had thirds and my 2 year old enjoyed it. My 5 year old wouldn't touch it but he's going through a picky phase.

Here's the recipe with how I adjusted it to use what I had on hand:
adapted from original recipe from Rachel Ray Magazine

1/3 c roasted almonds
3/4 pint cherry tomatoes
Some chunks of fresh parmesan
Salt
fresh basil and parsley (about 1-2 cups)
Olive oil

Throw everything but oil into a food processor and process until fairly smooth. Add in oil while the motor is running until it is the texture you're going for. Taste, and adjust as necessary.

Not very specific but easy and yummy. Serve over chicken, fish, pasta or all of the above!

Enjoy :)

Temporary

Last night was one of those loooong nights. I've had many worse. With four kids, it's inevitable. But my baby girl is four months old and exclusively breastfed, as my three older boys were. This has resulted in none of my children sleeping through the night until they were 6-9 months old. So my sweet little darling, although a good sleeper, typically gets up 2-3 times a night. Last night she was a bit gassy and woke up to eat (or once just to be held and calmed) every 2 hours or less.

Part of me is so tempted to complain. Oh, I just want to sleep. Man, I wanted some alone time with my hubby. Jeez, I'm tired today and now I have to be awake and still feed her/put her to sleep while taking care of three other kids. And get them fed, to the bathroom, homeschooled, kept out of trouble, away from crayons, etc.... There will be no nap since only my 2 year old takes regular naps. Coffee is cold before I can get to my second cup. Kids want snacks because their breakfast of Nutella sandwiches/ginger snaps/organic cheese puffs hasn't done the trick but we're out of fruit and yogurt and eggs and I can't afford to go shopping for a couple more days.

So, now that I've explained the negative thoughts that follow me, let me discuss the rest. Those above mentioned things are true. But here is real truth-my whole life I've wanted to be a Mom. That is my career choice. I feel so blessed to have married and had kids young. Not many 28 year olds are about to celebrate they're 10th anniversary. I have a husband who helps selflessly whenever he can while encouraging me to be a better Mom/wife/child of God.  More than that, young children are a season of life. My oldest is almost 6 and the time has gone by so fast. This is a time to be joyful and care for/love/train up the children God has entrusted to me. This work is greater than me. I can endure little sleep. I can spend my free time cleaning. What a blessing it is to serve and teach these little ones as our Heavenly Father serves and teaches us.

Besides, baby girl here just woke up and smiled at me like I was the most wonderful person in her world. Now that is worth being awake for.