Iced Coffee!

I am an iced coffee addict.

Eight or so years ago I was working full time as a nurse at the University of Washington Medical Center while my hubby attended Dental school.  Those early mornings for the day shift were never easy for me. I'm what you call a NIGHT PERSON. Through and through.  Doesn't matter if I wake up at 5:15 AM for four years straight (which I did)....I am still groggy, quiet and subdued until 9 AM.  It just IS what is IS.

So, coffee was extremely helpful for those early mornings. During the random hot (for Washington, that is) summer days we roasted in our third story air conditionless apartment...and dreaded opening windows as they would let in not just cooler air but a plume of smoke from the oh so pleasant chain smoking fellow who lived directly under our apartment.

So, hot coffee? Yeah no. I decided to try iced coffee. Problem was, pouring hot brewed coffee over ice is NOT yummy. At all. Add in your necessary creamer and you get something diluted and metallic. No, thank you.

Thanks to the wealth of information on the good ole internet I researched the best way to make iced coffee. I landed on a random professional coffee roasters site that explained the cold brewing process. Um, what? Cold brew?

COLD brewing coffee leaves you with a nice smooth, rice concentrated coffee base that is NOT METALLIC.  It is sweeter and not acidic and tastes the best with some sort of creamerization. Yes, I made that word up.  Also? It's easy peasy!

Apparently there is also now an ice brew coffee method that is growing in popularity where you fill your coffeemaker carafe with ice cubes to let the just brewed hot coffee instantly cool in the carafe as it drips down. However, it is meant to be drunk WITHOUT CREAMER...and that is just a NO GO in my coffee land.  So no ice brewing here!

I have been drinking cold brewed coffee ever since first trying it out 8 years ago.  I usually start cold brewing in the late spring through the fall months as in the winter I need a good morning hot coffee.

Convinced you yet? Let's make some cold brew iced coffee!

Supplies:

•  A pound or so of dark roast coffee - preferably one with sweet tones, NOT acidic or "earthy" tasting. I love Ethiopian Sidamo.
• A large container for soaking, 1.5 - 2 gallon size.  I use dutch tupperware: A leftover 1.5 gallon ice cream container, courtesy of Edaleen dairy works great!  I also use my 2 gallon stock pot - but note: do not use an uncoated metal- it reacts with the coffee and will give it more of an acidic, metallic taste.
• Large Spoon - you know. To stir. I really didn't have to write that I just needed something here to italicize.
• Coffee pot with metal mesh strainer. A paper cone filter will work it just takes forevah and a day to strain the coffee.
• 24 hours. Yep, TIME is on your side my friend.

Determine your coffee to water ratio:

• 1 lb coffee to 2 gallons (8 quarts) water

• 1/2 lb coffee to 1 gallon (4 qts) water

• 11-12 oz coffee (common bagged amount) to 1.5 gallons (6 qts) water

 Dump your coffee into your container and fill it with water according to your ratio.

Yep, make sure all the coffee ground get wet.

Cover it and yes, wait for 24 hours!  Stir it every few hours as able but for the most part just leave it be.

Next up, the magic:

After 24 hours are up, I move my container next to my coffee pot and start carefully (um, yeah, not really) ladling the liquid directly into my coffee filter. It pours through pretty quickly.  When the filter starts looking like the above right pic you need to rinse it out a bit.  I rinse it out about 4 - 5 times during a 1.5 gallon filtering session.

These are the grody leftovers. But don't throw em away! Go put them in your garden...your plants will love you for it! And bonus, your garden smells like a fresh pot of coffee :)

Pour your gold, er, I mean coffee concentrate (which I've also nicknamed "Coffee Sludge") into containers for storage.  I use a drink dispenser to keep it cool in my fridge. Most of my close friends know that lime green topped dispenser very well!

For traveling and gifting, I reuse those ginormous Coffee-mate creamer containers. They work great!

Directions: Fill sad, empty large mouth ball canning jar with ice, cover with coffee sludge and then....creamerize!  It's a beautiful thing really.



Enjoy your home cold brewed iced coffee!!!

Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl

Obesity Pandemic: SOLVED. Subway Style...

Today I took my kiddos out for a spontaneous picnic lunch.

After all, I felt guilty that their breakfast consisted of a splash of milk and a fruity granola bar.

Some people in the house may have overslept a wee bit this morning...or a lot of bits. Like 72 bits. Which is really just 6 bunches of bits. Yes, now that doesn't sound so bad.

Anywho, we were a little flustered getting Bubbalu off to preschool in time (hence the gourmet breakfast) and while zipping up his coat I accidentally caught the side of his face with my fingernail. BIG scratch. BIG tears. Needing lots of snuggles, cold pack application and kisses...45 min late to school.

*sigh*

So it goes.

After picking Bubbalu up from school we had the normal debate as to where to head to pick up a lunch. I always choose Subway. Or at least 98% of the time. Yet, that measly 2% of the time (McD's) is pined after by the young-uns. The holy grail of childhood dining.

While sitting on a bench at the local ball field playground munching our turkey subs I had an epiphany.

Get ready, these don't come often.


Pin It

Amen? I tell ya, many a parent has bemoaned the lack of a children's play place at Subway. Seriously.

Dear Subway,

If you install a fun, brightly colored children's play place in most of your fine fast food establishments I am guessing your profits would DOUBLE. Or TRIPLE. Depending on how many crawl though tubes and tunnels you have. Maybe you could have a ginormous crawl though sub sandwich. How fun would that be!? Add in a slide fashioned from a carved out cucumber that lands in a pit of large plastic tomatoes and you are golden.

As a special request, might you consider adding a time out chair in the corner? You know, so I can politely point it out to the parent of the child who is karate chopping my son in the stomach? That'd be great.

For your convenience, my royalties can be direct deposited via paypal.

Sincerely,

Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl

Pumpkin Spice Latte Printable...

I am digging this fall weather.

Yup, I am soooooo done with summer. Unless someone wants to take me somewhere tropical. Then maybe I'd be OK with some sunshiney goodness.

Finally got this put back up on my wall this week!
Pin It


Ah yes, good ole pumpkin spice latte....that MAY have something to do with my being DONE with summer. Just maybe.

Print it out, frame it and drink one:

Pin It


YUM.

Other than that, I have one tiny ceramic pumpkin sitting out...and that is as far as I've got decorating for fall.

I'm thinking I need to do something more.

I know! How bout I line up all my used Sbux coffee cups and turn them so you can see the PSL on the side?! It'd be a conversation starter, that's for sure :)

Amanda - Vintage Dutch Girl


Make my day and become a fan on the Vintage Dutch Girl Facebook Fan page found HERE.

Hot Fudge and My Knight in Shining Dental Loupes...

Yep, it's been quiet around this ole blog. Our annual fair is going on this week which makes the entire town go nutso for the entire seven days.

OK, not the entire town. But really, it's noticable. Especially in a town where rush hour is three cars lined up at a red light.

I'm also fighting a bad cold. No, absolutely NO nose sniffling! An immediate red flag goes up and a flashing neon sign spelling WARNING! WARNING! in bright red letters appears in my brain due to the dangerous and rapid increase in intracranial pressure.

My Knight in shining dental Loupes came home from work and whisked the children off to have dinner out and leave me to rest and relax in peace. Glorious. Wonderfully healing, I tell ya.

I miss craftin... and sewing.... and doing crazy projects that makes a huge mess but ends in something beautiful.

I blame pinterest.

Or rather, I blame my obsession with pinterest. It's too fun!

So, yes, I miss craftin. So I just hauled out all my girly bow n ribbon thingymajigs to make a requested hair clippy for a dear friends' daughter. She's a cutie patootie. My friend Trisha AND her cutie patootie daughter.

Hubby just brought me home a steak salad and lots of extra uneaten kid meal items from the restaurant (Nuthouse for you locals).

Not sure what I'm more excited about, the steak salad or the kiddie food :) Can anyone relate?



I've got a movie started on my laptop, ('New in Town'), good food, fun crafties, a hubby giving me free time and two jars of Smuckers special recipe hot fudge in the fridge (microwave, spoon, mouth. In that order).

Life is good. I'll kick this cold in NO time living like this!

Amanda

p.s. Tomorrow I'll show you what the FedEx truck brought to my door today. I'm oohing and aahing in between my hacking and coughing...

Aqua Raspberry Containers...

My hubby bought a flat of local raspberries a week ago. They were SUPER delicious...of course! I live in a county that provides MORE THAN 65% of Raspberries in the United States. They know what they're doing here.

Anywho, the delicious deep red berries came in these cutie aqua containers...and due to my fondness of all things aqua and my inner Dutch, I can't bring myself to toss em:
Pin It
There MUST be a way to reuse these decorationally! Or, organizationally! (yeah, those are words).

Two found a home in my baking utensil drawer holding all those broken but needed measuring spoons. It's nice not to have them rioting in there every time I open or close the drawer.

I'm trying to dream up other ways to use em, maybe as clutter holders in my junk drawers. Or jewelry holders in my bathroom.


They make me smile. Go buy some raspberries. They are in season NOW :)

Amanda

Follow VintageDutchGirl on FACEBOOK :) Cause sometimes I post on there. If I feel like it. If I'm bored...because UGH, Pinterest's servers are down again.

Sixteen Hour Ice Cream Headache...

It's amazing how much a simple familiar smell or taste can immediately take me back to my childhood.

Yesterday we finally had some summer. According to the University of Washington, we have had a TOTAL of 78 minutes of weather above 80* this "summer".

Nice to know my whining was legit.

But hey, say it was pushing top 90's here we'd all be complaining it was TOO hot. Yup, no air conditioning (generally) in Washington! We'd be fanning our faces and worrying about the status of our tomato plants (mine is doing EXCELLENT this year -woot!).

I am fully aware the rest of the nation is suffering from a huge heat blast. Feel free to crash Seattle for awhile, I'm certain it will be refreshingly cool. If you do, hit up University Village, grab a mocha from Starbucks and enjoy the shopping.

Yesterday felt GREAT. It hit a whopping 71 and the entire west coast of Washington dropped their normal days plans and ran outside for some Vitamin D rejuvenation.

I was out and about running errands and hit up Dairy Queen for some ice cream cones for the kiddos. Of course, if Bubbalu or Lil Chick saw any drips starting from their melting ice cream they freaked out yelling, "Mama! Quick! Fix my ice cream before it falls!".

Mama HAD to step in and "fix" the problems :)



It surprised me when I had my first taste of that plain vanilla ice cream.

I said out loud, "Well, that's the taste of my childhood summers". My kiddos looked at me strangely, but hey, they do that everyday.



The kiddos loved their ice cream (of course) and so did Mama :)

I am currently sitting on the couch debating with Bubbalu about the length of time one can truly complain about an ice cream headache in order to qualify for a sick day.

Oy...

Amanda

Follow VintageDutchGirl on FACEBOOK :)

Perfect Bran Muffins....and Banana Pound Bread?

Pin It

I had a friend and her lovely kiddos over for a quick playdate this morning.

Of course, I forgot to clean up last night's dishes after we got home (we went out to watch Transformers 3 - super cool!) and then proceeded to accidentally sleep in.

Wonderful.

I awoke to shouts of, "Nuh UH! That's MY bread!" What the??

Turns out if Mommy sleeps in...no problemo! Bubbalu and Lil Chick can steal a loaf of bread from the pantry and chow down on however many slices they want. One? Two? Twelve?

However, I thought this was rather convenient as I had a large to-do list that I needed to complete in less than 58 minutes and they took care of one of the most important items. Sweet!

Managed to whip the house sorta into shape (ya know, the normal: dishes, laundry, pick-up junk, hide the weapons, etc).

I decided that I really should try to bake something yummy before they arrived and then remembered that (insert head slap) I had used the rest of the white flour on making banana pound bread.

What's banana pound bread?

It's SO easy. You make it JUST like banana bread, except omit the baking soda. Voila. Banana pound bread.

Anywho, all I had left was oat bran and whole wheat flour...which is better for ya anyways!

Quickly googled bran muffins, threw it together....but then took some artistic license and added a bunch of extra ingredients and different measurements. So I've got a new recipe to share with y'all!

(Ulterior Motive: I won't remember if I don't write it down TODAY. If I don't post this recipe and instead just jot it down on paper, I'll lose it. So really, I just want to forever post this in blog-land so I'll still have it. Thank you little blog. )

Perfect Bran Muffins

2.5 cups whole wheat flour
1.5 cups oat bran
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup corn/vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Combine all dry ingredients. Combine all liquid ingredients. Mix those both together. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake 375* for 18 minutes. Let cool, serve! Makes 24 muffins.

Try em, they're delish. Just enjoy them in moderation. Just sayin. Y'all know what too much fiber does to your digestive system, right? Yup.

Enjoy :)

Amanda

* Totally kidding about the weapons...Sorta
* Banana pound bread? Yeah, well.... let's just say it was an unintentional discovery... ;)

Follow VintageDutchGirl on FACEBOOK :)

Sassy Aprons in the Shop....

First of all, if you are reading this in a reader, c'mon over and see my new blog outfit. I got WAY too sick of boring gray and white and needed some COLOR in my blog life. Check er out.

Alrighty, you asked for em!

First of hopefully many sassified aprons for sale in the Vintage Dutch Girl Etsy Shop:



SUPER fun to make! Not sure I'd get a lot of actual cooking done while wearing this one...probably just stand around with a wooden spoon lookin purty and eating a chocolate lava cake.

Ya know, being a good hostess and all...

Amanda

***Check er out, Vintage Dutch Girl went and got a FACEBOOK page. Can you believe it!? How 2010!***

#1 Grocery Shopping Rule...BROKEN...

I made the ULTIMATE grocery shopping mistake Saturday night.

Anyone?

Can you guess it?

Yes, I went grocery shopping HUNGRY. And not just hungry but ravenous. Growling stomach and all.

Let me tell you something. Other than Sunday mornings during the congregational prayer, my stomach NEVER growls. Not so Saturday evening. Maybe it was prepping for Sunday morning?

So, I did my shopping and didn't really delve into my psyche enough to realize what I was doing. Because HELLO, I was out at the grocery store kid free! My mind goes crazy fun bonkers when I'm set loose like that. Dangerous I tell ya, Dangerous!

My Sister Becca was at my place when I came home. Bag by bag was unloaded and she. couldn't. stop. laughing.

Why? This is why. I brought home:

4 cartons of ice cream

1 bag of lime tortilla chips

3 jars of queso (just in case we got snowed in)

1 bag of Reeses peanut butter cup bites (in pastel wrappers. Because anything in a pastel wrapper can be marketed as EASTER candy. So dumb)

3 Flavored coffee creamer (Coconut cream my NEW FAVE!)

1 loaf of WHITE bread!? We are a hard core wheat bread only household. SERIOUSLY where was my brain?

Oh yes and 2 cans of extra large (but light!) whipped cream.

Busted. No WONDER she laughed at me.

My only saving grace is that I DID purchase 2 lemons, a can of diced green chiles and some fresh chives. You know, the nutritional equivalent of sucking on some pine cones.

Good thing I have superhuman incredible self discipline to avoid those foods or I'd be in MAJOR trouble...

Amanda

***Facebook + Vintage Dutch Girl = Something Uber Awesome ***

Get Yer Fall "Be Calm" Printing ON...

Now that the last day of October is (finally) behind us fall decor is in FULL swing. YAY!

Now, I celebrate fall in one very specific way. I have a hunch that MANY of you also choose to celebrate fall along with me in this one very specific way, don't cha?!

What?

Haven't figured it out yet?

A Pumpkin Spice Latte

Hallelujah my taste buds are dancing just typing those delicious words.

Yes, I do love me some pumpkin flavored sweets.

I thought I would declare my devotion to the deliciousness that is a Pumpkin Spice Latte and made a lil sumpin sumpin for my wall. See, I have this glorious new wideplank white beadboard that is all bare and needing some company in the form of decor.

Enter:

- One thrifted brand new wooden frame (with glass!? That never happens!) for $1.49. Spray paint it Heirloom white and then distress and regress and distress some more til it looks completely stressed out and happy.

Add in:

-Get a lovely "Be Calm" poster printed out. You know, the "Be calm and carry on" thingy's you've seen everywhere.

HOWEVER.

I wanted a special one.

So I made one and printed it out at Costco for $2.99 because my new computer is STILL not hooked up to our photo printer. For only $ 2.99 I really don't care because HELLO THIS IS CHEAPO.

"Be Calm" + Pumpkin Spice Latte :



Oh yeah baby. That's what I'm talking about.

Keep Calm Drink A Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Oh you want one for your wall? OK, I'm in a sharing mood, here you are:



Right click, save, print it out, frame it and be happy.

Happy Fall Y'all!

A

***Click HERE to Follow Vintage Dutch Girl on Facebook and get new post links in your feed***

Linking up to these FAB crafty parties:

Crack Soup... I mean Pasta e Fagioli...

This soup is SO good it deserves a repost. Especially it is Autumn and chilly in our part of the country.

*originally posted February 4, 2009*

This is the best. soup. ever.

Seriously? Want to impress anyone? Not that talented in the kitchen? Short on time?

This IS the soup for you.

I actually made 6 batches while 7 months pregnant to freeze and use when Lil Chick arrived. It is actually thawing nicely in my refrigerator at the moment. My lovely Sister in law requested this recipe for her husband, who dubbed it "crack soup", it is THAT good.

Enjoy! Really, PLEASE enjoy:

Pasta e Fagioli Soup

12 ounces chicken sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced (Sun Dried Tomato Basil or similar flavors work well).
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup bow tie pasta
2 cups (or more) coarsely chopped zucchini (about 2 small zucchini)
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp oregano
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Dash of pepper

Heat sausage, stirring constantly, over high heat in large pot for 2 minutes (or until sizzling nicely). Add broth and pasta and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 6 minutes. Add zucchini and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer another 2 minutes. Stir in oregano and kidney beans, give a good dash of pepper, cover and simmer 3 minutes or until pasta and zucchini are tender.

Serve with shredded asiago or Parmesan cheese and eat and eat and eat until you hate me.

I get the chicken sausage at Costco, which is really flavorful. I've doubled the recipe except for the sausage and it still tasted wonderful.

Also very good with my favorite and easy Cheddar Garlic Biscuits to dip into the yummy broth.

You're welcome...

A


Click HERE to Follow Vintage Dutch Girl on Facebook and get new post links in your feed!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chips Cookies...

The mornings are starting to be crisp and we're pulling out our scarves and hoodies from the back of the closet.

Don'tcha just love fall?

I particularly love the scents and tastes of fall.

Sipping on a Pumpkin Spice Latte,

munching a (few) Gingerbread cookies,

smelling my Harvest Yankee Candle,

brewing up a batch of apple cider,

and that crisp morning smell promising frosty mornings arriving soon.

Are you in a fall mood yet?

NO?

OK, for all of you still mourning the loss of Summer, here is my never-fail fall mood inducer:



Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla and chocolate chips and lightly stir until combined.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown.
4. Eat liberally with extra large iced glass of milk.

There, that should help you get your AUTUMN on...

A

Click HERE to Follow Vintage Dutch Girl on Facebook and get new post links in your feed!!

Me Loves the Toddler Food...

It doesn't matter how old I am...I will always love toddler food.

Macaroni and cheese?

YES PLEASE.

Tall glass of ice-cold chocolate milk?

YES PLEASE.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich?

YES PLEASE.

Chocolate pudding snack pac?

Hand it over!!

How sad is it when you get a little too excited that the littles didn't finish all their lunch and you need to help finish it?

That'd be me.

May explain the residual post baby...uh...ISSUES that I have. And yes, as I have explained before, I am claiming the "I just had a baby" excuse for five years. FIVE.

Sounds reasonable to me...

A

** Didja know you can find me HERE on Facebook? True story. Become a fan (or like) and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day! **

Guaranteed Halloween Candy Snacking...

Well, this is ONE way of guaranteeing a significant amount of Halloween candy left over for your snacking needs:



You can't quite make it out? OK, here's the close-up:



My neighbor said it was hilarious to watch the oblivious trick-or-treaters saunter up the walkway anticipating candy then run away screaming, "Swine flu! Swine flu!".

I'm happy to provide entertainment for my neighbor and a smidgen of exercise for those candy-laden children.

And now I MUST be going. I have a huge orange pumpkin bowl of candy that I must eat. It DOES have an expiration date, didntcha know?

A

Wordless Wednesday...Sorta...

As if any words are needed to describe my joy.

(whoops, that sentence slipped out. This from the girl who got "Talks Too Much In Class" on EVERY SINGLE report card Kindergarten through 12th Grade. I'm sure it would have been on my college reports except they didn't have spaces for professor comments!)

Happy seasonal coffee drinking, and a merry UNwordless Wednesday to you...

A

Thanks To Conrad...

Thanks to my Dutch homeboy Chemist Conrad Van Houten, we have had 'eating chocolate' available since 1848. Which is when I started eating it.

At the request of a friend, I have something delicious to share with you.

How can GHIRARDELLI go wrong with any recipe containing chocolate? I mean seriously? They are chocolate experts! Of COURSE they have the best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip recipe I've ever had.

What? You WANT this recipe? You NEED this recipe to complete your fall day of cozily lounging by the fire, sipping coffee, reading something inspiring? You are standing in your kitchen, baking ingredients strewn about the counter, waiting with bated breath for this recipe?

Well OK then. If you really need it that badly, here you go.

Enjoy!

A

Our Sick House Rules...

One must not be required to change out of night-time attire. Zip-up footed jammies are acceptable, nay encouraged.

One must not be required to entertain oneself without the aid of a certain babysitter of the screened variety.

One must not be required to eat healthy, nutritiously rounded meals (as if that's the norm - *snort*!)

One is permitted to drink a smoothie (pronounced "smoovie" by the under 3 crowd) in place of a meal.

One carries an 'unlimited juice consumption for duration of sickness' card.

Our sick "smoovie" recipe of the day:

• One banana
• two scoops chocolate or vanilla ice cream
• 1/4-1/2 cup peanut butter
• chocolate syrup (to taste)
• 1/2 (ish) cup of milk

Blenderize. Serve to sick little one in old plastic restaurant cup with accordion straw that is guaranteed to leak. IMPORTANT!***One MUST taste test at LEAST 1/2 cup or more of "Smoovie" recipe to determine adequate taste mixage and acceptability***

I cannot stress the taste test enough. It is vital for the recipe's success.

A

Apples And A Chick...

Thanks to my parents and their overproducing trees I have a few apples to create yummy things with.


Mommy, can I eat this one? I think it likes me.

A few, meaning this bucket is about 10% of the total amount of apples currently in my garage. Lil Chick was busy helping me take care of the abundance. She's been kneeling like this for a few weeks now. Seeing her little toes peeking out of her leggings always makes me smile.


Uh Mommy, I see a fruit fly metropolis. It's starting to worry me.

I tell ya, I'd better get peeling, coring and a' cookin some applesauce.

My two new motto's:

1. Sand, Prime and Spray Paint
2. Peel & core, cook and freeze.
   

Or maybe,

1. Annoy Husband by Taking Up His Side of Garage With Projects
   
2. Start A Fruit Fly Infestation Worthy Of Notoriety

You choose. Either way, they're all true!

By the way, to make applesauce:

Peel, core and slice many many many apples.

Cook over med heat with about an 1/8th cup of water. Stir frequently. Soon (20 - 30 minutes) it all turns to yummy mush and smells divine.

That's IT!

OK OK OK, you can add cinnamon and sugar, but I prefer it plain. Freeze in Dutch Tupperware (large yogurt, sour cream and frozen whipped cream containers) to use throughout the year.

YUM.

Happy October, y'all...

A

The Case Of The Disappearing Produce...

I love the tomato vine smell on my fingers. You fiddle with the tomato plant a bit, pinching off suckers or draping the stems and leaves on the support wire and all day long you can catch a whiff of that yummy summer scent.

I've been looking forward to tasting that first bite of home-grown tomato goodness. I have three tomato plants currently doing their thing, trying to produce some fruit for me. They were purchased rather late in the game, costing a total of $2.50, so if I get a pound or two of fruit I'll be thrilled.

I've been watching a rather large and juicy looking clump of 6 tomatoes for a few weeks now. They're just starting to lighten and will probably be turning red soon.



However, when I checked them out this morning I couldn't find them. What the heck? Where'd they go?

The plants are up high on my back patio, surely an animal couldn't have gotten to them up there. Maybe some rascally neighbor stole them? Amanda, why would someone sneak onto your back patio in the middle of the night to steal 6 tiny unripe tomatoes? Really now.

I found no evidence of foul play, or animal presence.

What I DID find on the ground next to the back patio under the tomato plants:



A suspiciously gnawed on unripe green tomato that has the distinct teeth markings of a 31.6 pound offspring of mine.

When confronted, the culprit nonchalantly admitted fault.

Bubbalu, I hope they tasted crappy...

A

Off To Costco...

I'm busy getting the kiddos and myself ready to head back to Costco again, coupon book in hand. So busy, in fact, that I have time to sit and write a post. I am SUCH a procrastinator!

On the shopping list today:

• Pull-ups - $4.00 off
• Starbucks Frappaccinos - $3.50 off

Um...that's it folks. Two things on my list. Want to take any guesses how many things I'll have in my cart by the time I get to the checkout line?

I just needed a really good excuse to get out of the house and play today. My Mom was already planning on going so I invited myself and two littles along for, you know, the FUN.

My Brother and his lovely wife are in town this week and we are planning a glorious time full of Settlers, homemade donuts, clamming at the bay and laughs. Lots and lots of laughs.

Hence the need to go to Costco and stock up on vittles...

A