The Pumpkin Patch

We don't have any real pumpkin patches back home. Our summer is too short. We have a mock pumpkin field and most little kids probably wouldn't know the difference between the fake and real version. After today, I'm convinced that Monkey would know the difference. Real pumpkin patches have an abundance of M-U-D!

Today we went with our friends to Aldor Acres pumpkin patch, which is close to Fort Langley. They have farm animals, hay rides, pumpkins and mud of course!

When we arrived at the pumpkin patch Sweetpea was giving us the "pirate eye". Monkey has been trying to master this look for a few months now.

Monkey wasn't bothered by his "pirate eye" defeat for long. We made it halfway from the car to the toll both when he found the first puddle.

Here is the pumpkin diameter price calculator. You slide your pumpkin in to figure out how much it's going to cost. 

Monkey enjoyed petting terrorizing the animals and sitting in the green tractor.

And when the rain started to pour Monkey found a few piles of wet leaves to jump into.

The hayride was fun.

But not as fun as the pumpkin field mud puddles.

Especially deep and sticky mud puddles.

Monkey was having so much fun and then... he tripped dived into the mud!

And came out saying "Oooo I'm wet!...brrrr cold!"

A happy muddy boy!

The clean-up was intense.

What a glorious and victorious day!

Migrating South

My Hubby was able to get some time off work so we decided to do a road trip South. The trees down South still have their colourful leaves while back home things are taking on shades of brown and grey. So we're looking forward to visiting our family and friends and experiencing the beauty of fall once again. And... eating some tasty food!

We stopped at a yummy Japanese restaurant along the way. 

The gyozas were delicious!

Monkey enjoyed his tea.

DIY Beauty Products

I'm not one of those girls that spends a lot of time in front of the mirror. I did when I was in high school but then I figured out that sleeping in was a better use of time and made me look better in the long run. These day I rarely wear makeup, only for special occasions, and my facial routine consists of quickly washing my face and putting on cream. Then I came across Do It Gorgeously: How to Make Less Toxic, Less Expensive, and More Beautiful Products and now I want to make my own beauty products. I know, I barely use beauty products, but doesn't it sound fun?

The book actually covers a range of topics: beauty products, baby, frugality, in the kitchen, fashion, gardening... But the book had me at beauty products. The recipes in the book are "natural", meaning the ingredients are not synthetic, artificial, don't contain petrochemicals, are grown/raised/harvested/processed in an ecological manner and have no chemical preservatives (as per her book).

I already use products that are considered to be safe (according to the Cosmetic Safety Database). But, I figured if you can make your own - why not try? Time to round up some ingredients and check out more recipes: www.makeyourcosmetics.com.

Making Affordable Organic Baby Food

Sweetpea is already 7 months old. Her introduction to solid foods has been slow, partly because of her disinterest and partly because of a recent ear infection. But over the last week she's finally started to show interest. So the time has come, once again, to make baby food.

WHY? 

Making baby food is not complicated, especially in the early stages. It's also good thing to try and do. Why? Here are my reasons for making homemade baby food:

1. I select fruit and veggies at the peak of their season. Picking seasonal produce means that it's often tastier, cheaper, and grown closer to home. Yay, yay and yay!
2. I choose organic produce. Organic means that I'm not exposing Sweetpea's little body to harsh agricultural chemicals and pesticides. 
3. I control what goes into the food. No extra salt, sugar or random thickening agents here!
4. I create food combinations that are unique and suited to my baby. 
5. I expose my baby to the process of making her food.

HOW TO AFFORD ORGANIC?

Now you know why I make Sweetpea's baby food, but how do I afford organic baby food? We often think that affordable and organic don't belong in the same sentence, but that's not true. Here are some strategies I use to get affordable organic fruits and veggies:

• Go to a farmers' market... and makes friends with the farmers.
• Buy seasonal produce.
• Buy in bulk.
• Forage in the wild, your neirghbourhood or your mom's garden.
• Don't buy organic. Yes, you read that correctly! The truth is, I don't always buy organic when making baby food. I rely on the EWG's Shopper Guide to Pesticide to guide me at the store. I buy organic apples, carrots and pears (high pesticides), but non-organic avocado or mango (low pesticides).

For more ideas Growing a Green Family has 70+ tips on saving money on organic food. 

HOW TO MAKE BABY FOOD?

As I mentioned before making baby food is simple but a few basic tools can make the job easier:

• pots and/or steamer
• A food processor (good for making large quantities), hand held blender (smaller quantities) or small food grinder (small quantities).

Basically cook the fruit or vegetable (if it needs to be cooked) in a steamer or boiling water until soft and then puree the food to an appropriated consistency. Make sure the food isn't too hot before feeding you little one. That's it! Some good first foods for a baby around 6 months are pureed apple, pear (raw or cooked), carrot, butternut squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, banana (raw), mango (raw), papaya (raw), and avocado (raw).

Organic carrot, Organic apple and yam puree.

FOR MORE INSPIRATIONS?

Organically Raised: Conscious Cooking for Babies and Toddlers read a review by Growing a Green Family.

Starting Solids: The essential guide to your baby's first foods

Blender Baby Food: Over 125 Recipes for Healthy Homemade Meals

My Motivation to Can Foods

And here I thought the tart applesauce wouldn't get eaten :)

Assembling a Home Management Binder

I like writing lists and keeping records, but my notebooks, binders and papers are everywhere (read: disorganization). Disorganization is not my friend; it can put a serious damper on my day. So, I decided that it was time get organized and make a home management binder!

Making a Home Management Binder

Step 1: Grab a binder, something sturdy and well built. I got one that zips closed so that loose sheets don't come flying out every time I pick it up. Decorate it if you want.

Step 2: Get some study dividers. I went with thick plastic dividers so that they'll hold up against a lot of use.

Step 3: Brainstorm. Start thinking about what you want to put into the binder.

There a some great resources out there:

www.flylady.net check Control Journal for step by step starting up tips.
organizedhome.com
www.household-management-101.com

Also, get some Blogspirations:

Laura Williams' Musings Home Management Binder
My Domestic Church Managing the Home...
Live Lovely Home Management Binder
The Lister Family My Home Management Binder
Pieces of Me My Home Management Binder
Feelin Feminine A chest of Hopes: Home-Management Binder

Step 4: Section off your binder with your dividers.

My binder has the following sections:

• Rhythm [weekly, monthly and yearly, liturgical calendar]
• Home [cleaning, checklists, to-do]
• Finance [budget, savings, coupons, frugality]
• Community [emergency, contacts, events]
• Food Preservation [canning, freezing and dehydrating records]
• Wine Making [records and outcomes]
• Gardening [records, plans and ideas]
• Abbot's Rabbits [pedigree and breeding records]

Step 5: Gather forms, calendars, checklist, paper, notebooks or any other material to fill in each section.

organizedhome.com has some great printable forms.

www.household-management-101.com also has some useful printable checklists and calendars.

Print out a monthly expense sheet here or here.
Perhaps you need a simple wine making log or a rabbit pedigree print out? Or not.

Step 6: Use the binder. Fill in the sheets, check off the checklists... 

There's a saying that goes 'A done garden is a dead garden'. I think that a home management binder is like a garden in that sense. You're never truly done your home management binder. It's something that will continuously change and evolve as your family does.

Canning Recap 2010

I believe that I'm officially done canning this year (please ignore the pears processing behind me). This is the most canning I've done - ever! I've discovered that I'm quite a fan of it, obsessed might be a better word. You know canning exhilarates you when you start looking into buying a pH meter for food and continue begging your Hubby for a pressure canner for Christmas. There is only one thing left on my to-do list: orange marmalade. I'm waiting for those Seville oranges to come out, but I don't even know if I can buy them up here. Anyways, here is a list of what I've put up this spring, summer and autumn. I'm posting it as a record so that I have something to refer to next year. Did you try canning this year? I'd love to hear what you put up (that includes you too SIL).

Apples
Apple juice: 19 quarts
Applesauce: 6 quart, 6 pints
Apple butter: 7 pints, 5 half-pints The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves
Apple caramel jam: 3 pints, 5 half-pints The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves
Apple jelly: 9 half-pints The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves
Apple mint jelly: 3 pints The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves
Spiced Apple Chutney: 2 pints, 1 half-pint Put'em Up!: A Comprehensive Home Preserving Guide for the Creative Cook, from Drying and Freezing to Canning and Pickling

Cranberries
Spiced Cranberries (6 cups): 2 pints, 2 half-pints Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry p.200

Grapes 

Concord grape jam (4lbs): 1 pint, 1 half-pint Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry

Pears
Pear in light syrup (46 lbs): 20 quarts

Peaches (~ 30 lbs)
Peaches in light sugar syrup: 5 quarts*
Peach in rum sauce: 3 pints* Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Peach salsa: 2 pints, 3 half-pints* Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

Prune Plums (~ 33 lbs)
Prunes in honey: 3 quarts The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves
Prunes in port: 6 pints The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves
Plum jam: 6 pints, 7 half-pints The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves
Prune pie: 4 quarts, 1 pint
Yellow plum jam: 3 pints
Plum for pies and cobblers: 3 pints Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry

Plums for pie.

Red Currants

Red currant jelly: 6 half-pints The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves

Rhubarb

Rhubarb sauce: 5 pints

Saskatoons
Saskatoons in syrup: 7 pints

Pickled
Dill pickles (40 lbs pickling cukes): 31 quarts (*16 quarts) Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Pickled beets (10 lbs variety): (combination of caraway and maple anise): 14 pints, 1 half-pint Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Dilled carrots (5 lbs): 7 pints Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Pickled banana peppers and sweet chili peppers (2lbs mixed): 7 half-pints Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry p. 144

Pickling cucumbers.

Tomatoes
Stewed (100 lbs organic heirloom tomatoes): 34 quarts (*17 quarts)
Whole (50 lbs Roma tomatoes): 19 quarts
Ketchup (50 lbs organic heirloom tomatoes): 8 quarts, 3 pints (*4 quarts, 1 pint) Well Preserved: Small Batch Preserving for the New Cook
Salsa (50 lbs organic heirloom tomatoes): *1 quart, 13 pints The Complete Book of Pickling: 250 Recipes from Pickles and Relishes to Chutneys and Salsas

Whole Roma Tomatoes

Ketchup - After a very long process!

*canned with my SIL or mom, so this is what is in my pantry.