Garden Girl

My little bitty has been quite the gardener.  She loves to help me water in the morning. Her little hands can barely squeeze the trigger on the sprayer, but she always gets the job done!

 

We also made sweet pickled jalapenos this week.  No, not from our garden.  It's a bit early for that.  We found bags of jalapenos at a good price, and my fingers were itching to do some canning.  It's been a while.  Here's the recipe we use, if you are interested:

 

Sweet Pickled Jalapenos

 

2 pounds jalapenos (you do not need to bother removing the seeds if you like hot.  I did not remove them this time, but I think I will next time.  This batch was hot hot.)

 

2c apple cider vinegar

 

4 cups sugar

1-2 T pickling salt

 

prepare canning jars (wash, rinse, sterilize)

 

slice peppers into rings.  remove seeds, if desired

 

Combine vinegar, sugar, and salt. Cook over low heat to dissolve sugar. 

 

Pack jars very tightly with jalapenos while sugar is dissolving.

 

Bring syrup to a boil on high, to thicken to thin syrup consistency.

 

Pour over peppers, leaving 1/2" headspace.

 

Process for 15 minutes in water bath canner.

 

This recipe makes too much syrup for 2 lbs of peppers.  I had quite a bit left over, so I cooked some fresh beets, sliced them, and put them in cans along with the extra syrup.  I added a clove or two to each can, along with a bit of cinnamon and coriander.  Spiced pickled beets!  Leave them set a week or so to let the flavors really develop.  They were delicious! 

 

The syrup will also keep for a month or so in the fridge. 

 

 

 

Dandelion Bread

 

Josephine has had a busy week!  We started our week with some Q-tip painting.  We loved this project, and you can find different printables all over the internet.  I highly recommend this activity.  It's low stress, and easy to achieve success, even for your little impatient ones.

Leftover chocolate bunnies were consumed this week, some while wearing warm footy jammies.

Today we made dandelion bread.  Josephine loves dandelions. ( She gets that from her momma! )  So today, she harvested several hundred from our front and back yards, and we set to work removing the stems and green parts to make  batch of dandelion bread.  You can find the recipe we used here.  Removing the yellow part of the flowers was time consuming, and my fingertips are dyed a lovely shade of yellow.  The bread turned out much like cornbread.  Very tasty.

We are loving springtime at the Smith house!  We have trays upon trays of little vegetable plants growing, waiting to get big enough to live in our garden beds.  Our new house lets in the sunshine, and all the natural light is doing the family so much good.  How are you enjoying your spring?

cute boy booties!

I added a couple new pairs of booties to the shop

Words of encouragement

I just fell in love with an Etsy shop, and I wanted to share with everyone.  French Press Mornings

This shop is full of pretty prints and postcards, with the most encouraging of messages.

And, on her blog, she offers free printables!! 

 

 

 

Our favorite snacktime treat - Banana Bread

As part of our daily rhythm, we usually share a snack when Casey arrives home from work.  Today, we are having one of our favorites - banana bread, fresh from the oven!

Now, I'm sure everyone already has a favorite banana bread recipe.  Mine is fairly simple and basic.

Simple, Easy Peasy Banana Bread (that the kids will love to help make!)

4 mashed bananas, the more spots the better!
1/3 c melted butter
3/4 c sugar
1 beaten egg
1T vanilla extract
1t baking soda
a quick sprinkle of salt
1 1/2 c flour

Preheat oven 350 degrees

mix the melted butter and banana with a wooden spoon.  Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla.  Stir in the baking soda and salt.  Add the flour last, a little at a time.  Pour into a greased bread pan, and bake for 1 hour. 

That's it!

Serve hot on it's own, or with butter or Honey Nut Cream Cheese, like we did today.

 

 

Josephine was not feeling well today.  You would never know it by looking at her.  She was her normal, cheerful, silly 3 year old self, just not quite as much so.  She spent a good part of the day cuddling with her big sister.  When little Jo Bug isn't feeling well, she likes to be "held like a baby" and rocked to sleep.

It's all going so fast, this childhood thing.  Autumn is going to be 18 in a few short weeks. I remember, when my little Autumn was about 3 or so, she promised me that she would stay small forever, and always be my little baby.  And now she's grown.

 And my little baby Jo, she just won't stop getting bigger. Every day she is doing new things.  Before long she will be grown too, and I will wonder where the time went. 

For now, I'm just trying to soak up every little memory I can, because this time, these 3 year old moments, will not last long.  I feel so blessed that I am able to stay home and enjoy these days with my girls.  Autumn will soon be off living her life, and Jo will eventually do the same.   But until that day comes, I'm going to enjoy every little moment we are blessed with. 

Introducing Serendipity Hats!

serendipity
n.noun
1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3. An instance of making such a discovery.

 

Inspired by adventure

smiles

fun and laughter!

 

Just try not to have a good day in one of these!

 

Each is one of a kind

 

find them here