Garden Walk Thursday July 19, 2012

“A garden should make you feel you've entered privileged space -- a place not just set apart but reverberant -- and it seems to me that, to achieve this, the gardener must put some kind of twist on the existing landscape, turn its prose into something nearer poetry.”
― Michael Pollan, Second Nature: A Gardener's Education

Happy Thursday!  Come take a walk with me through my garden…….













Thanks for taking a walk with me.  We are going through another heat wave here in Colorado.  High temperatures in my house means lots of early morning gardening, naked babies, and tons of pool time.  I hope your garden is getting to the jungle state and you are staying cool wherever you are in the world.  Happy gardening!

Just Peachy

The canning season is upon us!  This past weekend I could not resist a box of local peaches and decided to venture into the world of Peach Jam.  I just started canning 2 years ago, but I do love the process of putting up fresh produce from the garden or farmers market.  Don’t be overwhelmed by canning.  It is very easy and with some reading and small investments you can be putting up fresh food in your home! 

My favorite canning books for the novice canner are:
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
Tart and Sweet: 101 Canning and Pickling Recipes for the Modern Kitchen
Homemade Living: Canning and Preserving with Ashley English
Food in Jars

Great Equipment to start your Canning Kitchen:
Water Bath Canner with Rack…you can also use any really big stock pot
Ball Canning Utensil Set
Ball Mason Jars

It is funny to me how canning is the new “cool” thing to do.  I was walking through my local Target the other day, and they now have a full display of canning supplies and canning type decorations.  Just two years ago when I was starting out I had to scour my local stores to find any sort of supplies. 

The Peach Jam recipe that I tried was from one of my favorite blogs, Food in Jars.  The cookbook, named after the blog, is amazing and I cannot wait to try many of the amazing recipes.  This recipe was very easy and the results were delicious.  Marisa also includes many slow-cooker jam recipes that I am anxious to try.


The whole process took about an hour…just enough time before the little one woke up from his nap.  I love Peach Jam not only on toast, but also mixed into Ice Cream, Yogurt, or a topping on Chicken or Pork.  There is nothing like the fresh taste of summer peaches in the dead of winter.

Canning items make wonderful gifts for friends, teachers, or even the holidays.  You don’t have to have a huge garden to can items.  A simple trip to the farmers market gives you a large variety of produce to choose from.  It is easier then you think and I valuable skill to know how to do.  My next venture will be into the world of pressure canning.  I am currently swooning over the American Pressure Cooker/Canner.  It is a little pricey so I am saving up!  With this beauty I can put up soups, meats…the list is endless.  My birthday is around the corner, so maybe I should start dropping hints now….

What is your favorite item to Put Up?

Garden Walk Thursday July 12, 2012

I have decided to start a series called…Garden Walk Thursday.  This gives me a chance to ensure that I keep all of you up to date of the garden.  Instead of just throwing pictures on the blog this will help keep me organized.  This summer has been crazy with activities, so any organization is a bonus in my book.  Here are some pictures I just took of my front and backyard.  Everything is in bloom and the yard is alive with color.  We are almost at the “jungle state” in the garden and I am beyond ecstatic.  My front yard currently does not have any edibles, but hopefully by next year that will change.  Take a peek….







My Sugar Pie Pumpkins are insane!!!


My favorite little garden helper…Little C

Hope you enjoyed and have a great Thursday!

Mountain Time

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity...”
― John Muir

This past week, the boys and I headed to the mountains for our family vacation.  Mr. G works extremely hard to provide for our family and when he has a break in his travel  I want him to get away from it all.  One of our favorite places in Colorado is Grand Lake.  It is a small mountain town bordering Rocky Mountain National park.  It is set against the largest and deepest natural Colorado mountain lake.  It pretty much has everything my family loves.  Boating, hiking, fishing, and tons of amazing wildlife. 
The simpler the better for my family.  I find that if we go to some crazy, exotic place we end up spending most of our time running around instead of just enjoying each other.  My favorite time was our nightly drives through Rocky Mountain National. Here we would view the wildlife emerging for their evening feed and enjoy the competition of who was the best animal spotter.  After a long day of hiking or boating this was a great family activity.  Here are some pictures from our recent trip:






I believe that out National Parks are under utilized when it comes to Americans planning their family vacations.  Don’t get me wrong, Disney and Hawaii are fun but sometimes a trip into our national parks can satisfy the adventure in any child.  Animal viewing, nature treasure hunts, fishing, and hiking can help child disconnect from the world of TV and reconnect them with their natural instincts.  Getting in touch with nature helps to slow everyone down and recharge even the busiest person.  For more information on reconnecting your children to nature I found Richard Louvs’ book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder to be extremely interesting.
Back to the grindstone for me.  I have hours of weeding ahead of me, as well as birthday party planning, canning preparation, and of course laundry.  Someday I will wake up and be caught up on my laundry…at least I keep telling myself that!
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Do you have a favorite national park?