Labor of Love

A four day weekend to us without work to be done or many places to be is as rare to us as a four leaf clover. It began on a quiet note as Matthew was at school the first day until the bus dropped him off a little after four. Sammy and I passed the time by taking a nature walk or two. We strolled at the pace of a one-year-old; a slow meander followed by a quick outburst of running.

We carved out time this weekend to do some crafts (of course!). Matthew and I made homemade paints using cornstarch, water, and food coloring. It was Sammy's first time painting so we wanted to make sure they were safe and edible if need be. She seemed to enjoy painting. 

With the help of my inquisitive sous chef Matthew, I prepared some new dishes for the family to try from a favorite cookbook of mine.  We made Confetti de Fruta and Twistin' Chicken which were both hits with the kids. Matthew was not curious or even squeamish about touching raw chicken but he wanted to know more about the Pledge of Allegiance which is leaned about at school. Does he celebrate it? What does allegiance mean? Is God invisible?

Confetti de Fruta 

Outdoors Matthew built a squirrel house:

Played hockey on roller-blades around Sammy who was clearing the ice (driveway) with the Zamboni (ride on toy):

Made an ocean in his sandbox:

One of my favorite moments of any weekend, or day for that matter, is watching Matthew and Sammy engage in imaginative play. This could be something as small as Sammy wearing her stacking rings on her wrists as bracelets or Matthew creating a Superbowl game between his football men*.

This long weekend was a nice note to end the month of August on!

*  Sammy was inspired to join in the football game when she realized that she was tall enough to reach the figures on the edge of the table. This resulted in Matthew calling her (and I quote) A Wild Beast.

Homemade Teething Biscuits

Teething biscuits are easy to make and there are many recipes for them online. I made fish and duck shaped ones for Sammy yesterday using all ingredients that I already had on hand. She loved them and chatted happily while chewing on one.

Darth Maul Juicy Jam

I was a little surprised to find concord grapes in the refrigerator this weekend. As Bob explained to me; he does not know the difference between a blueberry and a concord grape, so he had no objections when Matthew picked them out at the grocery store. Their name and appearance would suggest a sweet taste but I am familiar with concord grapes because during my own childhood our next door neighbors grew them in large quantities. I was double and triple double dog dared to eat plenty of them over the years. The seedy and sour taste reminds me of summers with mosquito bites, scraped knees, and Teddy Ruxpin tucked under my arm.  “This is disgusting!” Matthew said when he tried one. He’s right about that but I told him that when life gives your concord grapes, you make jam.

Making grape jam sound difficult but it is really easy to do.  First separate the skins into one bowl and the peeled grapes into another. So easy a four-year-old can do it!

Next pour the skins and a cup of sugar into a blender. This was about the time I stopped sitting by idle and making peeled grape/ zombie eye ball comparisons to take over the jam making reins

After blending the skins with sugar add them to the bowl of peeled grapes.  Mix some two more cups of sugar and a tablespoon of lemon juice in. Bring to a boil on the stove and stir on low heat for twenty minutes. The boiling and stirring will makes you feel a bit witchy like you are standing over a cauldron. Once finished with that strain the jam over a bowl to get rid of the seeds. Toss the seeds and jar the rest. Store jars in the refrigerator.

Matthew designed the label for our jam. First he decided on the name Dos Uvas, which translates to Two Grapes. Then he changed the name to Slimy Juice. Once the label was created the jam was officially named,  Darth Maul’s Juicy Jam. Our motto is, Smells like Apples which Matthew came up with. (In a way it does).

 Beware of this guy!

This jam is so good it will trick you into thinking that you could create a whole Star Wars theme cook book.  My next recipe was going to be called Wookie Cookies. Unfortunately seven hundred thousand people came up with the same idea before I did.  

Homemade baby food

I thought a lot about it before deciding to make my own baby food. Part of me thought that it would take up a lot of time and also space in the freezer.  In the end my decision to do it came down to wanting to preserve the fresh tastes of fall for once Sammy starts solids during the winter. 

Apples from the farm

Chopped butternut squash

Squash, peas, and applesauce

This past weekend it rained and so I spent a block of the day in the kitchen chopping, simmering, and blending food. It didn’t take up much time at all. There was enough room in the freezer. I had fun doing it. I can’t wait to try carrots, bananas, and sweet potato next week.  My plan is to build up stocks of it by wintertime.