Proud Mama!

A few weeks back (yes, I know it's been a while since I've posted so sorry for that) we had a very awesome thing happen in our family. My boys both were student of the month! It was very exciting and they have bot been working so hard in school. Needless to say, I am a very proud mama.

Ahh look they're so excited... Well Parks is excited, Jared is definitely giving me that "Come on mom my friends are watching" look.



Parker's teacher had a lot of wonderful things to say about him... My favorite "Participates in 'circle time activities' with great class discussion and SUPER SINGING" Hahaha, yes I actually laughed aloud when the lady read that.

Jared's teacher was very brief and to the point with his descriptions. My favorite "Excellent debater." Which also caused a burst of laughter... I'm not sure but I think that's the polite way of saying my son likes to argue.

My very favorite part of this whole day was that their Daddy got to watch the whole thing via FaceTime. Sometimes I really hate technology, but at that instant I loved it.

The Next "Boys (and girl) of Fall"

Yesterday was the first day of flag football practice. We haven't had a program here since I don't know when, so I am very excited that one is starting up again.  Twelve little childrens showed up to participate and eager to learn.  As I sat on the sidelines next to a mom, who is also the coach's wife, we couldn't help but giggle as the coach was explaining all of the "fundamentals" of football. It's X Y Z 1 2 3, this post, that player, this hole, that space, number 2 running a Z pattern... Ha! I was so lost I couldn't even imagine what was going through those little brains of the 12 tiny players.

To my amazement, some actually seemed to get it.  Now, the registration paper said grades 2-5 and it's all Jared has been talking about. Parker would occasionally add how when he "gets big like, Bubba" he could play too. To Parker's surprise they let him join in yesterday.

After reviewing the XYZ and 123s it was finally time to play some football. Now, Jared has been talking about how he wants to be the quarterback and I'm pretty sure it has little to do with throwing the ball and more to do with the "hut hut hike." It's comical to me how "manly" he tries to make his voice. Don't you know, half the threat is in the intensity of the call.  He will have to wait a little to show of his masculine voice because his first assignment is center.

Poor little quarterback... Jared is practically twice his size. This next part was my favorite part of the whole practice...Coaching cheer, I often use the phrase "get friendly." Stunting is very personal and you often end up being very intimate with another squad member. Well the football coach gave these boys the same lecture.

Jared's face pretty much says it all... "What?!" as Coach explains that the quarterback needs to get closer.

We've got it now! QB scopin' out the receivers who are anxiously waiting a pass.

 Ok so maybe anxious wasn't the right word... But they're ready! And don't you just love her shirt!!! After a few passing drills, they split in to teams and started a scrimmage. It was so fun to watch them running all over the place and somewhat resembling the sport of football.  We've decided that Parker might be a little small for quarterback position as he took a snap to the face... Bad news for my boy that doesn't like blood... OUCH!

He bravely removed the shirt to ask "Mom, is it still bleeding?" Yep! Must of been one heck of a snap (which happened to come from his big brother) After a few minutes and a lot of tissue up the nose, he joined the team again. First of many football wounds I'm sure... All and all, was a great first day of practice. We shall return again next Sunday for more football fun!

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Salsa Makin' Time

At last, our tomato plants have finally started to come around. I've been harvesting for a while now but only a few big red ones at a time, and, of course, a thousand little ones! I'd probably be a bit more excited about those pesky little ones if I actually liked eating tomatoes in their raw state. However, I don't! So many laugh that I've planted nearly 40 tomato plants, yet I really don't like 'em. I do however LOVE to can them. Spaghetti sauce and salsa are amongst my favorites, though this year I am going to try a few other things as well. I'm thinkin' maybe some BBQ sauce, some bloody mary type spicy tomato juice. It seems the list could go on forever. Right now, this is all about the salsa!

Here's a list of the ingredients:
30 lbs of tomatoes                                    9 jalapenos
7 c of chopped onions                              7 serrano chiles
 10 smashed garlic cloves                        3 red hot cherry peppers
ground cumin                                           7 tabasco peppers
pepper                                                       5 New Mexico Big Jim peppers
pickling salt                                              3 lg bell peppers
1/2 cup of vinegar                                     2 bundles of cilantro
1/2 cup of lemon juice                              5 sprig of oregano

Yes, I know, that's a lot of different kinds of peppers, but we have all those varieties in my garden so I couldn't leave any out!


Now... Let's get started!!
First the tomatoes...

Look at them all washed and pretty! I can't wait to get started. First remove the cores and stems. This part isn't too bad though it's kind of time consuming because 30lbs of tomatoes is a lot! Just so you get an idea... Here's a picture (and not the full 30lbs) of the tomatoes... They fill one side of my kitchen sink.

About this time, I figure if I'm gonna go for it, I might as well make a trip to the garden to see if any more have ripened since my last harvest. Good thing too! I came back with a whole 'nother load of em!

Have I mentioned how much I love, love, love my garden!! I do! Just absolutely LOVE it! So after these are washed, stemmed and added to the mix, I get the water boiling on the stove and fix the vacant sink for the ice bath. Toss the tomatoes into the boiling water for a minute or so and then into the ice bath... Makes for easy peeling of those slimy skins.

So, the next step is most definitely my least favorite! Normally, my mom and I are canning together and she does this part while I'm chopping and dicing all the other ingredients... Unfortunately for me, she was working when I decided to make the salsa so this time it's on me... and the back splash, and the cupboards, and my clothes (even though I'm wearing an apron), and eeeewwwwww in my hair... That's right, time to get the seeds out. I find the best way is to just squeeze 'em. Poke some hole in the bottom and let the seeds come out!! Disgusting! Have I mentioned my extreme dislike for tomatoes?? Well this is why! They have nasty, slimy, yucky seeds! As much as I don't like 'em in the tomatoes, I really don't like 'em in my salsa!

Yes, that's nasty! As I mentioned, it's everywhere! How do people even like these things?! But now that the seeds are out and the tomatoes are in the pan, the salsa is finally cookin'!

EEEKKK! I didn't notice the pan was hangin' off the counter. I would have been devastated if that fell! Onto the stove we go and it's time for choppin' the good stuff.

As you can tell, I don't have nearly enough peppers or garlic here. I made 2 more trips to the garden for peppers and one to the shed for garlic, but finally got it right! I chop 'em up pretty coarse so their flavors can mingle with the tomatoes, but eventually I'm going to run it through the food processor so it doesn't matter too much.

Grind some fresh black pepper on it, add the pickling salt, and give it a good healthy sprinkle of cumin. I love cumin powder! Smells kinda like stinky pits, but taste is amazing! My house doesn't smell like armpits though! It smells mighty delicious with this salsa cooking of the stove!
After this cooks down a bit, I run it through the food processor. I am not a fan of chunky salsa (probably has quite a bit to do with not liking tomatoes and onions) so I like to make sure it's all nice and blended.

See how nice that looks all blended, but with little flakes of color.... MMMMM! Note: This is a great time to grab some chips and give it a taste :) Once you approve and I did, well maybe after 10 or 12 chips... so good! As I was saying, once you approve, back on the stove it goes and bring it to a boil again. Chop up the cilantro and mix it in. Now, while it starts to boil, get the jars and water bath going because it's time to get this stuff canned. It processes in the water bath for 35 minutes, then remove to cool over night. I can hear the "pop" of the seals locking down and it's music to my ears! All that work is definitely worth having my own salsa in the pantry. This batch gave me 22 jars of salsa! It may seem like a lot, but I love to share, and of course to have fresh salsa all winter long!



Sooooo pretty!! All I need is some more chips....Yum!