Tomato Sauce Success

Remember these? Our collection of tomatoes from the garden that were multiplying at a high rate of speed..faster than I can eat them?

I was wondering what would happen if I added a dollar a piece vegetable assortment (a massive yellow zucchini, an onion, two bell peppers and an adorable little eggplant) fresh from the farmers market into the equation?

Well lets see! This is a complete new experiment for me!

First I boiled a big pot of water..

Tossed in the yellow tomatoes..

And the red tomatoes in separate batches..

To jump start the skin peeling process.

While all that excitement happening on the stove, I cut up all the lovely market veggies..

Back to the stove, once my eyes stopped stinging from the onion chop and fingers still attached I removed the tomatoes from the boiling water and instantly cooled them in a handy bowl of cold water and started peeling them.

Once the peeling was mastered, I used our food processor to turn our tomatoes into a delicious sauce (yellow tomatoes and red tomatoes in separate trips through the blender.)

After grabbing some fresh basil from the garden and dumping all the farmers market veggies into the wok, I lightly softened the veggies with some heat, oil and veggie broth.

Then, poured the tomato sauces into pots and added the softened veggies with some garlic and let simmer for a few moments..

Made some pasta and dinner served! It was a light, simple and versatile cost effective recipe. My taste buds enjoyed the homemade sauce attempt as opposed to the store bough cans or jars, the fresh flavours and uncomplicated seasoning. 

And because there was so much sauce, I made bags for the freezer with all the leftovers to feed us for a future, easily prepared meal. It was definitely worth the effort in making such a large amount! My first attempt at making tomato sauce (using all fresh ingredients) was a success! I compiled the sauce this morning so all I had to do was make the pasta closer to dinner time, brilliant!

Countdown Calendar

With a couple of busy days under my belt, I am ready for some quiet time..It does happen on occasions , but those occasions are if Hannah chooses sleeping over books at nap time and when it is after 8pm (again if she chooses sleep)..thank goodness my mom was here for the weekend for some sanity and help.

Geoff left Saturday on an early morning flight with a big bag and a smile on his face..my face was shall we say opposite? Since his arrival in Quebec, he has been busy but surviving the major life style change! And same on my end with the busy part and major life style change! A few days in, and here is me with some wood and a saw, mowing the lawn and making dinner all this being in one day! We are in 4 days of the..lots of days into this adventure..

Hannah has been a little bit confused with daddy's car in the driveway with no daddy at home. Before he left, he recorded some videos on the computer. Randomly she will ask to "see TV daddy," and I can choose one for her to watch. I keep telling her he is in Montreal and having fun and working hard and she seems to like that answer. To add to her contentment (lucky streak maybe?) we created a Daddy's Coming Home Countdown Calendar!

I printed off a blank calendar template and added in the details myself (year, month, day of week and date) for all the months he will be gone for Hannah.

Then we went downtown and bought her first set of (amazing) markers! Thank you Crayola! They are specifically crafted for toddler artists. There are no caps to lose, fun animal shapes that won't roll off the table and contain washable ink! A mothers dream come true!

It took her a moment to figure out their purpose but once she got the hang of it...

And with a little help from some new stickers..

We have our first month masterpiece taped to the wall..

It hangs right above her colouring and mealtime corner so she can see it to count the days and cross them off until Daddy's returns home.

I paper clipped the other months to our calendar, keeping them handy for the much anticipated month change over that will (hopefully) be in no time.

"Rolling In The Deep" Air Force Style

watch video here: http://youtu.be/rYEDA3JcQqw

 Her deep soulful music is a rare jem and a unique treat to the ears. She is truly a genuine gift for those (like myself) who desire a little spice now and again. With her voice, her songs, and her style, how could you not join me (and the rest of the world) in loving Adele? Okay so if she isn't your cup of tea, keep reading because this post isn't meant to gush about my new favourite artist.

With Adele's song in tow, U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Angie Johnson and band Sidewinder perform a jaw dropping cover of "Running In The Deep." This video became a viral sensation overnight, no one needs to question why, this girl has got a voice and knows how to use it! See? Not everything is Adele in this post.. just her music!

watch video here: http://youtu.be/eBaskRZDbNA

 I couldn't help but post this! Especially because I need some cheer because this is the last full day we have as a family before tomorrow's 6:30am airport dropoff! Currently, I am in denile that there is less than 24 hours, the house will be all girls  (except our male canine!)

You Say Tomatoes, I Say Tamatas

You must think I am bored out of my brains to be blogging about tomatoes, but in true fact, we have been so busy! With a few days to go, we have been hard at work cutting back trees and man is it a workout! I should have taken before and after photos (of the trees - not my arms.)

New at blogging me is figuring there are many things to write about and in a matter of time I will photograph everything so I don't skip past any major stories!

The reason I am blogging about tomatoes is because Geoff and I are both in shock that these two bowls of tomatoes came from our backyard garden (there are even more to pick!!) The garden is stocked full of tomatoes, and they just keep coming. A steady diet of tomatoes is on the agenda. For some (still trying to figure it out) reason, Geoff loves to grow tomatoes. It is obvious they are an easy plant to maintain and you sure get the benefits, but ours somehow seem to be on steroids!

They go from this...

To this overnight!

I am sure we will turn Italian with all the pasta and tomato sauce! Making our own tomato sauce seems to be my only solution to the never ending supply of tomatoes and then it can be stored in the freezer for the next few months. Eating tomato sandwiches and putting them in salads can only be done so many times. It will be a cooking experiment I will be sure to blog.

Mermaids Tears

My newest addition to my opi stash, the limited edition "Mermaids Tears" from "Pirates of the Caribbean" collection, will sadly have to wait. With all this major house and yard work packed into the week, there is no use in painting my poor weary fingers and toes. I am so excited (and relieved) that it arrived in one piece from EBay. Thank you bubble wrap! I also ordered two more colours..those deserve their own post though. When I have some time, I will catch up on this week of blog neglect. Geoff leaves in T minus 4 days, maybe then I catch up on blogging and break out the tears..Mermaid's Tears opi polish that is, because by then - all the hard work will be (hope to heavens) be done!

Loving Rona

We were at Rona this weekend (our second home), and the main aisle was lined with sale items. Since it is appearing to be the end of summer, most sale item related to the sunny warm season. Speaking of end of summer, can you believe we received our Christmas Wish List Sears Catalogue? Okay enough crazy talk and back to our favourite store Rona (yes, I love a hardware store just as much as Geoff.) They had so many drool worthy pots,  like these two lovely ladies :  

(excuse the photos - the sun was being a little sneaky and getting in the way of the photo)

I love them more than I can say (otherwise you may think I am officially crazy.) And with the reduction stickers attached to these beauties, I couldn't resist. Even Hannah went from sitting in the main basket of the shopping cart to the child seat in approval upon seeing them. The original price was a "yeah right, would never pay that price for something that is just going to hold dirt and flowers" price of $70 each. Oh and, by the way, they are not plastic. They are fiberglass, a big step from what I have hanging out on our front porch at the moment. I missed the pot's first reduction, which put them in the $40 each sale price sticker. I did however met them (happily) on their second  reduction of $18 each.  Score!

Although it is too late to change over any plants this year, I will be happily taking these on the move with us and go plant happy in them next spring/summer! Even if you are not as excited about this amazing deal as I am...

Hannah couldn't contain her excitement for her mom's bargain shopping!

A Farmers Market Kind Of Day

What a lovely day to go and explore the local Farmers Market. Geoff leaves a week today, so going to the farmers market seemed like the perfect "last Saturday together as a family for awhile kind of day." 

It is one place that will be on our "miss list" when the day comes that we are transferred to another city. Hopefully the new city will offer us the same indulgence!

Vendors from all over town take over an entire parking lot, offering everything and anything you can imagine (or not imagine).

For carb lovers, this bus is one of many vendors offering cookies, loaves of bread and buns (if your too late - they have nothing left.)

A nice way to cool off from the shopping..homemade fresh smoothies!

Neat handmade arts and crafts are also a big part of the market!

One of my all time favourite things there, are the colourful bunches of wild flowers. I have never succumb to my temptation, I just admire them where they are, scattered among the vendors.

If your the type to love local fresh produce, this is the place I tell you! So many fruit and vegetables to fill your fridge, not for the faint of heart!

A girls dream come true, so many jewelry vendors to shop through. If you have the time, you sure can find some unique pieces.

Thank you Geoff, for your patience, I actually started (cough) Christmas shopping! I have done it at the market in the past with success - so I made another attempt! I did come home with a few extra bags, so now I have to get good hiding spots this year.. In our old place, I used to hide all of Geoff's presents in the garage in old boxes - he never figured those out! Now being in this house, hiding anything is a challenge! And now with a 2 year old in the picture..the challenge grows!

Halloween...In August

Can you believe I came across this other day while shopping? It is still considered summer (at least to me) so why the mirage of chocolate among the back so school supplies?!

The child in me was thinking:

But the parent in me had to be: 

So with an empty basket, I scooted over a few aisles so the candy wouldn't taunt me.

Maybe I should invest in some horse blinkers to assist in future grocery shopping.

I admit, with such an early dose of Halloween it got me thinking about last year and how I waited to the last painful minute to find a costume for Hannah. I was happy with the end results after spending literally an hour sifting through the meager leftovers at Winners, a day before trick or treating (shame one me.)

It also made me recall a pledge I made myself, while waiting in line to purchase the bat costume (a package with a tutu, a bat eared headband, wings and a wand - black shirt and pants not included.) I vowed to be on top of the Halloween rush next year to avoid another meltdown. So, thanks to a little boost from the candy aisle (in August) I started to brainstorm some ideas for this year's Halloween's deck out.

With sheepish admittance, I have bought Hannah's Halloween costume for this year and I'm not going to tell you what it is (yet.)

Pledge and vow honoured. Success for me being (stupidly) on top of the rush this year, Halloween melt down averted! 

The only melting for us, will be from chocolate!

Fusion Saturday

Welcome to Fusion Festival!  The idea was to celebrate local music, food and cultures. Thank goodness for a hot summer day to take in the fun. Hannah and I went downtown to join the the celebration to play the day away!

 We watched all different types of cultural dancing...

We enjoyed food (cotton candy)...and yes, I am that mom who feeds my child too much sugar when the rare opportunity presents itself.

We listened to a variety of different musicians, there were so many to choose from. Some were scattered in the crowd there was also two main stages set up for performers.

And to (big) top it off  there was an entire park full of tents offering trinkets, knick knacks and various activities.

Lucky for us, we ran into free face painting and hair colouring (hair colouring was left for the brave souls.)

With an afternoon filled with blue skies, face paint, music, dancing, shopping in tents and cotton candy..who wouldn't want to go back for a second helping!

Just needed some recharging..

And as soon as Geoff got home, we headed downtown again to show him how to party like its 2011! 

First we grabbed a bite to eat..

We hit up The Chopped Leaf, a salad and wrap bar that was funky and delicious (decor funky - food delicious just in case your wondering!)

Hannah enjoyed her kids menu grilled cheese sandwich with ketchup!

Then we joined the party and danced the night away with lots more music..

and some serious mini doughnuts!