Seasonal Recipe Finale: Peach Cobbler

So here is my final seasonal recipe designed to squeeze the last drops of sunny warmth out of summer even though it is clearly turning to fall (especially here in Colorado where the aspens are turning colors and I woke up this morning to see snow on the top of Pikes Peak).  For the record, I think that it is my best seasonal recipe…or the one that I like to make and eat the most anyways.  This peach cobbler recipe has been around my family for years though I doubt anyone could tell you where it originated.  It has always just been there.  So, from my family to yours, cram another day of summer in and I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Seasonal Recipe Blitz Week: Spicy Creamy Corn

Let me just clarify one thing here…this is  not the creamed corn you find in your pantry.  I know that the canned stuff grosses some people out(my husband included), but I promise this recipe is so different.  As my husband said to me, my brain says I shouldn’t like it, but but my taste buds say I do!

Seasonal Recipe Blitz Week: Squash Casserole

Ok, so I know that most of us out there are really at the very end of the fresh summer fruits and veggie season, so I thought I would just do an all out blitz week on the recipes I have left.  This way, if one catches your eye, maybe you have time to run out and grab the last produce of the bunch and can enjoy a final taste of summer.

First up, Squash Casserole!  I snagged this recipe from my grandma who got it from my uncle who says it is the same recipe they use at the Black Eyed Pea restaurants.  I believe him, because he is pretty sneaky about getting recipes.  You should hear how he got his famous baked bean recipe…I believe there were copious amounts of alcohol involved…I will leave it at that.  But, I digress.  This recipe is really delicious and it freezes well so if you have a ton of yellow squash in your garden at one time, you should give it a try.

Peg People…Creative Play, No Batteries Required!

A Knight and Princess that go great with the castle.

I can’t even remember where exactly I first came across the idea of painted peg people, but after I saw it, I knew I really wanted to give it a try.  And oh my goodness, I have fallen in love with this hobby for so many reasons.  The first is that with it, I can find a zen sort of moment.  This is rare and pretty exciting all by itself.  When I finally get Little down for a nap and the boy child is settled in for some quite time, I can sit down and sort of just lose myself in painting those tiny little people.  Another reason I really like the painted pegs is that it makes a great activity for the kids.  I was babysitting my cousins a couple of months ago (they are closer to my kids ages than to me) and as something to do, I let them paint a couple of peg people themselves.  It is so cool to see their little imaginations at work and they are so proud of what they come bring to life.  Little isn’t quite big enough to paint yet, but Noodle LOVES painting them.  You can’t ever quite tell what he is making until he tells you, but he has such a good time doing it.

This is the Ninjago set I made for Noodle with the extras he painted in the front. He painted an extra Garmadon and Pythor to add to the set.

The Bucket List

I have to admit, I stole this idea from Tried, Tested, and True Mommy.  She keeps her list on her blog and I decided it was a great idea.  Imitation is the greatest form of flattery I hope.  I think that having a bucket list is a great thing.  And putting it in a public forum such as the blog takes this list and turns it from dreams to goals.  So here is the start of my list which will soon get its own page/tab here on the blog where I can add to it and cross things off and hopefully get encouragement and words of wisdom from you, my loyal readers.

1. Visit Greece
2. Visit Italy
3. Write a book
4. Publish said book
5. Lose 100 pounds
6. Go back to Ireland so I can show my husband the place I love so much
7. Visit at least 30 states by the time my kids graduate from high school
8. Read every book by Jane Austen
9. Own a first edition of one of Jane Austen’s books (you know, after I win the lottery)
10. See the Northern lights
11. Ride in a hot air balloon
12. Visit Washington DC when the cherry trees are blossoming
13. Write my personal history
14. Record my Grandma’s story while she is still here with us
15. Own a book published in the 1700’s (or earlier)
16. Visit Russia to see where some of my ancestors came from
17. Learn French (more than the one semester I took in college)
18. Read all the books by the Bronte sisters
19. Find a way to forgive and finally get past the anger I still feel towards my biological father for not being there for my sister and I
20. Write a cookbook
21. Publish said cookbook
22. Kiss my husband at midnight on New Year’s eve in Times square
23. Publish an historical article in a scholarly journal (put my Master’s degree to use finally)
24. Visit Andorra (I want to see what it’s like in a micro-nation)
25. Read all books by Willa Cather
26. Write a children’s book for my kids
27. Make it to the top of Pikes Peak by way of the Barr Trail (hiking!)
28. Break through the brick wall that is David C. Jones and Elizabeth Cottrell Brown (genealogy related)
29. Learn to say “Please” and “Thank You” in 10 different languages (like actually learn not just see how to do it)

Another Seasonal Recipe: Peach Mousse

Peaches might be one of my favorite foods ever.  When I was pregnant, I didn’t really get cravings except for fresh peaches…in February.  Obviously that one was a hard one for my husband to fulfill.  Lucky for me, it’s September and peaches are in season here in Colorado.  You may not know it, but we have some of the best peaches in the country grown on Colorado’s western slope and right now I am taking full advantage of the last weeks of them.  Here is a light, easy recipe for one of your last warm, late summer nights.

Craft Time: Melted Crayon Art

Melted crayon art seems to have become quite popular recently and I have to say that I was eager to join the crowd trying it out.  They are so colorful and pretty and I wanted to try it out with my own spin.  I decided that this would be a good activity to do with “Noodle” and my niece and nephew while we visiting West Virginia this past June.  I am happy with the results, though if I do it again, there are definitely a couple of things that I would change.   The kids were excited about helping with the projects and even more so about seeing something they had created hanging on the wall as artwork so this project was definitely worth it.

All three of the kids’ projects lined up next to each other.

Seasonal Veggies and Ratatouille Boats

I love late summer!  And the main reason for this are all of the amazing fruits and veggies that are now ripe and ready to eat.  Recently, it has become a favorite family activity to head over to our local farmer’s market on Saturday morning and stock up on fresh produce for the week.  These last few weeks, everything has been so beautiful and delicious and this has sort of inspired me to find recipes for what is now in season.  So over the next couple of weeks, I will be sharing some of these and hopefully give you some inspiration for the last couple of weeks of whatever is in season for you.

The hubby and I celebrated our anniversary last month and as it fell on a weeknight this year, we went sort of low-key and I just made a nice dinner at home.  I knew I was going to make something Italian (that always seems to feel more upscale doesn’t it?) and settled on manicotti.  Then I started waffling on what side dishes to go with it.  Do I do the normal salad or do I do some sort of veggie?  And if it is a veggie then what goes well with what I am making?  Way too much over-thinking on my part.  This question was still unresolved  when we hit up one of our local farmer’s markets the weekend before our anniversary and once we started walking around, inspiration struck and I knew what exactly what side I wanted to make.  Ratatouille Boats!