Monday, September 27, 2010

It's a long one!


September has been BUSY!

Labor Day weekend was spent in Taos with our great friends, Allison & Sarah. We hiked around the ski valley, went to the Taos Mountain Music Festival and took a trip to a community named Llano.... where we "met" some of Dave's old "family". I was too lazy to take many pictures and now I'm regretting it. What an amazing part of the Country!

The following weekend I completed my 3rd Imogene Pass Run, this time with my friends Andra and Terry. It was cold at the start but warmed up to be a perfect day. I improved by time by 7 minutes and was 75th out of 500 finishing females! Thanks to Dave for always motivating me to get up for my early morning runs... especially now that it's dark out.

While Dave went to Syracuse, UT to see Matt's homecoming football game and spend time with family, I stayed home and did garden chores all weekend. Although I am exhausted from harvesting and preparing veggies, I am happy to have a freezer filled with garden bounty and a growing shelf of home-canned goods.

This past weekend we completed our first ever mountain bike race - "The Squash Blossom Screamer" in Gallup, NM. Dave and I both did the beginner's race and had a blast. Ryan kicked butt in the intermediate race and we were all wishing Patricia was there to share in the fun. Here's Dave and Ryan relaxing post-race. We are both looking forward to riding our mountain bikes more!

Yesterday I made my first ever homemade spaghetti sauce, and canned it.... which took all afternoon. It's amazing that 7.5lbs of tomatoes only makes 2 quarts + 1 pint of sauce! I'm torn between if the effort was worth it or if the $5.95 jar of gourmet sauce at the store is the way to go!
I'm happy that it's already September 27th and we haven't had a hard frost yet. I'm crossing my fingers for a few more weeks of growth, ripening and harvest before needing to prep the garden for winter.


Friday, September 17, 2010

S.O.S!


Solar Oven Sport!

Every now and again for the past few years I have told Dave that I want a solar oven. I was convinced that I would make one. Finally, after visiting with my friend Kelly (who has a solar oven) I came to my senses and realized I would never actually get around to making one.
So..... we ordered one from the Solar Oven Society. The Society promotes and the use of solar ovens in areas of the World where cooking fuel and clean water are scarce. (You can pasteurize water in oven!)

Two weeks ago our "Sport" oven arrived. Put it outside in the morning, let the sun do it's thing, come home from work and dinner is served! This week I made a chicken curry casserole, a potato/onion/carrot/cauliflower/cheese casserole (yes...all from our garden!) and this morning I made banana bread!

This thing is awesome!!!