Posts Tagged ‘summer’

Brought to you by the color pink.

Posted on August 25th, 2011 by Tonia 2 Comments

I was a tangle-haired-scraped-knee tomboy trying to keep up with my boy-friends for most of my childhood, but my girl-friends and I played dress-up a lot.

Our mothers probably spent a small fortune outfitting us with the ugliest old prom dresses from Goodwill so that we could play Laura Ingalls Wilder, Maid Marion from Robin Hood, or basically any fictional female character who required a sparkly dress and a British accent.

One day at my neighbor Paula’s house, I was wearing a fluffy, gauzy pink mess and Paula’s aunt took one look at me and gasped, “Oh! Honey, pink is your color!”

I kind of loved pink after that.

These tiny roses and enormous pink lilies are happening in our yard right now, and I can’t get enough of them! One of the things I am going to miss most about summer is the flower garden. I believe the sunflowers will be the next to bloom, and they’ll mark the end of the season.

Blueberry Picking

Posted on August 23rd, 2011 by Tonia 6 Comments

{Alternate title: Kurplunk!}

It’s the tail-end of blueberry season ’round these parts, which means the bushes are loaded and the berries are tastier than ever. The plants can sense that fall is closing in, and they think, “Crap! Must procreate!” and they put all their energy into beautiful fruit. Yum.

My aunt, uncle, and two cousins were visiting from Chicago and we got the berry-picking itch. Blue Vista is one of my favorite places to pick because their farm is gorgeous- perched on a hill overlooking Lake Superior- and they’re organic, so we headed north with visions of blueberry pancakes and muffins and pies to come.

Blueberries here, raspberries behind us.

A blue heron overhead, the big lake below.

Whole handfuls of berries coming off the bush all at once.

“She picked three more berries and ate them. Then she picked more berries and dropped one in the pail-Kurplunk! And the rest she ate.” -McCloskey, R. (1976). Blueberries for Sal. New York: Viking Press.

What beautiful girls my cousins are…

And yet they can make the weirdest faces…

Hmmm, yes, I do believe we are related. Except, why are they so tall and I am so short? Unfair.

Getting Fruity

Posted on July 11th, 2011 by Tonia 1 Comment

Exciting things are happening around the homestead this week in the form of little fruities, getting bigger and more delicious-looking every day!

It won’t be long before we’ll be making cherry and apple deserts!…That is, if Mike will stop eating all of the almost-ripe-ones to “test if they’re ready”.

Fresh Strawberry Shakes

Posted on July 4th, 2011 by Tonia 4 Comments

Yesterday was the first day that we were able to get local organic strawberries at the market, and we felt like celebrating their arrival by throwing them a party in our mouths along with our good friends Milk and Ice Cream.

That’s right. Strawberry milkshakes. We whipped them up and called some friends to come over and enjoy them with us, and sat around the table discussing the many merits of strawberries. There’s nothing wrong with eating huge amounts of sugar at 11:00 PM, right? Nahhhhh.

Tonia’s Totally Local Strawberry Shake:

1 carton of Hermit Creek strawberries, green tops removed

6 big scoops of Tetzner’s vanilla ice cream

1/2 cup of Tetzner’s milk {or more if you want to drink it verses eat it with a spoon- and it depends how strong your blender is. The milkier it is, the easier it is to blend.}

Blend it all up and enjoy!

…But, after the strawberry shakes were gone, we decided we wanted more. So we made more:

Tonia’s Not-So Local Pistachio and Honey Shake:

1 cup pistachios, shelled

2 tbs. honey {or to taste- some like it sweeter than others}

6 big scoops of Tetzner’s vanilla ice cream

1/2 cup of Tetzner’s milk {or more}

Blend it all up and you know what to do!

These are our two most favorite shake recipes. Pretty simple, but very satisfying. What’s yours?