Razzmatazzberry

Watching our Raspberries grow has been one of the coolest parts of living here. All props go to the previous tenants who actually GREW them, we have just maintained them. When we first moved in we werent even sure what they were, they just looked like sticks. Today they are wild and crazy berry producing MACHINES!

This is after my brother CANED them. Thank god he did or we would have a mess!

I have tried to be really good about picking them so they don’t get rain-rot or spoil. We are really lucky too in that these berries are big fat juicy ones, not like those silly little wild ones. I would say I have probably picked close to 3 gallons of raspberries so far. Some I just froze in ziplock bags (for smoothies and such) some I gave away to people, and a LOT have been made into freezer Jam. Last week I brought Leo, the two year old I babysit, over to the house and showed him how to pick them too.

It’s definately hard to figure what to do with so many berries. Many will in fact rot and go to the birds, but we feel we are taking full advantage of them, so its ok. I have made 3 batches of freezer Jam so far, about 15 8 oz containers and 3 16 oz containers. I looked around a bit for a recipe, but in the end just went with the Ball Freezer recipe. Yes its a fair amount of sugar, but when I was reading about it, it sounds like the sugar is really needed to preserve the berries. I’m also not sure what the difference is between cooked jam and freezer jam, but freezer jam is WAY easier, and it lasts a full year, so that works for me! Ball also puts out a cute line of freezer containers that stack which I really like better than Tupperware. Ball also has an awesome website with a fruit calculator and lots of recipes that you should check out. And there colors are lime green…whats not to love.Oh and a few people have asked if I de-seed my jam. To me this is a ridiculous request, and if you don’t like seeds, don’t make raspberry jam.

 

 

Summer Eats

I have completely neglected my blog. I’ve been dealing with some stress and anxiety issues, as well as health issues that I plan to share in upcoming post. I will say that I’m doing pretty well and despite some heated therapy sessions, Mr. Gaunt and I are happy and trying to make the most of our summer.

The weather took a slight turn this past weekend and I had to skip lap swimming for a few days…boo. I’m back on it now though, and the weather is looking 80+ with no cold in sight. Mr. Gaunt and I have been hitting up the farmers markets, and last weekend Ms. G and I went into Denver to the cutest little Local Produce Hut called In Season Local Market. This place is super cute and tiny! They carry local veggies, meat and dairy, as well as honey, soap and other goods. I bought a bunch of veggies and some cheese as well as some AMAZING yogurt called Noosa Yoghurt made in Boulder Co. It’s probably the best yogurt I have ever had! If you’re in the Denver area you should check out In Season, their open weekdays till 2-8pm which is great for people who don’t have time to get to the farmers market.

We also tried the Cherry Creek Farmers market which is one of the best markets I’ve been to in Colorado. We got lots of good local food there too as well as a new shirt for Mr. Gaunt! Although it is crazy busy, still worth it. There are so many cute dogs everywhere too…and babies!

Local Veggies

Local Pheasant and Chicken Sausages!

Local focaccia Bread

And besides that grocery stores have been all kinds of cheap so there has been an over abundance of produce in our house, I’m almost overwhelmed. I wont be shopping for the next two weeks as we leave for Washington on the 2nd for 9 days. Until then I hope to be better about blogging, in fact the following posts are coming up: New Swimsuit, Smoking/Stress, and Kale!

Last I leave you with the cutest dress I found tonight at Target for $5.99! I think it will be adorable with a little black cardigan to wear to my big family dinner at the Grandparents house! Yay for cheap clothes! and two funny pics of us at Michaels.

Like Fruit Fondu…kinda.

In the summer we eat tons of fruit, in the winter it gets a bit harder. I’m a big Mellon, Peaches,  and berries fan, which are hard to come by (at a good price) in the winter. So Bananas, Apples and Tangerines are about all we get now. During the week I eat on average 2-3 tangerines a day (one on each break), and half a banana on my cereal in the morning, but sometimes on the weekends I forget to eat any fruit at all. Recently (much to my dismay) Mr. Gaunt brought Nutella home. I have had Nutella a number of times, and while it is delicious, its pretty much garbage (even thought the stupid commercial makes you think its just nuts and skim milk…not true). However in moderation it’s not that much worse than Peanut butter, its kind of a chocolate dessert. It has a lot of sugar in it which sucks, but its pretty pleasing to eat with a big pile of apples and bananas!

EATure TWO: hawaiian papaya

Ok so on my mission to try new fruits and vegetables, I recently bought a Hawaiian Papaya at Sunflower Market. It looks like a mango kind of which I’m not a big fan of because they taste like perfume, but a few years ago in Mexico I remember having Papaya for breakfast at our hotel and loving it.

Well review on this one is…meh. I didn’t love it, its like a mango in that its soft and very sweet. You also have to peel it with a knife which takes forever and you lose a lot of fruit. After reading more about it, mine might have been at its peak ripe-niss and they suggest chilling it before eating which I didn’t do.

I ate a few bites of it and then threw it into the freezer in a Ziploc, I think it will be yummy in smoothies later, or even Popsicles. Tonight I PROMISE the eggplant will be made, in fact I think I might make it for lunch (I prefer to make stuff while the light is still good to take pictures.

In weight Loss news I overslept and missed my WW meeting yesterday. Which is kind of ok with me because I really didn’t lose a pound. This week I’m gonna bum up my fitness and work hard on tracking my points. I’m hoping I can lose three pounds this week. Mr. Gaunt and I are planning a little trip here this weekend with some possible camping so maybe we can get in a little hiking.