Raspberries.

First local raspberries of the season.

Liza's dinner...in a diaper.

Love.

Happy Friday!

CSA Recipe Day: Roasted Tomato Sauce

We belong to a CSA(Community Supported Agriculture) through a local farm that's over 100 years old!  We love Coveyou Scenic Farms for a couple reasons: 1) they're local, 2) it's a family operation, 3) they are a very 'natural' farm.  Now I know 'natural' means next to nothing (if not nothing) on many food packages, but what I mean is that they use very organic methods, even though they are not certified organic.  As a momma, I love knowing that my family is eating good food that is grown locally and sustainably.

Anyway, each week we get a box full of goodness.  Lately it's been filled with greens, but after our experience last year, I know that we'll start getting a wealth of tomatoes, onions and peppers as the summer goes on.  This is a recipe that we discovered last year when we didn't know what else to do with all these veggies!  You can use large vine ripe tomatoes, romas, or even cherries.  I also discovered a little bit of basil olive oil from Fustini's a local gourmet oil and vinegar shop, and so I used that too!

Roasted Tomato Sauce
Recipe adapted from here
8 tomatoes, quartered (or halved if using smaller tomatoes)
1/2 onion, cut into chunks
1 pepper, cut into chunks
6-8 cloves of garlic
Drizzle olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano (or fresh if you have it)
1 teaspoon dried basil (or fresh)
S & P

[1] Heat oven to 400.

[2] On a lightly greased baking sheet or on top of a silpat, place tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic cloves.  Drizzle with olive oil and then toss with your fingers so all ingredients are coated.

[3] Sprinkle with herbs.

[4] Bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour.  Cool on the pan.

[5] Once cooled, puree in a blender using olive oil, chicken stock, or water to thin slightly.

This week, we used this with whole wheat penne pasta, sliced kale and grilled chicken.  I simply mixed it all together and threw it in a baking dish with some parmesan cheese on top!

What We're Loving Wednesday...

It's Wednesday already?  Here's what we're loving for our sweet little ones this week...

[1] Summer Time.  It's so nice to be able to play outside with our kiddos, take them swimming and boating, and just enjoy some sunshine with them.  Plus our babies are getting bigger (can we even call them babies anymore???) which means actually romping around in the grass (or putting it in their mouth).

Liza snoozing on Grandpa Patty's lap on the pontoon

[2] Gardening & our CSA.  We are health-conscious mommas so knowing that we're putting good food in our families' bellies is such a good feeling, especially since our kiddos are eating more and more real food (even though Liza has ZERO teeth still!!). Recipe coming tomorrow from some CSA goodness.

Our CSA box from Coveyou Scenic Farms

[3] Floppy sun hats.  Both Connor and Liza have ones from Patagonia that we got at Bear Cub Outfitters, but you can also find them HERE.  We love them because they keep the suns off our little ones, but they're also reversible and have velcro to keep the hat on.  Liza quickly discovered how to untie other hats that I had for her.  Even my peanut of a nephew, Reed has one and the little guy's only 7 weeks old!

What are you loving this week??

Linking up with Jamie!

Working Momma iPhone Apps

We love our iPhones.  Quite simply, they're handy little buggers when you're busy as all get out...which we just happen to be.  We both work full-time and go to school on the side (Nat's getting her doctorate, teaching courses, and becoming one of the most educated people I know, while I'm completing my second master's).  On top of that we're trying to be great mommas to our little ones, great wives to our handsome husbands, making our houses homes, and making sure our families eat the best food available (and within our budget).  Keeping all of that in mind, here are ten of our favorite iPhone apps.

POSTAGRAM/SINCERELY INK.  These are LIFESAVERS.  Need to send a thank you but run out of stamps?  Need to send a birthday card that you don't have time to pick up?  Postagram and Sincerely Ink (same companies) allow you to do just that.  They actually send the postcard or card directly to your recipient for $0.99 (postcard) or $1.99-$2.99 (cards).  Pure awesomeness.  Oh, and if you have addresses saved in your contact book on your phone, it's a breeze to import that info!

BABY SIGN.  Connor and Liza go to the same daycare where they work on signing with the babies and toddlers.  In an effort to reinforce this at home, we picked up Baby Sign.  I believe we bought the additional pack (which may have been like $4.99) but it's well worth it.

WEE SING.  I'm not a huge fan of giving Liza my phone or having her watch videos, but when she is beyond fussy in the car and we can't get her to settle down, this app works like a charm.  It sings the alphabet song or you can go through the alphabet where they have sentences like "Benny the bear plays the banjo" and little jingles to go with them.

NIKE+.  We try to stay healthy and so when you're trying to squeeze in a quick walk at lunch or a run in the morning before you head to work, it's nice to keep tabs on how far and how long you've gone for.  It's motivation and it works.

FOODUCATE.  This app is great and scary all at the same time.  Trying to choose between different cereal bars?  Fooducate allows you to scan the bar code for a certain grocery.  If the item is in the database (and most name brands are), you'll get a 'grade' for that item and some reasons it was given that grade.  Fooducate also offers better suggestions.  Although we don't use it for every single item, it's a great way to check in on the food you're eating.

DIRTY DOZEN.  You've probably heard of the 'dirty dozen' and 'clean fifteen' in regard to when to buy organic or non-organic produce.  Despite many attempts, I can never seem to keep it all straight.  This app does just that.

DROPBOX.  As a momma on the run, I'm frequently using different computers/devices.  Between iPads and a MacBook at home, an iPhone, and a desktop and MacBook at work, it's SO helpful to use Dropbox to help sync documents, videos, pictures, and presentations so I can access them anywhere.  I can even use Dropbox's website if I'm not on a device I own.  Added bonus?  It's a great way to share pictures with friends and not worry about overloading their email.

BUY ME A PIE.  Despite its name, this is actually a grocery shopping app.  Its layout is simple and easy to navigate.  Items are color-coded based on the section of the store you'd find them in.  Unlike other apps, this one isn't FULL of sponsors which I definitely liked.  Another bonus?  You can sync across multiple phones as long as you have the same account - no more texting my husband a list, we simply create ours as the week goes on and then either of us can go to the store with the complete list.

BABY BRAIN.  This is an awesome app for when you have a newborn baby and are suffering from 'baby brain'.  It allows you to track sleep, diapers, bottles or boobs.  In fact a common phrase around our house during the first few weeks was 'can you add a boob' (meaning add on another nursing session)?  Though I don't use it nearly as much any more, it's great to help you remember 'what side', what time the little peanut ate last and how many wet/soiled diapers they've had.

What are your favorite iPhone apps that you come back to everyday (or almost everyday)?  We're always looking for more to add to our list!

Miscellany Monday.

UNO.
The weather in Northern Michigan has been un-REAL.  As in we spent the last week in the upper 80's/low 90's.  Because of said weather, JW, Liza-lou and I spent last week at the cottage.  JW still had to work but we were able to spend the days in the water and tons of time playing with family.

DOS.
Liza-lou is moving like CRAZY!  She LOVES walking holding on to JW or my hands and is getting in to things around the house faster than we can keep her out of them.

TRES.
We ordered one of these bad boys last night.  Pricy?  Yes.  However, after watching some YouTube videos and reading some reviews, we felt like this is something we can use for quite a few years. And since we have Cabela's credit cards, we were able to use a boat-load of points and only pay about $75 for this thing (not bad considering it was listed for $230).  JW and I enjoy hiking and snowshoeing and many of the trails we hike just aren't stroller-friendly...even though the BOB is pretty rugged.  As for the Bjorn, talk about a sore back when you try to do much more than a basic walk with a 20 pound baby.  We'll be sure to include a review as soon as we get it and try it out!

CUATRO.
We're on a mission to do a better job of keeping this blog updated and this time...we're going to hold ourselves to it.  Get ready for lots of momma stories and thoughts as we stay on top of our game!  Plus, we've recently had a few friends asking us where the new recipes, DIY projects, stories, and thoughts have gone and we clearly can't let them down.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend.  Anybody tried out a baby carrier for a 'bigger' baby?

Linking up HERE.