2011 September » Life Lyn Style

Geauga Family Farms–week 15

Sep 202011

Hi, there! My role here at Life Lyn Style is usually limited to the background, but with Lyn enjoying herself in a tropical paradise, it is up to me (her loving husband) to share what we found in our Geauga Family Farms CSA today. The harvest season is upon us, with the bountiful crop we found in the box today.

First off, here is the group shot. I’ll bet we could measure how big the week’s harvest is by how high we have to hold the camera to take this picture. The camera was pretty close to the ceiling today.

“I’m ready for my closeup,” cried the kale, and I was happy to oblige.

Red Russian kale, bok choy

Garlic, sweet potatoes

Apples (mixed varieties), carrots

Parsley (mix of flat leaf and curly), green beans

Red leaf lettuce, onions

Bell peppers, little peppers (I don’t know yet if they are hot)

Eggplant, yellow squash

Tomatoes

Using this up with Lyn away is going to be a challenge. My cooking skills have rusted a bit in recent years, with the grill more my specialty than the stove is. The parsley says “tabouli”, which could use some tomato and onion as well. The kale and bok choy I will saute, with some balsamic vinegar for the kale and some sesame oil for the bok choy. We will surely have some delicious salads as well.

Thanks for visiting! Lyn will be back tomorrow.

Aloha! Keeping it real.

About No Responses »

Sep 192011

I’m spending this week on vacation in Hawaii. I’m fortunate to have the support of my family to make this trip possible. I plan to see as many sights as possible while spending time relaxing. I will be spending quite a bit of time by myself. I will enjoy the solitude in the midst of the hustle and bustle that Honolulu offers.

I have plans to see Pearl Harbor, Waikiki, Bishop museum, Chinatown, North Shore and more.

I also plan to spend time exercising and hiking. Lot of walking will be in order as well.

I haven’t been eating well lately. The no sugar/flour plan works well for a while, but it’s not sustainable within my lifestyle. The probably is that I can do anything for 3 or 4 weeks. I haven’t learned the skills necessary to practice moderation. This week, I plan to focus on moderation, local eats and fresh! I plan to try the Hawaiian shave ice that is so popular at Matsumoto. I plan to not have a candy bar or other treats that I could have anytime I choose.

I know that I feel the best when I am eating well. Eating well for me that means limiting sugar and fat and eating fresh fruit and vegetables along with whole grains. It’s not that hard on paper, but in life it’s so tough. I’m in need of a retreat of sorts, and I think this is just what the doctor ordered.

Grandpa’s Here!

Family, Uncategorized 2 Responses »

Sep 182011

My father in law arrived from Delaware today. He’s in Ohio for the week to take care of the kids while I’m in Hawaii. Nick and Sally are super excited!

I wrote a few pages of notes. I stocked. I cooked. I cleaned. I got sick. Now, I’m scheduled to board a plane in 12 hours. Aloha!

Voiceless!

Uncategorized No Responses »

Sep 172011

Earlier in the week, I thought I was having trouble with allergies. Then, I had a sore throat, but it wasn’t too bad. Yesterday, I felt yucky. By the end of the day, I didn’t have a voice.

Today, I went to the doctor. I had to cancel our anniversary date plans.

The good news is that I don’t have strep throat. The bad news is that I still can’t talk. I managed to get a nice long nap today and I felt a ton better when I woke up. Now, I just feel warm out. It’s not the best way to start a vacation.

I’m hoping for a great night of sleep (thanks to Nyquil) tonight and an easy day tomorrow with a nap!

Happy Anniversary Stephen!

Family 3 Responses »

Sep 162011

5 years ago today, Stephen and I were married. Here’s a few photos from September 16th, 2006.

I love this photo because we weren’t paying attention to anyone around.

The wedding party:

my sister carol, my sister holly, me, Stephen, his brother Nate, his brother Derek and my brother Frank

Stephen’s family:

Nate, his wife Jen, Stephen’s dad, me, Stephen, Stephen’s mom, our niece Maggie, Derek

My family:

Frank, my dad, me, Stephen, my mom, our nephew Lance, Holly and Carol

Dan and Lily:

Lily was due in October of 2006, she decided to come in August. She was still in the hospital when we got married and Dan stayed in Maryland with her. I wanted to include them in our wedding album, so Lily and Dan got dressed up for photos at the hospital.

Stephen and I with my grandpa and grandma.

We had a great wedding day! Happy Anniversary Stephen! I love you.

Fresh Fork CSA–week 16

CSA, Uncategorized No Responses »

Sep 152011

Today, we once again headed to Beachwood High School to pick up our Fresh Fork CSA share.

Here’s what we were expecting to receive this week:

Small CSA:

1 pint mixed color cherry tomatoes
1 package chicken sausage (4 links, 1.25 lbs.)
1 dz. pastured chicken eggs
1 bunch carrots with tops
1 bunch turnip greens
2 ct. green bell peppers
2 ct. poblano chili peppers
1.5 lbs. Stanley plums
Either 1 hd. broccoli or 1 stalk of celery

Here’s a group shot of share:

We were down to 1 egg in our fridge, so we were glad to see these. We went plum picking this week and the plum-apple sauce turned out great, so I am making another batch.

We were gifted a bunch of peppers this week, so I am chopping and freezing away.

The chicken sausage went straight to the freezer. Trevor included several ideas for the turnip greens in the newsletter. Basically, I’ll make them like my Swiss chard and they should be tasty. I’ll probably have them for lunch tomorrow since they are taking up room in the fridge.

The broccoli looks delicious. Nick and Sally and I will enjoy it with dinner tomorrow. We got Heirloom tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes. I got a couple of extra since mine were bad last week. I’m going to clean/chop and freeze them with some other tomatoes for a later sauce.

My kids couldn’t get enough carrots last week, so they eat these at lunch for a couple of days. I’m not sure they will even last through 2 meals.

Since I am on vacation next week and the week after, I spent a few of my credit dollars today. I put them on my account and it will be a wash over time. I picked up yogurt ($5), corn chips (2 @ $3.50) and a Camembert cheese ($8). So, I “spent” $20.

I bought yogurt at the grocery store earlier this week since we were out. I screwed up and bought vanilla. Yuck, it’s full of sugar and I can’t use it for cooking. I really like my newly found whole wheat dough recipe and it calls for yogurt. I like to keep the ingredients on hand. I was super excited to see the corn chips back. The truck hasn’t had them for sale lately. They are the best corn chips I’ve ever had. One bag was opened in the car. I bought 2 bags so there would still be some with Stephen gets back from his trip.

Today and tomorrow I am preserving food and packing for my trip. I’m trying to avoid too much last minute craziness on Sunday.

Akron Zoo

Adventures with Nick and Sally No Responses »

Sep 142011

This afternoon, we met up with friends at the Akron Zoo. It was our 2nd afternoon outing of the week. It worked out well since Nick and Sally both took naps first, and then we headed to Akron around 2:30PM. My parents live in Akron, so we made plans to visit them after we finished at the zoo.

Nick and Sally love animals and ran from exhibit to exhibit. It was a perfect day and time to visit. It wasn’t hot out, it wasn’t crowded and everyone was in a good mood.

This carousel lion was a hit. NIck and Sally climbed right up.

We were only at the zoo around an hour and that worked well. We dined with my parents and enjoyed some time with them this evening. My mom gave the kids baths and that was nice for me since Stephen’s out of town until Friday. He’s enjoying a couple of days off before I leave for Hawaii.

Geauga Family Farms–week 14

CSA 1 Response »

Sep 132011

Today, we went to the “little” Whole Foods and picked up our Geauga Family Farms CSA. The kids totally know our routine. We usually need to buy something. Today, we bought yogurt. At the checkout, Nick and Sally each get a wooden nickel to donate to a charity since we bring a bag. They love putting a nickel in the slot to pick their charity. Then, they go straight to the CSA area which also is the children’s coloring area. They are also very interested in whatever we get in our box.

Here’s what we received today:

Let’s take a closer look. I couldn’t really fit everything in the photo.

Green beans, sweet corn

Potatoes, apples (Honeygold variety)

Bell peppers, dill

Poblano peppers, zucchini

Onions, hot peppers

Leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce

Eggplant, basil

Tomatoes

I’m leaving for Hawaii on Monday, so this week is all about food preservation. I’m cooking some meals for my family to enjoy while I am gone, but most of that work is done or planned. In addition to my trip, my husband is out of town tomorrow through Friday.

I’m going to blanch and freeze the green beans. I have others to freeze as well, so it’s worth the effort.

I plan to have some corn with the kids tomorrow and freeze the rest. There’s only 6 ears so that should be simple.

Unless I get ambitious, I’m going to store the potatoes. A few of the apples are already mixed in with the sauce that I was making tonight. The rest will be going into apple-plum sauce tomorrow. We picked plums yesterday, so I need to make something with them.

I’ll going to make fajitas and use some peppers and onions this week. I’ll freeze the rest.

I’m going to make some basil/olive oil cubes for the freezer with the basil. It will be handy for winter soup and tomato sauce dishes.

I already froze the tomatoes. I just washed them, cored, and quartered them. I’ll make a saucy dish with them in a couple of week.

The lettuce will get eaten in salads. I’ll either blanch and freezer the eggplant or make mini eggplant pizzas. It all depends on the rest of the items are going.

I’ll need to research the dill. Usually, I use it in pickles, but I don’t have any cucumbers.

It’s going to be a busy week here. I have a to do list that’s a mile long before my trip.

U-Pick Tour–Eddy Fruit Farm, Chesterland Ohio–Plums, Apples and Grapes

U-Pick No Responses »

Sep 122011

Today, we made a spur of the moment trip to Eddy Fruit Farm. I happened to read on Facebook that they were having pick your own plums and they wouldn’t last long. I called some friends and we met them at the farm at 4PM. We never go picking in the afternoon, but today it worked. The weather was great and Eddy’s is only 15 minutes from our house in Mayfield Heights. They are the closest farm to our house with pick your own.

They are just south of Wilson Mills Road on Caves Road. The photo on the left is the corner where you turn and the photo on the right is the entrance to the farm.

Nick and Sally both sampled a plum. I never saw plums growing before so I enjoyed this picking experience.

While we were there, we picked a few apples. Akane is the variety that happened to be close by. They are a somewhat tart variety.

We didn’t pick too many since I still had apples at home to process into applesauce. After the apples, we checked out the grapes. The netting is to keep the birds away. These are sweet reliance grapes. They are seedless and I think were also past their prime.

The kids were fascinated with the netting and the grapes.

We returned to the market to pay for our bounty. We also bought a few pears. We ended up with about 5.5 pounds of plums, 5.5 pounds of apples and 2 pounds of grapes. At 90 cents a pound, we paid $11.75. In addition our pears were $6. It’s hard to turn down your kids when they are begging you for fruit.

I’m thinking I’ll try a batch of jam with the plums. I’m sure everyone will enjoy eating a few along with the grapes. I’m mixing these apples in with my applesauce now. I hope they aren’t too tart since I don’t put sweetener in my sauce.

I suspect we’ll have more apple picking when I return from vacation. We’ll probably miss concord grapes since they are just coming into season now. Next time we pick grapes, I need to bring a snippers or scissors, it will be much easier.

I’m off to check on the applesauce!

Smoketember Fest

Family 1 Response »

Sep 112011

My mom is the oldest of eight kids. Growing up with a big family, we are used to large gatherings. Thanksgiving typically has 40-50 people. Everything is done well.

Last night, my Uncle Marty and Aunt Melissa hosted a party. It was extra special because some relatives were in town from Florida visiting and my brother came up from Virginia. Marty and Melissa always go above and beyond when hosting events.

This was the Smoketember Fest. The food included pulled pork, baked beans, homemade pumpkin salsa, homemade chips, macaroni salad and a plethora of desserts. It was quite the spread and was very tasty.

My uncle, brother, and cousin are talented musicians and play in The Blue Ribbon Bluegrass Band. The band performed on this stage in the back yard. Despite the rain, the show went on. An awesome concert pianist, Tat, was their opening act. Despite having cold hands, he was great! This is my brother’s girlfriend and my sister. It’s a great picture of both of them.

Sally loved hearing the music. Nick and she danced and jumped around lots. When Sally wasn’t dancing, she enjoyed Aunt Carol time.

There were 3 fire rings going in the yard. Many people came equipped with chairs and rain gear.

Here’s a photo of me with my Aunt Melissa with my new ready for Hawaii haircut!

We left around 9PM to head home with the kids. I’m sure the party went on for a few more hours. We had a great time and it was nice to leave before we had any meltdowns.

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