Food, Food and More Food!!!

If you're on Facebook at all then you've noticed lately how much I've been posting about making food. Part of the reason is I've been finding really great deals on bulk amounts of produce through a food co-op called Bountiful Baskets. So far I have canned dill pickles and salsa on my own and apple pie filling with a friend using food from the co-op. I have also canned blueberry-lime jam with some friends because the blueberries were on sale.

 All my pickles minus 2 jars. Andrew keeps asking if he can eat them yet.

 I made 1 batch of each type of salsa, so I have 4 varieties.

 

 Aren't they pretty?

 All my salsas set up for my salsa tasting open house. :)

 

Yummy!!!

 

I totally stole this idea from my friend Amanda.

 What better place to store my canned food than in the kitchen?

 

Most of the apple pie filling. It's still on my counter since we just canned everything yesterday.

  

The rest of the apple pie filling.

 

 
I have also started once a month cooking (OAMC) with another friend. We've only done it once but we're  already planning our meals for next time. In fact we have a blog specifically to discuss and plan our meals: http://freezercookingexperiment.blogspot.com/. The reason I've finally been able to do OAMC is because I found an awesome freezer on craigslist for a reasonable price. I love being able to buy meat when it's on sale and stock up our freezer.

My lovely craigslist freezer (it's frostless)!

 All stocked up after cooking all day and meat sales.

Yummy meals ready for eating.

It All Started With Salsa

I bought a 20 pound box of tomatoes to make salsa with and got through two batches before I ran out of peppers and various other things LONG before I ran out of tomatoes. So this morning I drove to Fry's to pick up some more so I could continue to make salsa today. I also ran out of jars to put the salsa in (I hadn't specifically bought jars for salsa I was just using the leftovers from making pickles). So I go to the canning isle in Fry's and even though the jars are on sale I know they are cheaper at Walmart. So I get my veggies and then I pack Peter back into the van to head down to Walmart for the jars. As I'm getting Peter out of the van in the Walmart parking lot I discover he is poopy and needs his diaper changed. So I debate with myself and decide to change his diaper in the van. Peter frequently has issues staying still while getting his diaper changed and even more so when he's on one of those diaper changing stations. So I put my bag back in the car and close Peter's door and go around to the other side of the van to get in and change Peter's diaper. But when I get to the other side I can't get in. I try all of the doors just to make sure I really have just locked my keys and an unbuckled Peter in the van in the Walmart parking lot. So now I really start to freak out because my cell phone is also in the car so I can't call anyone. I'm hyperventilating and a lady walks by me and I ask her if she has a cell phone... she doesn't but she's meeting someone on the other side of the parking lot and he does. So they come back and I call they ONLY phone number other than my own that I have memorized, Andrew's cell which is typically at his desk while he's in the lab. So he doesn't answer and the guy who let me use his cell phone goes inside to see if there's anyone in Walmart that can help me. He brings back a manager and she uses her cell phone to call the police. They send a cop, an ambulance and a fire truck to help me. The firefighter tries to use his tools to get the door open and the cop calls a tow truck (that takes AAA whom I would have called but didn't have the number since my wallet was also in the car) that will be here in 20 minutes to get the door open. Meanwhile the paramedic and I are trying to keep Peter occupied and in his seat which lasts for quite some time but he got interested in what all the guys were doing and climbs/falls out of his seat and starts to crawl around the van. He goes for the back seat first but there isn't much for him to do so he changes direction eats some random piece of food and then climbs into the front passenger seat. The firefighters were getting anxious to get the door open and the cop calls a different tow truck company that can make it in 5 minutes. Peter is in the front seat and starts playing with the door handle which if he had been strong enough he could have gotten himself out. Then the tow truck guy shows up and Peter gets interested in all the middle console buttons and we get him out. Then I still have to change Peter's diaper and get jars. Whew! I decided that we'll go into the store to the family bathroom to change him and I quickly got the jars and left. So I checked out of Fry's at 10:37am and didn't check out at Walmart until 12:05pm. Poor Peter was a little bit warm and very tired from all the climbing around he did that he fell asleep in the car on the way home. He, of course, was happy and fine through the whole ordeal, while I was an awful mess until they unlocked the door and got Peter out. What a morning! And now I need to finish making salsa. I almost just went home after they unlocked the car but I thought that would have been a TOTAL waste of the morning instead of just a partial waste. But that trip to Walmart ended up being $40 more expensive than the ones at Fry's. Oh well, maybe my car insurance will pick up the tab? Doubtful. At least it wasn't 100 degrees and it wasn't raining.