Changing the Brakes!

The brakes on the ban needed to be done.  So my 13 and 15 yo changed them with the help of a gentlemen from our church.  I love the fact that my boys are learning this stuff while they are young so they can do the maintenance on their own vehicles when they are older.  They have been working with the 'Damsels in Distress' program at our church and changing oil for singles and widows once every three months and they have gotten pretty good at changing oil from all of the cars they have done there.   Since my oldest is literally days away from getting his permit he will need all of these skills!

Homemade Salsa!! YUM!!!

My friend, Vicki, passed this salsa recipe on to me last year and I swear it is the best salsa EVER!!  You can make it as hot (or not) as you want it!  I made around 24 pints last year and I have sworn to myself that I will make at least twice as much this fall!!  I can sit down and eat a whole pint of it by myself!!  If I am forced to share with the kids then one pint just is not enough!  LOL!

Homemade Salsa Recipe:

4 qts tomatoes

6 big onions

4 large bell peppers

6-10 hot yellow peppers

1 to 2 Jalapenos (I use 6 or 7!)

2 1/2 cups white vinegar

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons canning salt

1 Tablespoon black pepper

1 bunch of CILANTRO, chopped (Just the leaves)

Cook 4-5 hours, can in boiling water canner. I usually get about 8 pints. 

It is totally the CILANTRO that makes this salsa!  

I know this is a great fall recipe and is perfect for canning but I just popped open a jar and thought I would share it with you because now is the perfect time to get your Cilantro Seeds and get them planted!  According to the My Patriot Supply website the plants are ready to harvest in just 40 days!  So there is still plenty of time to get your seeds and get them planted and ready for harvest in time for canning!  There are also harvesting and seed saving tips on their website!   

If you are going to buy your Cilantro from the store be sure to get CILANTRO and not Parsley!  They are near always displayed together in the produce section and they look VERY similar!  I would highly suggest getting some seeds now though because last fall I had to go to several stores just to find fresh Cilantro!!  You can always harvest the Cilantro multiple times and dehydrate it and store it for fall if your plant is producing to much then you are always sure to have some on hand!

My Patriot Supply also offers a Culinary Herb Garden with 8 different herbs that are popular to cook with!

This is the Dehydrator I have:

And it says to set it to 95F for drying herbs.

And yes we did eat the whole jar of salsa in LESS time than it took me to make this post!  LOL!!  

Hyssop Seeds from My Patriot Supply!

I got these Hyssop seeds from My Patriot Supply!  I love the packaging!  All of their seeds come in resealable mylar bags!   Since we have spilled milk and water (twice!!) on this seed package that is a VERY good thing!  If it was any other seed package it would have been ruined and then my seeds possibly scattered and lost before I could even get them planted!  (Don't forget about their Genesis Survival Seed Garden!  Right now they are running a special:  if you buy 3 you save $9!  This is a great way to get one for yourself and some for your loved ones.)

 From the My Patriot Supply website about Hyssop:
Anise hyssop makes a delightful addition to mixed herbal teas and a fine tea all to itself. It has a delicate anise or licorice flavor. The tea is naturally sweet, so extra sweetener is not necessary. In fact the tea is so sweet that it can be used to sweeten other foods. Folklore medicine employed anise hyssop herbal tea to treat colds, coughs and fevers, and to strengthen a weak heart.
They also have a Herbal Tea Garden that you can get with a mix of different seeds to grow your own backyard teas!

Our first swim outing of the summer!

The weather was finally warm enough...and we had a free day...to go swimming!!  

Baby girl got sunscreen in her eyes so she had red watery eyes the whole time...poor thing!

 But it did not stop her from enjoying herself!  She is a total water baby just like the rest of my kids!

 The kids especially like the diving board!!

 The best part of having so many kids is that they always have a bunch of 'friends' to play with!  LOL!
That is an alligator in the water with them.  LOL!

 Baby girl loved going out as far as the boys would take her!!  She even got her face dunked a couple of times!  She coughed and then went right back to playing!

 The younger ones loved it when my oldest threw them off the diving board!

Attempting to start the garden!

 We attempted to get the garden tilled up....and when I say 'we' I really mean my oldest!  I just took pictures! LOL!  Anyways last week he tried to start getting it ready to plant but it was to muddy to do more than the highest level.

 My 11 yo is mowing behind the garden so we can try and extend it to plant some more potatoes and some mangels.

 The bees are very active in and out of the top bar hive!

 This was just a scrub tree my DH pulled from somewhere else and planted so my 9 and 11 yo dug it up because it is where I wan to extend the garden.

 Baby girl LOVES swinging on the swing!

She was even try to stand up on while she was swinging!  Sigh....she is to brave for her britches for sure!!

 9 yo was doing sit ups on the monkey bars!