Apple Pickin'

The other day a neighbor friend made a Facebook post of beautiful apples on one of her trees and advertised, "Free apples, you pick, bring boxes." Well, apparently I wasn't the only one who read the post and responded. Four families from our area showed up to help themselves. The kids had fun too since there's a trampoline in the orchard and a couple old horses that roam it too.

 Some of them got to sit on top of ol' Willy.

And while the little people got to sit on the horse and jump on the tramp, the bigger kids helped to pick the apples. No climbing ladders here, though.

We just have to make sure tractor mom doesn't get bored and start playing with the levers on the tractor. *wink*

There were plenty of apples for man and beast.

"Hey, can I have a bite?"

"Sure, Willy! Here ya go."

Fun, sun, friends and free apples!

Homemade Salsa

Ok, my claim to fame is definitely not salsa. My kids call mine "tomato sauce". But that's before I got some expert advice from my Mexican friend. That's the key, find someone who knows what they're doing!

Roasting comes first. She uses three peppers. Two jalapeno and one yellow pepper. Or, was it two yellow peppers and one jalapeno? Anyways, about three peppers. I actually only used two on this day.
Put those in a pan and roast them up good. And since I had room, I threw some tomatoes in at the same time.

Roll your pan around every now and then so they get good and roasted on all sides.

I had to share this picture too. See that little green jalapeno pepper. Yeah, the blurry one. I wasn't moving the pan around. That little spicy guy was hopping around all by himself!

Anyways, make sure the tomatoes and peppers are roasted up good all over.

Next I cut the peppers up a bit (for my blenders sake) and throw them and the tomatoes into the blender. Add a fresh clove of garlic and hit the power button! Don't forget to put the lid on first.

I know, I need a new blender. This one's pretty sad, but it least it still works. I just pour stuff out the side;) (I'll be taking donations for a new one. Please send your couch change, IRS refund check or student financial aid to: Mr. Woodman. Make sure and mark your envelope: The Cook Needs a New Blender).

Now I need to tell you, I roasted more tomatoes after that first batch. My friend, well, she told me to use three peppers and three tomatoes. Yeah, that was a bit hot for this fair skinned person, so I usually do two-three peppers and a whole bunch of tomatoes. Just start with a few, blend it a bit (don't forget to add some salt) and taste. If it's still too hot, add a few more tomatoes.

Yummy good, homemade roasted salsa with  a bit of kick!

Oven Roasted Garden Vegie Fajitas

I just had to share our lunch from the other day:) Loaded with color, flavor and nutrition!


First,  cut up some garden vegies; red onion, zucchini, yellow squash, yellow pepper, orange pepper, whatever colored pepper you have or like! Toss those all together in a bowl with a bit of olive oil, salt and oregano. Then just slip them under the broiler on a cookie sheet.

Here's an up close and personal shot. Are you salivating yet

Oh, and you should add some fresh garlic too. The recipe calls for it, but I forgot!

After the vegies have roasted a bit, it's time to add some tomatoes!

Sorry, this isn't the best picture, but it gives you the idea;)

After the vegies have roasted sufficiently (I like mine a bit browned). It's time to warm up a nice tortilla. I had these yummy tomato basil ones on hand already.

First put a layer of rice and beans down. The recipe actually calls for brown rice and chili beans, but I had leftover white basmati rice and black beans so that's what I used.

Next put on a nice serving of those yummy roasted vegetables.

Roll that puppy up and top with your favorite sour cream ( I like our homemade tofu recipe) and some yummy salsa. (Oh, I'll be sharing that one next!)
Enjoy!

And I can't even take the credit for this one....the inspiration goes to Cheryl Thomas-Peters and her More Choices Cookbook.