Happenings...

Life with a baby can be crazy and I'm sure all of you that has had kids know this well. What I don't get done with chores, homework, and other duties I more than make up for with feeding, diapering, and doing laundry. I love this little kid though and I would much rather be taking care of him then any of my pre-mom duties. We tried to take him to UIowa's homecoming parade, but he wasn't having it. So we moved a bit away and just enjoyed some outside time. 

Intrigued baby

Old Capital in B&W

Yawn baby yawn

Old Capital at sunset

View from parking garage toward the hospital

I've also done some cooking recently. I made Chicken Noodle Soup and I took a picture at the very beginning while making the stock and of the noodles I had just made. I forgot to take a picture of the Irish Soda Bread although it was wonderful and did not last long. 

My homemade egg noodles

The beginnings of the stock

The mishap when making the bread. My camera strap got caught in the oven door and did some cooking of its own.

I recently purchased a pasta machine and I love it! It allows me to thin the dough out and it came with a spaghetti and fettuccine cutter attachment. Since I love my pasta machine so much and I am just getting to know how it works I used the fettuccine cutter to make my noodles for the soup. Normally I like wider noodles but this was perfect. Today I am making the Mini Apple Pies for laura to take to work and I will try to get some pictures although the link does great at pictures.

Fall....

Not only is that the season we are in but I too have fallen away from blogging. I miss blogging and sharing my adventures with everyone. What can I say though? I have this adorable 5 week old baby now and leading up to his birth was a busy and trying time. My garden flopped this year from a crazy but lovable dog, crazy weather and lack of time. I didn't get much of a fall garden in either. Currently, my pepper plants are still growing, I have one carrot coming up (I got sidetracked and only planted a few seeds one day), and I put in my fall garlic. With the lack of food from my own garden we have been going to the farmers market a lot! I enjoy this for two reasons, meeting up with friends and supporting the local farmers who make farming their living.

So what do all farmers, gardeners, and food lovers do when they aren't growing the food? Cooking! This has mostly what I have been doing. I keep thinking about taking photos of my food, but then it occurs to after we've already ate half of it. So far I've made fresh pesto, mini apple pies, applesauce, fresh noodles, butternut squash ravioli, the ravioli, and butternut squash bread just to name some things. I never really cooked with my mother or any relative for that matter as a kid and now that means I have no idea what I am doing most of the time. However, I would say that I am decent at following directions. This skill comes in handy with almost everything except for breads. I still struggle making most breads and pastries, but I am still trying everyday. I want to become more self sufficient and I have also added sewing to this. I am a horrible sewing, but that too will come in time. I hope to teach myself these things before Nicholas gets older and I can pass this knowledge on to him. Even if he doesn't see a point to it (like me as a child) I will help him understand the reasons these skills are important. I only wish I had known why learning this stuff could have been helpful. If my garlic comes up I will try to get some pictures and I will try to start taking pictures of my food creations although they aren't very pretty. I'm focusing on making them taste yummy and will eventually learn to make them a little nicer looking.

I am a little disappointed with the season but I am happy for the son that captured my time. I can't wait for next season. I know I will be adding another garden box and maybe trying to make the area around it look nicer too! I hope your gardens turned out better than mine.