what i do in a week

well, most weeks i ignore the fact that i have a blog. but something about spring makes me all twitchy and much to josh's dismay, active. way active. like, make-2-batches-of-jam a day active. i blame it all on the zyrtec, aka, the drug that has given me my life back.

so, the last week of april (yes, this is a week late, but really, it's been a long pause, so who's counting days at this point?) marked two important dates on my calendar: the first sunday market of the season and the first csa share of the year.

look at what those lovely hughes' had waiting for me sunday.



the mr. was very patient as i sat on the sidewalk and loaded these one by one into the bag that fits in my bike basket. and then when i nearly cried about riding over the train tracks and losing THREE WHOLE BERRIES! these suckers are precious. for crying out loud, they're the first of the season!!!



last year was my first foray in to the wide world of canning. i think i might be addicted. there is something delightfully hoarder like, no rewarding about being able to taste spring in the middle of winter. so here i am at 9 in the morning making strawberry rhubarb fieldberries.



anyone out there make this recipe from the good ol' people at ball canning? no added sugar, no pectin, just the fruit, apples, and apple juice concentrate. it is way delicious.

on to the veg. get a load of what the first week brought me. you see that brown bag back there? oh yes, that lil' guy. that would be fresh ground grits.



which made meal planning a cinch, because obviously the best way to celebrate the first share of the season was by eating some greens...



and grits!



one last house cleaning item. anyone remember this image from the fall? we picked apples. specifically, storing apples. which we have been eating non-stop since september.



the arrival of strawberries at the market meant it was time to use these guys up, so that the fridge now looks like this and i have several pints of homemade applesauce. for those of you who've never made applesauce and think it sounds way homeschool, let me tell you, if you've ever made mashed potatoes, you worked a lot harder on that then i did on applesauce.



good bye apples! huber's, we're headed your way soon for more you-pick goodness!



okay, end of the long, long post. you still with me? we left on thursday and had a big ol' adventure, as we websters like to call it, trying to get to omaha and back for a wedding. here is the abridged version of the story: we made it there after a fun, and totally unplanned, 2 night layover in milwaukee and a cancelled flight-car rental crazy trek home.

tonight i leave for the beach and i promise to be back next week with more adventures to share. because before i go, there is a cobbler, pear bread, and kale chips to be made and who knows what when i get back!