Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Mommy's Li'l Helper

Emily's getting to be a great helper lately. Saturday she helped me tackle the car which was long overdue for a thorough cleaning, both inside and out.
We were done with one side and working on the other when the sprinklers came on! Kind of funny, but we had to go back and do the other side again. The car was dirty enough it probably needed 2 cleanings! Emily had been sick the day before and was getting tired, so took a break for a little while.

Coloring in the shade

It was a beautiful day to be outside together! After finishing the car, we made cookie bars together. Emily thought we should make it a "tradition", but I'd be a whale if I made cookies every Saturday! (I ate about half the pan). It was fun to bake together, though, and I need to include her more often in the kitchen if I want her to enjoy cooking later on.


Grandma & Grandpa Bascom had lots of home grown tomatoes, so Monday we thought we'd help out and can some. They decided the only way they'd let me can the tomatoes was if I kept half the of them. Sounded like a great deal to me! Emily was a big helper stuffing the tomatoes in the jars, and later getting the water out of the tomato skins in the sink, to throw them away. Somewhere I have a picture of Justin & Caitlin when they were toddlers, up to their elbows in tomatoes too.

Emily discovering the feel of peeled tomatoes...


"Tomatoes anyone?"


hard at work

The finished product - 14 bottles and 3 quart bags!

I enjoy canning, but here it is September, and this is the first thing I've canned all summer. It was fun to have Emily helping me, though. I always leave the bottles on the counter for a few days to admire their "beauty".






6 comments:

Nicia said...

Way to go Kathy and Emily! You guys are awesome. However, I have to admit, canned tomatoes don't look very appetizing at all!! But I don't exactly like tomatoes either, so maybe that's my problem. Either way, you guys did a great job!

Kathy and Dave Whittle said...

Nicia, I know they're not much to look at, but next time you eat my homemade chili or beef stew, or taco soup, or maybe even the Neiman Marcus Tortilla Soup that's to die for, you can think of these pretty stewed tomatoes... :) K.

Michelle said...

Looks like fun! That's a lot of work for something that looks so weird, yet tastes so good!

Stephanie said...

Those tomatoes look pretty yummy to me, actually. So fun that Emily gets to help out so much. I need to start including Zaylee more in the kitchen as well. Gotta start them early! :-)

Rachel Holloway said...

Great helper indeed! How fun!

Way to go on canning...really impressed! I wish I could get myself together enough to do that...

And what on earth is this Neiman Marcus Tortilla soup?! Do I see a new post coming our way with that recipe included? Sounds DIVINE!

Anonymous said...

I love the way canned food looks in its jar; I think it represents a certain measure of validation to me, that I accomplished this. Anyway, they look great! Kellen helped clean our car inside and out a couple of weeks ago, and it's time to go at it again already... I love the sound of the cookies but I am totally with you on the reason for not making them TOO often. I make a big bowl of dough and then keep it in the fridge for a few weeks, only making up 7-8 cookies at a time so there's enough for the lunches but not enough for me to eat oodles of them!