blogger mom

We love when we discover a new place to spend time as a family in Columbus. This Saturday while Riley went to see Lion King with Eric's parents for his birthday present, Eric and I took the other two boys to Stratford Ecological Center for their Harvest Festival. What a fun day! This place is amazing and if you have the chance to check it out, I would say it's more than worth the short drive. It was a relaxing day on the farm. We fed the animals, picked apples, sang some songs, went on a hay ride...a good day.

Earlier on Saturday we did our grocery shopping at the farm market in Clintonville. So much good stuff this week...Concord grapes, tomatoes, corn, whole wheat bread, noodles, raw organic cheese, all natural chicken, peaches, spinach, peppers, cilantro, honey, maple syrup, eggs. September is great at the farm market because most summer things are still available (corn, tomatoes, peaches, etc.) but a few fall items begin to appear like fall spinach. We're also enjoying the last of our tomatoes here at home and our fall lettuce is beautiful. We have beets and carrots still hanging around out there too until we need them later.

And now for some very exciting news at our house...I am now the very happy owner of a Professional 600 KitchenAid stand mixer. My parents helped out with the purchase for my birthday present. It was a huge decision, but I'm so excited about it. Today was our first day with it and I've already used it three times. I like to just sit and stare at it. In the mail later this week several attachments will be arriving as my birthday present to myself! Today I made four pizza crusts in half the time it usually takes me to make one. My KitchenAid did all the work! So, we had one for dinner and four are in the deep freezer in the basement waiting for later this month. Trey and I made four dozen cookies in no time. The attachments will be perfect for applesauce, tis the season! I can't wait! Of course, I then had to order a canner, which will be arriving later this week as well. We are trying to learn how to preserve a few things for winter, hopefully improving on this next season. We've started slowly. Next to the frozen pizza crust in the deep freezer are frozen pepper strips, frozen diced tomatoes, and frozen eggplant soup. I've always been really intimidated by the canning process, but we're ready to give it a try. I'll let you know how the applesauce making and canning goes, the boys are excited to give it a try.

Sarah in Washington (not to confused with Nick and Sarah Snyder, or Sara Dilbone!)...here's the Beet Cake recipe. This recipe is from the Children's Simply in Season. This is a good time to put in a huge plug for ANY MCC cookbook. We have More with Less, Extending the Table, Simply in Season, and the Children's Simply in Season. My favorite is Simply in Season, it's amazing. But, they are all wonderful and a must for any kitchen in my opinion.

Secret Chocolate Cake
Preheat oven to 350

2 c. beets
1/2 c. applesauce

Boil beets for 20 minutes. Drain, cool, peel, and chop. Puree with applesauce in blender or food processor. Set aside.

1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
1/2 plain yogurt
3 eggs
1 1/2 t. vanilla

Beat together in large mixing bowl for 2 minutes..

1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. baking cocoa
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt

Mix into batter with beet mixture just until blended. Pour half of batter into greased bundt pan.

1 c. chocolate chips

Sprinkle on top of batter in bundt pan. Pour remaining batter on top. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes.

Enjoy!