This summer I  gave myself a tattoo.  This is a first for me as I usually only inflict pain on others.  I find it's more fun that way.  All my other tattoo's were done by other artists.  It's a work in progress as I don't exactly know how I want it to look when it's all done... I know, crazy.  It's like permanent doodling.


This was phase 1.  And no your eyes aren't needing an adjustment.. I decided to go with a brown ink instead of black... I was going for more of a henna look.

Phase 2.  Added more behind the ankle.

I have over 10 tattoo's and I have to say the top of my foot was pretty high on the list for wanting to launch a brick through a window in terms of pain.  The only other one that came close was my wedding ring.  So if you are considering a tattoo on the top of your foot... I would recommend pre-adviling.  Just sayin'.

Some of my other work from this summer...


Bear paw on Beaut!

Bear paws on Beaut's mom!

Jamie's Rasta Lion!


The tribal wave.

2 paddles I designed and inked.


There have been so much more... but I'm pretty bad at remembering to take pictures.  I will post more as I find more/do more!

Today was Chili Sauce day. It's not a favorite day for my family but it's one of those necessary days every year.  Tomorrow is Chili Sauce Day Take 2.  Also not popular.

This morning I dragged my faithful family to the farm down the road to pick roma tomatoes.  We picked 1 bushel... well three of us did, the other one wandered around looking for bugs and avoiding any manual labour.

Said bug hunter redeemed himself by spending an hour chopping onions, peppers, and helping me skin what seemed like a million little red lava bombs.

All for this....

Here's how to make your own!

Steph's Chili Sauce (adapted from Cindy's!)
6 onions chopped
1/2 bushel tomatoes
3 green peppers chopped
3 red peppers chopped
4 cups vinegar
2 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
8 gloves garlic, smashed
1/4 cup pickling spice

I always blanch my tomatoes and remove the skin.  Then I dump it all into a huge stock pot, bring it to a boil, reduce and simmer until you have about 1/2 left. (a few hours).  Can it in jars.  We eat it all winter with nacho chips, or sometimes it's my base for pasta!  Love it!!

It's that time of year again... the time where I look at the mountain of zucchini on my table and wonder... "Why do I do this to myself every year??"

Oh well. Time to suck it up and deal with it.  If you are in the same predicament here are a few ways I'm using them up this year...

1. Zucchini Bread ~ the ol' stand by!
 I do some with chocolate chips and some without.

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
3 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup walnuts (optional) OR
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
Beat eggs, oil vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl.  Add flour mixture to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in zucchini, nuts, and chocolate (whichever you plan to use). Pour batter into pans. Bake 45-60 min or until a tester comes out clean from the center of the loaf. Cool in pans on rack for 20 min. Remove from pan and cool.  (For the record... the loaf on the left I tried to get out of the pan while it was WAY too hot still... cooling it is actually important.)

I usually double the recipe to do 4 loaves and give some away.


2. Zucchini Stuffing with Cheddar ~

4 slices of bread cubed
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cups cubed zucchini
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup corn (I use frozen)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs beaten
salt and pepper
1/4 cup milk
2 cups shredded Cheddar

Toss the bread in a greased 9x13 dish, toss with the melted butter. Add the zucchini, onion, garlic and corn. Toss lightly. Mix the eggs, salt, pepper, and milk together and pour over the bread mixture.  Top with the cheese.  Bake covered at 350 for 30 min. Uncover for 10 more min.

It's pretty much like a stuffing with zucchini... I loved it.


Some other ideas that look AMAZING...

http://www.closetcooking.com/2013/07/25-zucchini-recipes.html