Friday, October 17, 2008

::30 Days:: Day 22

While peeling apples for yet another round of dried apples, I noticed an intruder. Looks like a Granny Smith apple snuck in with the Jonagolds... Notice the slightly greenish white flesh compared to the other apples? That's alright. It's all good.


While I was working on the apples, Oldest read some stories to Baby and Youngest. Such a sweet picture. I swear Oldest would take over my mothering duties if I let her. Since I can't hear, I rely on the girls to tell me when Baby is crying. When I'm working the apples, I'll ask Oldest to check on Baby and let me know if he is crying, and instead she'll get him out of the crib herself and bring him out. I get exasperated sometimes, as I don't completely trust her not to drop him. I know she would never intentionally hurt him, but I worry that he might slip from her loose grip or she'll not support his head or not put him down gently. She is only 6 and certainly not old enough for babysitting, although she is a wonderful helper.

I made tortilla chips today and the girls were constantly running in and out of the kitchen to snag a chip or two. Middle here, likes to dunk her chips in water. She's a dunker-- cookies in milk; tator tots in V-8; chips in water. If she ever drinks coffee when she is older, she'll probably dunk doughnuts in her coffee.


I recycled the bag that the corn tortillas came in and put the chips in there. It's a perfectly good bag and no sense in throwing it away when it can be used again. I save almost all the bread bags, too, for when I make my own breads. I used to buy zippy bags almost every shopping trip, from the little sandwich-sized ones to the big gallon ones. The last time I bought zippy bags was for freezing strawberries this past Spring. Recycling bread bags saves me money and helps the earth.

12 comments:

mishkazena said...

You made your own tortilla chips?

Would you mind sharing the recipe? I would love to make some, too

Karen Mayes said...

Same here... echoing mishkazena... chips recipe, pretty please with sugar on the top? :D

Midwest Texan said...

last 2 days shes been commenting, apple chips

so I will ASSUME these are the apple ones, NOT tortilla chips

she said recycled bags..

i gues its toooooo EARLY for some of you, or way past your bedtime :)

Keri said...

I love how resourceful you are with your apples and plastic bags! =)

I wanted to ask if you have considered purchasing a baby video monitor or light signaler so that you don't have to depend on your girls to let you know when the baby is crying?

http://www.harriscomm.com has a variety of baby cry signalers.

I love this video monitor we have:
http://www.gadgetsarcade.com/baby-video-monitor-flower-camera-p-405.html

Lantana said...

Granny Smiths have the most pectin. I was advised to feed my parrot Granny Smiths because of the great amount of pectin in them.

Lantana (Who grew up in Washington State and knows apples).

P said...

It might help put your mind at ease if you knew that in many cultures children as young as your daughter usually take care of their younger siblings, including babies while their mothers are occupied.

http://books.google.com/books?id=5pZ3yXCXLn0C&pg=PA259&lpg=PA259&dq=child+care+sibling++africa&source=web&ots=UmjS4lCj4y&sig=pI1OsYDWX_2KPFP6v87tNxU3DjQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result

By the way, your blog inspired me to cook more, much to the delight of my family :) Next is the food dehydrator! With rising food prices, this will be useful..

mishkazena said...

mr

Actually these are her words: I made tortilla chips today

Perhaps it was past bedtime for you? ;)

jenny said...

Mishkazena-- Making your own tortilla chips is easy! Buy corn tortillas, usually found in the refrigerated section of the store-- I buy them in packs of 100. Heat up a pan of vegetable oil to med. high heat. Cut round tortillas into fourths or fifths then drop into oil, cooking on each side about 30 seconds, or until lightly browned. Depends on how hot the oil is. Let cooked chips drain on paper towel and lightly salt immediately- the salt sticks better when it's just out of the oil. That's it! They keep a few days, so I make a lot for us to snack on. Be warned though, once you have it like this, it's hard to go back to the store bought chips.

jenny said...

Karen-- see my comment above! :o)

Mr-- These are definetely tortilla chips. I recycled the bag the tortillas came in to hold the cooked tortilla chips.

I've also been making dried apples these past two days, haven't started on apple chips yet. Hope that clears up any confusion. :o)

Keri-- I do have a baby monitor that lights up when baby cries, but it also lights up when the girls are loud. I find it to be more of a pain than a helper and anyway, the majority of the time, he is within eyesight of me. I'm either holding him or he is napping in the same room as I am. I do like thoe video monitors, but money is also a factor for us and I can't see paying that much for it. Thanks for the links! :o)

Lantana-- What does pectin do for a parrot? I like granny smiths, but my favorites are braeburn and galas-- yum!

jenny said...

a-- I'm glad I could inspire you! :o) I find that the more I cook and do things, the easier it gets. The dehydrator is really an excellent tool to have around the house, and if you don't already have one, I see them often in thrift shops and yard sales. Even the oven works great.

Fascinating! The links you sent me to see. I'm sure Oldest is more capable that I think, but still, I worry. :o)

Throwback at Trapper Creek said...

Jenny I love the picture of the peeled apples, it looks like a work of art.

But really I love the picture of your girls reading to their baby brother - priceless! Thanks for sharing. :)

Sparx said...

Me too, I love the pic of the girls reading... your boy is really growing up too, what a sweetie!