Torgesen Family Times

Strawberry jam

You wouldn’t know it by the weather right now (raining and probably in the low 60’s, where is summer, or spring for that matter, this year?) – but it is supposedly summer. And summer means strawberry jam! We picked up some fresh local organic strawberries at the farmer’s market and I decided to make strawberry jam with Alex while Sara was napping (she’s settled into a nice toddler routine of sleeping after lunch for about 2-3 hours most days, sometimes less, sometimes more. Glorious!).

It would be a fun project with all the right things for a 4 year old. I think Alex’s favorite part was cutting the tops off of the strawberries (gasp!). He did an amazing job and was very good with a knife. All it took was a little leap of faith on my part, some close undivided attention, the right maturity level, and a boy who WANTED so badly to do it he was willing to listen and learn.

We had so much fun and ended up making some really kickin’ strawberry jam. Yum!

First we cleaned and cut off the tops of the strawberries, then pulsed them a bit in the Cuisinart to chop them up a bit. Of course, you have to try them – just to make sure they are good.

I follow the MCP Pectin recipe – but, I have learned you have to follow the recipe exactly or else it doesn’t gel. You would think that A+B+C+D = ABCD jam, but if you go in this order A+C+B+D = strawberry syrup (not jam). So, if you try it – follow the instructions…

Smile

Strawberries, lemon juice, plus MCP pectin, wait 30 minutes, then corn syrup (to prevent crystallization) and sugar, stir and you have jam.

And stir it all up – stir it good.

And, of course, the best part – make sure it’s not “poisonous”. You have to try it! And it’s delish! Fresh strawberry freezer jam is one of the best things on earth. It is the taste of summer – directly in your mouth.

And, of course, give Mama a taste too!

Enjoy!

My new ride

Oh la la – my new hybrid. It’s sleek, it’s quiet, it’s fuel efficient, a bit bigger than my last car and it’s cool! We are loving the new ride!

Father’s Day at the Zoo

Just for the record, it was his idea – Father’s Day at the Zoo with the family. Boy, we sure had a great day, and we were all tired! What a great Dad Lance is!

So much enthusiasm when we first arrived, we had an excited-to-get-out-of-the-car Sara, a boy-on-a-mission-to-see-animals Alex, who wanted to wear his back pack at all times to carry his water bottle , and two ready parents.

First, we stopped at the dinosaurs exhibit. Alex was entranced by these real life like dinosaurs, in fact, I think he thought they were real! Especially, only moments after I took this photo, the dinosaur spit water at him! He was NOT happy about that, not really scared, just wasn’t expecting it.

Lance was paying for us and we went on ahead, little did he know he was about to get a surprise too, a short ~3 seconds before this picture was taken.

Dino spit! Eeeewwww!

Then came the T-rex. It was big! Alex wanted to get up closer, so he got on Lance’s shoulders, but realized that it was a bit too close, and got a bit scared. No worries, though. Just a little space was all that was needed to calm down.

Sara was thinking, "OK Dad, you take the picture for Mom, but I’m keeping my eyes on this thing. Has this thing had lunch yet? I hope so!”

We meandered our way to the giraffes and paid the $$ to have myself and Alex feed the giraffes. Fair warning to anyone going to the zoo, the dinosaurs cost extra, the giraffes cost extra, and the willowong station (bird feeding) all cost extra.

They were so tall that we were up on a platform. We each got to feed the giraffes a few times and they showed us their long tongues. It was a very cool experience – my favorite for sure. When we were coming home, we asked Alex what his favorite was and he said Dinosaurs.