It was a good day. There was food, laughter, relaxation, more food and a sweet new lens for my camera.

Things I learned on this thirtieth birthday: bacon is just as tasty as I remembered, Mira does not like the taste of coffee in breastmilk, caramel cake goes down better double-fisted, my family takes very good care of me and this life gets better every day.

Today I’m yarning along from the west coast where we’re enjoying a visit with my in-laws (while we try to extend summer for an extra few weeks).

My hands are fuller this trip now that the sweet babe is no longer in utero (I’m not complaining) so knitting has been put to the side a bit. I did finish the fingerless mitts for E – I added some ribbing in red when I realized the blue wool was not going to last. I’m still working on that bookmark and those hats. Still haven’t broke into last week‘s raspberry wool but I’m hoping to ball it up tonight (in sad news I actually brought my ball winder on vacation….you know, in case of ball winding emergencies).

But in my typical fashion I just may throw it all out the window and cast on another classic raglan for little brother. What can I say, it was a rough day (more on that later) I feel the need to indulge in knitting (and leftover birthday cake).

I’m still reading through This Life is in Your Hands but as much as I’m enjoying it I may have to put it aside. I think I’ll blame it on the post-partum hormone rampage because I’m finding it a bit depressing. I think I need to stick to something light and fluffy. Dan suggested Little House on the Prairie but that had me bawling at the second chapter when the girls and I were reading together the other night. May need to find me a used bookstore, what a shame, huh?

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joining with Ginny again this week for yarn along

this is me. this morning. those bags under my eyes live there. i did raise the second chin just a touch – she needs to be kept in line sometimes.

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joining with courtney for self-portrait tuesdays

Thank you for the sweet birthday wishes, it was a great day. I will have some photos to share later in the week.

My husband cooks. He cooks most of our dinners, he likes them fancy, he often plates our food. It’s great. While he would likely disagree, wishing to cite more gourmet fare, I would say one of his specialties are potatoes.

Mashed, barbequed, roasted, fried…I don’t play favourites. Dan, in his gourmet splendour, often has a sauce to accompany his potatoes but it doesn’t stop me, erm…the kids from grabbing the ketchup from the fridge. And once that ketchup has joined us at the table nothing will stop three of my children from dipping fingers, beans or carrots into that sugary staple. My two-year-old would live on the stuff I’m sure.

For a while I’ve dreamed of making our own ketchup but shied away from imitating such a family favourite. I felt it was destined to end in failure.

But a few weeks ago when we were up to our eyeballs in salsa, crushed tomatoes and pasta sauce with 20 lbs of tomatoes unallocated, I decided to give it a go. I started with a small batch using only 4 lbs of romas. The masses approved so I made it again, tripling the recipe and tweaking it just a bit. The flavour is deeper and brighter than our usual Heinz but six of our seven samplers agreed it was delicious. We’re working on convincing the seventh. Somehow I think she’ll enjoy it once the Heinz is gone from the fridge door.

Chepup for Ketchup Lovers

This is the single sized batch. I tripled this to process for our large family.

yield: 1.5 liters

4 lbs of roma tomatoes, chopped or pureed

1 1/2 onions, chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1 cup of vinegar (I used half white and half apple cider)

1 tbsp pickling salt

2/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar

2 tbsp applesauce, optional (I added this to add more sweetness without more sugar)

Half or whole jalapeno, deseeded and sliced

1/2 tsp celery seed

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp pepper flakes

8 whole cloves

1/2 tsp whole allspice

Prepare spice bag by adding bay leaves, pepper flakes, celery seed, cloves and allspice to a square of cheesecloth and tying it tightly with string. Cut stem ends from tomatoes and either puree or chop. I pureed the tomatoes in batches in the food processor, poured them into the pot, then chopped the onions in the food processor. Add all ingredients to a large pot, bring to a gentle boil and cook for 60 – 90 until the onions are soft and the texture is desirable. After cooking, I removed the spice bag and pureed the sauce again so it would be completely smooth. Alternatively the sauce could be strained through a sieve to remove any pieces of onion.

Either process in jars or store in the fridge.

Do you have ketchup lovers in your family? Or perhaps there’s another purchased staple you can’t do without?