Pickles and Pesto

Pesto

A few months back I helped my friend Terry Kessinger put on a rehearsal dinner for her son.  One of her appetizers was a Caprese salad skewer (cherry tomatoes & mozzarella chunks drizzled with pesto).  She used her home-made pesto for the skewers and it was delicious!  With my garden exploding with basil I thought it would be fun to try to make it myself.  

She graciously gave me her recipe - thank you Terry!

Joy that is Inexpressible

"Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precise that gold that perishes through it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 

1 Peter 1:3-9 (ESV)

Adventures in Canning: First Attempt

What do you like to do at 9:30pm on a Saturday night?

Well, I like to learn how to can peaches, that's what I like to do!

Garden Update

Our garden is exploding!  

I am definitely regretting the chicken wire around the boxes, it makes it very difficult to weed and care for the plants in the box.  I don't think we were expecting the plants to get this big so we didn't think it was a big deal. Next time I think we will do a fence around the whole thing, which would allow space to move around the boxes more freely.  

Regardless, the plants are very healthy and starting to blossom and produce veggies!  

The Month of May: Beginnings of a Homestead

Well after having family visit, graduating, going on vacation, visiting Oregon, and being in Josh & Amy's wedding we only had a few days left in May to really top off the month.  So why not start our next chapter in life with some homesteading? 

I mean we live on a farm anyway, why not learn how to farm!

Raised Bed Garden

(This is our third try at planting a garden, the others have failed miserably...I think we were lacking passion and commitment)

The Month of May: Josh & Amy Get Hitched

The month of May is not over yet!!!  We started the month with family visiting Carbondale and we were fortunate enough to be able to fly home to Oregon straight from our vacation for more family!  Never can get enough of family time!  Anyway, we got in late Wednesday night and stayed through early Monday morning.  Here are the main events in Oregon...

Grill Master Ken: Pizza Edition

The Month of May: Honeymoon

The Roth family got to go on our first ever week-long vacation!  While we were extremely grateful for the opportunity to get away to Eagle Crest for a few days after the impromptu wedding, it did not quite feel like a full honeymoon.  (Probably because we were like "um what just happened"...."wait are we married now for real?" the whole time)  So fast forward three years and voila, trip to the Virgin Islands it was!  We decided on the Virgin Islands because we were able to find some really incredible deals, they spoke English, and no currency change was necessary.  Also, after doing extensive honeymoon destination research we felt attracted to the vibes of the Virgin Islands. Particularly St. Croix which is the largest and least populated island.  Most of the island is protected natural habitat and of the three islands it is the least 'touristy'. 

Highlights of St. Croix, VI

Pre-workout (STL airport)