Five Things Friday, Again

I thought that was rather fun last Friday, so we’ll see if I can keep this up for a bit, shall we?

1. Oven Roasted Tomatoes — we bought a 30-pound box of Okanagan tomatoes, and although we loved eating them fresh, we were barely making a dent, and the fruit files were gathering with their knives and forks. So we followed this simple David Lebovitz recipe and roasted them up with garlic, salt and pepper, a little olive oil, and then we varied the herbs a bit from pan to pan.

 Plopped the results in some freezer containers — they make an almost complete pasta sauce possible in minutes — Paul adds eggplant and simmering for some wonderfully satisfying results.

 2. How cute are these moccasins, made by a childhood friend of my daughter’s and her mom? You know the answer: Too cute! Nana got to pick out the pattern and met with the young woman who’s launching this brand, Tomahawks. Adorably, they come with their own little dust bag, not shown here. I’ll try to get a pic of Harriet wearing them soon.

 3. I don’t know if you can find Seventh Generation cleaning products in your area, but I am so happy with this laundry detergent. I was a bit annoyed at Pater for bringing home a fragranced product — he’s not so great at label reading; I’m not so tolerant of artificial fragrance, particularly in my clothes.  But this Geranium Blossoms & Vanilla is subtle and interesting and natural. And the container design is genius. Once the inner plastic liner empties, the cardboard outer easily separates and can be recycled as paper (or tossed in the compost).

4. Rose hips in the fall. . . . that is all I need to say about this, right?

and finally,

5. I popped into a little consignment store in our tiny local downtown, and I was delighted to find this muted gold, silk-cotton-blend skirt from Club Monaco. Even more delighted to find that one of the items I’d recently consigned had sold for almost enough to pay for the new-to-me skirt. Even more delighted again to find that the skirt has pockets cunningly slid into its side seams. Love. (You’re right, I probably should have ironed the skirt before I took this picture, but if I’d waited until that happened, this would be Five Things SomeOtherDayWithNoAlliteration. So this photo will have to do . . . )

Your turn now: why don’t you tell me one or two or all the way up to five things you’ve been liking lately.  Aaaaannnndd. . . . . go!

18 Comments

  1. Duchesse
    5 October 2013 / 2:00 am

    Why do your Five Things posts make my mouth water? Thanks! Will look for the detergent here, the scent intrigues me.

    • materfamilias
      5 October 2013 / 6:31 am

      If you find it, I'm curious about what you think about the fragrance.

  2. LPC
    5 October 2013 / 3:43 am

    I like your new skirt and it seems very you.

    And your tomatoes make me vow to return to tomato growing. Next year, in my front yard, I hope so.

    • materfamilias
      5 October 2013 / 6:32 am

      Nothing, nothing like fresh tomatoes in the garden. And I love green tomatoes which really can only be got by growing one's own.

  3. Pondside
    5 October 2013 / 5:57 am

    Those tomatoes……….
    My five things? The day was filled with bizarre bits and pieces. Even just thinking about them makes me doubt that some of them happened. No, I think I'll stay silent and uphold the great fiction that I am sane and in control.

    • materfamilias
      5 October 2013 / 6:32 am

      Sanity and control are so overrated, don't you think? 😉 Take care. . .

  4. Unknown
    5 October 2013 / 6:40 am

    I could have sworn I commented but it must have gone into the ether. Love the tomato recipe. Great idea. I give…what about the rosehips?? The skirt looks like fun for you!

    • materfamilias
      5 October 2013 / 7:18 pm

      Oh, the rosehips are there because I think they're so gorgeous in the fall — this rose (rosa glauca) yields wonderful hips, imho

  5. hostess of the humble bungalow
    5 October 2013 / 7:02 am

    Those tomatoes look delicious…
    great skirt too. I'm enjoying these Five Things Fridays 🙂

    • materfamilias
      5 October 2013 / 7:18 pm

      It's fun to put the FTF posts together too, so I'm glad you enjoy them.

  6. K.Line
    5 October 2013 / 2:43 pm

    Oooh – I love this post! The food (OMG), those baby shoes are the CUTEST thing (I want to make them!). And way to go on getting that skirt, practically for free.

    • materfamilias
      5 October 2013 / 7:19 pm

      It was practically free, and I'm pretty sure I saw it last year at CM for about $120 . . . .and yes, aren't those little moccasions beyond . . .

  7. Lorrie
    6 October 2013 / 6:08 am

    I love these Friday posts. The cute little moccasins will be even cuter on Harriet's wee feet. Roasted tomatoes rest in our freezer, too. I also use them for soup – simmer them in a little chicken broth, whirr it all together and add a dollop of cream. The soup could be strained, but I like the texture.
    The skirt – looking forward to seeing how you use it in one of your fabulous outfits.

    • materfamilias
      7 October 2013 / 4:11 am

      The Friday posts are fun — they seem to be shaping up as a Gratitude series, rather, don't they?! Aren't the roasted tomatoes a great resource? I like your idea of whipping up a soup with them. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

  8. Patricia
    7 October 2013 / 1:19 am

    Sorry, late to the party …. I'll just tell you about one thing – today we went to the Hermes Festival des Metiers (sorry, can't do accents on this keyboard) at the Design Exchange in Toronto. It was really interesting. We only caught two of the presentations properly (many of the artisans were out to lunch when we got there) – the engraver who draws the designs ready for colouring and silkscreening, and the leatherworker. It was fascinating, not least because the artist was very French-looking, very chic, had been with H for 35 years. And the leather worker (or bag lady as we have dubbed her) who was quite young and had only been with them for 8 years, had dyed bright red hair, and several piercings and tattoos – totally unexpected! We watched her prepare some leather pieces for stitching and then do a bit of stitching. Just watching her thread the needle in a special way was fascinating!

    • materfamilias
      7 October 2013 / 4:13 am

      I am seriously envious! There was a similar event in the Herm&eagrave; store in Vanc'r, I think, about a year or so ago, and I missed that. I'm sure it must have been amazing to watch that craftsmanship and think of its history. I'll have to watch for images of the event and see if I can spot your "bag lady"!! 😉

  9. Merry Wife
    7 October 2013 / 2:03 am

    Oh, those little mocs are just the cutest! I wish I knew someone little enough to fit into them.

    • materfamilias
      7 October 2013 / 4:13 am

      Aren't they sweet? I can't wait to see them on our little granddaughter.

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