Home made food for my family

This by no means is a play by play.. I really haven't mastered that drill as of late.. My family eats a lot of different kinds of food.. I am very proud of them for that... They have a great palate for strange, rich, simple fresh foods... I have a huge thing for recycling... My family gives me much grief for this.. Secretly I know they love it and will one day do it w/out my constant prodding.. But for now it is my great pleasure to teach them everything I know about my Earth and how to keep her healthy and alive.. Even if is just little ol' me trying... That said... I have learned through the years, from my Mum, from others.. That a mother and her kitchen is the best place to teach your children how to recycle and reuse.. Even better.... How avoid having to recycle all together.... This is where my love for making my own Marinara starts.....Normally I would have 4 6 pound cans of Tomato's, stewed whole.... But this time I only had 2 left in my pantry.. So that is what I used.... In the summer I grow my own herbs.... I do buy fresh parsley for this..... I have to keep buying my veggies all winter.. But I have made this w/ frozen carrots and celery Even frozen onions... This time I had most of this stuff on hand though. I dump the cans out into my big pot Just the stewed tomato's nothing else.... This is were the recycle thing starts..... Not tons of cans of everything , Just 4 big tins that I used everywhere else.. No gas trip to the recycle bins.. No having to fill any land fills w/ more crap....

After a few hours I dump all the veggies in simmer for a few more hours... Then take my wand and puree all , add the herbs and spices to taste... Simmer 1 more hour and the fresh parsley.. Turn off the stove, lid on... Get the canning jars ready.... Then can....

Josh grates all my veggies.... I don't know how many of you know that My Josh has Cerebral Palsy....

That really messes w/ him most days... So when I get him in the kitchen.. He consecrates, stays focused and can control his body... Grating helps him a lot, we bought him the greatest grater for Christmas this last year.. I will get a pic on here of it... Really is a God sent for disabled cooks... He grated for about an hour, All the while we sat and talked about life and love, girls... the Works. Josh is a very free spirit, kind as well as cruel.. He doesn't mean to be, he can't seem to help some things..... He had a bad week this week.... There were rumors going around our small town about him being gay... Which is just silly in it's self... But when you are not gay and 16 and people are talking about you it sucks! Austin, one of my other boys, is gay... And Josh gets a lot of crap about hanging around him and defending him.. Josh never thought twice about it... You defend and honor your friends and family no matter what.... Somewhere is that mess is where the rumors started... Side note, I did not give birth to Austin, he came to us after he lost his brother who was murdered.. Austin has a mother, she is going through things and we have taken him in, knowing him as the boy next door for years, we love him, support him and care for him... I am a Christian woman, I am very spiritual and don't want to hear your opinion's on the biblical aspect of his homosexuality.. He knows where I stand and he also knows I love him unconditionally as do all of us in this house hold.. It sucks that my other kids have to suffer at the hands of others...

Here are a few shots of my marinara w/ some french bread we made that night as well..

At this point, I can add anything when I prepare the sauce, for pizza we add more herbs, for pasta we had mushrooms. You get it.. It is just a base sauce for everything...

There ya go! Brian and I today dropping Josh off for his therapy.. Man, do I love this man!