Chili Cook-off 2012

My LDS ward had a chili and soup cook-off competition this last weekend. I created my own recipe from 'special ingredients' I had learned people put in their recipes last year. This year I brought that dish. I thought I'd win a slot for sure... but the judges were different...

However, my neighbor said she Loved my dish and that she's generally fairly picky, so she's asked for the recipe. This is a copy of the recipe I am giving her:

Keshia's Sweet and Spicy Chili

-Saute 1 lb hamburger (rubbed with red curry paste) and chopped green garlic-chives. After it's browned, add flour (to thicken and absorb grease) then add to soup pot.

-In soup pot put:

5+ cups water

5 sm. cans tomato sauce

EZ chili powder1/3 c. sugar

cinnamon1/2 bag frozen peas

1 c. cooked beans

1/4 c. dried onion

2 bay leaves

salt to taste

Bring to boil and let simmer 10+ minutes (to mesh flavors).

-----------------------------------

*NOTE - this is the recipe I put together after last year’s chili cook-off. I did it just a bit different this year - 

-2 lbs. hamburger + abt. 1 Tbsp red curry paste. 

-no green-garlic chives; I used green onion tops from the garden - walla walla onions. 

-6 cups water

-1.5 cups DRY kidney beans, soaked overnight, and cooked before adding to soup

-No dry onion, but 1 pint home-canned walla walla onion. (1-2 fresh med-large sweet onions, chopped, from the grocery store would work. Sauté them in oil or butter first before the meat goes in.)

-3 bay leaves

-Simmered in crockpot for 3 hours. 

------------------------------------

I’m glad you liked my recipe! 

Oh, PS, ‘Red Curry Paste’ can be found in Asian grocery stores, but likely you can just skip that ingredient and it’ll turn out about the same. Red Curry Paste consists of: dried red chili, garlic, lemongrass, salt, shallot, Galangal, Shrimp paste (shrimp, salt), Kaffir lime peel, pepper. 

Canning, Dehydrating and Saving Produce

We bottled our Walla walla onions using our pressure cooker. You've never smelled anything better than these onions right out of the pressure cooker! Wowzers! Super sweet! I seriously think this in my new favorite smell. 

We used the following instructions we found on the internet:

According to the USDA, use onions of 1-inch diameter or less. Wash and peel onions. Cover onions with boiling water; bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes. Pack the onions into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Add ½ tsp salt to pints; 1 tsp to quarts, if desired. Fill jars to within 1-inch from top with boiling water. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims. Adjust lids and process.

Process in a Dial Gauge Pressure Canner at 11 pounds pressure OR in a Weighted Gauge Pressure Canner at 10 pounds pressure: Pints or Quarts:40 minutes

NOTE: Sea level pressure is 10 pounds. Pressure has to be increased as altitude increases by ½ pound per 1000 feet.

 I believe since this paragraph was written, however, that sea level pressure has been changed to 11 pounds. Below, pictured is onions on the left, roasted peppers centered, and cucumber relish on the right. 

Roasted Peppers (from Pesto Pressure Canner and Cooker Instructions and Recipes, 2010)

PEPPERS—HOT OR SWEET (INCLUDING BELL, CHILE, JALAPEñO, AND PIMIENTO)

Preparation of Chile peppers—Cut two or four slits in each pepper, and blister using one of the following methods:

 oven or broiler method: Place chile peppers in a 400° oven or broiler for 6 to 8 minutes until skins blister.

 Range-top method: Cover hot burner, either gas or electric with heavy wire mesh. Place chilies on burner for several minutes until skins blister.

Allow peppers to cool. Place in a pan and cover with a damp cloth. After several minutes, peel peppers. Remove stems and seeds.

Preparation of other peppers—Remove stems and seeds; blanch 3 minutes.
Hot Pack: Small peppers may be left whole. Large peppers may be quartered. Pack peppers loosely in clean, hot Mason

jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Cover with boiling water, leaving 1-inch headspace. Adjust jar lids.

Process at 11 pounds of pressure – Pints 35 minutes. For processing above 2,000 feet altitude, see page 11 for recommended pounds of pressure. 

Altitude and Pressure Chart for Canning Vegetables

Altitude
2,001 – 4,000 ft.
4,001 – 6,000 ft.
6,001 – 8,000 ft.
Processing time is the same at all altitudes.

Pounds of Pressure for Pints and Quarts 

12 lbs.
13 lbs.
14 lbs.

I don't usually blister the peppers; the skins aren't tough enough out in Utah for this to be a concern. It's actually a lot harder to try to get the skins off, and they're not at all unpleasant to eat anyway. 

 Cucumber Relish

(from an old canning book such as a 'ball blue book')

12 lg. cucumbers peeled

4 lg onions

6 green peppers, stems and seeds removed

4 tsp each celery seed and mustard seed

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 Tbsp ground turmeric
3 1/2 c. cider vinegar
2 1/2 c. sugar

Put the cucumbers, onions, and green peppers through a food chopper, using a medium blade or chop. In a 5 or6-quart saucepan, combine vegetables, celery seed mustard seed, salt,chives, turmeric, vinegar, and sugar. Quickly bring to boiling, stirring constantly; reduce heat and simmer for about 3 hours or until reduced to about 5 pints. 
Prepare 5 pint-sized canning jars, following step 1 under Processing with a canner on page 31. (wipe rims, put heated lids on, etc.) Proceed with steps 3-9. Process for 15 minutes. Makes 5 pints. (Don't forget to adjust for altitude.)

Bread and Butter Pickles

6 cups sliced/chopped/speared cucumbers

Mix:

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 tsp turmeric (optional)

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 Tbsp mustard seed

1/2 tsp celery seed or more

2 cups mild cider vinegar

Bring slowly to boiling point and boil 5 minutes

Put cut cucumbers in a jar, then fill with vinegar brine with 1/2 inch headspace. Clean the top of the jar, put lids on, and water-bath for 10 minutes. Adjust for Altitude. 

1,001-3,000 ft = +5 minutes

3,001-6,000 ft = +10 minutes

6,001 - 8,000 ft = +15 minutes

Yield 4 pints. Store for 4-5 weeks+ before opening for best taste. 

(as I was typing the original recipe, I realized I didn't follow even half of the instructions listed. So, I retyped the recipe to be what I actually do, and included correct water-bath instructions. The original recipe actually says you don't need to water bath it to seal it... so I must of gotten this recipe from an un-reliable source...)

Italian Tomato Sauce

Yield: about 7 pints or 3 quarts

4 quarts chopped, seeded, peeled, cored tomatoes (about 24 large)

1 cup chopped celery (about 2 stalks)

1/2  cup chopped onion (about 1/2 medium)

1/4 cup chopped green pepper (about 1/4 medium)

1 Tbsp basil

1 Tbsp oregano

1Tbsp minced parsley

2 tsp crushed red pepper (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pot. Cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 20 minutes, quarts 25 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a pressure canner. (adjust for altitude.)

I tend to vary this recipe from week to week, depending on if I have celery, onion or peppers. Most weeks, I have left all 3 of those out, and added 1-2 cups of shredded zucchini to each quart jar. I also don't usually blanch (peel) my tomatoes or de-seed them when making it into sauce; rather, i run it through a food processor and can that extra fiber into my meal. 

I've also noticed that tomato varieties play a large role in how runny your sauce is. Celebrity tomatoes tend to be very meaty, so there is no need to extract any juice before putting it through a food processor. Other varieties seem to have a lot of juice. Methods to take some of that extra juice out (and possibly can the tomato juice separately), is streaming the tomatoes in a juicer first; or, mashing quartered tomatoes in a colander while catching the juice in a bowl under it; or, after it's all been through a food processor, cooking it down in a pot for an hour or 3 (without the lid) so the extra juice can evaporate out, or else, in a crockpot (without a lid) over night. The last resort - say you've sealed that sauce into jars and it's still too runny - add that water/cornstarch combo to thicken that sauce right up, as you use your jars for dinner meals. 

We have zucchini coming out of our ears, so we tried drying some zucchini for food storage. I did some sliced (for use in lasagna and meaty casseroles), and some grated (for use in spaghetti and casseroles). There's instructions out there for how to re-hydrate these veggies before, use, but I have yet to go look for those...

Lastly, I dried my cheyenne peppers. I got a needle and thread and just strung it through the peppers, then left them to hang in my kitchen. I don't have an A/C, so my kitchen is plenty warm enough for them to dry properly, but if yours isn't, or you're in a more humid area, hang them outside in the sun, or use a food dehydrator. Station the dehydrator outside your house, though, so you're eyes aren't burning in a couple of hours. 

Drying (thin-skinned) Peppers and Chiles

Drying, Smoking, Powders, and Spice Blends

Drying is the oldest and most common way to preserve pepper pods and works well for most peppers—except for the very meaty ones such as jalapeños, which are smoke-dried and called chipotles (see below). To dry peppers, select those that have reached their mature colors, or are just starting to turn. If they are picked while still green, it is very likely that it will never turn the mature color. Avoid any pods that have black spots, because these will mold or rot. On dry days, the peppers can be placed on metal racks and set in the sun. Placing them on a surface that collects heat, such as a car hood or roof, accelerates the process. They can also be hung individually on a clothesline. Another method to use is a home dehydrator—just follow the manufacturer's instructions. Jalapeños and several other chiles will dry well in a dehydrator. Cutting the thick-fleshed chiles in half, or into several pieces helps to speed up the process. Some of the larger growers use forced convection solar dryers, which reduces the time for sun-drying by 65 percent.

Dehydration also works for fresh New Mexican or poblano peppers which are first roasted and peeled (either green or red), and then placed in the sun to dry. Lay long strips of the peeled pods on nylon window screening, cover them with cheese cloth, and place them in semi-shady location with good air circulation. The more humid the climate, the more sun that should be applied to the drying pods. This process makes chile pasado (chile of the past, see below), which will turn an unappetizing dark color, brown or almost black. However, when the chile pasado is rehydrated in water for about 30 minutes, it regains its green or red color. One ounce of this chile pasado is equivalent to ten to twelve fresh pods.

http://www.fiery-foods.com/chile-pepper-gardening/189-processing-and-putting-up/3000-drying-smoking-powders-and-spice-blends

Our Garden is Producing!

Keshia and Dave's Apartment Garden has been flourishing too. These are our cherry tomato plants. They are about 6 feet tall in this picture... almost 7 feet in a couple of spots. They regularly grow up the bottom of the next window above it, and then flop over because they're too heavy to hold themselves up. They've done this about 3-4 times now... however, they've only done it 1-2 times when I took this picture. 

These are some of my herbs: I have, from left top to left bottom, pesto basil, thai basil, (dead sweet basil); middle top to bottom: cilantro (end of season), parsley, cinnamon basil; and on the top right: chives, garlic chives, mint, and to the very far right: walla walla onions and a rose bush. I use grass clippings as mulch to keep the weeds down. 

These are our beef steak tomato plants. They look respectable in the picture, but since then, they've grown so big, they're like one huge bush that's threatening taking over the grass. They're so heavy that even my heavy duty cages can't quite hold them up anymore. I've been mildly frustrated with these plants however, because they haven't produced a lot of tomatoes. There's a good chance it's because we failed to prune them regularly. They're also in partial shade. 

On the other side of the rose bush, we have our Huge Sunflower coming up!

This is back in our highland garden. Celebrity tomatoes in the middle; winter squashes to the left, and peppers and onions to the right. Far back there on the right are zucchini plants and huge sunflowers.  

Dave sporting his hard working self. He does most of the work to make this garden look so good!

We took out the onions this week (July 24th), and planted red potatoes that didn't quite stay cold enough in the cellar this last year. As we were planting them, we realized the roots had already started making baby potatoes! So we popped those off, took them home, and made a tasty soup! It was so Good! Other ingredients are corn, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, onion, grated zucchini, couple bay leaves, and... I might have put in some basil or parsley, or perhaps some red curry paste; cinnamon or a bit of brown sugar. I really don't remember. 

Here's my pregnant self, in front of our growing cherry tomatoes! 

And the Sunflower is almost about to create its flower!

This is one week's worth of produce (August 11th)! We were so surprised by how many boxes we got, and how amazing it all looked, we had to take a picture!

Produce includes Zucchini, tomatoes, Parsley, cucumbers, banana peppers, bell peppers, cheyenne peppers, blueberries, and anaheim peppers. 

Next Blog - - what did I do with all of this stuff?

To Save, or Not to Save, ye Books?

I come from a family where my father buys items that are a good deal that "we might need someday" and "I could use this... i think" and "this is valuable, I must save it!" My mother buys only what we need... unless it is sewing material. Then, "the woman with the most cloth when she dies, wins" and I think I could add, 'unfinished crafts' to that.

I was always the organized child, most likely to throw something away. But upon adulthood, I learned that I'm more like my family than I thought I was. In college, I knew whatever I didn't take with me to college, had a chance of never finding its way back to me... being buried in my father's collections. I could only fit a third of what I owned into my college dorms. However, I soon discovered that this one-third I owned, was more than many college students owned as a whole. Apparently I saved a lot more stuff than most people do.

Getting married was even more of an adventure. As we combined our belongings, my new husband says to me, "You own a lot of stuff. Why are you keeping this? Or this? What about that?" And I would explain, "It's valuable and could be worth a lot someday" and "my friend who died a couple years back gave this item to me" and "My future kids would probably like to use this/ play with this/ read this." But this wasn't completely a one way conversation. There were quite a few things he had that I wanted to know why he was keeping too.

Over two years have passed and we are preparing for our first child. Maybe I'm experiencing the "nesting" syndrome, but then again, this isn't altogether unusual behavior for me. I live in a small 2 bedroom apartment... probably somewhere between 600-900 sq. feet. We've had free furniture come and go; we've had phases of hobbies; I'm constantly trying to create more space without throwing out items that still have some life in them. We often buy medium-high quality appliances, cookware, select furniture, electronics, etc. and I'm constantly moving things around to make it convenient to use and store.

One category I've been collecting stuff in is books. As a teenager, I loved the library room my grandparents had in their house. They had bookshelves built into the wall as well as a work desk. The room was furnished with a computer, piano and comfy couch to lounge on. I enjoyed spending long afternoons in there, especially in the winter when the sun would shine through the window and keep me warm while I read.

For many years I have been collecting various types of books to go in such a library of my own... in a house I hope I will someday be able to afford. I liked the classics, mostly, but also children's books, and favorites from middle school and high school level fiction. Then a dictionary or so, reference books, and a pile of my favorite self-help books and some religious study novels. I have 2 Billy bookshelves a little more than full of books right now (if you're familiar with IKEA's Billy Bookshelf). I have things on there that I'm saving for my future kids to read... even stuff they won't be able to read until they're in high school. I have books that I think I should read, like "The Federalist Papers," even though I hate reading history books. I have books about various topics such as astronomy that were printed 30 years ago, and when I'm honest with myself, I really never will get around to reading those. I found a huge collection of books for 50 cents each at a second-hand type store, and bought a zillion... thinking I won't have to worry about local library deadlines with these books... that I want to take my sweet time reading.

But I think I've finally accepted the reality that I will likely never read random books that don't have deadlines. I won't read about astronomy from a beat up book that's over 30 years old and has almost no pictures. There's a good chance I'll never finish "The Federalist Papers." And an even better chance that when my kids reach the age of attending high school, they'll say, "Mom, I don't like to read that kind of genre. And, if I am going to read a book, it'll be on my eReader or Tablet." Alas, technology. I may have spent all those years carefully storing and preserving something just to find out that my kid doesn't want it.

These revelations have lead me to do what I've been doing this morning; purging my bookshelves. I have 4 bookshelves in my tiny little apartment, on top of having 5 utility shelves that are holding cookware and food. Somehow, I've got to make room for a crib and a nursery in my second bedroom. Truth be told, I could maybe move to a larger apartment, but I love my landlord, and I love how little I pay in rent. In the long run, I'll help me save for a house. Secondly, I am of the opinion, (and maybe this was derived from living in my parent's house) that if the number of bedrooms equal the number of people divided by 2, you should be able to fit, however possibly tightly. Or in other words, there should be 2 people per bedroom at maximum and everything everyone owns should be able to fit somewhere, even if it's not aesthetically pleasing. If you can't, you've got a stuff problem, not a size of apartment problem. But that's just me. And this is a simplified equation, of course. Obviously you wouldn't want a teenage girl in the same room with a boy of nearly any age.

So back to purging bookshelves. What did I have left to say about this? Oh, yes, I'm embracing technology. I'm saving only my favorite 10 books in hardback copy, (and my scrapbooks, which unfortunately take up 2.1 shelves) plus some college textbooks relating to my degree... in case I ever need to study up on it to get back into the job market. My husband thinks that's silly to save those textbooks. If he's right, I'm not willing to see that reality, yet. Most of my reference material... if I decide it is worth keeping, and I actually WILL use it again, I'll scan and make a digital PDF of (I think it's important to mention that we have 3-4 backups of all our digital material, so I feel confident in storing important information there, without a hard copy. If you are interested in this option, consider purchasing an external drive to save backups to, and/or purchasing a Crashplan subscription or another iCloud backup service. I don't suggest a single external drive is a sure way to never loose your data. We learned that the hard way when our computer hard-drive failed the same month as our external hard-drive did).

From now on, I'll read library check-outs and eBooks. Library check-outs because 98% of all books I read, I'll never re-read and because the deadline gives me the motivation to finish the book... if it's actually worth finishing. And eBooks that were printed over 100 years ago are Free with a Kindle account (classics are my favorite!) and my local library also provides eBook check-outs. The last thing I may still consider are going to those bookstores that allow you to buy a book, then come back and exchange it for another when you're done. A lot of self-help books and a few other types, I've noticed, are really difficult to read within a library's allotted check-out time.

DVDs, VHS and Music CDs

On a related topic, how many of you readers have an extensive DVD/VHS collection and/or music collection that's taking up a significant amount of space? Is it frustrating to you? Have you found that they are difficult to sell for a decent profit? Especially because you know you paid full-price for them and they're still in great condition?

I have a bit of this problem too. My husband and I rip all of our music and DVDs to our computer (which is networked to our TV via an Apple TV device), and just end up having to box up our media and store them just to prove that we legally own them... if the question ever even comes up. Neither of us really want to store something we will likely never use again... so we've resisted buying more videos and gone with Netflix, Hulu, and Redbox. Like books, we rarely watch a movie more than 1-3 times. If we plan to or will likely watch a movie 4+ times, at that point, it is generally worth purchasing rather than spending the money to rent it that many times. This equation was formulated off of what Blockbuster would generally charge to rent a movie out in 2009.

If you have an extensive media library, you might consider Crossies.com for digitization services, off-site storage services, and ease of selling videos for a higher profit. Crossies is still a very new company, however, and these things may take a lot of time to be processed until they're a little more on their feet. If you know of another company that offers these services and have impressed you, leave a comment, because the rest of us would like to know about it!


P.S.

I decided to google 'digital books' after writing this post... and realized that I should clarify, that I don't plan to buy an eBook reader for a couple of years, nor buy eBooks. There are still a lot of formatting and compatibility issues going on with eBooks and various eReaders, and I don't want to get stuck with loosing all my purchased books because The Barnes & Noble Nook format is no longer supported... and other such problems. Instead, I will use the local library and bookstore exchange programs until such a time as eBooks are more reliable to purchase, own, and afford in some cases. I also have a shelf of books I plan to skim or read before selling, etc. Until this shelf is mostly or totally empty, I'm going to avoid buying, book exchanging or otherwise acquiring any more books to read.

See related links for further information.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/219335/the_pitfalls_of_ebook_buying_what_to_look_out_for_before_you_purchase.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_readers

Origami Earrings

I found some amazing origami earrings on KSL.com classifieds. I don't know how to make them (yet) but I'm sure they could be figured out. Or help the lady out and buy the ones she's made!

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=21030930&cat=74&lpid=&search=jewelry
$5 in West Jordan, UT   84084
Lorena @ 801-867-8865

Gardening in Utah

Dave and I have been gardening in this garden in Utah for a couple of years now. The land belongs to Dave's parents. They have an irrigation ditch that runs along the street (the far side on this first picture), then water hookups at the end of each row on the right. These pipes are pvc that have had little holes punched into them, so that the water sprays down evenly into each row. This system is on two timers that runs for 20 minutes everyday/every other day. One timer controls one half of the rows and the other the second half. This can also be accomplished with a drip-line system, which is available at home depot and sprinkler stores. If you use a drip line, you will need it to drip water for 2-4 hours every night.

The pipes are suspended in air with small bricks, so that the holes in the PVC don't get clogged. It's important when setting up these pipes in the spring, to flush dirt out the end before putting the caps on. You might also notice that the rows are LOWER than the walkways. That's for 2 reasons. One, so we don't flood the walkways and entire garden where we're not even growing anything useful. It just makes the weeds stronger. And two, Utah is dry, and we need to make sure we put the valuable water right where the plants are. Plants can take a surprising amount of water, so filling up the entire row to the brink is actually recommended.  For some reason, it's popular for people to make their rows raised, but in Utah, this only leads to water run-off due to the clay soil. The plants really struggle when this is going on. 

In gardens where it's been used for several years, it's important that after you plant, you fertilize every two weeks, or whatever your fertilizer instructions tell you. After about 6-8 weeks, fertilizing will become less effective. Without fertilizer, everything will be small, short plants, however, you should still get a decent amount of produce on them. We put left-over potting soil in the dirt where our cherry tomatoes are, so they didn't need any extra fertilizer. They are now over 6 feet tall! 

When we first got the rows ready, we had a several step process. First, we tilled down the weeds and raked them out. Second, we made our depressed rows as deep as we could... about 5 inches... with our rake. Third, we used a long wooden beam and a level to make sure they were flat. This is done so that when our water was put in the row, it would fill up and down the whole row without leaving a dry spot... or leaking out. Next we positioned our pipes with our bricks. We planted our seeds on both sides of the row... and for squash that was zigzag about every foot/12 inches. 

We don't follow seed instructions very seriously. Often they say 4-6 in a mound, 4 feet apart; I usually do 1-3 every foot. Sometimes that means you'll end up having a gap, but it also means you won't have to thin your plants out. Next we sprinkler our fertilizer down the row (ours are little white-ish pellets), turn on the water, clean out the pipes, cap them, and let the rows fill up with water. The first couple weeks the dirt will take much more water than later weeks, fyi.

This year we made the mistake of tilling one saturday, then planting the next; this gave the weed seeds a week head start on the garden food, and stunted the veggies growth until they had managed to get big enough we could safely weed around them. (You can't weed them when they're too small because 1. you'll run the risk of pulling out the fragile veggie and 2. it's really hard to recognize what's veggie and what's weed.)

The weeks after that, it's just a matter of staying on top of the weeds and fertilizing rows. We liked to till the paths to keep the weeds down, then use a small rake to get the little weed starts out. If you set your watering to 'late in the night', your dirt should be just moist enough that it's fairly easy to pull the weeds out, but not too muddy that you can't get anything done. Also, watering at night is a great way to save yourself on the water bill. Watering during the day leads to a lot of the water 1. being used to just 'cool down' the dirt/plants from the hot sun, rather than going deep into the soil for the roots to grow long. And 2. regular sprinklers usually have a significant amount of water that just evaporates or floats downwind. So save yourself on utilities and water when it's dark out. 

As the summer gets real hot, Dave and I woke up earlier on Saturdays to go weed. We can do about one row each per 1.5 hours, and we work faster when it's cool weather. Some veggies take longer to weed than others, fyi. Squash is really quick, but carrots are super tricky. A couple of times we've gone twice a week when the weeds were getting ahead of us. We try to do 2 rows a week. (We have 8 rows that are each about 30 feet long.) When you're weeding, it's also very helpful to take out the rocks. In carrot and onion rows, underground rocks can be devastating to your harvest. An onion or carrot will not move the rocks out of the way, but simply grow around it, or just stop growing all together. On top of that, onion rows need to be prepared with extra deep depressions because as the onion bulbs grow, you need to rake more dirt on top of them. Shallow rows means your water will escape half way through the season. 

Lastly, make sure you know WHEN to harvest your food! Last year, we waited too long to harvest onions, and the bulbs had shrunk for the oncoming winter. If you pick your veggies regularly, they will grow more veggies. If you leave them to rot on the vine, you're plant will stop producing. So whether or not you'll be able to get around to using all that food, you Must pick it. And pick it WITH the stem... or your plant might not realize the produce is gone, and again, will stop producing. The stem on the veggie also helps the veggie stay good longer. Use scissors or a blade to pick produce. 

Today we harvested our first zucchini, several cayenne peppers, a couple of bell peppers, several banana peppers, chard, lettuce, a couple onions for this week's meals, and thinned part of the carrots... which gave us some baby carrots. Our cherry tomatoes came in last week, and we've picked those every 2-3 days. 

Ribbon Wall-hang

I was going through my iPhoto library and came upon the picture of a craft I had done a year or so ago.  This is great way to hang lots of pictures, kids colorings, homework assignments, etc on display without taking up tons of wall space. I ended up putting my niece's artwork and artwork from other kids I babysat.

For this project, I used ribbon from gifts I had gotten here or there... mostly from my wedding. I cut them all about the same length and lined them up how I liked it. Then I took a wooden dowel (available at any craft store) and spray painted it black. I used glue dots to get the ribbon on there, but the ribbons came off after a few months, so I recommend hot glue. Be careful not to burn yourself, because the ribbon can be very thin. I found little painted wooden clothespins at Roberts (now closed in my area.) These were very cheap, and a few have fallen apart. Not recommended if your kid will be doing most of the pinning. I've seen colored plastic ones that seem to work better, and I think you can get them from Wal-mart.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Honey-Can-Do-Plastic-Clothespins/17434844?findingMethod=rr

Canning Apricots

Dave and I picked apricots this last Saturday and canned them on Monday. They were perfect! We invited a neighbor couple, Matt and Kim, and taught them how to do it, and they helped us with the process. They got to take home whatever they canned into their own jars.


Dave and I bought a pressure cooker (23 qt, Presto) this year, that has the ability to pressure cook or water bath. But we didn't have a basket, so we did cold packing before sealing them. (Cold packing means we put the seedless apricot halves in the jars, filled it with syrup, aka cooked sugar water, then put lids on before sealing them.) The first batch was pressure cooked, but we forgot to add vinegar to the water, so it got a funny white film on them.


We thought pressure cooking was going to be much faster than water bath, but it actually took about 50 minutes or an hour, even though the actual time cooking at pressure was only 10 minutes. That's because it takes some time to heat up, and even more time to do 'natural pressure release,' which means you turn off/take it off the heat and wait for the pressure to drop to nothing. That part takes abt 30 minutes.


It was frustrating that it was taking so long, so we decided to do the next batch via water bath canning. Getting the water to boiling took forever, but the batches after that took about an hour each. We did 3 dozen quarts (one dozen went to our neighbors).


The last batch consisted of 14 pints of apricot butter, which we did pressure cooking, because we could put all 14 in at once that way (12 pints went to the neighbors). Dave and I were up 'til 4am. We decided we'd better time our canning steps better after that... and start a bit earlier.


Dave was frustrated that after all was said and done, the cold-packed apricots only took up half the jar, and floated on lots of sugar-water. So on Tuesday, I got ambitious, and decided I wanted to try hot packing... so I went and picked more apricots in the hot day's sun. I got 1/3 of what we had collected the saturday before, plus a box of 'on-the-ground bruised' apricots. On our way home, we stopped at The Mending Shed and bought a basket, so that it would be easier to hot-pack them. (Hot-pack means that you fill the jars with apricots, let them cook down in the stream, add more apricots periodically, until the apricot juices have filled up the jar to the top. Then they are sealed.) We also got adjustable weights for our pressure cooker. (They let out the stream when the pressure reaches a certain point, either 5, 10 or 15 lbs.) While we were there, we found a 'scratch n' dent' section and there was a stainless steel Victorio water bath canner for $60. We checked Amazon, and they didn't have it for less than $70. Normally they're about $90 at The Mending Shed. So we were crazy and bought it too. 


On Thursday afternoon we canned the apricots. Many of them were too ripe by Thursday, so they ended up being put in the 'bruised and on-the-ground' pile of apricots - for making jam/butter/preserves. 
We did 7 quarts of hot-packed apricots and 16 pints of Apricot Jam. I did 1/3 less sugar than the recipe called for, because my previous experiences with making jam was that it came out way too sweet. I accidentally added too much lemon juice to them, but I actually think I like it better that way... it gives it a sweet and sour flavor in the same bite. We pressure cooked them... and remembered the vinegar this time. We started at about 5pm and were done by 10:30pm... plus a clean kitchen and all. 


I have a terrible habit of deciding that after canning so much, I'm too tired to clean the kitchen, and it usually doesn't get done 'til the next day (or even 2 days later, which I can still get away with because I don't yet have any kids.) But I have to watch the pressure canner a little closer while it's cooking, so it gave me the motivation to use that time to clean up, since I couldn't be laying in bed, anyway. So by the time the jars came out of the pressure canner, the entire kitchen was gorgeous. What a great feeling. 


Below I'm posting the recipes I used.. and how I did them different. Hopefully they'll be helpful for you. They're from Ball's Blue Book: Guide to Preserving, 2011.


Apricot Butter 
Yield: about 3 pints
2 pounds apricots (about 24 medium) 
3 cups sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice


To Prepare Pulp: Wash and blanch apricots. Put apricots in cold water. Peel, halve and pit apricots. We did not blanch them. Combine apricots and 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan. We used a free-standing electric pressure cooker on the saute and simmer settings, since our stove was too full. We decided our apricots were soft and ripe enough that this was an unnecessary step and actually made the process harder. Simmer until apricots are soft. Puree using a food processor or food mill, being careful not to liquify. Measure 1.5 quarts apricot pulp.


To Make Butter: Combine apricot pulp and sugar in a large sauce-pot aka electric pressure cooker. Cook until thick enough to round up on a spoon. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Add lemon juice. Ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in boiling water canner. 


Apricot Jam 
Yield: about 5 pints
2 quarts crushed and peeled apricots We did not peel it. We took the seeds out and put it through the food processor.
1/4 cup lemon juice My second half of the batch got more like a touch under a 1/2 cup lemon juice
6 cups sugar 4 cups sugar
Combine apricots and lemon juice in a large sauce-pot. I forgot to add lemon juice until after it had cooked and was partially ladled into jars. There is a good chance lemon juice is not needed if you are pressure cooking it instead of water-bath canning. Add sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring slowly to a boil. Cook rapidly to gelling point. We mixed it in our electric pressure cooker, on low pressure, sealed, for 1 minute. Then did quick pressure release, found it boiling (remembered to add lemon juice), and ladled it into jars. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Very little was stuck to the bottom. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot hars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling water canner. 
Originally I had planned to make Apricot-Pineapple Jam, but I was out of canned pineapple nor did I have fresh pineapple. Otherwise I would have just replaced 1/3-1/4 of the apricot amount with pineapple.


I'll have to get back to you on how the thickness and flavor of the products turned out before I can tell you if my own recipe/experiments and or mistakes worked out. Thanks for reading!

Our 2012 Garden

Originally posted 6/25/12

Dave and I have been having all sorts of fun gardening this year, and now that it looks like we're done planting (unless we suddenly get more ambitious and add potatoes and beets to row #1 of the garden)... and are just trying to keep up with the weeding. This is it. A sketch of the garden(s) layout. 

This first photo is at Dave's parent's and each row, I'm told, is about 30 feet long.

This second photo, each foot is numbered across the top. This is the garden bed in front of our 4-plex. 

Dave bought me a pressure canner this week for my birthday so I'm excited to be able to bottle a wider variety of foods! 

I have spagetti sauce, meatballs, chicken broth, and raw veggies planned so far. 

Garden Fever!

Originally posted 6/2/12

Dave and I are having Garden Fever! We have prepared 8 rows, 30 feet long, of all sorts of veggies, squash, fruit and produce. Off the top of my head, there will be... tomatoes, zucchini varieties, variety lettuce, spinach, chard, white pumpkin, jack-o-lantern pumpkin, 3 types of bell peppers, banana peppers, cheyenne peppers, anaheim peppers, carrots, 2 types of cucumbers, walla walla onions, watermelon, 4 types of autumn/winter squash, and a variety of flowers. 

On top of that, at our apartment, we have about 13 types of herbs (except 3 types of basil didn't make it), 4 types of cherry tomatoes, spinach, variety lettuce, sunflowers, walla walla onions, and beef steak tomatoes. 

We're already recruiting some neighbors to help us... #1 so they can learn how to do it, and #2 Keshia will be very pregnant by "bottling" season, as my neighbor calls it, and will need some help.

Painting a Model and making Earrings

Originally posted 2/6/11

This is a model of a Titanic that my dad found in The Black Hole (aka his enormous storage unit.)

I bought my paints for my titanic (at Hobby Lobby) the first couple days of January, and I finished it on about the last day of January. Pretty neat-o, huh? I only lost 3 pieces. LoL. Actually, I think they were lost sometime back when I was 12.

I also made a pair of earrings... I found the seahorse shell at Roberts and grabbed it on their 75% off sale. My friend Crystal, and I, went to The Bead Fairy and assembled our own treasures. She made 3 necklaces, and I made these earrings and several rings.

Next, and possibly most awesomely, Dave and I found a sewing machine at DI. This first picture is the one we've been borrowing from Dusty (which we will soon return to her).

This second picture is the one we got a D.I. (Deseret Industries). It was $25 and then we spent a bit to buy a cord/pedal and those sticks that the thread sit on - it was originally missing one and the other was too bent to be useable. My machine LOOKS a lot like Dusty's but mine is a model or so Newer. The threading spots/bobbin winding are slightly different. And Dusty's only seems to be able to do 2 stitches without having to switch out some internal pieces. Mine has all those internal pieces, and I can do ALL the stitches (except that I don't have a twin needle.) It's super cool. I also got some extra bobbins.

Lastly, I've been making and eating lots of sweets. I made a double batch of Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies last week as well as a triple batch of Tapioca. Then 3 days later, I made a double batch of Tapioca. Yum! Then today I made Homemade Oreo Cookies. ^_^

Poor Dave; I'm not helping him get thinner very well.

Storing Ball Caps

Originally posted 12/21/11

I finally figured out how to store baseball caps without them getting squished. Yippee! I used Command Strip hooks above my closet.

Christmas Stories

Originally posted 12/7/11


When I was growing up, my mom had a binder of Christmas stories. We read one every day throughout the month of December... it was a countdown to Christmas. Since moving to Utah, she's lost that book in storage somewhere...

I wanted to copy it, but instead, I have made my own book... which I think worked out even better. I googled 'christmas stories' and also looked for christmas stories on lds.org. I now have a binder of much more than 24 stories divided into sections: children, teens, missionaries, adult, and activities/crafts. A lot of them are poems, too, which I'm a fan. It's easily something I could add to every year, as I find inspirational Christmas stories from the December church magazines (Ensign, The New Era, The Friend) and other places.

I hope you all find/renew your Christmas traditions this year, and remember the TRUE spirit of Christ[mas], which doesn't include the need to buy... have a real Christmas and leave the Commercialized Christmas behind.

Much Love & MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Avocado Soup

Originally posted 11/19/11

Avocado Soup is SOOO GOOOD! I just made it this morning out of The Encyclopedia of Creative Cooking. Here's the recipe:

2 ripe, soft avocados, pitted and peeled

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup cold chicken broth

1 cup light cream (I used half and half)

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup dry white wine (I used home-juiced white grape juice)

Salt to taste

Set aside a few thin avocado slices brushed with lemon juice to use as garnish. Place remaining avocado in food processor or blender; blend until smooth. Add remaining ingredients; blend until smooth. Serve very cold; garnish with reserved avocado slices. Yield about 4 cups.

Be sure to eat it within 2-4 days if not by the end of the meal. After 2 days, the avocados start to brown and look less appetizing.