Project number five was my first attempt at actual canning. I've been doing a lot of experimenting with refrigerator pickles, and I've been flirting with the idea of canning, and finally I just decided to go ahead and try it.
I made some strawberry jam!
Macerating the strawberries.
I ended up having some leftover strawberries so I made some muffins with them! Yummmm.
Trying to cook the jam. I only kind of know what I'm doing.
Et voila! At first I was really bummed because I thought none of the jars had sealed properly because they didn't look like it and I could hear them pinging and such, but they all came out okay! The jam is a lot more like preserves, but is still tasty. I also made some spicy dilly beans and tried canning those. I wish the jars had been more filled, but all my beans were really tiny.
Canning is pretty cool, but is also really intense! I don't know if I'll do a whole lot of it, and I will probably always stick to small batches, but it's nice to have a new tool in my toolbelt.
With the new year on the horizon, I can't help but feel obligated to start many things fresh. Not necessarily resolutions or anything, because I don't deal well with absolutes and often end up in the guilt spiral, but more just taking a moment to think about the past year and what I'd like to do more of next year. More ukulele playing (maybe learn the mandolin?), more crafting, more blogging.
More cooking. This was my breakfast yesterday, oatmeal and some homemade cranberry curd.
I made the curd from this recipe from Kitchen Confidante, and it is super super tasty. Mine is a little bit chunky because I didn't have a strainer, but I don't really mind. It is delicious on bread, oatmeal, and greek yogurt. I found the recipe on Pinterest, but perusing the rest of this blog has lead me to some other promising recipes (like check out this soup! OM NOM NOM). I also really like cute little jar we had - once upon a time it held some kind of Eastern European mushroom soup. Now I just need to make some kind of a cute label.
But so I will be back and posting more consistently now, and I have lots of fun homemade Christmas gifts to show off, so have a safe and happy new year and I'll see you soon!
Now eating: I literally twenty minutes ago just finished cooking this summer chowder. It's pretty alright - I didn't have any nutritional yeast to add and in hindsight I would add another ear of corn or too. But it was good, and surprisingly creamy for having no dairy! I love my immersion blender.
Now reading: I finally finished Game of Thrones! Now I need a little break away from the Seven Kingdoms, although I will read the second book soon. The last time we were in Dayton, I saw this book - The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes - on my friend Travis' bookshelf. You may know Daniel Keyes as the author of Flowers for Algernon, and I wasn't aware he had other books. This is a non-fiction book about Billy Milligan, the first person to attempt to use his multiple personality disorder as an insanity defense. I haven't actually started reading it yet, but I am going to start it tonight.
Now wearing: This sort of doubles as a now playing and a craft mention, because this is a shirt I stenciled on a while back for a special Lady Gaga vs. Prince themed scrimmage. I designed the little hybrid The Artist Formerly Known As symbol / rollerskate wheel hub and cut out a stencil using freezer paper. The back (which I couldn't get a good picture of - apparently it's difficult to get a picture of your own back) features my temporary derby name for the night - Puss E. Control. I also made some sparkly purple hotpants, but I shall refrain from posting those.
(I must admit to some falsitude - the mustache is Photoshopped. No matter how hard I try, I just can't grow a decent one.)
Now crafting: Yesterday I cashed in a horde of Joann's coupons and picked up some fabric to make a quilt for an upcoming baby of a friend. This giraffe print is my inspiration piece and I tried to pick some solids and prints using all the different colors. The mom & dad are not finding out the sex, so I tried to use all the colors to avoid leaning more towards one end of looking too "girly" or "boyish" or whatever. I'm really excited to get this started!
(Yes, I know now it is technically 08.16.2011, but I started writing the post when it was still Monday!)
Eating: What do you do when you have a zucchini the size of this stupid cat?
Stupid cats need the most attention!
You grate it...
... and make tasty zucchini bread!
Well, actually there is more to it than that. I used this recipe for the bread (yes, I used the first recipe I found on Google. Sometimes I am a lazy cook, alright?), and made a few changes - I substituted one cup of brown sugar for white sugar and I forgot left out the vanilla. Still came out pretty tasty, although next time I think I would like to try some of the healthier suggestions made in the comments, like adding applesauce instead of oil or using some wheat flour instead of white, but as it was it took me two trips to the grocery store to get the things I needed due to thinking I had ingredients that I didn't actually have (I'm not awesome at maintaining a pantry either), so I just stuck with the basic framework. It also worked well as muffins, which was nice because I only have one bread pan (if in the future you're ever wondering why I'm not a food blogger, please reference this paragraph).
Reading / Drinking: I'm finally getting closer to the end of A Game of Thrones (I told you I was a slow reader!). I think when I am done I am going to need a break - even though I'm enjoying it a lot, I think I can only handle so much fantasy at once. I am open to suggestions of what to read next!
As for the beverage - which I am currently sipping out of a purple plastic cup like the classy broad I am - it is the Long Trail Imperial Coffee Stout, which is super roasty, but otherwise it's kind of a standard coffee stout.
Listening: This past week I have been really enjoying the music of Endless Mike and the Beagle Club, which is a group from not-terribly-far-away Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Perhaps it's just because lately this line from the song "Lock and Keystone" is just so fitting: "But luckily there are only two seasons in Western PA - there's just construction work and snowstorms, and either way they cause a delay." Because, seriously, I'd love to talk to whoever thought it was a good idea that all of the major roads around the city itself be under construction at the same time.
Crafting: The lovely smokey blue of this t-shirt made me feel rather aquatic. I wanted to do something a little different, so I thought I'd try a beluga whale. Did you know that beluga whales can blow bubbles? Also that they love mariachi bands? Well, now you know.
Eating: Recently our roommate, Katie, brought home a jar of Ajvar from one of the ethnic food shops in the Strip District. I'd never had it before, but holy moly, is it good. According to the label, it is made out of eggplants and peppers and garlic, but it tastes like spicy angel kisses. I highly recommend enjoying it on an everything bagel, although hopefully you have a toaster that does not burn everything (unlike me).
Drinking: When we visited Belmont Party Supply in Dayton, I was excited to find a variety of beers from the Hitachino Nest brand, which comes from the Kiuchi Brewery in Japan. I've only ever seen and tried their White Ale, which I enjoy quite a bit, so it was a real treat to see some other kinds from them. This was the only one of the beers I got that made it back from Dayton with me - their ginger brew, and it was quite tasty! Light and definitely gingery, it is a lovely summer beer. If you have a little bit of time to kill, I highly recommend checking out their website, which features a variety of adorable woodland creatures hanging out at a bar - it's like they can see inside my brain.
Crafting: My sister has commissioned a onesie to give to a friend of hers, so I have been stitching away at that! I've got a major itch lately to get started on another quilt, so don't be surprised to see that in the not-too-distant future.
Listening: I am not really a big fan of The Smiths, but damn if this song isn't my jam. This is an awesome song to dance to in the car while getting psyched up for work. Also, this video is amazing. Spectral rainbow Morrisey supervising the filming of the music video? META.
(photo credit: Jason Ernst)
Celebrating: My leaguemate, 'Snot Rocket Science, will be representing the Steel City Derby Demons at the very first EVER roller derby World Cup as part of Team USA! The also-incredible Hurricane Heather of SCDD made it to the final tryout rounds. The World Cup is happening in Toronto and will feature teams from North and South America, Europe, and Australasia. Depending on what the tickets cost, I think I may have to hop the Megabus to check this out.
My brown cords are the best pants I have ever owned. They have been with me twice as long as Erica! Given our history together, I thought I owed this friend at least one more season of good wear before I frame em' and place them above my fire place.
Pretty beat up. I don't want to walk around showing off my delicates to the whole planet (though I did just post a picture on the www...) so I figured I would just patch them.
The patch is huge, taking up the whole mid-bottom region. I used a big needle and embroidery floss while drinking a few Pabst tall guys. Much Always Sunny in Philadelphia was watched (I sew slow).
Despite the fact that the green fabric appears to be boxer shorts, I am still decently happy about this. These pants and I are going to finish the summer strong.
Speaking of summer... the other roomies and I rocked this awesome gazpacho and black pepper parm zucchini out.
