Home Canning

I can't imagine ever being bored as a stay-at-home mom. Even when the kids get bigger. Then I will do things like home-made bread and pasta. There's so much I want to learn and make. So my nice friend Wendy had us over last week to show me the ropes of home canning. I've been too scared up to now, worried I'd give us botulism or something. Jam/jelly seems to be the easiest, thank goodness. Processing (boiling), after the jars are filled isn't even necessary, like with fresh fruit.

Sadly I didn't get a picture of Wendy or the buckets of concord grapes she brought from her mom's garden, but here's the juice coming out of the steamer. Then it was cooked with sugar and pectin and went into hot jars. I halfed the sugar, despite warnings on the box, and it set up perfectly with a little extra boiling. I was happy to learn on something that didn't require the post-processing or a pressure cooker, needed for vegetables and such. I have scary visions of sealed jars exploding. Yikes. Baby steps.

Eli gasped when he saw Wendy's garden. It was cute. I've been trying to get him excited about growing vegetables.  I gasped when I saw how much basil, lemongrass, and heirloom tomatoes she sent us home with. We've been eating plenty of caprese, pesto, and even some Thai chicken soup.  Wendy also told me about a book by a woman that only ate what she grew or got from the local farmer's market for 1 year. Not sure if I could ever do that. It's a lot of work, self sufficiency. I knew that, but realized a little better that you can't be wimpy. While plucking grapes I squeeled a few times when I found earwigs making their way up my hand.

I'm hoping to do lots of homework on gardening so things will go as smoothly as possible when the time comes.  Natural pest control, where to plant what, what grows well here, best way to water, etc.  So I'm grateful for Wendy's advice.

So today I'm excited to have canned by myself for the first time.  Making my own batch of grape jelly. Each pop of the lids going down was a relief.  It worked! Now I definitely sound crazy to experienced canners and those with  no interest, which probably represents everyone.

Grow Your Own Sprouts

Update. Well, here's a recipe, but I didn't have the same ingredients, so I just did this:

Finely chopped/minced 1/4 onion, 4 mushrooms, one carrot and stems of bok choy sauteed in sesame oil until tender. Added a little salt and microplaned ginger. Turned off heat and added finely chopped leaves from bok choy, basil, and sprouts.

Dipping Sauce: equal parts soy sauce and water. Dash of rice vinegar and a little ginger.

Now that I have tofu I'll add that in. Apparently you just smoosh a block of extra-firm.

I'm so glad my friend Wendy gave me the idea to grow sprouts. Such an easy, cheap way to keep anti-oxidant and protein rich veggies on hand. I thought it would be great for Eli to learn about seeds, watch their development, and be able to enjoy the fruits of his (minimal) labor very quickly. These took 3 or 4 days and were so simple to grow. Soak overnight, and rinse every 12 or 24 hours. Piece of cake since the perferated top (cheese cloth, special lid, or mesh) which allows air in also makes rinsing and straining quick.

Last night they went into this pot-sticker filling. Sorry, no picture of the final product, we at them too fast. I wonder if Brian even noticed there was no meat.

I Stayed Up Past Midnight

I must've been excited about finishing these little shoes for Esme. I've been dreaming of making some since I ran into a few free patterns, but was driven to make them since my cheapness has been keeping me from buying the pricey shoes that I like. After 3 hours adjusting the pattern, unpicking several mistakes, and learning as I went, she has slippers that fit just right but won't make me cry when she grows out of them in a month.

I used this pattern (and this video) but narrowed and lengthened the sole about half an inch. They are lined with soft microfleece (diaper scraps) and the outside is heavy twill (sling scraps). Next I plan on picking up a leather coat at the thrift store and making these cute ones and if I get really into, these reversible kimono-style ones. I wonder how long I can go on making her shoes. Luckily she's technically a baby for at least one more year.

If anyone knows of a way to get some traction on the bottom, like the rubber writing on the bottom of socks, please let me know. I've already thought of going to Home Depot for some adhesive something, but that stuff probably isn't non-toxic. Then I thought of sewing a rubber band along the bottom. See. I clearly need help before my ideas get any more ridiculous. Rubber cement?...

Sew Your Own Cloth Diapers

Sounds intense, eh? I figured I would wait for #2 and a better washing machine before making the leap. I really never thought of sewing them myself since I'm no seamstress and sewing machines intimidate me. Luckily my friend Anna organized the class with her in-laws to get the pattern and learn how to sew cloth diapers from the woman they had been buying them from. The diapers are much like FuzziBunz with her own variations. Ivy Dow is her name and it was her first class. I think its genius. Instead of competing with the endless cloth diaper companies out there and being a diaper-sewing machine, she's found a more meaningful niche. Her company, Every-Green Babies, is helping people save money, be self-sufficient, and be eco-conscious. She will have great success in Utah with all the homemakers that have time and sewing skills.
I thought she was going to hand out the patterns and show us how to make them. Hah! We had to sew them ourselves. Nothing better than hands-on experience and it gave me the confidence to think I could actually do it on my own.
Last night at the class I was the one with the least sewing ability (also known as the slowest) and poor Anna felt like she had to explain that I had sewn once 10 years ago. After a few comments I finally said, only half-jokingly, "Only in Utah is it not okay to not know how to sew!" I was stressed and caused threading problems with the machine, but finally finished and was filled with pride at my olive green creation. I couldn't wait to try it on the boy. He even wore it to church today.
I love DIY projects, I don't mind the few flaws because I'm so proud that I did it myself and we can have stylish cloth diapers for 1/4 the price of buying them. Olive green, chocolate brown, eggplant, and cranberry diapers, here we come. Sounds delicious.

For Your Weekend Viewing Pleasure

Here are some before and after pictures of our dining and living areas and kitchen. I'm afraid this is the last record of the Corrales couches^ that stayed in the family for a couple of decades. They served us well, as they were the only place I could sleep once my pregnancy-worn hips were too sore for a bed. Our favorite thing in the living room would have to be the calligraphy given us by Master Jang in Santa Barbara last summer. Also, Instead of only keeping toys in the family room in the back I finally figured out that I should put them in the living room (I try to make it the more attractive wooden ones) so Eli can play for a while as I wash dishes. Suddenly he got less clingy and let me work in the kitchen. Amazing. Clingy=Bored. Somehow we don't have a before shot of the kitchen, just imagine white.

Anna and Joe: Angels, The Best Friends Ever, Or Both

8:30 a.m., Saturday, July5th when everyone else was sleeping in after festivities and fireworks, Anna and Joe came to our house with a friend's tile saw and tons of tools to help me tile our bathroom floor. After getting a layer of cement board down over the wooden sub-floor, Joe took his position in our bathtub as tile saw operator. By 10 p.m. we still weren't done and the two came back after work Monday and Tuesday until all the tile was set.
Brian and Eli got tons of one-on-one time; they went to the playground, farmer's market, swimming, and Eli saw his first movie: Kung Fu Panda. We weren't having quite so much fun. The thing is, they offered, well, Anna offered. Maybe she didn't know how much work it was going to be, Joe sure did because he had done this before. Either way, they're the best friends a person could ask for.
This past Sunday they came over and I made them a dinner to try and say Thank You. Homemade pasta with prosciutto sage cream sauce and some spicy grilled shrimp. Our new floor cost $200, a fraction of what it would have cost to pay someone. After much work, major aches and pains, and plenty of time spent, we have an attractive floor. I'm now glad Anna convinced me to choose the more labor-intensive diagonal pattern. Thank you Anna, Joe, and Brian, without whom, our bathroom floor would still be carpet.

This Is The Place, Jefferson Place

Tomorrow will be our 1 year anniversary living here and it's gotten me thinking, and hoping that those 3 extremely nice men in our old ward don't still hate us for helping us move on the hottest day ever into a place on the 3rd floor.
Although she's not a beauty from the outside and being that she was last on our list of homes to see, we were pleasantly surprised when we came in. It's the most spacious condo I've ever seen with vaulted ceilings and tons of storage.
Here are a few reasons why we love our condo:
3. Your Standard Communal Amenities- We pretty much go swimming every day in the summer, there's a killer sledding hill for the winter (with a bunny or a death slope) and a newly updated clubhouse with a pool and ping pong tables we could reserve for parties. Eli would consider all the friendly neighborhood cats to play with to be the most important, plus, we don't have to feel bad about not getting him one. And I might just be the only one enthused about the new dumpster for paper recyclables, at least those I won't have to collect and drive across town to dump anymore.
2. It Is A Blank Slate-I don't know how the people before us survived 3 years with stark white walls, mini blinds in all windows, and carpet in their master bathroom, but we have changed all that. Being a first home and not too expensive we've been able to take some DIY risks with decorating and tiling (More on this to come). Luckily the place is new, 2001, so the plumbing and electrical systems that I have had to deal with during our beautification have been simple to handle, even for someone reading out of a how-to book as they go. Thanks to Eli's napping we have 5 rooms painted colors like tan, grey, sky blue, and even Kermit the Frog green. Tiling has happened on the fireplace, back splash, and master bathroom-Thank you Anna and Joe.
1. Location, Location, Location- We are seriously 1 minute off the freeway, so you must come see us when driving pas the 9000 S. exit on I-15. Especially exciting to me is the fact that we are two blocks to an entrance to the Jordan River Parkway where we can ride our bike (Eli has a kid seat on my bike) for like 10 miles past animals, a historical little shopping village, under bridges, and stop at playgrounds. We even ride out bike about a mile away to the closest mall and great shopping center across from it.
If this sounds like the place for you, I know of a few units for sale.