Tag : kitchen

80 posts

T Tuesday: National Coffee Day edition

I’m quickly linking up with Elizabeth and Bleubeard this morning.

National Coffee Day

Coffee for T stands for Tuesday works for me!

T stands for Tuesday

Before I head off for another action packed Tuesday I had to share with you my colorful carrots…

not so colorful carrots

Look what happened to the purple ones when I peeled them!!

I’m not sure how often I’ll be participating with T stands for Tuesday in the coming months. Tuesdays are super hard for me if I want to do more than post and run. I hope you’ll still stop by from time to time…I’ll do the same for you…

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T Tuesday: end of season edition

Ah here we are…the end of summer. Gardening is all but done. Leaves are turning and falling at a rapid pace around here. The birds and critters are frantically storing food for the long winter. IMG_0614

I ripped out the plants from the home gardens yesterday. I still have plants in my in-laws garden that will come out next weekend.canningI’ve been canning like crazy. More spicy beans and salsa. I’m really looking forward to breaking into those jars come the dead of winter!!

I also have to share my colorful carrots.carrots

Aren’t they pretty!! I sampled a couple and they are quite tasty. These are going in my next beef roast dinner. YUM!

My important phone call I mentioned last week came but not with the results I had hoped for. Such a bummer!!! I really thought I had that job! I even had gotten a tour of “my work space” at the end of the interview.

BAH!! Anyway…moving on…

Since I don’t have a regular gig to go to, I’ll continue to do my on-call subbing. At least that leaves time for art!

I’ve actually done a bit of creating! Will wonders never cease! IMG_0617I completed one art journal page and just need to put the  final touches on a second. Waiting for paint and glue to dry. The above page isn’t my favorite but I was just happy that I still had the drive to create.

I’ll be meeting with some friends for breakfast today…real casual. Likely head there after working out…seriously casual. :) Not exactly sure what the rest of the day holds for me…other than a shower. HA!

What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: Juneberry jam edition

Welcome to yet another edition of T stands for Tuesday hosted by Dr. E aka Elizabeth, caretaker of Bleubeard and Squiggles.

20150629_8030So what’s a Juneberry you ask? I love putting words in your mouth…makes me feel all powerful and full of myself.

20090623_2733 But seriously…ever heard of a Juneberry? How about a Saskatoon berry? Or perhaps a Serviceberry? Until recently I didn’t know that they all happen to be the same thing. And even more so…we have a tree in our yard. Wish I’d realized that 12 years ago when it was much smaller!!

20150629_8044Of course they are much tastier when left until they are a deep purple…but you have to fight the birds for them.

I found several recipes online for Juneberry jam but decided to go with this low sugar version.

20150629_8029Isn’t it pretty!?! I ended up with a partial jar that went into the fridge for immediate consumption.

I’m not a big sweets girl…(unless it’s chocolate…which I’m allergic to but I’m willing to deal with the consequences occasionally but that’s a whole other issue)…so a slightly tart jam suits me just fine. Honestly I haven’t tried it on bread yet…just the spoon. Slightly tart and quite full of seeds. It will depend on if anyone else likes the jam if I bother with all the tedious picking again. It would be interesting to know if you could make wine or mead or some sort of adult beverage from these berries. More research I guess.

Speaking of research…can anyone help me with the name of this flower?

20150629_8035I believe it starts with a “C” but I threw out the handy dandy marker that came with the plant. I want to write it down so I can remember to purchase more next year.

I’m not sure what’s on the docket for today other than talking to my in-laws. The Twin Cities area got hit with some pretty big thunderstorms yesterday…large hail, winds and heavy rain. We got very little hail here and not much of it so the garden is fine. We heard reports of two inch hail in their area  though. UGH..that would be awful!

I have to show you my rouge bean plants too…I did not buy climbing beans but 4 of my plants have decided to climb.

20150629_8038I’ll be putting in some bamboo stakes today.

What are you doing today?

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A year in review

Another year behind us…

It’s been a busy one.  So many projects using a wide variety of media.  These are a few of my favorites.

year in review

Have a happy and safe New Year! Best to you in 2015.

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Recycled Christmas card ornament

This is definitely not a new craft…but it was a new one for me. I hang on to all our old cards. They are so pretty I can’t bear throwing them in the recycle bin.

Of course, Pinterest played a big part in me actually creating one of these. Ah, Pinterest… How much time I spend with you… The thousands of pins we share… Time organizing and reorganizing when I should be organizing the real things in my life.

IMG_0052

Maybe this is a better clue to the size. IMG_0051

It was created with a 1.25″ punch. IMG_0054

The green one on the left. My neighbor borrowed the blue 2″ punch. I’m curious how much exponentially bigger another one will be with that punch. Yes I’m aware I could do the math…but I’ll just give it a whirl in the physical dimension and compare. Results to follow…soon.

Unless I’m crushed under all the Christmas goodies I’ve been making…treats2

These are just from this morning. I’m getting a sugar rush just smelling them.

I’m getting to the point that just thinking about eating any of it just doesn’t sounds appealing. Just like when I worked at Baker’s Square when I was a teen…when you are around pies, cookies and muffins all day long…you have desire to eat any.

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T Tuesday: jam edition

T stands for Tuesday_200
Hey it’s Tuesday already….seems all I’m doing with my blog is T stands for Tuesday.  I’ve got to do something about that! Although I did finally finish and post my 2014 Summer Scavenger Hunt wrap-up…so I haven’t been completely lackadaisical with my blog.

tea and aloe

By the way, did anyone notice I changed the background of my blog? I’m thinking that a little more change is due but haven’t given it any brain cells yet.

See now I’m trying to justify things for you and me…silly girl. Anyway…on to the jam!

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A while back I mentioned that I’d be making some Yellow Pear Tomato Jam with these babies… I’ve only made jam once before.

cooking jam

I was skeptical at this stage as to whether the jam would ever turn out. It seemed so juicy and not thick. It definitely cooked down though.

jam

Ta-da…the finished product.  It’s a cross between a jam and a sauce in my opinion but that works just fine for pouring over Brie for a yummy appetizer.

This is the recipe I used: spicy yellow tomato jam.  I think I’d back off on the sugar a bit or add more jalapenos and maybe add pectin to thicken it a bit.

Just got back from a 3.5 mile walk with my friend….lost my favorite stocking hat with tassels. I’m going to have to retrace my steps.

What are you doing today?

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T Tuesday: catching up edition

Welcome to T stands for Tuesday.T stands for Tuesday_200

Do I dare say that I think our internet troubles are finally over?  We haven’t had a reboot in almost 3 days now.  Of course, we’ve hardly used the computer either since we’ve been so busy.  Where shall I start?

Apples….Phil and friends

We helped with the annual harvest at our neighbors house on Saturday. We brought home 6 grocery bags of apples to be processed…a fraction of the total haul from their 7 trees.

Later that evening I went to a new neighborhood edition of craft club, where I made these 4 cards as well as got my stamp on the backs of a huge stack of previously made cards. I was pretty tired from the day and didn’t really have my craft mojo going.

craft club cards

Sunday was spent with Little J in the garage processing through the apples.  They are organic so they have spots and holes so most need some trimming after being run through the peeler/corer/slicer. BIG JOB! So glad I had help this year. We ended up with about 15 gallons of apples ready for the next step.

applesauce

So far I’ve made 7 quarts of sauce…

apple pie

One pie…dehyrator

An overstuffed quart bag of dried apple slices and three 8×8 apple crisps are in the freezer at the ready for future desserts. That was only about 1/2 the apples. More apple-ing today…

Last night I had a well deserved glass of wine.relaxing

Last week I finally got around to doing some creating…here’s a work-in-progress shot of a painting.

WIP

I’m a little late with my post today as I went for a walk with a friend around a local lake this morning. 4.25miles.  It was a little brisk at times but as long as you keep moving it helps keep you warm.

What are you doing today?

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