| |
| Tuesday, October 20, 2009 |
| back from life |
The summer was jam packed with stuff and not enough time to do it. Working full time and trying to enjoy life is difficult when your days off are only the weekends (something I had not dealt with in years having worked a more regular retail job where your weekend tends to fall somewhere around Tuesday). We attempted a real garden (or gardens I should say) this year, having a yard and all. The results were mixed. The tomatoes were our biggest success story, which is told by how many of them I ate this summer in a tomato vinegrette salad and by how many quarts of tomato based products I have already canned this fall.
The frost came early, causing us to pick clean our garden in one evening. The green tomatoes have been pickled in various manners (3 different ways), the celery not quite all used and in the fridge, the hot peppers I will likely dry, the summer squash hoping I find a recipe to use all 7 of them, and the remaining herbs hanging to dry all over the house in bunches. That doesn't even take into account the bounty of produce gotten the weekend of the harvest party out at Driftless Organics CSA. We didn't get a share this year (due to our own garden), but knowing the farmers sure puts you in a good position for picking up your fair share of cabbage, potatoes, peppers, squash and other more exotic types of veggies.
 This is the view of our "winter pantry" as it currently appears. Jars lined up, 2-deep full of delicious summer harvest. Tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, tomato basil soup, chicken noodle soup, pickled green tomatoes, piccalilli relish, dilled veggies, pickled beets, bread and butter pickles, chili con carne, sauerkraut, sweet and spicy pickled mini peppers and tomato corn salsa. Yet to come are more dilled veggies, dilled beans, more sauerkraut, chicken veggie soup, maybe some pickled garlic and maybe applesauce. If I finally get some time, I plan to resume blogging recipies as well. Labels: autumn, food, garden, summer, winter |
posted by Jen @ 10:41 PM   |
|
|
|
| Friday, November 03, 2006 |
| Nov. 2nd is the day to bake your Bubbs-o-lantern |
 Turns out I baked last year's pumpkin head on this same date. I just couldn't let it sit around and get funny or it would be wasted. Don't want to waste one morsel of that lovely orange flesh. This year's pumpkin was considerably heavier and obviously taller than last year's (not sure on the overall size, but pretty sure it was bigger).
I nearly had trouble getting him into the oven in one piece (not to mention without dropping him on the floor). Bubbs has been baked and cubed and is chilling out in the fridge awaiting his chance to become chili and pie and who knows what else.Labels: autumn, food, holidays, winter |
| posted by Jen @ 12:35 AM |
|
|
|
|
| Pumpkin disection 201 |
On Halloween night, Matt and I carved the pumpkin his mom bought for us. It was a big huge awesome pumpkin, full of seeds and thick flesh, great for carving. I wanted to carve Strong Bad, but I let Matt help me pick. Not knowing Homestarrunner characters and picking mearly on looks, he chose Bubbs, and so it was, the Bubbs-o-lantern was born.
I printed and traced the stencil and carved the first two teeth. Not to miss out on the fun, Matt, the master carver, did the rest. It looked super awesome and we put it out on the railing of our deck with a candle in it so the Trick-or-Treaters could see it. (and yes we had some and they got plastic spider rings cause it was all we had). Much much cooler than my regular jack-o-lantern last year.
Plans for this year's pumpkin feast include more chili, sugarless pie and who knows what else. We're already munching the seeds.
 Labels: autumn, friends |
| posted by Jen @ 12:17 AM |
|
|
|
| Thursday, November 02, 2006 |
| Happy October Birthdays to them. |
Both my Grandpa Matt and my cousin, Brandon, have October birthdays. In the tradition that is our family's, we had a double birthday party for them on Sunday, complete with home-cooked pot roast dinner and two kinds of dessert. (it is tradition that the birthday person gets to choose their birthday dessert and each person is entitled to their own dessert on which their candles will be placed.)
Grandpa especially likes double (or more) birthdays because he gets more desserts. I, of course, bought him chocolate for his present, as is tradition when giving gifts to Grandpa.
 Labels: autumn, family |
| posted by Jen @ 11:53 PM |
|
|
|
|
| All dressed up with places to go |
Steph, Matt and I got decked out for Halloween a few days early to attend some festivities. (Steph and I spent many hours one night making her costume from scratch and I spent another 3 making my cape). We went to a party at a friend's house and then attempted to attend a Wookie Foot concert.
The venue was completely packed and we got there early. We ended up in the middle on the floor next to an impromptu drum circle before Wookie Foot took the stage (we got there during an opening band). The crowd began pushing and claustrophobia set in. We tried to get out and got smashed in further, and I got choked with my cape when it became intangled in the crowd. We decided the crowd might be getting a little bit viscious for our usually quiet selves and left.
We'll have to see Wookie Foot another day, but we did get home in time to order a pizza from Galactic and watch a movie in front of the fireplace. All in all, a good Halloween romp.
 Labels: autumn, friends, holidays |
| posted by Jen @ 11:48 PM |
|
|
|
| Tuesday, October 31, 2006 |
| Cinder-elly cinder-elly |
Not exactly Cinderella, but tonight, I will be sleeping on a futon in front of this (which I made myself - the fire, not the futon). Hooray for fireplaces, may my house always have one.Labels: autumn |
| posted by Jen @ 1:00 AM |
|
|
|
|
|
