Sunday Recap

I told you all the stuff I got on Saturday. Well, let me tell you about Sunday. Late Saturday night for a hoot I went and checked craig's list. I see that there is yard sale that has been going on for 2 days and Sunday was the last day. They were offering canning jars. So I went to bed debating whether or not to set the alarm. In the end I didn't bother since they probably sold them all anyways. At 8:30 am I wake. Now this is not normal for me, especially since no one else was home. Everyone had other things going on. So I went back to sleep. When DH came home from work I was awake still thinking about going to that sale. He was to tired to go with me so I decieded to head out myself. When I got there they had a few canning jars mixed in with others. I asked them how much and that I saw the post on craig's list and we got talking. They said they might still have a case or 2 still in the basement that they could check. Also asked me if I was interested in the blue ones. They start carring out cases, the one woman made the comment that they would have more but they still had food in them. I told them all I had was $11 on me but I would take what ever jars they wanted to sell me. Even the ones with the food. By the time it was all said and done I had got just over 14 dozen jars of various sizes. I cleaned most of them out last night. I still have 18 to clean but they have to wait till the rain stops as the jars have black tar food in them. The earliest date on the jars was from 1976 all the way to the 1990's.

So all together this weekend I got just over 18 dozen canning jars. And also a few decorative ones.... Even a blue one or two!

Not a bad haul! I am set now for awhile. I need to get canning more stuff!

Gotta Run,
Yart

MIA

Sorry I haven't been around lately. Easter break is just that... well, not really. We have been running around here like chickens with our heads cut off.

I was able to get 6 quarts of beef stock canned up. I have also been a dehydrating fool. Lets see, lemons, limes, green onions, bananas, celery, tangerines, cabbage have all found new life as dried up snippets of food. DH keeps shaking his head. The cabbage was about the funniest. As he calmly asked me what would I be doing with it.... LOL! I told him that I will add it to vegetable soup. I am having a lot of fun dehydrating everything that ain't nailed down.

I went to the library a couple of weeks ago and checked out some canning books. Yesterday I went through and copied down a ton of recipes. One off the top of my head is caramel apple butter. When I make these I will include the recipes.

Well, it finally happened. We got our new roof. All of the wood was in really good shape. So they didn't have to replace any. Now the roof is no longer the eye sore of the neighborhood. That honor has moved to the missing siding that blew off during a wind storm awhile back. Been trying to get a ladder tall enough to get up there and put it back up. Hopefully, in the next couple of days. *FINGERS CROSSED*

Measured out the area for the square foot garden. I have enough room for 13 boxes. We are going to go and get the wood on Thursday and the dirt on Friday. As I want to get all of this done so that I can go to the last fish fry really doing the happy dance! Plus, the damn basement cats keep getting up and eating all of my seedlings. All that is left are a few tomato plants. So that means I will have to direct sow the seeds. Then if nothing comes up by the end of May I will still have time to get plants to plant.

I went yard sale-ing today. I was able to get 4 or 5 dozen jars for $7.50, an old muffin tin $1, bread pan .25, 4 crochet hooks .25, skein of yarn $1, 10 reader's digest books that have 4 stories each (like little women and lorna doone) $5, train cake pan .75, water bath canner $6.

Plus, I have started to knit. Nothing fancy. I started a cleaning cloth with peaches and cream yarn. Unfortunately, I made it too big so I ripped it apart and am making it smaller. I don't mind so much as it is a learning experience. I will get some pictures on here as soon as I can.

Gotta Run,
Yart

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Monday Rambling's

Let's see where to start. We had a really good turn out at the fish fry on friday. 94 dinners sold! We were hopping. And we are figuring to break 100 on Good Friday! Saturday we went to Shipshawana. I didn't buy anything but I was able to find the E&S Bulk I hear everyone talking about. So once I get some money I will be heading there. Went to Essinhause (sp?) to eat, the food was wonderful as always. Came home and then went to the post to shoot some pool. Very long day turned into a very long night. Slept in on Sunday. Went to the fruit market got some more lemons. Some to juice and some to dehydrate. Also got some limes to dehydrate. Now I heard that you slice them 1/4 inch thick and dehydrate until they are completely dry, then put them into the food processor and make a powder out of each. I can't wait to have lemon powder and lime powder. Now your wondering what to do with them. I had the same thoughts. You can use the lemon powder to make lemon chicken and the lime powder to make fajita's.

Oh, I can't believe that I almost forgot. DH was able to bottle his Irish Red beer on Friday night when I was out. He got 47 bottles that are sitting aging as I type. Now we need to get some more bottles and another kits. Neither one of us realized that once it was bottled that it had to sit for 35 days. LOL! Well, it is a learning experience. So since we have a wait and with summer coming I thought it best to get more and start it in 2 or 3 weeks. That way we can rotate it.

Teenage monster opened one of the jars of orange jelly today. So I won't know if it is any good until she gets home from school. Hopefully, they will like it as we have a lot of it. But I can also use it in cooking. I can make a glaze with it if nothing else.

We have snow on the ground. I was wearing a t-shirt last week running around outside and now I have to get bundled up again. Spring gotta love it. But the snow should be gone almost as fast as it showed up. They are calling for 50 - 60 degrees for the rest of the week.

My lima beans are starting to look like the plant from the little shop of horrors..... Every time I walk by I think feed me semore... LOL! They are getting big really quick. I am hoping to be out in the garden soon. All of my peas died, as did the green peppers and the eggplants. My basement dwelling cats decieded that it was time for yummy greens and ate all of them. Needless to say I am taking better care to keep the cat away from the plants.

I will be doing breads tomorrow as today got all messed up this morning and something else came up. So this week Monday will be Tuesday. But I am going to get the soup bones into the oven so that I can make beef stock. Yummy! Oh and I still have that lemon juice to can up also. This time there should be less pulp. I still don't have a jelly bag but I am coming up with some new ways to strain the pulp out.

Gotta Run,
Yart

Friday Musings

It's Friday morning. I am tired, chilled and it is raining out.... I know it doesn't sound like I have a good attitude today. Well, I don't. I had a problem sleeping last night. At the meeting I was at last night one of the ideas that I proposed was shot down. The reason was that we did that before and it didn't work. Needless to say we need to continue to do things if we don't we are going to fall on our proverbial asses. Just because something was done before and it didn't work lets never do it again.... I hate that mentality. If that was the case how many thing would never have been invented or perfected. How many times did Edison make a light bulb that didn't work... It took him along time to find a solution to the problem. How many first time cooks screw up a turkey... We hear all the time the funny stories that we can relate to about leaving the neck or the offal in the bird while cooking. How many of these cooks go on to prefect the turkey years later. Not by giving up but by trying again and again. Ok, I am done with my rant.

I have the fish fry to do tonight. Only 4 more. But then we need to see what we can do to bring in some revenue for the summer. We also have a big party on May 2nd, then a kitchen cleaning party on the 9th, floor to ceiling will be scrubbed down.

I really don't have any plans for today. Maybe I will go and take a nap!

Huggles,
Yart

Thursday Morning

Yesterday I got the orange juice strained..... Need to find a jelly bag, I was using coffee filters... Loads of fun using them. Then of course I find out I could have used a pillow case..... Well, DUH! Live and learn that's what it is all about right?

After we picked the monsters up from school we went to this park area. They have dirt paths and a paved one for walkers or bicycles. We took the paved one. My best guess is that it is 1 1/4 mile long. We only went around one time as there were no washrooms open. The monsters were desperate to leave... LOL! But we are definitely going to be going back a couple times a week. Plus I am still working out on the treadmill. So it all helps.

I made country ribs last night.... Oh they are so good. I put the country ribs in a pan add tomatoes (crushed, diced, pureed or whole what ever I have on hand), BBQ sauce and some homemade salsa, pepper and onion powder. Bake covered at 350 until ribs are done. Served with rice and green beans.

This morning I was able to get the orange jelly made. 9- 1/2 pints are cooling on the table. I think that it might be a little bit to sweet but we will have to wait and see. Next time I will add a bit of food coloring as it isn't as orange as I would have liked. The recipe calls for 3 3/4 cups filtered orange juice, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 7 cups of sugar and 2 (3oz) packages of liquid pectin.

I have to get my self geared up. Tonight I have a meeting, tomorrow is the fish fry, Sat. we are suppose to be going to visit relatives?, Sun. I know there is something just can't remember. But I am so happy with this week there are only 4 more fish fries.

April Fool's Day

Well, I got 7 1/2 pints of lemon juice canned up yesterday. Now I have orange juice filtering so that I can make an orange jelly. The recipe is up stairs so I will have to share it with you another day. I got to the library yesterday and checked out all of the books they had on canning and dehydrating... Lots of new recipes.... Can't wait to make them. I also checked out a book about virtual knitting and crocheting. It has a picture for each and every step. So I am hoping that this book will help me to learn how to knit and more stitches for crocheting. I want to make a new type of blanket.

I would also like to thank Melonie for her concern. And to answer your question I feel much better after I prep. But now I also have a huge list of stuff that I feel needs to be done.... Well, isn't that always the way. LOL!

My newest seedlings are doing very well, lima beans, cabbage, & sweet peppers. All have sprouted and are growing like crazy. I went to the dollar store and got a couple of the cake pans with the plastic lids that is what I am using now as my starter trays. They seem to be working very well and for a very reasonable price.

I would also like to congratulate Jenna over at Cold Antler Farm for her wonderful article in Mother Earth News! I was reading it and then once I turned the page and saw her beautiful sled dogs I knew who the author was. Needless to say my family is like who? Jenna also is the author of "Made from Scratch" which you can find here at Amazon.

Tons of chores to do around here today. Laundry and I have to clean out the fridge.... Yuck! But someone has to do it.

Gotta Run,
Yart