A Simple Breakfast

Yesterday I had a really good breakfast of my awesome french toast. It's so rich and so good by Monday I crave something simplier. This morning I made toast with jam. It's not a fantasic example of my cuilinary adventures but it's so simple that's wonderful.
Back in November I went out to Lancaster and stopped by something called the Kitchen Kettle Village. I was under the impression that the jams that they made were the most fantastic thing on earth. The truth is, it's not.
Today I put Kitchen Kettle's Strawberry Rhubarb (left)  jam up against my homemade blackberry jam (roght). I was a little disgusted when I read the ingrediant lable of the KK jam. High fuctose corn syrup. And this stuff is made by Amish women!
Anyway, I put both on toasted texas toast bread and tried both. Which is the best? Mine of course. The KK jam is overly sweet with not much Rhubarb flavor. Honesty, I'm a little bit annoyed about it and I don't think I'll be getting anymore KK products. You could try all of their products before buying and the pickles tasted like sugar coated cucumbers!
Hopefully next time I go back to Lancaster I can go to one of those nice roadside stands. The one with the pretzels is amazing.

Reading Myself Silly

Yesterday was a aweful day. It rained nearly all day and looked like a child that lost his mother; misrable and lonely. Here, the place looks like it lost winter. It's strange to say that after living here my whole eight-teen almost nine-teen years, I never observed the January thaw. I never noticed it; I was too business with myself to really notice. Now that I do notice, it's all too strange. Where did the snow go? I want my snow back! It's a selfish thought but it's not winter without it.
Again this year, I'm sitting back as the maple sugaring season passes. I want to learn how to do it. I love real maple syrup however, as will everything else I do here, I'm restrained by my parents. It's a miracle that they even let me can. For those they don't know, it's takes a lot of time to condense the maple sape down to maple syrup. We do have an outdoor fireplace that we used for making maple syrup but I don't know if it'll take a heating since it's so old. If not I could probably build something. But then who'll eat it? Me and my dad. My mom hates the stuff.
Well, maybe I'll order supplies and give it a wing. What's the worse that could happen?
Anywho, in the past twenty-four hours I have read well over 150 pages in my novel, Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. I love Dan Brown's books. The led you in circles as you try to figure out who the real villian is. Right now, I'm certian that Sathmore is.

Happy New Year!

I was going to stay up late last night but I got tired while watching The Muppets' Letters to Santa. But I was thinking about all that I want to do in 2010. My list is long so I hope I get to most of it.
This year I want to:
Bring reusable bags to stores. Made easy by a bag that fits nicely into my purse.
Shop more locally. My alpaca socks where the best $20 I ever spent.
Get more canning done. My stock of blackberry jam is nearly depleted so I'd like to do some more jams.
Be a little less ambisious with the garden. Planting only things that we will eat and things that are not ambunant around here.
Visit local farms more often for produce. I learned that getting your produce straight from the farm is the freshest.
Get into more crafts. I would really like to try making soap.
Learn how to do basic maintance stuff such as changing spark plug in a car and changing the oil.
Also, I'd like to read more and be on the computer less.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Apple Butter: A Reflection

"Live and learn" is one of my mottoes. If something goes wrong or right you learn something from it. Well, my apple butter went wrong. I'll start from the beginning.
A recent thread on Cold Antler Farm forum was about apples. Many people listed their favorite apple recipes. Among these was one for apple butter made in the crockpot. I rejoiced knowing that I could have slightly less laborious but still have tasty apple butter in about a day. Excited to can some I rushed to the orchard, bought a basket of blemished mixed apples for $4, a steal. Yesterday morning I peeled, cored, and chopped my 10 apples. Threw in the spices and discovered that we didn't have any sugar. Not a problem. I was due to go to work in a few hours anyway so I would just have to add it when I came home. I put on high for an hour stirred excitedly then switched it to low for 9 more hours, but in nine more hours I would be at work. I told my mom to take the cover off at about 7 o'clock. When I got home my mom had reported that that apple butter started to burned. Of course, I questioned her about what time she took it off....7:30. Groan! Thankfully it didn't taste burnt!
I left it alone since it was too late to can it. This morning I got up, threw the apple butter in the food processor to smooth it out and add the sugar. Although the recipe suggests putting in 2 cups of sugar I found that 1/2 cup did just fine. I threw the mixture back into the crockpot on warm, to kill any bacteria and set up the canning equipment. This was the fourth time that I canned this year so my set up was great. I corrected any flaws in my previous canning adventures.
Sadly, the apple butter only did three 1/2 pint jars. I had anticipated at least six 1/2 pint jars.
No worries, I still have a lot of apples left from the basket so I'll be making some more soon. I think I'll be freezing it this time.
P.S. I'm on my third book of the season, Hit by a Farm by Catherine Friend.

An Apple of a Day

It was one of those days that didn't go as planned but still worked out alright. I had a last minute change of plans, my friend had to help her mom move. The Mercer Muesum visit is postponed until Tuesday.
Instead, I cleaned my room a little bit. Not much but enough to call it progress. Tomorrow I'll have to finish it. My mom and dad were outside doing yardwork so I stole the chance to practice the fiddle. So far I can play the D scale and "Ida Red" okay. I think my fiddle is out of tune and I'm not about to offer up money to support something that I may or may not end up keeping in the long run. I'm going to take it back to the rental store and see if their violin guy can give it a once over. It's a rental right? It should be in tune when I rent it. I'll probably ask if he can put fingering tape on it. They're nice people that run the store so I doubt they'll say no.
My cat started to swat the bow so I figured it was time to put it away and go ouside.
I gathered sticks for the camp fire. I'm tempted to douse some larger logs in a little lighter fluid so help them catch. No matter which way I build the fire it seems to only want to burn smaller stuff.
I figured that since I'm not going to eat the apples that I'm buying for my apple butter fresh, I went to my local orchard to pick up some of their blemished ones. Boy! Did they have a lot! I swear there were more than the perfect ones. At $4 a basket of mixed apple, I couldn't argue. The amount in the basket is enough to make a few nice jars plus an apple pie or two. I'm really looking forward to it. While I was there I picked up some of their apple cider which wasn't near as good as the cider that I've been getting at a different orchard. This apple cider tasted more like tany apple juice. It's still good and local so I can't argue.
Now, I'm waited for dinner to be ready, lasange, and be done with so I can finished making snickerdoodles.
So, it has been a pleasant day. Now, I'm excited for Tuesday!

Help! Murder in the Kitchen!

It was Rachel in the kitchen with a knife!AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

No, seriously it was only beets. I think Doug and his friend Skeeter were on to something about beets. They are so good.

I took another trip to Trauger's, I have no clue were I'd be with out them. I bought two more bunches of beets, popcorn kernels, snickerdoodle cookies, and some really good Sarsparilla made in Kutztown. On the bottle it says "Nix besser" which means "Nothing better".

So it took me fours hours to make my pickled beets and process them. Good thing I didn't have to hover over it all that time. The beets tasted very good. I made nine pints of them only the ninth pint never made it to process because the bottom of the jar had a chip in it. I dumped it into a container and put it in the fridge. Tomorrow I'll boil some eggs and add them. Yummy. The recipe that I used was from PickYourOwn.org.

Also while I was out, I stopped by the Delaware Canal at one of the locks. It reminds you of a simpliar time when man needed beast to help haul boat loads of coal from the mountians.

Also, I took a picture of a mill. I've been inside it before. It's very impressive. But to ease your curiousity I have some photos of the mill I visited in Lancaster County. They ran the mill for our tour group. Here's the video with no sound. You probably wouldn't have been able to hear anything anyway.

The Pickle Expedition

It seems like a lot of hoopla over something so small. I must confess, it is but they are my pickles not just something generic that I picked up at a whim in the grocery store. It's a commitment.

Wednesday morning I took another trip to Trauger's to get beets and more pickling cucumbers. When leaving the house I noticed that we lacked vinegar and my mom wanted tomato juice so I took a trip to the nearest supermarket, the IGA in Frenchtown, New Jersey. This was something different. I had never drove acrossed those bridges let alone by myself. It's scary knowing that about twenty feet below the Delware River is churning and that one false move could send you hurling to your death. Okay, maybe that is a little dramatic but it was a big deal to me.

Anyway, once I got the vinegar and tomato juice I headed back to PA. The next leg of my journey was enjoying the river scenery ((and dogging the many potholes that grace the road)). A few minutes later, and after worrying about taking the wrong turn, I arrived that Trauger's. I swear, that place is my happy place. Old farm house, river setting, acres of plants that produce food to make very good food. That's is my place, if I dare say, a little more homier than my own home. There I snagged 15 good sized pickling cucumber, to add with my existing 30 smaller ones, for $3, and 2 good bunches of beets for $2 a piece. I also snagged a packet of Mrs. Wages Kosher Dill Pickle mix for $2.50 just in case the other mix was too little.

I'm glad I did because I ended up processing twelve pint jars and one gallon of fridge style because I didn't have any wide mouth lids. Lesson two and three learned.

To those that are curious, it's very easy to make pickles with or without a packaged mix and with or without a water bath canner.

First, get your canner or stock pot to a boil.

Meanwhile, wash your jars and set them in warm water until ready to use. Some people say to boil them but it's not nessisary. If you wash them in warm enough water they'll be sterilized and if you keep them in warm water they will not break.

Next, follow your packet's intructions or if you want to make them from stratch go here.

While you're waiting for the brine to boil pack your cucumbers in the jars. Remember keep them warm. To activate the glue on the lids you can place them in a pan of water on low or dip them in the canner for a few seconds (when your ready to seal).

Once your brine in to a boil pour it into your jars and cap. Process jars according to the intructions.Lastly, enjoy your pickles year round. Looking at the jars just seem romantic. Sigh. The cost per jar, not including energy is about sixy-five cents per jar.

Owch! And other news

So someone up there was beating me with a stick today. I came home from shopping with my mom. Within 30 minutes I was on the road again to go to work with my lunch of pizza in tin foil waiting for me to eat it when I get there (I've only been driving a month and didn't want to take a chance). I get to work, eat it, and run it. When it was time for my dinner break I had a game plan. I needed pickling cucumbers but couldn't go to the farmer's market so I drive to the produce stand near work. Huzzah! I snagged 30 good pickling cucumbers for $3, less then half I was expecting. I get out to the car, bend over to slide my box in the car and BAM! I hit my head on the car. With my head throbbing I attempt to cross one lane and a turning lane. That didn't go to well. I ended up driving back to work, turning around and going out that stop light to McDonalds. Dumb me went to do this in rush hour traffic. Needless to say I had ten minutes to eat. It could have been worse. I get back, put my cucumbers into the fridge and in my excitment of telling my manager, a family friend who as been giving me advise on canning, I cut the corner to short at the register, it's raised about eight inches, and sliced a nice whole into my favorite pair of jeans. Eventful, no?
In other news, I found a very interesting artical on MotherEarthNews.com, http://tinyurl.com/pdzj8g. A while back, I thought it would be neat to find edibles in the words but I doubt that would go over too well with my mom although raspberries are okay. I know not many people read this, but let's see who can find a wild edible. Do what the artical suggests. Take a picture of it, tell me where you foudn it and do something with it. Post the link to your picture in the comments. It'll be interesting to see what people find. Don't forget to do your research first.

Jammin'

What a event. Around 11 o'clock in the morning I started. I mushed my berries one layer at a time. At first I didn't know what this was. So I threw a few berries into the bowl and mashed them then add more. Hopefully this was what they were getting at. The biggest mistake the I made was not starting the canner before I started jamming. After I made the jam, which was quite easy, I put the lids and bands on and waited for canner to boil. During that time I encountered another problem, the half pint jars don't fit on the rack! With a little testing I noticed that the jars fit nicely on the outer edge of the rack and if I carefully lower and raise it would work. I lost my jar lifter, which is old anyway, but it worked with regular tongs. After the jars were processed you couldn't imagine my excitment when I heard the tops pop! It was like Christmas. All of my jars sealed.

It's amazing to know that you played a part in putting food up for the winter. Yeah, it's only jam but that's one less thing that I need to buy at the supermarket. I played a part in it's making. I picked the berries, mashed them, cooked, and processed them. Just knowing that will make the jam taste great. As for the cost, it was about $1.79 per jar which doesn't include getting a canner, bands, jar lifter and anything that can be reused. So for $9 in berries, about $1 in sugar, 75 cents for six lids. If you have your own blackberry bush it's even cheaper, only 30 cents a jar.

I'm looking forward to making pickles next weekend and after that perhaps applesauce. Yummy!

Not Quite As Planned

Those two lovely jars of lemon tea were shared looking over the Delaware River. What a lovely way to end a perfect picking session. Well, things didn't go quite as planned. Instead of picking raspberries, which seem out of season, we picked blackberries. That goodness for thornless blackberry bushes! It was a lot of fun. My friend and I each picked two quarts of blackberries, about 3 pounds each, enough to make jam and then some. We squeezed outselves through the canes, fought off bugs and the occasional spider web. It was humid but it was nice when you could feel the breeze come off the Delaware River. And it didn't rain like it said it was going to! As after picking blackberries which, if anyone is curious, cost about $9 for a little over 3 pounds, we sipped lemon tea by the river and knitted, talked about being self sufficant, and Made From Stratch. It's amazing how good it is to be around someone that is like minded.

P.S. In case you are wondering, we picked at Trauger's Farm and Market on Rt 611.

Two Jars of Lemon Iced Tea

Looks yummy, doesn't it? Lately I've been aspiring to make things. I'm not talking about cookies I'm talking about pickles and jam. I've been craving homemade pickles and jam. Soon that craving will be satisfied. Tomorrow a friend and I will go pick raspberries, enjoy these two jars of lemon iced tea and knit. It's not much but at least I get to spend a little time with someone other than my mom and the people that I work with. And with our haul tomorrow, raspberries and pickling cucumbers, I shall make jam and pickles! That's all I'm going to do in the way of canning this year. Hopefully next year I will take on a little more, at least one or two more things; perhaps tomato sauce and strawberry jam? Well, whatever I decide I bet it will be good.

As for the lemon iced tea I got the recipe from here. But for those too lazy to click the link here it is:

2 tea bags

2 oz lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

2 qt water

Boil water. Remove from heat and steep tea bags covered for an hour. Stir in sugar and lemon juice. Served chilled or over ice.

Today's Haul

The ground is still very soggy and I don't want to chance falling in the mud, although it would be fun. So what kind of a haul did I get? No, it's not raspberries, blueberries or anything like that. Oh no, it was canning jars! What makes this so special to be considered a haul? Well, I've been interested in canning some of my own things such as jams, pickles, apple butter, ect. but the intital cost was going to throw me into the loop. The thing with canning is that when you first start you need to buy everything. The Ball brand water bath canning kit has everything you need to start but it would cost you about $50. Yikes! However, I am fortunate enough to have parents that use to can. That's right, I get everything. Grant it, I had to hunt everything down in the cellar but it's worth not spending the $50. When I first got down there I was playing with small stones but I hit the mother load; unopened boxes of wide mouth canning jars! And better yet there were coupons inside with no expiration date! JACKPOT! So now I've cut cost down to another $20 because I would have had to bought jelly jars and wide mouth jar which are about $10 a box. All I really need to spend it the $2 for the jelly jar lids, $3 on pickle mix, $2 on fruit pertin, and how ever much cucumbers and raspberries will cost. Sweet, right?