Quick catch up
I haven't written on this thing in two weeks. Sometimes it is hard to find enough alone time for this stuff, but oh well... Here's what the Daby family have been up to:1) Canning
I canned ALOT of peaches, jam, tomatoes and salsa. By the way, this is my friend Heidi's salsa recipe (which you don't have to can, you can just eat) and it is amazing. Equally amazing, for those of you who like me are trying to stretch a small grocery budget to feed ravenous munchkins, I figured out that when I made this salsa recipe (I quadrupled it) and canned it it came out to 16 dollars for 14 pint jars. And that is with buying new jars. It is quite a savings over buying store salsa and it tastes awesome.
Salsa
Put in food proccessor or blender:
2 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
1/2 large onion chopped
1/2 cup tomatoe paste
1/2 green pepper chopped
5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 1/2 TBSP salt
1 TBSP cumin
2 TBSP sugar
After blending this add 2 more cups diced tomatoes and 2-? diced Jalepenos depending on how spicy you like it.
Hurrah for Salsa!!!
2) Peter and grandpa Phippen were here for several days. It was a very nice visit including all of the things we've come to expect with visits from granddaddy (peter). There was massive sugar consumption for all, parentally guided spoilage of the children, LOTS of hair in the bathroom, and two happy little children. Peter bought me crest whitening strips and a new set of dishes from Crate and Barrel which I should be getting very soon.
Hurrah for Peter the native American impersonator :)
*SHAMELESS HUSBAND PROMOTION*
By the way, Josh plays percusion on Peter's latest album "Shadow's of Dawn." He is very awesome!
3) I am trying to come up with a plan to keep the children occupied and me from going crazy this year. It is our year together before Emma starts preschool and we start thinking about adding on blessings. I want to enjoy my two birds completely.
4) I am extremely proud of myself for finding a gift for Josh's birthday that I think he will REALLY like. I must admit that though I have known Josh since I was 17 I have never gotten him a gift that he really liked without him telling me exactly what he wanted. I have also never surprised him because he always snoops, he is like snoop doggy dog! I am hoping that I can do it this year. He will be 31! Can you believe how old he is?
posted by Liz @ 11:49 AM
4 Comments:
I've never gotten into canning, though I've often thought I might find the effort very rewarding. Good for you to be so disciplined and have such forethought!
And I'm the one in my marriage that is hard to buy for, though I never ever snoop! I just have such particular thoughts about everything that it can be tough for someone to get inside my mind and figure out what I would like... that is, of course, if they aren't my mom or sisters, who happen to have almost the same exact tastes as me. :)
I can never buy anything for Tim without him telling me exactly what he wants either. It's usually tools or computer stuff that interests him, so I am way out of my league when it comes to finding something on my own. Good for you for finding something for Josh on your own. I have tried canning a bit over the past few years...mostly tomatoes and green-tomato relish...but I did try pickled beets and grape jelly with my mother-in-law once. My biggest problem is getting the canning done while the tomatoes are still good...I have a tendency to forget abou them until its too late. We might try that salsa recipe, though...we eat a lot of salsa and probably spend much more than $16 for 14 jars!
Thanks for the birthday wishes.
Last Sunday was the first after the beginning of classes. We had about 45 students at the lunch afterwards; about 15 were new--either freshmen or transfers or just plain old first-timers with us. Our anticipation is that the semester will go much like last semester and the one before: more and more are added. It's exciting!
Green tomato relish has as its base unripened green tomatoes from the end of tomato season. The recipe is as follows, but you can really substitute whatever vegetables you like into the recipe...it basically ends up tasting like a sweet and sour pickle relish.
1T celery seed
2T mustard seed
1/2t turmeric
4c cider vinegar
1/2c salt
6c sugar
10 large green tomatoes
4c onion
4c cabbage
10 green peppers
6 sweet red peppers
Grind all vegetables and sprinkle with salt. Let stand 6-12 hours. Rinse and drain. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over vegetables. Heat to boiling (this usually needs to be done in batches). Simmer 3 minutes. Seal in hot sterile jars (lids will pop in as relish cools). Makes 14 pints....that's a lot of relish, but the recipe can easily be scaled down, too.
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