Oh, Darling, yes we can can.

It's been an epic year for canning at our house.  And with the projects Dave's mom and I have been working on in addition to ours, the cabinet is getting full pretty quick.  As I'm writing we've got hot pink applesauce made with cinnamon imperials in the waterbath.

We split the tomatoes and plain applesauce between everyone, but ended up with a bunch of jars of each, and then there's everything Dave and I did.

Our Tally this year so far:

Raspberry Wine Jelly - 10 4oz jars
Garlic Jelly - 6 half pints
Currant Jam - 5 4oz jars
No Sugar Strawberry Jam - 6 half pints
Strawberry Balsamic Jam - 6 half pints
Pickled Garlic - 7 half pints
Pickled Grapes - 1 half pints and 3 4oz jars
Garlic Green Hot Sauce - 1 half pint and 6 4oz jars
Tomato Red Hot Sauce - 1 half pint and 6 4oz jars
Mom's Apple Pie in a Jar - 6 half pints
Cinnamon Red Hot Applesauce - 7 pints  


And then there's the two big bags of pears and, I suspect quite a few more apples to deal with.  WOOOOO!  We're going to be busy.

Plus we're still working on eating things we canned last year.

(FYI - I am not willing to invite total strangers into my house, but as time allows, I will happily teach friends to can or make jam, pickles or applesauce.  I will probably ask you to buy your own jars, though.)

How does your garden grow?

So far the garden is coming together really nicely.  After not having one at all last year, I'm especially excited.

I got the Columbus Orange Rose pruned back, big time, because it wasn't doing well, but seems to be trying to get a new start.  I got some Dusty Miller put in to fill the empty spaces in the front of the flower bed.  I picked up the trash in the yard for the 8 millionth time.

The back yard is going to take some time before you can see the difference, right now it just looks like less weeds.   But, I got 8 of my nine herbs potted.  Chamomile, Sweet Basil, Oregano, Garden Sage, Cilantro, Thyme, Lavender, Rosemary, and an empty pot left for the boys' catnip.  I planted fennel, too, but with the bulb-y nature of it, it's went in one of the rows of the garden.

I got 4 varieties of Tomatoes (Sun Sugar, Plum, Early Girl and Grape) - although, I really meant to get another Early Girl instead of the Plum.  There's 5 kinds of Peppers - Red Bell, Green Bell, Mexibell, Giant Jalapeno and Poblano.  I've got Kale behind that, and still need to add the Potatoes in the last row, before the Mint patch, on that side.

The other side of the yard has an Asparagus bed against the garage, and a pretty sad looking Blueberry bush in the corner.  Hopefully, the Blueberry bush amounts to something this year, since I'll have the time to give it a lot more love than last year.  Along the fence, I've put in Zucchini and Pickling Cucumbers.  The front row is my Fennel and some Rapini.

Two more rows need to be planted, the Looseleaf Lettuce and Sweet Mesclun in one and Sugar Snap Peas and Green Beans in the other, but the desire for lunch and a need to rest my back won out over finishing the last 2 rows today.  I'm also considering garlic and onions in large pots.

I'm really excited about my garden this year.  Dave is really looking forward to homegrown veggies, and while he has expressed a refusal to weed, I know he'll help me with what I need him for.  I've finally got good humus from my compost bin that I've working in as I go.  It's gorgeous and dark and it's got a couple earthworms living in it, so it should do good things for my veggies.

Wish me luck!

Who Says Good Food has to be Hard?

Super Easy Stuffed Peppers?  Nope.  Not kidding.  Love these things because they're easier than they look and they freeze really well too!

• 2 or cups of cooked rice, bulgar wheat or your other favorite grain (prepare according to package)
• 1 lb.  browned ground beef, loose sausage, Gimme Lean (or equivalent in prepared veggie crumbles)
• 1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce
• optional Cheese/Daiya, breadcrumbs, etc.
• PEPPERS!  6 medium or 4 large.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix the Sauce, beef/sausage/whatever and the rice in a big bowl.  Core and devein the peppers, then cut them in half vertically.

Stuff pepper halves generously with filling.  Bake for 40 minutes or until peppers are tender.  Top with cheese and/or breadcrumbs with about 10 minutes left in the baking time.

***

You don't have to cut the peppers in half.  I usually do if they're GIANT peppers or if I'm planning on freezing the leftovers for lunches.  A whole pepper is nearly impossible to reheat at work without destroying it.

Cooking cooking

I'm on an eggplant kick this week.  Too bad I know about 2 ways to prepare it.  No matter.  Fried it is!

Seriously, though, I have really hard time motivating to cook for one.  It's not that I don't still enjoy cooking, I just like cooking for someone, better than I like cooking.

I had Dave over for dinner Monday, and maybe went a little nuts.  But that's ok, it was appreciated.  :-)

Last night I cooked dinner with Michael at his place, and that was fun, if somewhat of a comedy of errors in the way that only Michael and I know how to do!  And, in theory at least, Michael knows how to make fried eggplant now too.

Cooking for myself, I have a tendency to do large batches, and eat the same thing for a week at a time.  Which is easy, but I'm not convinced that I'm eating enough of a variety to actually be as healthy as I'd like my eating to be.

Anybody who's on their own have any ideas for me?

(I'm not such a) Tough Mudder!

So, yesterday I participated in the Philadelphia Tough Mudder!  (Go, ME!)

And I have to admit, I use the phrase participate very loosely.  I only made it 1 mile!  I had to pack it in really early because of my knee.  I twisted it on Thursday, climbing this:

So it's not like I'm just a total wimp.

All in all, it was a good experience.  I learned a lot.  I had fun.  I spent some time with dear friends (who spent much more time with each other, because they actually finished).

I had a lot of trouble with my asthma in the humidity yesterday, which is new for me, and I think related to the pneumonia I had over the winter.

I made the first obstacle with no trouble, but by the time I got to the second one, my knee was already starting to protest the uneven ground and I couldn't adjust my brace because of all the mud on it.  So, rather than risking a serious injury, or preventing the boys from finishing, I bowed out gracefully and waited for them to finish.

They had a blast and now we all know the things we need to be better prepared for to do it next year.

I also noticed that I was, by far, the heaviest girl I saw all day who was a participant.  In a way, I'm proud of that, of the fact that despite my size, I tried anyway.  But mostly, I'm sad.  I'm sad that more bigger girls don't just get out there and try.  And closer to my heart, I'm sad that I let someone I should have been able to trust, affect me, my health and my self-worth in as negative a way as I have in the last few years.

But every day is new day, and a new chance to make a change, and change I will!  I'm already less lonely and more social than I've been in ages.  I'm spending time with more people who are better influences on me and I'm already seeing the positive impact on my health. (and my waistline!)  I'm eating better and keeping up around the house.  I'm getting art projects finished.

And most importantly, I'm really, truly happy for the first time in a long while!