Strawberry jam and other projects

I am a terrible, awful, no good, very bad blogger. Oftentimes I find little things getting in the way of sitting down and writing here. I'm trying to make myself take some time to write here, mostly because I feel I do have some good things to say (here and there, anyway).

Last weekend my friend Nicole and I went down to the Farmer's Market (ah, I love Saturdays!) and I bought a whole load of strawberries to make jam. We toiled the afternoon away washing, cutting, cooking, boiling, etc and now I have these beauties on my canning shelf ;

Sorry about the picture quality, my camera battery is dead and gosh darn it I was posting something today! So lo' and behold; a crappy cellphone picture! I am a big ol' sucker for those gingham caps and the dark red yumminess inside the jars as well. Last year my strawberry jam didn't set and I had to reprocess everything. Thankfully this year it turned out perfect! I even had some left over after eight jars that I put in the fridge and have since been smearing on my morning toast. Delicious!

I've also finished two crochet projects, which I'm proud of. I'm getting much better at reading and figuring out patterns. Ever since my mom came down and we crocheted socks I've gotten way more comfortable with a hook. Trying something really difficult when you're still a beginner makes you feel that you can tackle almost anything!

Here is my first project, a beer cap hot pad ;

It was pretty easy and I just sat in front of the TV watching Buffy knocking each one out. The only part that was tedious was sewing them all together. The reason I wanted to do this pattern is that it was very reminiscent of a hot pad my grandmother had that was made of beer caps and shaped like a bunch of grapes.

Next I made a cute little shell stitch baby hat for my friend who is expecting ;

I really like crocheting baby sized things because they come together really quickly. I still have over half a skein left of this yarn so I'm looking for a baby bootie pattern to use the rest up.

Now I'm working on Lion Brand's Acorn Shrug which, although a larger project, uses just one stitch and is simply folded and sewn to make arm holes when finished. I'm hoping to wear it to my husband's homecoming to wear over a small strapped sundress. Well, now that I have "official" homecoming dates I need something to keep me from jumping up and down with glee.

I've also had a lot of success with my container gardening! I can't wait for the lettuces to get big enough to pick and eat and for the other plants to start bearing fruit.

From the top down I have a patio tomato planted with Purple Ruffles basil, mesclun mix, bush beans, Black Krim tomatoes, basil, garlic chives, marjoram, and bush cucumbers. Not pictured is my sweet pepper mix which just wouldn't fit. Oh, and that's Sookie the infamous weenie dog looking upon her jungle with that, "I want a bite", look in her eye. As you can see things are coming along nicely in the gardening department.

Anywho, I hope you guys enjoyed seeing some of the reasons I've been lost to the blog-o-sphere lately. Plus I think these are some of the first (albeit crappy) pictures I've put on here! Woo-hoo!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Until next time,

xoxo Stacie

Pickle, pickle, who's got the pickle?

This summer while my husband was in Afghanistan I went a little canning crazy. Bread and butter pickles, pickled beets, jams, and fruit butters now fill my cabinets. The problem is I didn't realize my husbands insane and illogical pickle obsession and after making two batches of bread and butter pickles (roughly 14-16 jars) I only have two jars left! I am also a pickle fiend and the thought of my husband polishing off the last of the pickles with cucumber season so far from sight makes me a little depressed. So, I thought to myself, maybe he'll like my Asian quick pickles and leave the others alone. I think I got this recipe from an old issue of Energy Times, but I'm not sure.

Asian Quick Pickles
1-2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
(if you're using English cukes, feel free to just give 'em a scrub and use them peel and all)
fresh ginger, a piece about the size of your thumb, peeled and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
a pinch of salt and pepper

Find yourself an old pickle jar and wash it thoroughly. Throw in all your ingredients and let sit in the fridge 4-6 hours. Technically, you can eat them immediately but the longer you let them sit the more the flavors mate together. I usually give the jar a shake every time I open the fridge just to keep everything mixed. All of the ingredients are a rough estimate and can be changed to your taste.

If you've never tried rice wine vinegar before you're missing out! It has a subtle sweetness that works great in marinades and salad dressings. I found my husband eating them out of the jar as a midnight snack so thankfully the last of my precious bread and butter pickles and safe and sound. You may find yourself addicted to these as well!

Until next time,
xoxo Stacie