More canning! Today (Friday, 8/28) I am making tomato soup! We haven't had any for a year because I didn't do any canning last year with a new baby due. So I have lots of things to make! I have already done 16 quarts of cherries and now I am working on tomato soup. For as long as I can buy tomatoes at the local farmer's markets, I will make tomato soup, chile sauce and salsa. I also bought 3 dozen ears of corn today that I will blanch and freeze. A friend is picking up a box of peaches for me (she got a box for herself) that I will bottle. I also have some strawberries in the freezer to make into strawberry jam. I would also like to make peach jam and applesauce.
One of the best things I ever bought for canning is my camp stove. Seven years ago, the Allen family gathered at Grandma and Grandpa Allen's home for what turned out to be the last apple harvest for our family. G&G had several apple trees. That year the apples were all pressed into apple cider. Everyone who lived in Utah gathered to their home to sort and wash the apples, take them to the cider mill and then to process some of the cider into apple juice. We had three camp stoves set up in the garage and 6 pots of water to process the cider. We set up an assembly line to warm and sterilize the jars, lids and rings; fill the jars; put lids and rings on; get the jars into the pots and watch them. It was pretty cool and I decided when the time came I would do the same. The first year we lived here I bought a camp stove and made tomato soup and salsa. I think that's all I made that year. Anyway it was great for keeping heat out of the house and so I am doing the same thing again this year.
Friday, August 28, 2009
starting up again
With the start of school, Cub Scouts and Activity Days will be starting up again. This past Wednesday was Pack Meeting and the ward had a BBQ at a local city park. It was a lot of fun and we had fun chatting with some of the neighbors. I am really grateful to our local ward for welcoming our children into their activities, even though we are not members of the ward. They have done a lot for us and it is much appreciated!
back to school
Well, we are back in school! School started on Monday, August 25th. I took Christie and Jordan to school and went in with them to see their classrooms and meet their teachers. Jordan is in 3rd grade and Christie is in 5th grade. Christie started 3rd grade at Westbrook and we just loved her teacher Mrs. Gertsch so we requested that Jordan be put into her class and he was! Mrs. G. wasn't in the classroom when we went in but since I've already met her it wasn't a big deal. Christie's teacher is Miss Blake. She seems really nice. Seems the 5th grade classes don't rotate among the teachers like they did when I was in 5th grade (eons ago, it seems) but the teachers do rotate for certain subjects. Each day this week Christie and Jordan have come home happy and excited to tell me about what they did that day. Looks like we're going to have a great year!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Landscaping
[one project done]
After a year of talking about it, we finally replaced the rock wall in front of the house, between the front door and the garage.
This is what it looked like before:
Terrible, huh? I never really liked it because I thought it was too low, and it looked really amateurish and not well done. Then Jordan started pulling some of the rocks off the top and it just went downhill from there.
Last night Steven knocked out the rest of the rocks and broke off the cement and Christie and Jordan hauled the rocks to the north side of the house where we will store them for awhile. We hope to do something with them.
After the rocks were all removed:
This morning the crew showed up and the first things they did were to remove the concrete that the old rock wall had been on top of and to dig the trenches. The first picture shows the pile of concrete that was dug out.
After the trenches were dug, they were filled with gravel.
The first few rows of stone.
A wet saw was used to cut the stones to make the corner.
Front view.
Side view showing the wall in relation to the house.
The dirt that was dug out to make the trenches filled the bed pretty well. We will probably add a few more inches of topsoil later. Now I need to research plants and make a plan for that flower bed. We probably will wait to plant til early fall so the summer heat doesn't kill the plants.
Next project is to replace the rocks on the other side of the front of the house with curbing. I hope to get that project done within the next week.
After a year of talking about it, we finally replaced the rock wall in front of the house, between the front door and the garage.
This is what it looked like before:
Terrible, huh? I never really liked it because I thought it was too low, and it looked really amateurish and not well done. Then Jordan started pulling some of the rocks off the top and it just went downhill from there.
Last night Steven knocked out the rest of the rocks and broke off the cement and Christie and Jordan hauled the rocks to the north side of the house where we will store them for awhile. We hope to do something with them.
After the rocks were all removed:
This morning the crew showed up and the first things they did were to remove the concrete that the old rock wall had been on top of and to dig the trenches. The first picture shows the pile of concrete that was dug out.
After the trenches were dug, they were filled with gravel.
The first few rows of stone.
A wet saw was used to cut the stones to make the corner.
Front view.
Side view showing the wall in relation to the house.
The dirt that was dug out to make the trenches filled the bed pretty well. We will probably add a few more inches of topsoil later. Now I need to research plants and make a plan for that flower bed. We probably will wait to plant til early fall so the summer heat doesn't kill the plants.
Next project is to replace the rocks on the other side of the front of the house with curbing. I hope to get that project done within the next week.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Day 3: Ketchikan
We arrived in Ketchikan Monday morning.
Facts about Ketchikan: It's the southernmost sizable city in Alaska. It has an estimated population of about 7,368, making it the 5th most populous city in Alaska. It is known as the "Salmon Fishing Capital of the World". It has the world's largest collection of standing totem poles. It gets an average of 152 inches of rain a year and an average of 37 inches of snow.
Side note: Through NCL, cruise passengers can book "shore excursions" in each town the ship docks at. K&S booked a trip for the whole family in another town. Steven and I decided we would explore Ketchikan on our own.
There's not much land between the water and the mountains so we got off the ship and the town was right there.
The Norwegian Star, looking at the back.
View of Ketchikan from the dock.
The sign welcoming visitors to the "Salmon Fishing Capital of the World".
We stopped at the visitors office and got maps of a walking tour. We went with 3 other siblings and spouses.
Ketchikan has quite a collection of totem poles. I learned some interesting things about totem poles. They were carved to honor deceased ancestors, record history, social events and oral tradition. They were never worshipped as religious objects.
The picture above shows the Chief Kyan totem pole. According to the sign next to it, the figures represent the Crane, the Thunderbird and the Brown Bear.
We saw totem poles all over Ketchikan and there's a Totem Heritage Center in town that houses a display of original totem poles.
This next picture shows a salmon ladder. It is a concrete structure that was built to help the salmon on their way up the creek to their spawning grounds.
This is a view of the Thomas Basin Boat Harbor from Stedman Street. The ships are docked just to the left of the harbor. There's a wooden street in front o fthe buildings to the right.
Creek Street. Ketchikan Creek runs through the middle and the buildings are built on pilings that overhang the creek. This was the "red light district" of Ketchikan.
Dolly Arthur was Ketchikan's most famous madam. This was her house.
Ketchikan Creek. See all the green moss on the rocks--this area gets over 100 inches annually of rainfall. The area is very lush and green.
Another view of Ketchikan from the docks near the ships.
Ketchikan is very hilly and some streets are actually built of wooden staircases. These are called staircase streets.
This is a view of Newtown (which is located west of the historic district) from the ship. You can see that there is very little land between the mountains and the water. We saw this in each town we visited. You can also see how the mountains are solidly covered with evergreen trees. We also saw this everywhere we went.
Facts about Ketchikan: It's the southernmost sizable city in Alaska. It has an estimated population of about 7,368, making it the 5th most populous city in Alaska. It is known as the "Salmon Fishing Capital of the World". It has the world's largest collection of standing totem poles. It gets an average of 152 inches of rain a year and an average of 37 inches of snow.
Side note: Through NCL, cruise passengers can book "shore excursions" in each town the ship docks at. K&S booked a trip for the whole family in another town. Steven and I decided we would explore Ketchikan on our own.
There's not much land between the water and the mountains so we got off the ship and the town was right there.
The Norwegian Star, looking at the back.
View of Ketchikan from the dock.
The sign welcoming visitors to the "Salmon Fishing Capital of the World".
We stopped at the visitors office and got maps of a walking tour. We went with 3 other siblings and spouses.
Ketchikan has quite a collection of totem poles. I learned some interesting things about totem poles. They were carved to honor deceased ancestors, record history, social events and oral tradition. They were never worshipped as religious objects.
The picture above shows the Chief Kyan totem pole. According to the sign next to it, the figures represent the Crane, the Thunderbird and the Brown Bear.
We saw totem poles all over Ketchikan and there's a Totem Heritage Center in town that houses a display of original totem poles.
This next picture shows a salmon ladder. It is a concrete structure that was built to help the salmon on their way up the creek to their spawning grounds.
This is a view of the Thomas Basin Boat Harbor from Stedman Street. The ships are docked just to the left of the harbor. There's a wooden street in front o fthe buildings to the right.
Creek Street. Ketchikan Creek runs through the middle and the buildings are built on pilings that overhang the creek. This was the "red light district" of Ketchikan.
Dolly Arthur was Ketchikan's most famous madam. This was her house.
Ketchikan Creek. See all the green moss on the rocks--this area gets over 100 inches annually of rainfall. The area is very lush and green.
Another view of Ketchikan from the docks near the ships.
Ketchikan is very hilly and some streets are actually built of wooden staircases. These are called staircase streets.
This is a view of Newtown (which is located west of the historic district) from the ship. You can see that there is very little land between the mountains and the water. We saw this in each town we visited. You can also see how the mountains are solidly covered with evergreen trees. We also saw this everywhere we went.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
4th of july dessert
We usually have a BBQ to celebrate the 4th of July. This year I found a great deal on raspberries, strawberries and blueberries so I made this great shortcake dessert.
The recipe:
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons sugar
SHORTCAKE:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Dash salt
1/4 cup cold butter
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
Whipped cream, optional
In a small bowl, combine the strawberries, blueberries and 2 tablespoons sugar; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine milk and sour cream; stir into crumb mixture just until moistened.
Spread batter into a greased 9-in. pie plate (batter will be thick). Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 350° for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes; cut into six wedges.
Split each wedge in half horizontally. Serve warm with berry mixture; garnish with whipped cream if desired. Serves: 6
The recipe:
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons sugar
SHORTCAKE:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Dash salt
1/4 cup cold butter
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
Whipped cream, optional
In a small bowl, combine the strawberries, blueberries and 2 tablespoons sugar; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine milk and sour cream; stir into crumb mixture just until moistened.
Spread batter into a greased 9-in. pie plate (batter will be thick). Sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 350° for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes; cut into six wedges.
Split each wedge in half horizontally. Serve warm with berry mixture; garnish with whipped cream if desired. Serves: 6
canning season has started
[ cherries ]
On Sunday (7/5), a ward member told Steven about a farm in Utah County where you could pick your own cherries. These type of farms are called U-pick or pick-your-own farms. The farm was charging .65/lb of cherries, which was quite a good price so I got a friend to watch the children and went there to pick cherries. I got about 25 lbs and today (7/7) I canned them.
This was my first experience canning cherries. I've done peaches, pears, apricots and applesauce before. Cherries are definitely one of the easier fruits to do, I think, because there's not much prep work to do. All we did was pull off the stems, wash them, and put them in jars with light syrup. We didn't bother pitting them.
Those 25 lbs of cherries gave me 16 quarts. I would have had 17 but I dropped the last jar as I was bringing it in from the outside stove. Glass jar + tile floor = one big mess to clean up. Ugh! I was mad that I lost that jar!
I would love to go back and get another 25 lbs but I have lots of other canning I plan to do so I need to think about my storage space and how many jars I have. But now that I know about that farm, I will definitely go back next year!
On Sunday (7/5), a ward member told Steven about a farm in Utah County where you could pick your own cherries. These type of farms are called U-pick or pick-your-own farms. The farm was charging .65/lb of cherries, which was quite a good price so I got a friend to watch the children and went there to pick cherries. I got about 25 lbs and today (7/7) I canned them.
This was my first experience canning cherries. I've done peaches, pears, apricots and applesauce before. Cherries are definitely one of the easier fruits to do, I think, because there's not much prep work to do. All we did was pull off the stems, wash them, and put them in jars with light syrup. We didn't bother pitting them.
Those 25 lbs of cherries gave me 16 quarts. I would have had 17 but I dropped the last jar as I was bringing it in from the outside stove. Glass jar + tile floor = one big mess to clean up. Ugh! I was mad that I lost that jar!
I would love to go back and get another 25 lbs but I have lots of other canning I plan to do so I need to think about my storage space and how many jars I have. But now that I know about that farm, I will definitely go back next year!
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