7 Quick Takes (Vol. 43)

 -1-

I've taken on a ton of commitments recently.  I think subconsciously, it's because I want to take advantage of this time when I'm not pregnant, and actually have the energy to do things.  Oh, and because my pleasant little Linus not only happily drinks from a bottle (which his older sister never did), but has also started on solid foods recently, which means I can sometimes leave him with Tom when I go out!

I'm part of a weekly Endow study group, a bi-weekly Catholic moms book group (currently reading The Seven Storey Mountain), another monthly study group with women from my church, and I host a monthly discussion group at my house.  I'm also participating in biweekly "craft nights" (to finally finish the mittens I started knitting for Tom two years ago), take Sly to two weekly catechism programs, and go to occasional other activities with my Catholic moms group...and then there are all the various doctors appointments, errands, trips to the library, grocery shopping, etc. that has to happen.  Oy!  A number of these activities are in the evenings, and my husband has been really awesome about letting me leave the kids with him and get out of the house.

Some days get rather hectic, but really - I like being busy.  I'm happier when I have a full schedule.  And despite being "shy", I'm a definite extrovert, and it's been excellent to have all these opportunities to be with other people.

-2-

And to add to the packed schedule, the other night I joined a local quilting class/group that's starting up in my community.  They meet two evenings a week, and I'm really looking forward to learning some new skills.  It's just me and three middle-aged women, plus our (middle-aged woman) instructor.  We pick our own fabric, but we all work on the same pattern.  Our first project is going to be a baby quilt, and part of it has to include appliqué work.

 -3-

Last weekend, the temperature dipped into the cold zone, spurring me to switch out my summer clothes for my winter ones.  All my winter skirts were stored in a box at the back of my closet - many of them made from wool, or other thick materials.  I had followed the advice you read in so many magazines about rolling your clothes instead of folding them.  Bad idea.  I might as well have just wadded all my skirts into balls, they're so wrinkled!  Definitely going back to regular folding when I pack them away next time.  I'm going to have to iron almost all of them now, and my "ironing pile" is still full of summer stuff that I haven't gotten to yet!

And speaking of breaking out the winter clothes, Stella was put into footie pajamas last night for the first time since last winter.  She had an absolute meltdown about the feet, and screamed and clawed at them for a good twenty minutes.  Anyone else's toddler do this?

-4-

For the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on Tuesday, I helped the kids make some chocolate chip (and butterscotch chip) Rosaries, as suggested on Catholic All Year.

But we used mini chocolate chips for all the decade beads, because using the full-size ones would have been way too much chocolate before bedtime.

picking out all the big chips first

-5-

Speaking of the Rosary, our nightly prayers have definitely been enriched since we got this beautiful Rosary book with depictions of all the mysteries.  There's not much room left on the top of our home altar, so the small sized one was perfect for us.  Sly has really enjoyed flipping the pages while we pray to see what the next mystery is, and explain to us what's happening in each painting.  And I find it's also improved my ability to focus on the mystery and pay better attention to my prayers.

Anna, a regular commenter here, makes these stand-up booklets along with her husband.  They are creating various resources that use sacred art to teach and inspire people in the Faith.  Please consider supporting this great family business.

-6-

I often get a little disappointed when there's "dessert" that doesn't involve chocolate.  You know, like fruity desserts (pies, crisps, etc.) or the ubiquitous loaf cakes that every woman seems to serve at every event ever (pumpkin bread, banana bread, nut bread, etc.).  Don't get me wrong, baked goods are always welcome.  But as I've said to Tom, only half-jokingly, one of my personal mottos could be "if it's not chocolate, it's not dessert!"

A friend posted a recipe for cobbler the other day.  But not just any cobbler - chocolate cobbler!  So I whipped one up the other night, just because.  It was pretty darn good.

-7-

Every time I go to the supermarket, I have to get myself a (chocolate-frosted cake) doughnut in the bakery section.  Those of you with a true sweet tooth know what I'm talking about. Tom doesn't share my affinity for baked goods.  He has even dared to suggest that I don't need to give in to the urge each time I pass the bakery section.  But the other night I was vindicated.  I made a quick stop at the store for a couple ingredients I needed, and the guy bagging the groceries for me said "wow - only one doughnut?!  You must have a lot of self-control!":-)  Ha!

[I like that three of my Takes today were about eating chocolate]

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 30)

 -1-

Stella finally started crawling a couple weeks ago.  Crawling babies are the most adorable!  But I forgot how much trouble they get into.  She's already begun making messes and getting into things she shouldn't (cabinets, bookshelves, trash cans).  We had to put up the baby gates again to block off stairs and the (often open) front door. I hate having to constantly step over them.  It's doubly frustrating, though, because they trap Sly in various rooms as well, and I'm always having to go lift him over.  [update: Tom installed one with a swinging gate at the top of the main stairs, and it's made things much nicer!]

I also forgot how babies have the impressive ability to find the tiniest (and often grossest) little things imaginable on the floor.  I'm constantly pulling wads of shed cat fur out of Stella's mouth.  And the other day, I found her chewing on a piece of Christmas tinsel in the living room.  I haven't seen any trace of tinsel since January!  How does she manage to find these things?

-2-

Recently I was reading through some entries from an online journal I used to keep.  Complaining about my anthropology class during my freshman year of college, I said: "I honestly feel like the smartest person in the class.  And the sad part is that this isn't just me being conceited...it's true.  I have no respect for anyone who majors in this ridiculously easy subject." [I know, I was kinda a jerk]  The funny thing is, at the same time I wrote this, I was becoming friends with this guy Tom, an anthropology major, and my future husband.  Haha!  We had a pretty good laugh over that.

-3-

I've mentioned several times that I'd like our family to start observing the Liturgical year better - celebrating many of the feasts and fasts of the Church.  I have been completely falling down on the job.  But at an antique store recently, I picked up a little gem that I'm hoping will inspire me to at least start planning a few more meals around the Church calendar:

I looked it up on Amazon, and it's actually been reprinted.  That's great, because it means more people will be able to find a copy.  I've only read bits and pieces so far, but I would recommend it!

-4-

I do almost all my stovetop cooking in cast-iron now.  It truly cooks the best.  One problem I've run into is that our cast iron frying pans do not have lids. In the past, when I needed one, I would borrow a lid from a pot.  But this never provided a tight enough seal for foods such as rice, which depend on steam to cook.  The other day, I came up with what I like to think is a pretty clever solution.  I used our sil-pats (silicone baking mats) to cover the pan.  They are designed for use in the oven, so the heat was definitely not a problem.  And they're so flexible that they bend to cover the pan perfectly!

An item which would probably work even better - and which I have had my eye on for a while [hint, hint, Tom!!] - is one of these silicone bowl covers.

-5-

I *finally finished* the cross-stitch I have been working on for my best friend's wedding....which happened a year ago now.   I was working on that thing for two and a half years.  If I was ever skeptical about the effectiveness of having young girls of the past create needlework samplers as a way to learn patience, dedication, industry....I no longer have any doubt that it worked!  Now I just need to frame it, which I am definitely going to do under glass, because if stain, dust, or moth ever go near this thing, I will cry.

Obviously, edited for privacy.  The pattern for the border comes from this book, and the center part I charted out myself.

-6-

Thanks to everyone who suggested some books for my Catholic Moms reading group last time!  At the suggestion of several people, we will soon be reading My Sisters the Saints.

-7-

I read an article the other day that discusses the problem of contraception, and how the Church should work to combat it.  It does such an excellent job of explaining why NFP - while sometimes acceptable - is not the answer.  Instead, it is the promotion of "heroic parenthood."  I've touched on some of these issues here and here, but this author lays it out so much better than I could.  Read it here: Heroic Parenthood
[note: this article is a pdf, so you might be prompted to download it in order to read it].

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

Monday Musings, May 6th

Right now...
Sly is in his room for a "nap" (i.e. talking to himself, banging, and playing with toys), Stella is asleep on the Boppy in my lap, and I need to get back to cooking and cleaning, as we are having dinner guests!

This weekend...
My mother-in-law was visiting. We treated her to a home-cooked steak dinner on Saturday, to thank her for doing our taxes for us again this year (she does it for a living, and is always happy to take care of them for us as well).

Stella got her first tooth, finally.  Sly has been copying me, and calling her "Stella one-tooth."  He keeps asking to "feel her little toothy."

I baked some banana cookies on Friday which were fantastic.  We didn't have orange zest, but I doubled the vanilla to make up for it.  

I started caring for my hair according to Curly Girl.  I had heard of this book from a few different people who all claimed it changed their lives.  It explains how to care properly for curly hair in a way that keeps it healthy and looking beautiful.  I always figured it wasn't for me, but when I picked it up last week at the library, I saw there was a section for wavy hair as well.  That's what I have, though I've always used a blow-dryer and a brush to smooth out the waves.  I decided to just go for it, and let my hair do its natural thing for a little while.  Here are the results from day one:

The book says that sometimes, more curls will form after a few weeks. I'm gonna try to stick it out and see what happens.

We needed new tires on the car.  It cost over $500, and that was for the cheapest ones.  Ugh.  And we might not even have the car too much longer.  Should I happen to get pregnant again, we'll need to trade it in for something bigger.  But Tom and I had a rare rare opportunity to spend a few hours alone while we waited for the tires to be put on.  My MIL stayed home with the kids, and we got a chance to walk around and shop for Mother's Day gifts.  Did you know that that's next Sunday?!  Because I sure didn't.

We also got our morning glory seedlings all planted in planters set along the base of our porch again.  We used twice the amount as last year, and mixed the blue and red ones.  We could potentially have some very pretty results come August.

Some plans for the week: 
Having some friends for dinner tonight, joining a friend and her little man for lunch on Wednesday.  Possibly taking the kids to library story time.  They do such a nice job at those, telling stories and singing songs with the kids.  It's like preschool, or at least what I remember of it.  But Sly is always the only kid just sitting there, refusing to do anything. He claims he enjoys it, though.

I also hope to finally finish painting our kitchen table.  That's been in the works for over a week now, and I hate not having a table in there!


If I find some time for myself, I would like to...
Turn some tanktops into nursing tanks! 

source

Basically, it would just be a way to add stomach coverage so I feel comfortable nursing without a cover in public (this is my goal!  I want to be an apostle for making nursing seem "normal" again, but I still don't like my flabby tummy showing to the world...).  The only difference between these and just wearing a normal tank under a shirt seems just to be that you cut down on the number of straps on your shoulders. 

While I'm at it, I'm also going to cut out the elastic bands from those stupid "built-in bras" that so many tanktops have.  They are designed, I think, for people who are much smaller in that area than I am (especially while nursing), so they just dig in very uncomfortably on me in all the wrong places.

Prayer intentions for the week:
Some friends who are experiencing infertility. 

Something that makes me smile: 
Watching my kids play together.  No one can get Stella to crack up as well as Sly can.  He just has to make a funny sound, or pop out from behind some object, and she bursts into laughter.  So sweet.

Monday Musings is hosted at Patch O'Dirt Farm

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 24)

-1-

My generous husband spent some time last night re-doing my blog header for me so now it's finally not blurry and super-amateurish-looking anymore!  Behold it above, in its non-pixelated glory!

-2-

 I've been trying to gather information from other parents about when their kids learned the names of colors.  Sly knows all his animals, shapes, some letters and numbers, and many other things besides.  But he is hopelessly bad at recognizing colors.  I won't go into the genetics of it now, but colorblindness runs in the family, and it is quite possible that I'm a carrier, which would mean that statistically, 50% of my sons should be colorblind.  I'm wondering if this could be the answer to Sly's color-recognition issues, or if it's just way too early to assume anything.  I'm not worried about it, really - two of my three brothers are colorblind, and I realize it doesn't affect too much of their lives - but I'd just kind of like to know, ya know?

-3-

I've decided to start compiling a binder with ideas for celebrating the liturgical year in our family.  This will certainly be an ongoing project, something to be added to whenever I come across a new idea, or have some extra time.  It will be organized chronologically, and have ideas for ways to recognize important days/seasons in the church.  I can put prayers, recipes, etc.  In my optimistic vision of myself in the future, I picture myself actually remembering to consult the binder at the beginning of the month, and planning out certain events/meals as appropriate.  Ha -we'll see how that actually goes.

My first addition was a really inspiring article I'd read about celebrating Christmas.

-4-

I made the yummiest dinner the other night.  It was orange chicken, and it tasted every bit as good as if it came from a ("good") Chinese restaurant.  This will probably sound insanely obvious to most of you, but I'd never really considered that you could make it at home.  I just cut up chunks of chicken breast, breaded them (I used Frying Magic breading with egg, and double-dipped each chunk), and fried them in vegetable oil in a pan.  As they finished, I tossed them into a big bowl, and when they were all done, I poured an entire bottle of store-bought "orange sauce" over top.  Super delish.  You can also omit the sauce, and you have perfect homemade "chicken nuggets".

-5-

Stella is four and a half months old, and I've definitely hit the point where I find myself thinking, "I'm ready for another baby!".  I'm not feeling ready to actually be pregnant, though.  I'd love to have a non-pregnant summer...or at least a partial one.   But a few weeks ago, when I mistakenly believed for a short time that a friend was expecting her third baby, I found myself feeling rather jealous, wishing that we were going to be having a third one soon as well.  I know, it's crazy. 

-6-

A number of people have remarked recently on how cute it is that Sly uses the third person when referring to himself ("Sly want book", "Sly want to do it Sly's self", etc.).  I know it's a common enough thing with toddlers, but it's pretty extreme in Sly.   I realized yesterday that it's completely our fault.  We rarely refer to ourselves as "I" when we talk to Sly (we say "Mommy said no" or "give it to Daddy").  And the funny thing is, I remember that we first started to do that around him intentionally over a year ago, when it became clear that he didn't understand our names were "Mommy and Daddy".  So we wanted to emphasize it.  It's a hard habit to break!

-7-

The kids finally have the same bedtime, and both go down easily, which is awesome, because it means I have the evenings to spend getting stuff done or just hanging with my husband again!  Also, we've had time to work on projects again, such as some built-in bookcases...

the alcove as it was

supports for shelves

completed shelves.  there will be a cabinet below

Painting the backs of the shelves

I'll show more pictures of the finished results, hopefully soon!

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 20)

 -1-

So you might have noticed that I made a new header.  It's painfully obvious that *I* made the new header, because it looks so crudely done.  Believe it or not, that was four hours of trouble and toil right there.  ha!  It doesn't help that we have NO photo-editing programs besides the standard Microsoft editor and the totally un-user-friendly Paint, and that I am not very savvy with computers to begin with.  I like the idea of this header, but it just turned out "okay".  The worst part is that there's all that weird blurriness going on around the words in the title.  I went so far as to zoom way in on the picture and "clean it up" on the level of individual pixels.  I spent over half an hour doing that.  But after I saved it and zoomed back out, it kept reverting back to the blurriness!  What the heck?  I just gave up, and posted it as is.  That's as good as it's gonna get for now.

 -2-

I've been playing around a little with the blog recently.  On the left sidebar, I added a list of some favorite posts.  If you haven't been a reader from the beginning, and find yourself just dying for some more of my fabulous writing style, and also have tons of time on your hands...check them out.  ha!  No, it's fine if you don't.  But if you do find yourself reading them, I'd love if you left a comment letting me know your thoughts.  I love getting comments!  And I finally figured out how to reply directly after a specific comment (I told you - I am not computer savvy), so I promise to be better about answering questions, etc. you might leave there.

 -3-

And the last change I made on here is that I let Google put some ads on my page.  They still have to go through my blog to make sure it's not pornographic, etc. before they'll make them active.  Sorry if the ads annoy anyone.  But a few people suggested it as a way to make a little money, and every penny counts right now (I'm quite sure, however, that's about all it will generate: mere pennies.  Oh well.  It's something).

-4- 

It's a little early, but I'm already starting to think about Christmas and gift-giving (really, it's the gift buying aspect).  For our kids, we definitely want to keep it simple.  Not only are they both too young to even remember very long what they got for Christmas, but it's also about the precedent we will set.  I'd rather our kids receive a few special gifts that they can truly appreciate, instead of getting overwhelmed or coming to expect a ton of stuff every year.

Since I'm one to pick up gifts throughout the year as they present themselves to me, I think I'm already done "shopping" for Sly, without really even trying.  We have a real, but child-size drum we found at a thrift store, the game Hi Ho Cherry-o (I got an older version on eBay, since I don't like the modern one as much), and a cute squirrel book I couldn't resist at a recent "book party".  We'll also get some candy/stocking stuffers later.  That's plenty for a 2 year-old.

Stella really needs nothing since she's a baby.  But I think Sly might feel like she got jipped if Santa doesn't have a gift for her too.  She's obviously too young for it now, but I'm considering finding her a little baby doll.  If anyone knows of a good - and inexpensive - "first doll", please let me know in the comments!

 -5-

At two months old, Stella is now officially "out of our bedroom".  Yay!  It's nice to have some floor space back now that the enormous cradle is gone.  She's sleeping in a crib in the same room as Sly, and things have been good so far.  Though I don't put her down until I'm going to bed, around midnight - which is long after Sly has been asleep.  It could be a disaster once we start putting them to bed at the same time.  She wakes up around 6:30 wanting to nurse, at which point I grab her (before the little man has a chance to wake up), and bring her back to bed with me where we both get a few more hours of sleep.  It works out pretty well.

-6-

A bad habit I have is writing in a post about how I plan to start doing something, but then never mentioning it again, to fill people in on how its going.  I think this is because a lot of the time, I don't end up following through as well as I'd intended!

Anyways, I had said a while back that I wanted to start meal-planning for real each week, make a crockpot meal every Wednesday, and additionally try out one other new recipe each week.  Well, I am pleased to report that I've actually managed to stick to this resolution!  Meal planning has been good.  It gives me a lot more peace of mind to already know what's for dinner each night of the week, since cooking can take up a good-sized chunk of each day.  And I think my husband appreciates coming home to more meals that I've obviously  put thought and work into, instead of ones that were thrown together last minute (Me, previously: "Oh shoot, it's 5:30 already!  What's in the freezer?  Hotdogs, buns, aaaaand [digging through pantry]....a can of baked beans?  We're good!). Now if only I could get him to stop asking me every day "what's for dinner?" and remember to just look at the dang chalkboard!

 -7-

Has anyone else been watching Call The Midwife on PBS?  It's on Sunday nights.  I watched the first two episodes, but forgot about it last week!  It's an enjoyable British show about midwives in post-WWII London.  Worth checking out!

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

GIVEAWAY and St. Hildegard's "Cookies That Bring Joy"

I was given the opportunity to review the book, From St. Hildegard's Kitchen from Catholic Family Gifts.

Before looking through this Catholic cookbook, I really didn't know anything about St. Hildegard.  But there's a short bio of her in the introduction.  I learned that she was a German mystic in the middle ages who received visions about many different things.  One subject she received some visions on, interestingly, was eating - which types of foods promote or inhibit one's health ("foods of joy" vs. "foods of sadness").  She wrote some books on the subject, and was supposedly ahead of her time with a lot of her dietary principles.

For this cookbook, some of St. Hildegard's recipes were taken and adapted by the author, who is a lay oblate of St. Benedict [Hildegard's order] and also a chef.  Other recipes in the book are merely "inspired" by St. Hildegard's dietary principles, using some ingredients which were unknown in 12th century Germany.

As I was flipping through and looking over the recipes, I often said to myself, "geez - I'd need to go on a foraging expedition through a meadow to get some of these ingredients!".  Like, where am I supposed to come across things like hyssop, fiddleheads, and galingale?  Not in the grocery store....

For that reason,  this book would mostly appeal to people who like simple dishes, but are willing to scout out uncommon or adventurous ingredients.

Anyways, I found a recipe that intriqued me: Cookies That Bring Joy.  According to St. Hildegard, "they will reduce bad humors, enrich the blood, and fortify the nerves....They may help remove hate from the heart, assure good intelligence...and give one a joyful spirit."  Well, alright!

The book says that they are traditionally baked on her feast day, September 16th.  Dang!  I had missed it by less than two weeks.  I was bummed to lose such a perfect opportunity to try out that recipe.  But then I happened to hear that St. Hildegard was being named a Doctor of the Church yesterday.  Perfect occasion to make her cookies!

St. Hildegard's big thing is spelt, a species of wheat which she claimed to be better for you than the regular type.  When I had decided to make the cookies, I wanted them to be authentic.  So I had to head out to the local food co-op to pick up some spelt flour (I got the whole-grain kind, assuming that's what Hildegard would have used).

The cookies were pretty flat (too much butter, St. Hildegard!!), but tasty.  They are flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves (which she says are all "spices that bring joy", and I have to say I'd agree with that).  The spelt gave them that whole-wheaty taste, so they reminded me of a healthy version of a gingersnap.  The friends who tasted them yesterday seemed to enjoy them.  Tom liked them enough to request that I make them again.  But maybe that was just the joyful spirit talking.

*****
GIVEAWAY
This will be really simple.  Just leave a comment on this post to enter.  On Friday, I will pick one person at random.  That lucky reader will win a gift from Catholic Family Gifts (either this cookbook, or something else if you prefer).  MAKE SURE TO CHECK BACK, because if you win, I'll need you to contact me with more information!

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 17)

 -1-

 Watch this tear-jerking video of the wife of a police officer who was recently killed.  I'm so impressed by her courage, love, and faith.  I doubt I could handle myself with such grace if my husband had just died.

-2-

 I made my first-ever actual crockpot meal this week!  I guess I'm just old-fashioned and like to make things the hard way?  Well...not anymore!

We've had a big cut of beef sitting in the freezer for ages, bought right after we got our chest freezer (most useful appliance EVER, btw).  I've been avoiding it, because I just wasn't sure how to cook it.  Tom kept reminding me about the crockpot,and I finally just broke down and decided to use it. I don't know why it took me so long, because it's insanely easy and fool-proof.

 [The recipe I used was for "swiss steak", but it tasted basically like pot roast (is this what happens with all beef meals made in a crock pot? I worry that it might be).  I think I'll stick with making my swiss steak in a skillet.]

-3-

 So anyways, I decided that this Fall, I will try to do a crockpot meal or a soup (which I could make earlier in the day and reheat very quickly in the evening) every Wednesday, since that's our "late dinner" night.  It will be a great opportunity to try out new recipes.  And I'm excited to come home to a warm and delicious-smelling meal that's already cooked.  Also, that would probably mean I wouldn't have to cook anything on Thursday either, since such meals usually yield a lot of leftovers.  Score!

Also, I want to try out at least one other new recipe (for anything - it doesn't have to be an entree) every week.  [Okay, post-script and a day later here: I realize that this goal is totally unrealistic of me.  I can't even manage to do meal planning for more than a one-week stretch every three months or so!  Trying new recipes definitely needs to be planned ahead, since there's usually one or two ingredients you don't regularly keep in stock.  And I'm already going to be making a new crockpot/soup thing once a week?  Yeah, not happening.  Oh well, it was a nice thought.]

BUT I have a billion post-it note markers in all my cookbooks for things I will make "someday", and my recipe binder is getting too crammed with untried recipes ripped from magazines or printed off the computer!  Need to do something about this!

So many untried recipes!

My overflowing binder.  Notice some of the tabs: "cookies", brownies and bars", "pie', "cake", "cheesecake", "other desserts"....it's clear what types of foods get priority!

-4-

I mentioned at the beginning of summer that I hoped to encourage morning glories to vine all up and around the porch.  Well, we were *sorta* successful.  The vines didn't spread laterally as much as I wanted.  But we finally have a few flowers now.
 

Our dinky and beat-up little "porch" with some dinky vines on it

But there's some beauty on it now!

Looking out at night, with our lanterns turned on

-5-

We've officially jumped on the Thomas Wooden Railway bandwagon - ahhhh

Sly's birthday gift from Nana

But I have to say, they're really well-made toys, and even fun for me to play with.

-6-

 Photographic evidence of my success at getting Stella to take a pacifier!!....for about 2 minutes.

This little girl has an insatiable need to suck.  Which usually means that Mommy has to offer herself as a human pacifier many times during the day (and night).  She will not accept substitutes!  Gahhhh

-7-

'Tis the season for REESE'S PUMPKINS!!  mmm....Tom knows he can pretty much make my day by bringing me home one of these as a gift.  I think it's pretty much as romantic as receiving flowers :-D

yummmm

The pumpkins, in addition to the other seasonal Reese's varieties (trees, hearts, and eggs depending on the holiday) are so much better than regular Reese's cups, don't you think?  Not only do you get a higher ratio of peanut butter to chocolate, but the chocolate is thinner and softer (no pinched hard edges where it molded into the cupcake paper).

Quick Takes is hosted at Conversion Diary

A Lesson in Canning Peaches

 I've been wanting to learn to can/preserve food for a while now.  It seems like a useful and somewhat lost skill to have.  I was intimidated, though, by what seemed like a too-complicated process, and by the need for special equipment.  But today, I had the opportunity to join my friend Rosemary and her mother for a first lesson in canning.

It wasn't as difficult as I imagined.  The process does take a fair amount of time, though, because you have to wait for so many things to boil.  If you decide to take up canning, plan to set aside about half the day to get it all done!

I actually documented most of the steps with photographs (which I never remember to do!) so I could share the experience here, and also to create a record for myself.  This isn't intended to be an exact recipe or set of procedures (so if you decide to can peaches, please look for a full set of instructions!).  But I'm sure there are other people like me who have been curious about canning, and wondering what the process really entails...I hope you will enjoy this attempt to recount what we did.

We used quart-sized canning jars.  You have to separate the jars from the lids, and sterilize them.  If you have access to a dishwasher (which, thankfully, we did) , all you need to do is run them on hot.  If not, wash them out by hand, and then pour boiling water over them.

 You should use the freshest peaches possible - they will be a bit soft when squeezed.  "Free stone" peaches are best.  I love those beautiful colors!

 We bought a half bushel from a local farmer's market, but we should have picked up an extra peck or so.  We only ended up with nine quart-jars, instead of using all twelve.

Fill up a couple large pots with water

 And put them on the stove to boil

 

Dump the peaches into the sink

 

 When your water is boiled, pour it all over the peaches.  This will help to loosen the skin and make them easy to peel.

 We let them sit for awhile....maybe 20 or 30 minutes?

 You can use a knife to help get the peeling started, but most of the skins should just come off in your hands.  Cut the peaches in half along the natural seam, and pull out the pit.  Put them back into the pots.

 Now the peaches go on the stove to boil.

Apparently, most recipes have you make the syrup in a separate pot.  We just made it all at the same time by adding a cup of sugar to each of the peach pots while they cooked.

 

Give it a stir...

 Meanwhile, you need to sterilize the lids by (you guessed it) boiling them in water on the stove.

 After some time, the peaches start to rise up and foam.  Now they're ready for canning.

 Carefully scoop them up with a slotted spoon, and add them to the jar, with the concave side facing down.

 You want to layer them in nicely without leaving much air.

Ladle in some syrup until it reaches the bottom rim.

 Now you need to get as much air out as possible.  Sliding this little plastic tool around the outside helps bring up air bubbles.  Also, you can press the peaches from the top using a spoon.  Add a bit more syrup so that it's about a half inch from the top of the jar.

 Using a damp towel, wipe off any sticky stuff from the rim, and screw on a lid, tightly.

 Add the jar to the waiting canning bath (oh yeah - that's another thing that's been boiling this whole time)

 Once the rack is full, lower it into the pot.  If necessary, add more water to cover about an inch above the lids.  Put the top on, and bring to a boil.  Let this boil for half an hour.

Then you pull out your jars, and set them to cool.  Soon, you should hear the little 'pops' as the lids seal themselves.  And you're ready to store them for delicious eating later on!

All-in-all, it was an involved process, but not as daunting as I expected.  There are a few pieces of equipment (like the canning pot with the special rack) I'd want to own if I was going to do this myself at some point.  I'm not convinced that it necessarily saves any money unless you grow all the food yourself (which, given our complete lack of yard, isn't a possibility for us now).  

I hope this gave some of you a better idea of what canning involves, and perhaps inspires you to give it a try!