Mission Accomplished: Canning

I remember, in the summers growing up, how my mom would
can green beans or other things on our old stove...
and that unmistakable, annoying
(((rattle)))
of the canner.

As a kid, it was SO annoying and loud!
And it seemed to take FOREVER to be done!
I remember being so annoyed that it would interrupt the whole household.
(At least it seemed that way in my young mind).

Well, as I've gotten older...
and especially now that I'm married...
I've had this desire to can my own foods as well.

I don't have a garden.
As much as I would love to, I just do not have
a green thumb or the patience.
Perhaps I will start next year with just a few small things so that I don't get overwhelmed!

Instead of canning veggies, my mom suggested canning some
soup. She offered to let me borrow her canner and
come over to show me what to do!

Sounded good to me!

(I was always afraid to go out and buy a canner
without knowing what I was doing.
What if I hated it? That'd be a total waste of money!)

Luckily, my mom came over this past weekend
to give me a little instructional.

And... I don't hate it.

I even did the last batch on my own!
Hooray!!

The soup: Ham & Bean

I know it kind of looks gross... but trust me, it is DE-LISH!!

It is going to make some great Christmas gifts!!

If anyone wants my recipe for Ham & Bean Soup, shoot me a comment or email.

What am I Dippity Doin'?

I am a mess in the kitchen. Not only do I not get measurements right... I constantly am slicing my fingers. My husband had a full weekend of these escapades... and luckily, he was willing to bail me out... and bandage up my injured pinky!! I must say though, I am quite embarrassed. If any of you have ever heard of National Hip Hop Recording Artist JOHN REUBEN... well... let me just tell you a quick little story:

This Saturday, we hosted a concert at the teen center in my hometown. Even though I live almost an hour away, Cory and I still try to help out when we can... which is usually when there are concerts. This particular concert included, above mentioned, John Reuben. Funny guy. Well, earlier in the day I was cooking some Chicken A La King to take to the center for dinner (we feed the bands). I get it all made (Cory was so lovingly doing the dishes as I went, to keep the stack of dirty dishes down)... and I grab a couple of spoons so we could try the finished product.

MMmmm Mmmm mmmm... tastes like.... BUTTER?

Crap. Cory grabbed the recipe card and glanced at the ingredients. The recipe makes 6 servings. I was trying to make 24 servings... so I had quadrupled EVERYTHING. Everything but the butter. I accidentally OCTUPLED the butter! (Yes, that is a word, I looked it up!). OH BROTHER. So the panic began as we tried to right our wrong and add the correct ingredients to even things out. (I was never good in math). Luckily, we were able to get it figured out... and the food was a HUGE hit.

(*wiping my brow and breathing a sigh of relief*)

To add to the chaos though, before the place opened, Mr. John Reuben had asked if we could make him some coffee. Cory and I are not coffee drinkers. We always cringe when someone asks for some because we KNOW that we aren't skilled in this department (aaand... I have poor kitchen skills anyway... not a good combination). So we turn on the old BUNN coffee maker and start reading the directions on the coffee container. There was a 2 Tblspn measure in it. WHAT!? Who does that!? The directions are talking in ONE TABLESPOON and half cup increments! This 2 Tblspn thing was just confusing! (I admit, I looked up a conversion online... I didn't trust my converting skills coming from my own brain). So.... we get the coffee going... yes, it took the two of us... and John came out a little later... so I set out the coffee "fixin's" on the counter and then grabbed the finished pot and set it out for him. I would've poured it... but I didn't know if he wanted a little or a lot (you know, some people like to leave room for creamer). So... he came over and got his cup.

He drinks it black, in case you cared.

I put the pot back in the coffee maker thing and set about my business. A little while later, John and a few of his band mates came back out to the lobby area... so I thought I'd be polite... "would you like a bottle of water, maybe a soda...?". John hesitantly walks up and gets this look on his face. I think it was a look of uncertainty. Should he say it... or keep his mouth shut? Finally he says... "Well, I'd really like a cup of coffee (*as I begin to reach for the pot we'd made earlier*)... the last one was good... it was just.... cold. Think I can get a hot one?".

People. I served him COLD coffee.

Cold.

How idiotic can I be? How did I NOT know that it wasn't hot? The lack of steam coming from the pot didn't tip me off?? Needless to say, I could feel my face turning many shades of red... and I profusely apologized. Cory and I exchanged glances and then met in the kitchen to see what the malfunction with the pot was! Yes, it was plugged in... it had been turned on. Why in the world didn't the coffee get hot!? So, we dumped out the cold pot... and started making a fresh one.... which luckily turned out HOT and was much appreciated by John and the band guys.

But no matter... because I was totally embarrassed. Not to put these guys, especially John on a pedestal... but part of what we do when we have bands is try to be accommodating and make a good impression. The last thing I wanted to do was make a cold pot of coffee for anyone, let alone these guys!! Luckily, John joked around with us about it... so it wasn't as traumatic as it could've been.... but I still feel like a butt. Now Cory and I are wondering... what did he do with the cold cup? Dump it out... drink it? ...We may never know...

And for the record, another one of the volunteers later told us that the lovely coffee pot takes like 15 mins to warm up. (Think it's time for a new pot?)

Maybe I'll just stick to handing out bottles of water and soda. And, if you're ever at my house and want a cup of Joe... you may want to make it yourself!

The concert was a lot of fun though!

(Yes, that's foil)My sister's kids love him!

It was a long night for J though!! He zonked out!

Check out John Reuben... he is definitely a lot of fun... and has a great message!
(And don't ever ask me for a cup of coffee unless I'm ordering it from Starbucks--although that might not be a good idea either... better fend for yourself!)

And What Might This Be??

This weekend, Cory went to Maryland to help some friends move into their new house. Conveniently, my aunt's house is on the way to where he was going! So he dropped me off on his way through! I think it was the first time she and I actually got to spend time together... just US. My cousin was there some of the time, but she was running around with friends and also had to work. So, Saturday... we went to different shops in her little town. CUTE! I saw many things I wanted to buy, but I didn't. I brought some money with me, but I wanted to hold onto it until I saw something that I really wanted (if I happened across it). We went to some HUGE antique malls... it was so fun and I got a lot of ideas for things I want to put in my home or art studio... but WOW... it was exhausting! Your eyes get tired because there is so much to look at! It was fun though and nice to spend time together.

So, what's in that box at the top of this post?? Can you guess? I wrote about it in an earlier post... but this one FAR out-weighs the one I was hoping to get back in July... CHECK IT OUT!!!





SO awesome!!!! My aunt even got me 10% off by asking the guy in the shop if he could do better. It is sooooo great! Honestly, it hardly looks used! Everything is in awesome condition... and I love that it comes in a case to protect it! I have to get a new ribbon (which we looked up online before I bought it to make sure we could even get one)... but it is just SO cool!!! I know, you're probably thinking I'm weird... but I can't believe the price for being in such great condition. It's estimated to be from 1911-1924. :) I'm excited! That was probably the hi-light of my trip... other than seeing Cory after a day and a half of being apart!!! (And of course, spending time with my aunt & cousin). WOO HOO!!

A few glimpses of some other things...

These are some YUMMY cookies I made for Cory's lunches. I really need to stop baking. I am not going to be able to fit in my clothes by the time thanksgiving comes around! ARGH! The cookies are really good though!

I wrote about these next few things in an earlier post. Check out the doors and window I plan to spruce up!! (Don't mind my basement... we are getting ready to get it organized... right now it's a mess!)

Here are the kitties I'm working on!

And... Here is the weird wooden thing we found at the flea market to use as a card display... I think it works well, don't you!?


Have you found any great flea market or antique shop buys?

I hope you've had a great weekend!!

Banana Chips and Homemade Crackers!

Yesterday I decided to try my hand at dehydrating some fruit... and also make my own homemade crackers. Here are the bananas getting ready to be dried! I am still waiting for them to complete, so I don't have any "after" pics. I did snatch one earlier this morning just to check and they taste pretty good!!
The crackers weren't as hard to make as I was expecting. I started out rolling the mixture and cutting them with bite-size cookie cutters. The kitchen was so hot though... I petered out after filling one cookie sheet. So the other way they say to do it is to press the mixture into a cookie sheet and then score it with a knife. The finished products were a little thicker than I think they should be... but it was a learning process!! The taste is also a little bitter, but I think that is because it has wheat flour and wheat germ in the mixture. They are still good though and I sent Cory some crackers along with some Cooper cheese in his lunch today!! I enjoy making things in the kitchen... and it's always a learning process since I'm kind of new to it!! On Monday I made peach cobbler, which was rather tasty! I just have to be careful not to make too many sweets!!

And... here is my pitiful pooch! She really isn't pitiful.. she was just hanging out with me in the kitchen..... ok, maybe a little bored. hee hee!

Happy Wednesday!!