Powdered Buttermilk? Who knew!?

I love making new discoveries, though sometimes I wonder about my mother.  She apparently already knows about half of my discoveries and in my thirty-odd years hasn't thought to mention them.

So, this is a new discovery for me... but not my mom.

I can count the number of times I have made pancakes on one hand with a few fingers left over, mainly because the only recipe I will use is a buttermilk recipe and I never have buttermilk on hand.

tada!  Powdered buttermilk!

It's fantastic!  I so often shy away from recipes because they call for a cup of buttermilk, and I know that once I make them I'll have 3 cups left rotting in my fridge.  Yes, I can "whip up" something, or possibly freeze it, but really, that never happens.  I have likely thrown away gallons of the stuff.

My local bulk food store had it, and for $7 I have enough of the powder to make 3-4 GALLONS of buttermilk (not bad, since a litre is what...  $3?).  I can make only as much as I need, (1/4cup + 4c water) and now, pancakes are back on the table.

Mom: "Oh yeah, I used to use that for pancakes when you guys were little so I wouldn't have to buy buttermilk all the time"

Thanks mom.

Fresh Summer Salsa.

1-3.8L can of tomatoes

(pulsed in a food processor to make tomato chunks smaller)

2 large onions, diced

2 large green peppers, diced

6-7 jalapeno peppers chopped
(I left the seeds in, but you can remove them if you don't like much heat)

6 cloves garlic, minced

2-5.5oz cans tomato paste

1 1/2 cups white vinegar

1 cup loosely packed, finely chopped cilantro

1 tsp ground cumin

put everything in a large pot, and bring to a boil.

Once it has reduced to a salsa-like consistency, and all the vegetables are cooked and soft, ladle into prepared jars, affix lids and process in a hot water bath canner for 20 minutes.

I got about 8-9 500ml jars. 

Seafood Sauce

I'm not the biggest fan of seafood sauce, but since Husband could eat the stuff on packing peanuts, I decided to give it a shot.  As usual, I balked at the idea of using fresh summer tomatoes for something like this (I have yet to notice a difference between canned tomatoes, and cooked fresh ones, while there is a giant difference in eating them fresh) so, mine are still on the vine and I opted for picking up the Costco-sized can of tomatoes instead.

It's an easy recipe.

1-3.8L can tomatoes, pureed

zest and juice of 2 lemons

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup white vinegar

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Get all this into a pot and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer to reduce by about half.

Once reduced, bring to a rolling boil, then remove from heat and quickly stir in

3 cups grated horseradish

I would like to take this opportunity to let you know that horseradish is an evil, evil thing. 

If you don't enjoy cutting onions, you're not going to enjoy grating the horseradish.  I had the benefit of a warning from my mom, so I used the food processor outside...  but even still, I made the mistake of inhaling after opening the top and almost swore loudly.

Once you stop crying, ladle the hot sauce into prepared jars, affix lids and process in a hot water canner for 15 minutes.

I got 11-250ml jars out of this recipe, and because I have horseradish growing wild on my property, the whole shebang cost me a grand total of about $7 (including new seals).  Even if I had to buy the horseradish, it would have been barely more than a dollar a jar.

I Heart Husband.

Why am I not sleeping?  Everyone else is.  Husband and Girl haven't woken up yet this morning (it's nearly 10:00), and Boy seems to be down for his first nap of the day.  He woke up about an hour ago, ate, made silly noises for a while and is now sound asleep in his bouncy chair.  whee!  I should go back to bed, but realistically, I'd never sleep.  Instead I'm here blogging about nothing in particular, enjoying the peace and quiet. 

I really should go out and sit on my screen porch.  I say "on" because it has no walls or roof yet, so it can't really be "in", but I'm not complaining.  There has been a drop of death from the patio door for 2 years (since we ripped out the rotting, non-child-friendly deck with grand plans for a screen porch), so I'll take the beautiful plywood platform any day! 

I love Husband to bits, but seriously, I'm pretty sure I saw a hand plane out there while he was "putting the finishing touches" on the floor joists.  You know, the wood that is going to be covered in plywood, flooring, walls, and skirting... never to be seen again.   This is why we will never build a house.  Tenting through a winter is not appealing to me.  He builds to near perfection every time (I say "near" because perfect is impossible with lumber), which is great, but sometimes I just want to whack in a few nails and call it done.   I'm all for perfection when it matters, and hate to say it...  perfection is not necessary inside walls or under floors.  At least in my books.  Hey, don't get me wrong, it had better be level and plumb, but I remember a time when Husband measured up from the sill plate in the garage before drilling holes for the electrical wires to ensure they ran perfectly level and parallel around the room.  (This is the wires...  not the outlets).   I love you Honey.

Now, to be fair. Husband could tell you plenty of stories about my and my less-than-perfect renovation style, but luckily, he doesn't blog.

AAAH, the Pressure!

I've been googling pressure canners lately, because you know what?  If I had one, I could ALSO preserve meat.  Apparently my grandmother used to put whole chickens into jars...  I'm not quite that crazy, (she did it before she had a freezer...  back in the olden days) but the idea of canning my spaghetti sauce or stocks and soups seems like a pretty good idea.  Typically I make those things in giant batches already and store them in cheap gladware in the freezer.  As cheap as gladware is, it's about the same as buying jars, and really, jars last a heck of a lot longer.  I feel like I'm constantly throwing gladware away after only a few uses.  Yes, I know, I could buy Tupperware, or other stuff like that, but that's even MORE expensive and I'm not sure it would survive the frozen plummet from my freezer any better.  Plus, I'd need to spend a small fortune to get started considering just today I used 14 containers for spaghetti sauce.

The other benefit to canning over freezing, is that I wouldn't have to thaw anything.  I could drag a jar of spaghetti sauce out of the cupboard, dump it in a pot, and as soon as it was warm and the noodles were cooked, I'd be done.  Plus, if someday Husband DOES decide to create a big vegetable garden, I'd be able to preserve our corn and beans without pickling them. 

I think I'm going to do it.  Husband was concerned about storing another big pot, but I assured him I could use the pressure canner as a hot water bath canner too, and get rid of the one I already have.  I'm really thoughtful like that. 

French Onion Risotto

2 med/large onions

1 Tbsp butter

Get a pan onto the stove on a medium heat.  The key to carmelizing onions is cooking them slowly,  so you don't want the pan too hot.  Melt the butter in the pan, cut up the onions and pop them in.  If I'm making carmelized onions for burgers or something like that, I'll use onion rings, or half rings, but for this, you'd want them closer to bite-sized, so I cut quarter rings.

Keep the onions moving, and if they start to brown too quickly (like mine did as I sat here typing out how to cook them as slowly as possible) turn down the heat.   I read a tip for housewives once...  if your husband is coming home and you haven't started dinner yet, just put some onions on the stove.  It'll smell up the house and he'll never know.  I'm not sure why that matters, I'd just tell Husband to make his own dinner if he was that concerned. I'm liberated.

pepper to taste

1 tsp hot mustard

1 tsp Worchestershire sauce

Once your onions are soft, brown and you're starting to wonder where all the onions went, they're done.  Add some pepper and a teaspoon of hot mustard and Worchestershire sauce for a bit of a kick and empty them into another dish to wait for a while.

glug of white wine

1 cup arborio rice

3-4 cups beef stock

Put the stock into a small saucepan and get it simmering on the stove, you don't want to add cold stock to the hot rice.  De-glaze the pan with a good sized slosh of white wine.  This gets all the tasty stuff off the bottom of the pan and into your rice.  The size of the glug depends completely on you (and how much you want to have left to drink).  

Add the rice, and stir it around until the wine is completely absorbed, then start adding your stock half a cup at a time, stirring in between until the liquid is absorbed.  Don't neglect the stirring, it's what makes risotto more than just good rice.  The starches come out and make a deliciously creamy sauce. 

Once you've use up more than half of your stock, add the onions back in, and start tasting, season as you need with salt and pepper (I needed to add a bunch, because I used homemade stock that had virtually no salt in it, storebought stocks tend to have much more, so taste, taste, taste!)

I ended up using about 3 1/2 cups of stock, but have extra on hand, you don't want to run out and have to start adding water.

This stuff is pretty much amazing to eat as is, but for extra special dinners, put it into a french onion soup bowl (or any other oven safe vessel)  top with grated cheese (swiss is traditional, but I find it a bit strong, so a mix of mozzarella and swiss is better for me), and broil until the cheese is bubbly.

"Prepare Canner, Jars and Lids"

I realized recently that I've been writing "Prepare canner, jars and lids" on a lot of my posts, but I think I have yet to explain what that means, so in an effort to be helpful I'll make it easy (and then go back and link here from all my posts).  Basically this is a "Canning 101" type post, so I'll explain everything.

Preparing Canner:

The canner is the big pot that you get.  They're really cheap, likely because they're not made to put anything into but water (so please don't try cooking in one).  They come with a rack for jars that you lower into a hot water bath, and also a set of tongs to lift hot jars out of the water.

All you need to do to prepare the canner is put water into it (enough that you'll completely cover all the jars once you lower them in), and put it on the stove to come to a boil. 

I should also note...  the cheap canners you can buy at your local big box store can't be used on induction cooktops or any flat top surfaces.  I understand that for those types of cooktops you need to have a pot that has an entirely flat bottom, and a canner doesn't have that.  You can buy flat-bottomed canners, but they do cost more.  I knew there was some benefit to having a coil cooktop. 

Preparing Jars:

You need to sterilize and heat your jars.  Sterilize to kill bacteria, and heat them up so that when you pour hot stuff into them and stick them into boiling water that they won't break.  I do this in the dishwasher.  A regular cycle with a heated dry does the trick.  Just make sure you time it so you can use them hot (feel free to take them out before waiting for the dry cycle to finish, as long as they're reasonably dry.)

Preparing Lids:

I don't usually do anything with the rings, since they're on the outside of the seal, so other than making sure they are clean and not rusty, they just wait until they're needed.  The seals also need to be sterilized and warmed up (to soften the rubber part of the seal).  You can't do this in the dishwasher because it will degrade the rubber, so I do this in a small pot with water.  I bring it to a boil, and then turn off the heat, letting the seals sit in there to stay warm until they're needed.

A note on pressure canning. 

There is also a type of canning for "low acid foods" but I'm not really familiar with that personally (I have yet to need it, since I don't have a garden of veggies to store, or the cash to buy a pressure canner), but you can go here for more information on that.

Beauty products I stole from my baby.

I have a ton of baby products.  Well, not really, I can pretty much get by with a bottle of baby shampoo and occasionally some diaper cream.  I bought a lot of products with Girl because I thought that's what you were supposed to do, and most of them are still kicking around.  Discovering new uses for them is great!  Not to mention, baby products are significantly cheaper than the magic stuff in tiny bottles marketed to me.  Here are some of my favourites:

1. Zinc Oxide Cream:

Great for diaper rash, but even before I had kids I was using this stuff on my feet.  I have terribly rough feet, especially in the summer.  I think it's because, as a rule, I avoid socks like the plague as soon as I can get away with it.  As a result, my feet get chapped, skin peels off, and a few days ago I realized they were so bad they were acting like velcro on our carpets.  This cream works wonders.  Zinc is a healing agent, so it will also help with minor cuts and scrapes (though, I wouldn't use the same container you use for diaper rash...  too easy to cross-contaminate).  Just smear a heavy amount onto the soles of your feet, pull some socks on and go to bed.  By morning you'll see a noticable difference.  For even better results, get out the footfile first.  I've also done this with my hands with wonderful results.

2. Pure Lanolin

If you're like me, you likely bought a bottle of this before nursing...  and most of it is still in the container.  It's so thick and sticky, I pretty much abandoned it after a week or so with Girl, and I think I used it once with Boy.  Here's a great tip...  it's a wonderful lip protector/chapstick/gloss.  I'll admit, I'm kind of addicted to the tingly feeling chapsticks offer, but I'll be using my Lanolin this winter.  It's thick, has a nice subtle gloss, and softens your lips nicely.  (Like my feet, I have always been cursed with dry, chapped lips).

3. Baby Hairbrush

I've bought the microderm abrasion machines too.  Haven't used it in a long time... because now I have a baby hairbrush.  (I had two, so it's not like I was doing double duty between my face and Girl's cradle cap).  Use it gently in circular motions with your favourite cleanser as often as you would normally exfoliate for a soft, glowing face.  Added bonus, you can use it in the tub/shower without the nagging fear of electrocution.

4.  Baby oil

I know the commercials say to use this after you shower to "lock in moisture" and all that jazz...  but I use this as eye makeup remover.  SO much cheaper than any remover you can buy, and since I have a giant bottle with perhaps an inch used, I'll never need to buy makeup remover again.  Apparently baby wipes will do this too, but I can't confirm that one (they'll also take white anti-persirant marks off clothing).

There...  now you can be soft and dewy too (like your baby...  not me).  I have yet to find an anti-aging baby products, but as soon as I get all the ingredients together, I'll give you one of those too!

Curried Ketchup.

If you're like me, those two words sound about as weird together as "purple mustard".  I, however, am a convert.  I tried it once, and was blown away.  Not so blown away as to spend $5 on a small bottle of the stuff, but sufficiently blown away to spend the day attempting to make it myself.  (I have an odd way of looking at cost, I admit it). 

You need a stinking huge pot for this one,  just to warn you.  I borrowed my brother's giant 14L stock pot and let me tell you, I just squeaked it by. 

I found a recipe for Ketchup, and since I can't leave well enough alone, I modified it enough to call it my own.  I don't have a giant surplus of tomatoes (mainly because I really only grow enough to stuff my face with for a few weeks) and I wasn't about to buy fresh tomatoes to make this (the recipe called for 24lbs of them), so I opted for canned.  I'll give you a tip, when you use canned tomatoes instead of fresh...  watch the salt.  I completely forgot that canned tomatoes have salt in them, so when I added the requisite 1/4 cup while reducing the ketchup, I made a fatal error that resulted in me throwing away the whole first attempt.  It was a dismal failure.  I didn't add any salt the second time.

Curried Ketchup (makes about 6 pint jars)

3 Tbsp celery seeds

4 tsp whole cloves

2 cinnamon sticks, broken (each about 4 inches)

1 1/2 tsp whole allspice

3 cups cider vinegar

Make a spice bag with cheesecloth and the first four ingredients.  Put the vinegar in a pot with the spice bag, bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and let steep for 25 minutes.  Discard spice bag.

4 3.8L cans of diced tomatoes

3 large onions, chopped

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix tomatoes, onions and cayenne in a large stock pot.  Bring to a boil, stirring regularly, reduce heat and boil for about 15-20 minutes.  Add vinegar, and simmer for about 30 minutes.

(I took this picture during the first trial, I added more tomatoes for the second, so it barely fit in the pot)

Working in batches, either run tomatoes through a food mill, or put them in a strainer and push through with the back of a spoon (I've tried both methods, they are equally tedious) to extract all the liquid.  Return liquid to the pot.

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 Tbsp hot curry powder

2 5.5oz cans tomato paste

Add sugar and curry powder to the liquid and bring to a boil.  Boil until the volume reduces by about half and the liquid is close to the consistency of commercial ketchup (it will be a bit runnier).  Add tomato paste and simmer a few minutes longer.  Also, prepare your jars, lids and canner.

Ladle hot ketchup into jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Wipe rim, add seals and rings, finger-tight.  Place into hot water canner, process for 15 minutes.

It's got a strong flavour, so if you're expecting Heinz, don't bother.  It's got some heat, but really only enough to warm up your mouth a bit, you won't be sweating.  Also, it's best to do this one with your windows open.  The curry, vinegar and cooking tomatoes really stinks the place up.  I have an "odor eliminator candle"  going right now (thanks Marion!).

Smokin!

In my quest to find interesting things to make food taste better, I stumbled on these:

Basically, smoke in a can.  It's actually technically compressed wood in a can.  You buy a pack of 3 for under $9 (I bought mine from Golda's Kitchen...  I could spend some major coin there), take off the labels and plop one into your propane BBQ, under the grill, just sitting on the burner/coals.  Each one says its good for about 3 sessions on the barbeque, and boy, are they smokin!  Husband thought the grill was on fire...  the most delicious smelling fire ever!  We've made chicken, ribs, and hamburgers so far, but I can't think of anything to put on the BBQ that couldn't use a bit of smokey goodness.  I will warn you though...  don't get the smoke in your eyes.  It burns like campfire!

I have one of those smoker boxes already that do the same thing...  you just have to add your own chips.  But silly me, I left it outside on the BBQ all winter and it rusted to high heaven.  Oops.   This is more my speed. 

They come in Pecan, Alder, Cherry, Apple, Hickory and Mesquite (what is "mesquite" anyway?)

Try it, you'll like it.  Especially if your husband won't let you buy a $300 smoker. 

I have mixed thoughts about purple mustard.

I didn't think about it really.  Cranberry Mustard sounded intriguing, and there wasn't a picture of it to go with the recipe, so I really had no idea what it was going to look like, but lo and behold...  it's purple.

I mean really purple.  See?

I don't know.  Smells like mustard.  I'm not a huge mustard fan, but Husband said it smelled really good.  I'm just confused by looking at it.  I've never thought "you know what this sandwich needs?  a bit of PURPLE!"  That beet horseradish stuff confuses me too.

I digress.  In case you want purple mustard, here is the recipe:

Cranberry Mustard

1 cup red wine vinegar

2/3 cup yellow mustard seeds

Bring vinegar to a boil on high heat, remove from heat and add mustard seeds.  Let soak until they absorb most of the liquid (about an hour).  Prepare jars, lids and canner.

1 cup water

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 3/4 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)

In a blender or a food processor, combine soaked mustard seeds, water, and Worcestershire sauce, process until they are a desired consistency for mustard (basically, as smooth as you have patience for).  Add cranberries and blend up some more.

I warn you, by this point you might think you've made some sort of smoothie, since it looks like this:

Looks like a smoothie, smells like mustard.  Yummy!

Transfer the mixture to a pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.  (At this point, I added another half cup or so of water...  since it was already pretty thick, and the recipe wanted me to reduce it further.  If I boiled it from the consistency it was, it would have just burned to the bottom of the pan.) 

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup dry mustard powder

2 1/2 tsp ground allspice

Whisk in sugar, mustard powder and allspice, continute boiling until volume is reduced and thickened (anout 15 minutes)

Ladle mustard into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles, wipe rim and add lids, finger-tight. 

Process jars in hot water canner, ensuring they are completely covered in water.  Process for 10 minutes.

I made Husband try it, and the stuff is tasty, just purple.  I don't know about purple mustard. 

My pantry runneth over.

You should really invite me to dinner.

I love to entertain, so I don't get invited out all that much.  I like to cook, and people seem to like my cooking (since they come back time and again) and honestly, sometimes when I get invited somewhere else, I miss being able to spoil my friends and family.  I came up with a solution...  this is it:

The Host/Hostess Gift!

In my pantry is a shelf of delectables just waiting all Martha-Stewart-style, including (but not limited to) blueberry jam, blueberry sauce, strawberry sauce, strawberry syrup, black velvet apricot jam, raspberry jelly, praline syrup, spiced honey, curried ketchup, and cranberry mustard.  They're even labelled and decorated already!  (btw, I love the idea of using circles of scrapbook paper under the jar rings to add some pizazz)

I'm still planning on adding to this stash, since I have yet to make anything with the chokecherries and highbush cranberries growing on my property, or with my mom-in-law's apples, and I have plans for BBQ sauces and salsas.

I'm going to spoil you if you come to my house or not.  *evil cackle*

Condimentally speaking...

Making condiments is really weird.

I cook a lot, and one of the things you do as a cook is taste, taste, taste.  I've been trying my hand at inventing a recipe for curried ketchup (modifying a standard ketchup recipe and throwing in some curry), and also following a recipe for cranberry mustard (recipes to follow).  My last attempt at curried ketchup was a dismal failure (I'll save that story for later.), so I was diligently tasting my ketchup as it got close to being the right consistency.  I kept sticking in a spoon (a clean one of course), and tasting, and my immediate reaction was always the same "wow, that's a strong flavour"

Well, of course it is, you're not making soup, you're eating ketchup with a spoon.

Next time I'll have to cook up a sausage to try it with.

I have an opinion, and I'm ok with that. Is that ok with you?

*Sigh*

My mom always told me that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.  I agree wholeheartedly.  Problem is, "nice" has become "agreeable".  I get really tired of the internet sometimes, because it seems as though we have lost the ability to have opinions.  I've spent my fair share of time on Facebook, message boards, blogs, etc, and I've never been one to shy away from offering a contradictory opinion, but I'm starting to learn that everyone just wants everyone to agree with them.

I've been accused of being hostile, "worked up", angry, snide, mean, and my all-time favourite, having my posts deleted because I'm not actually allowed to express my opinion. (meaningful glance at a certain relative) I hate to break it to you people, I have yet to get "worked up" or angry about a Facebook status, and it's not "mean" to have a contrasting opinion.  There is a big difference between saying "you are dumb" and "I don't agree with you".

Maybe it's this culture we have created where praise and adoration is dolled out by the bucketful.  Kids are praised for everything they do, soccer teams don't have winners or losers anymore (so no one feels bad), and all anyone really wants to hear on their Facebook status is "WowAwesomeSuperCoolHigh-five". 

Insert eye roll.

I'm willing to praise and encourage where such things are due, but if you go onto the internet and post an outlandish opinion, you can't honestly expect that everyone is going to think you're amazing.  I found it really interesting that after our recent federal election, the vast number of posts were the same.  Apparently everyone was really upset by the outcome.  I found this strange since the Conservatives did win...  and someone besides myself must have voted for them.  Right, because Facebook can only hold one opinion, and the upset people got there first. 

I really hope to instill a proper sense of balance in my kids.  I don't want them growing up thinking everything they do is praise worthy and that the best course of action is to always just agree with everyone.  I want them to think for themselves and not be afraid to express their ideas.  The popular opinion is not always the right one.  I hope to teach them that a good debate will make them stronger, will allow them to understand different points of view and sharpen their minds.  An opinion is useless unless it has been challenged and has survived.  I'm not so vain as to think I'm always right, and I welcome challenges to my ideas. 

So please, I invite you to engage me, sharpen me, contradict me, take my opinions and try to crush them. 

I, on the other hand will remember to only post non-sensical ditties about how awesome everyone is.

Valuable life lessons.

I'd never have considered myself to be someone who was afraid of heights.  I don't actually think I am.  Husband has been working on painting the dormers of our house recently, since we're getting our roof replaced (hooray for hail and insurance!).  It's been a long process, so when Husband went to work yesterday, I decided to be helpful and give him a hand.  I've been pretty out of commission lately with the whole c-section recovery/gaping wound thing, so it felt good to be productive.  Maybe I was running off the endorphins created by last weeks basement clean-up, maybe I was just nuts, but there I was, up on the 2x8 board "scaffolding".  It took me a while to get up there, carrying my paint can and brush.  The roof is pretty steep and there is a good 4 feet from the edge of the roof to the board.  Once firmly placed, I looked around and immediately regretted my plan.  I didn't feel secure at all. 

I wasn't sure what to do.  Getting back to the ladder was impossible (the idea of crawling DOWN the steep roof right to the edge seemed a whole lot more daunting than climbing up).   I knew the window was open, since Husband had taken part of it down to fix, leaving only poly, a screen and a blanket (impromtu window covering in Girl's room while Husband also builds a "treehouse" in there, long story for another day) in my way.  So, I did what any good wife would do.  I painted my way to the window and let myself in.

Entertainingly, Girl was still in bed when I crawled through the window into her treehouse.  She thought it was fantastic. 

I felt like a failure, but at least I wasn't the kind of failure that ends up in the emergency room.  I took my disapproving looks from Husband gracefully, and now I know...  I'm not afraid of heights.  However I am afraid of falling.

The Millionaire Family

Babies tend to attract attention from strangers, and many people I know get all worked up about it.  "They thought my girl was a boy!  OH NO!", or "How dare they call my baby chubby!"  I really don't care much about what people think.  They always thought Girl was a boy, but who could blame them? I didn't make it easy for them, since I'm not much of a fan of pink.  I've noticed a new trend these days though.  I've been approached many times with the same line of thinking:

Stranger: So you have a boy and a girl?

Suzie:  Yes.

Stranger:  So, you're done then?

I didn't realize that the only possible reason to want more than two kids is to have one of each gender.

I think mentally I checked out of having more children somewhere in between the morning sickness, stomach flus and trying in vain to get an 11+lb baby out of me without surgical intervention.  After one more brief (and terrifying) pregnancy scare, I think I'm pretty done.  We have enough bedrooms for two kids, and we're never outnumbered, but my main reason for not wanting more children is far more vain than that.  I don't want a minivan.  I can't do it.  Husband is a bit of a car enthusiast, and this was my car before having kids:

I just can't give it up.  The idea that Husband would drive fun cars to work every day, and I would drive a minivan for the forseeable future would just be too horrifying to contemplate.  I've moved my fun cars to the side for the time being in favour of four doors and A/C, but they're still here, and once I have two kids in front-facing seats they will be back. 

Yes, I have a boy and a girl, but I think I'd be done regardless.  Neither Husband, nor I, ever expressed the desire to have equal gender representation.  In fact, I remember a conversation in which Husband can be quoted as saying "can we just have all girls?".  Even though it's the truth, I have trouble agreeing with presumtuous strangers.  Short of telling them all the reasons I'm done, I'm not sure what to say that won't reinforce their strange ideas and need to ask personal questions.  It would be bad to make them feel right.

I just smile and shrug instead.  I'll take one for the team.

Boy oh Boy

*Sigh*  Boy is darn cute. 

And, not surprisingly, freakishly advanced.  From the genes that brought you "potty trained at 16 months" and "writes her name at two-and-a-half" comes "I'm barely 2 months and can roll over."

He can, I made him do it three times to prove it.

I'm going to start selling my embyos. 

That was a joke, in case you were wondering.

Say WHA?!

I was at Costco a few days ago, buying some food, when I came across something interesting in the produce department.  Black Velvet Apricots.

I hailed my mom, and we had a conversation similar to this:

Suzie:  Hey mom, look at these!  Black Velvet Apricots!

Mom:  Those are plums.

Suzie:  No, they're apricots

Mom:  Apricots aren't purple.

Suzie:  Plums aren't fuzzy.  Plus, look...  it says "APRICOTS" on the package.

Needless to say, I bought them.  I can't say no to weird produce.  Plus, it said on the package that it is a "limited edition" so how could I leave them?  Next year they might make apricots pink and I would have missed out on the purple ones all together.

I was excited to try one.  Guess what, it tastes like fruit.  I don't really eat apricots normally, so I have no idea how they taste...  they were sweet and juicy, quite delicious.  Of course, I had about 40 of them (hooray for bulk buying) plus plums, nectarines, cherries and bananas...  so there was nothing else to do but make Black Velvet Apricot JAM!

Husband:  You know... you could just eat fruit and not make jam out of it.

Suzie:  (laughs)

He doesn't know me at ALL does he?  Not to mention, since these are a limited edition, my jam is going to be worth some coin when all people have are boring old orange apricots.

Black Velvet Apricot Jam

3 cups pureed, pitted apricots (leave the skin on)
1/4 cup lemon juice
7 cups sugar
1 pkg liquid pectin. 

Mix first three ingredients well in a large pot, bring to a boil. Once you can no longer stir down the bubbles, boil hard for one minute. Take off the heat, add the liquid pectin and stir well. Let stand for a few minutes to help prevent floating fruit, and skim off the foam. Fill jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, add seals and rings, tighten to finger-tight. Let cool. (as they cool, the seals will pop inwards, if they don't, you do not have a proper seal and jam should be kept in the fridge until eaten).

It turned out to be a really pretty jam...  I think the floating confetti of purple really makes it.

I really shouldn't give you all my big money-making idea, but hey, I'm benevolant like that!

When to say when.

Throughout my journey of being a housewife, I have learned things about myself.  I have been realizing something about myself recently that will result in a change. 

There is no point in freezing fruit in this house. 

We don't use it.  Year after year I diligently freeze berries, and ever single year I intend to use them for "something". I never do.  I just gave away a bag of last years frozen strawberries (to my SIL, who uses them often for smoothies), and I just dug a pail of frozen blueberries from the depths of my freezer (it's a small freezer, so it wasn't really that deep).  I understand the benefits of freezing fruit, and I know all the things that I could do with the stuff, but once it's in the freezer, it's gone.  I don't touch it. 

This isn't really a new realization...  I've thrown away plenty of frozen fruit I've forgotten about.  I don't totally get why I haven't given it up yet, but the insanity stops here.

So remember, don't do something just because you think you should, or someone else tells you it's a good idea (even if that wise person is me).   When you store up for winter, make only what you'll use (or like me, stockpile into a stash of hostess gifts, stocking stuffers and shareables).  If you hate jam, don't make jam...  if you drink a smoothie every morning, freeze a whackload of fruit.

Those blueberries?  They're going join their friends in the pantry as jam and blueberry pie filling. 

Say no to imitators.

A friend of mine recently lamented on Facebook about the amount of sugar in freezer jam.  When you've never made jam before it's a common surprise.  Cooked jams have close to a 2:1 ratio of sugar to fruit, while freezer jams can be even higher. 

I tend to avoid freezer jams as it is (I find them runny; inconvenient, since you have to thaw before using; they don't last in the fridge as long once thawed; and they're not really much easier to make than cooked jam.  Not to mention my freezer is very small, so freezer space comes at a premium), opting instead for cooked jams, but the idea is still the same.

Let's just put it out on the table.  JAM HAS A LOT OF SUGAR.  I don't think this is a giant surprise.  It's kind of like saying there is a lot of salt in soy sauce.  Duh.  I don't understand what the problem is.  You use about a tablespoon of the stuff at a time.  It's a condiment, not a beverage.

There were a lot of responses to this friend suggesting agave nectar, and light pectins that use less sugar...

Back away very slowly. 

I've never totally understood this idea.  Think of it this way.  If I loved a specific kind of wonderful wine (you can also substitute coffee, tea, cheese, chocolate...  really, whatever you like), and found out it wasn't really all that great for me...  but then realized some sub-par version was better for me would I say "hey,  the wonderful wine is bad for me, but I could drink BOATLOADS of wine if I drink this sub-par wine... it only tastes a BIT like vinegar". 
No.

It doesn't make any sense.  Eating or drinking an imitation is pointless, since you usually end up unsatisfied and eat what you were avoiding anyway.  I never buy low fat cheese either, I'd rather eat less of the good stuff than suffer through a pizza with cheese that melts funny and tastes a bit like plastic.  It's a waste. 

I think I've already explained my love of fresh, homemade strawberry jam, so the idea of making it less good just to be "healthier"  (I put that into quotes because I wonder if added chemicals are really any better for us than sugar) sounds ridiculous.   Things like that just kill your soul a little. 

Eat what you love, don't settle for imitations, and when you do...  for pete's sake...  enjoy it.