Pickles, Jams, & Jelly

The last couple days, I've been experimenting with jams & jellys & pickles..... I have a ton of red currants that needed used up (still have lots more on the bush!) so I decided to try making jelly; I've never made jelly before & we rarely use jams or jellys, but what the heck. Whilst picking said red currants, I noticed that the gooseberries were looking ripe too: so I picked a bunch of them as well.

I ended up making a spicy jelly-ish creation out of the gooseberries; with cloves, brown sugar, vinegar, & other spices: this was the first experiment. For the next try, I decided to actually follow the recipe & made a simple red-currant jelly: it's such a pretty color! Now I have like 2 dozen little jars of jelly: I'm thinking of hostess gifts, a few for the cabin, giving some to the neighbors, etc. I think for the rest of the currants, I'll do a syrup: for ice cream & for making pretty drinks...

And, while I was making a mess in the kitchen, I decided to make some pickled radishes: since I have tons of the things, & I'm the only one who will eat them raw: thought maybe the husband & the girl might actually eat them as pickles...we'll see. The jars turned out so pretty: the skins turn the pickeling liquid a nice purplely-pink color...we'll find out later if they taste ok....


Check out this purple podded pea! The peas inside the pod are the regular color & taste just like regular peas---love the way the look :) Must plant more next year :)

A visit to Jullion Park

Stopped by the Jullion Park project the other day to fix some vandalism & finally get the plaque installed (to my embarrassment, it's been sitting in my garage for over 6 months). Things are looking good; the steel is aging niclely, just as planned: it will be prettier in a few years when the rust evens out more... This project was installed last June--my 1st large scale public art project, & still one of my favs :) Stop by & see it sometime: it's located off Ustick Road, between Maple Grove & Five Mile: a little park tucked back into a neighborhood: turn at the big church onto Jullion Rd & follow it back just about a block & you'll see the sign. Send me a pic of yourself looking through the windows :)

Amber

My Sink Runneth Over (with Beets)

As I was weeding the planter in front of the house-the one with these stupid white shrub roses (sorry anyone who likes shrub roses...) I discovered that the beets I planted early in the spring were getting huge! Looking around at all the beets here & there (they're everywhere...) I found quite a few that were ready for harvesting, so I decided to pick & then pickel some :) I've never done such a thing in my life, so I promptly looked up some recipes on the net---of course, being the pickling expert, I did not find a recipe that sounded like it would be good enough, so I combined a few....




Here they are in the sink; running over: looks like a ton!



And with the tops cut off; they are some weird heirloom variety that I got from Baker Creek; albino beets! Love the stripes: some of them are pure white, some have red strips, & I think I only got one in there thats all red...



All canned up; pretty, huh? I uesed a brine of apple cider vinegar, with cinnimon, sugar (not as much as the recipe called for) allspice, nutmeg, & some pepper. Also added whole peppercorns, allspice, & cloves; dont know what it will taste like, but it smelled amazing....

Downtown Nampa; new discoveries (for me)

I rarely go into old downtown in Nampa; I drive right past to go get the mail at the PO, & very seldom do I drive or walk the 2 blocks to check out the shopping.... In the last couple months, however, I have been making a few discoveries that keep me coming back! The latest is a huge used book store; 2 floors full of tons of books-organized well, so you can actually find what you're looking for.... Twice Sold Tales is located right downtown; in a really cool, really old building-lots of separate rooms to explore; makes hunting for your fav. section even more fun! They take books in on trade, too, & pay/trade better than anyplace I've been the valley! Stop in this Saturday for the grand opening; new owners have taken over the biz & are celebrating the new beginning; be sure to take down any books you want to trade in :) Since my first visit, I've been back twice (in a week) to explore further....it's a great place to spend some time; they have chairs & tables throughout the store, especially on the upper level, so you can really get comfy checking out the reading material...

And, just around the corner (sort of) my new fav. fashion stop--the Brass Razoo! A local artist/designer runs the place & re purposes vintage clothing into updated wearable creations. My first visit in, I bought 3 summer dresses--great designs with a great fit---my absolute favs in my closet!

I found the prices to be very reasonable, & the workmanship to be great; I would highly recommend a stop in; plan on spending some time; there are very few pieces that are the same, so it takes a bit to look at everything & find your size, but that's half the fun! The other half is knowing that you are supporting a local artist & recycling at the same time! The Brass Razoo is just down the street from the Flying M CoffeeGarage...
Amber

Ramdom pics from this week--mostly in the garden :)

My tomates are growing like weeds!! OMG-I bought all heirloom varieties from a local organic greenhouse & as soon as I put them in the ground they took off! I've got some huge greenies just starting to turn & lots of little cherry sized coming on already :) I should have lots for sauce this summer; that is unless my neighbor steals them all over the fence! :)

The wilder side of the house on a fine sunny morning; tons of purple blooms; & I have more honeybees buzzing about than I've ever seen!

My truck; hubby got me hoodscoops for my b-day last October & finally got them put on last night--looks cool, eh??

Cute little sculpture addition to the garden....

The cutest temp. gauge: hubby found a couple of them at the scrap yard & brought them home; I couldn't resist adding them to the garden in front of a window so I can look outside & see the temp :)

The back veggie patch; & kitties. They are convinced that I planted this feather grass clump especially for them--it's their fav. plant to attack...good thing it's tough!

A cute windchime that I finally got put back up after the house painting project. It's got keys, copper disks, little steel tubes, & other tidbits & makes the nicest tinkling sound in the breeze.

Beasty Cat--in his new fav. resting spot; the huge grass clump right next to the front door. Looks comfy doesn't he?

The last couple weeks have been a recovery period after the Meridian City Hall project; it's been lovely to have extra time in the garden... I'm starting to get back into being busy, though: got projects stacking up! Next will be a big wall installation for the AGC, also doing a sign for a new boutique in downtown Boise, and just got an order for s'more trophies for the Idaho Business Review. And, I just signed a contract with Boise for Parks projects--looks like I'm going to be doing something for Hobble Creek Park this summer....

The search for an affordable shop space is ever on-going....looking at renting space from a friend a couple days a week. Not looking forward to another hot summer in the garage....anyone out there have an old shop available????

Well, that's all for now; time to get ready to head to the scrap yard!

Amber