Apricots, be careful what you wish for...

So far I have made 36 jars of apricot jam, two pans of apricot cheesecake, a half gallon of apricot juice, and two apricot tea cakes. I have also given away three baskets full of apricots.

 A big thank you to Pat Newman for letting me borrow her pressure canner and canning accessories.

 So after all that work, what does my apricot tree look like?

 It looks like I have not picked a single apricot, that's what.

Be careful what you wish for.

"Lettuce rest, I'm feeling beet."

Wow, taking out the carpet really took it out of me.  I was so tired today. But in the evening I did have enough energy to make something yummy for dinner. (Yummy if you like beets, yucky if you don't)

Beet Salad on the sunny windowsill

Beet Salad

I used three beets with their greens but you could use however many you like. I also used up the last of our quinoa ( I think it was about half a cup - more would be good). If you are cooking/baking challenged you should know not to follow my recipes (since I don't measure anything) instead google yourself a nice beet salad recipe with measurements and other specifics.

With that said here is how I made this lovely pink dinner.

1) Wash beets.
2) Cut off greens and chop into pieces.
3) Wrap beets in tin foil and bake at 450 for about an hour.
4) Chop some garlic (2 cloves?)
5) Saute beet greens and garlic in your preferred fat ( I used butter -but olive or coconut oil would work)
6) Make some quinoa. (Just follow the package instructions)
7) Mix cooked quinoa and beet greens together and cool.
8) When the beets are tender peel and chop. (Wear some gloves unless you like to have pink tinted hands for a day or more.)
9) Mix beets with beet green/quinoa and chill
10) Dressing- use whatever - Pour over salad and serve.
10A) My dressing was: sesame oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, garlic, black pepper, and anchovy paste (I added this when I knew no vegetarians would be partaking; it comes it a tube and yes, it is yummy.) Shake those up and pour over salad.
11) Contemplate the color fuchsia while you enjoy your salad.
12) I recommend changing into your painting clothes to make this. For the same reason as number 8 except clothes will be forever stained not just stained for a day or so.

Magic Carpet?

Only magically disgusting. But now it is gone. It had a good long life. I am pretty sure this carpet was original to the remodel that added the back of the house, which the old owners told us happened in 1984. Twenty eight years of grim gone!

No that is not weird colored concrete, it is dirt. Yuck.

What's next? Well I need to remove all the tack strips around the edge and then rent a polisher from a concrete place and then stain it. Add my new-oh-so-pretty wool rug and pull all the furniture back in place. Hopefully, I can accomplish this all before the family reunion brunch I am hosting in mid-January. Better hop to.

Too much baking?

I do concede that I bake an awful lot. But this mixer is a "Professional" Kitchen Aide.  I have had to take it apart twice in the last 3 months to tighten screws that are inconveniently located underneath the motor. It was a scary moment when I flipped the switch after putting it all back together but it came on and seemed tight. Next time I have to take it apart I am going to use some lock tight on those silly screws. 

Cherries!

This one basket was our entire crop this year. Glad I didn't bother netting the tree.

Thrift store addict

Most recent purchase:

It is about as big as my face and cost 2 bucks.

Recent Projects

First up: Cloud Lantern's for the bedroom:

These cloud lanterns made from paper lanterns, batting and hot glue.  I am planning on making two more of these; another small one and a large one to hang over our headboard in the master bedroom. I want to make some wire attachments though so that the end result looks less round. I would also like to find a dimmer florescent bulb to go in there.  This was my  inspiration.

Second Project: Learning to "put it up" (canning):
Colin and I decided that it would be fun to take a canning class from ABQ Old School. We are going to have tons of apricots and a bazillion tomatoes so what we learned in class is certainly going to come in handy. The only problem with learning to put up our home grown bounty is the fact that our pantry is already full of baking supplies. I guess I need to get going on using the 20+ pounds of ghirredili chocolate chips I hoarded from Costco during the holiday season. I need to reorganize the kitchen and see if I can make space somewhere.Who would have guessed that the new kitchen wouldn't have enough storage? Can you imagine my conundrum had we not remodeled?

Below are the items we canned in the class: Poached Pears in a Vanilla, Clove, Orange Syrup and Pickled Jalepenos. Sorry for the blurry picture.