Sunday, September 27, 2009

Bullseye Quilt



I have been working on this quilt for a long time. All of the material was from my moms closet of all of her old crafts. So they are not the best fabrics, but I kind of like the old pioneer look to it. I am making myself get some of my projects done before I start with my new fabric. Oh I have so many quilts to work on!

My Apron




I finally finished this apron, I have wanted the material for a long time, but I was trying to be good and not buy it. One day I was in Bernina and there was barely enough on the bolt, so I had to buy it! I had to finish it before I started my canning, I know that I am a nerd, but I was so excited to wear it for my canning.

Fall Harvest

My grandpa has this huge garden, which I think he plants especially for me. The salsa that I made was all from his garden. He has a ton of tomatoes. I got all of the other produce from Brigham City. It is such a good feeling to have it all done, but such a long process and huge mess! So far I have canned peaches, canned tomato salsa, canned peach salsa, and froze corn. I still have to finish canning the peaches, can tomatoes, freeze zucchini for zucchini bread.

Frozen Corn




For the corn, while on the cob, dip it in boiling water for 30 seconds and then into cold water. Cut off of the cob and then put into freezer zip lock bag. Press out air and then put into the freezer. I love to put this into soups.

Canning Peaches




I went to my grandmas to learn how to can peaches, I apparently did not choose a good batch of peaches, they looked good to me, but my grandma was appalled that they sold them to me and that I bought them. I got a 1/2 bushel of Angelo peaches from Brigham City, they were $14 for the half bushel.

First, we boiled the peaches for 30 seconds and then put them in the cold water, this made it easier to pull the skins off. We then sliced them and put them into the jars. For the syrup, we put 2 cups of sugar with 8 cups of water. In each jar we put about 3 peaches and then just filled with the syrup. After we put the in a hot water bath, after it comes to a boil leave them in for 40 minutes. After leave them for 24 hours, before moving. Enjoy!

Tomato Salsa







I got this recipe from my friends mom, and I loved it, but mine didn't taste the same. It was still good, but needs some improvement.

1/2 bushel of tomatoes (scald and remove the skin and chop up in chunks)
4 green peppers
3 large onions
10 large jalepeno peppers (add seeds if you want it extra hot)
5 chilli (anaheim) peppers
1 clove garlic (crushed)
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of salt
1 tsp crushed basil
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano

Cop up all ingredients and combine in a large kettle-simmer to desired consistency (3-4 hours). Be careful- scorches very easy. Stir often!

Process in a water bath for 20 minutes. Makes 20-22 pints.

This makes a huge batch and it takes forever to cut all of the tomatoes. When I did the tomatoes, I tried to get as much of the seeds out, if you cut the core down deep and then turn it upside down and squeeze and shake and they squirt out. It is kind of fun! I added a lot of jalepeno peppers and seeds, next time I will put serrano and habenero peppers. It needed to be spicier. I also put more onions and garlic and spices in. My brothers just suggested to roast the garlic and grill the peppers to enhance the flavors. I only simmered it for 2 hours, because it was 2am, so I was ready to be done. I also added cilantro and lime zest.

Peach Salsa





I got this recipe off of the internet, I really like the taste of the peach salsa without the sugar and before it is cooked. The recipe calls for a ton of sugar, I halved the sugar and it was still a little sweet. So next time I am going to put even less. Here is the recipe:

4 cups fresh peaches-chopped
1/2 cup onion
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
4 jalepeno pepers minced
1/4 cup cilantro
3 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 distilled white vinegar
1 tsp grated lime zest
1/4 cup white sugar
1 package light fruit pectin crystals
3 1/2 cup white sugar

1. Sterilize jars and lids.

2. In a large saucepan, combine peaches, onion, pepper, cilantro, garlic, cumin, vinegar, lime zest. Stir together pectin and 1/4 cup sugar. Bring to boil and stir in remaining 3 1/2 cups of sugar. Boil 1 minute, stir constantly, remove from heat and stir for 5 minutes.

3. Pour peach salsa in jars and leave 1/4 inch air space. Seal and process in water bath 15 minutes.

I really like this salsa, I made a few changes and next time I make it I will probably make more changes. I put in more onion, garlic and jalepenos. I will probably put some serrano or haberno peppers in to make it a bit more spicy. And I will probably do just a little bit of sugar, although I am not too sure how much you need to keep it preserved. I used the yellow box of pectin, but it called for the pink box, but it is what I had. When doing the water bath, make sure to start the time once the pot starts to boil. WARNING: I learned the hard way I did not use gloves when cutting the jalepenos, my hands were burning for two days, it was the weirdest thing, it felt like my hands were constantly in a bowl of bowling hot water. So where gloves.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

New Fabric!!!!

Can you tell I am excited about this fabric! I kind of took a lot of photos. This fabric is designed by Anna Maria Horner, she has beautiful ideas, I just love everything she does! I bought the fabric on fabricworm.com warning if you visit this site you will want to buy it all!! The bundle had a 1/2 yard of 24 fabrics! I have designed a few quilt patterns that I am excited to use, we will see how they turn out. So if you don't see me for awhile, it is because I am quilting! I will try to get my work done first! :)










Organized Garage!

I have been wanting to put up shelves in my garage for a long time. I have already filled my house and need more storage space. So I decided to paint the garage, it was such a pain, but the end results look so pretty! Every time I pull in the garage it makes me happy. But now I have already filled up the shelves and need to put up more. I especially love all of the organizing hooks, yes I am a little OCD!

Before


After




Saturday, September 5, 2009

Matching Onesies and Burp Cloths




Yes I know I don't have any children or am even close to that, but I just love making stuff, especially little girly things! My friend Becki came down from Malta and we had a craft day, so we made her little girl a set. I promise I am giving these to my friends that are having children! :)

More Headbands!




I am addicted right now to making up headband patterns, it is so fun to design them. I have so many ideas, we will see how many actually get made.