nog night

Alexa and I have been doing an annual eggnog taste-test for a few years now.  This year we enlisted our trusty partners to scour the city to find as many brands as they could (and funnily enough, our local grocer carried basically all of them).  This was a 'blind' tasting - mainly because we realized in years past that we had prejudices against certain brands, and could also guess based on the color and 'look' of some of them.  Ty and Jon also went to new heights this year by offering a 'palate cleanser', which we have not done in the past, but seemed to work quite well.  Our rankings came in pretty closely, with our top two choices being the same, which were Southern Comfort's Original Eggnog, and Horizon's Lowfat Eggnog - both of us had a very tough time making the call between those two.  

On a side note, Alexa's 'Worst' and 'Best' eggnog were the same one.  The guys had selected Silk Nog (Soymilk Egg Nog, for those who are unfamiliar) for one of the contenders, and realized right before giving it to us that Alexa doesn't do well with Soy, so they inserted one that she'd already had.  I was tasting the the Soy Nog and couldn't hide my shock and dismay at the taste/consistency/overall unnaturalness of it, and it somehow affected Alexa while she was drinking hers - which was the Southern Comfort - which she later chose as the best.  Anyway, we found that pretty funny.  

Big thanks to our testing administers, Jon and Ty for making it such an enjoyable night.

'tis the season muffins

I wanted to use up some leftover cranberries I had from Thanksgiving, so that's how this recipe came about this morning......

oven 400 degrees

1 1/3 cups a.p. flour

3/4 cup rolled oats (not instant)

1/3 cup vanilla sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp or so of orange peel 

1 beaten egg

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup cooking oil

1 heaping cup of cranberries (i used frozen and they worked perfectly)

handful of finely chopped pecans (or any other nut on hand)

heaping teaspoon of dark brown sugar

grease a 12-muffin pan - you only need to grease 9 of the 12 to make proper-size muffins.  combine all dry ingredients (including orange peel) in one bowl.  combine the egg, milk and oil in another bowl.  dump the egg mixture all at once to dry mixture.  stir until just moistened but don't over-stir - batter should be lumpy.  gently fold in cranberries.  plop into 9 of the muffin cups.  combine the pecans and brown sugar (using hands i think works best - distributing all the brown sugar evenly) and sprinkle the mixture on top of each muffin - generously.  bake for 20 minutes or so until golden.  cool in muffin cups on wire rack for 5 minutes before removing from pan.  serve warm with butter, jam, or whatever floats your boat.

ho ho ho

glorious day

halloween treats

sewing

I grew up hating sewing.  Hate might be a tad strong, but I really didn't enjoy it.  The one sewing class I ever had (I think it was Home Ec) I ended up feeling completely mortified that I couldn't figure out how to finish my one project (I believe it was something really difficult, like a Christmas stocking) and had to bring it home to have my Mom deal with it.  You see, my Mom is an excellent seamstress.  She can sew ANYTHING and basically has, including my and my sister's wedding dresses.  Maybe this accounted for a bit of my intimidation, or loathing or apathy or whatever it was.  

A few years ago I decided it would be fun to learn to sew.  I guess everything I felt for it in the past was so far gone I had forgotten how hard it really is.  I embarked on a few little projects (both of which I was bailed out of by:  my sister Jenny, and then my Mom) and then realized I truly needed to start with something simple.  My answer:  napkins.  So that's about as advanced I've gotten over the years.  It's pretty pathetic, but every time I attempt something more difficult, say like something using a pattern - I start to feel like I'm reading Chinese and I should just go take a nap.  

But I love the idea of knowing how to sew, and considering I have so many amazing examples and teachers in my life, I really feel like I should get better at it.  It's so darn practical and useful!!  I've made it a project this summer to cover some pillows for various places in the house and that's been fun.  But again, these are as basic as you get - in fact I only make one kind of pillow - one without buttons or a zipper or any hand-stitching.  I truly need to break out of this little pillow corner I've gotten myself into because I feel like I'm not capable of sewing anything else.  I've called Jenny several times from fabric stores asking her advice (she can also sew anything - clothes, purses, comforter covers, you-name-it) and today when she started telling me over the phone how simple it would be to put a zipper in I basically lost consciousness and had to hang up.  But I digress.......

The thing is, however simple my little pocket pillows are, the point is, I made them.  And I do feel a particular joy over that fact.  I'll admit it.  As for tackling those more advanced items, maybe I'll get there and maybe I won't.....I really am OK with that.....I think.

pomegranate jelly recipe

(for Aunt Lucie)

makes about 6 (8 oz) half pints

you'll need:

3 1/2 cups prepared or bottled pomegranate juice

1 (1.75) pkg fruit pectin

1/2 tsp butter (optional)

5 cups sugar

6 (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

directions:

1.  Prepare boiling water canner.  Heat jars in simmering water until ready for use.

2.  Place pomegranate juice in a 6 to 8 quart saucepan.  Gradually stir in pectin.  Add up to 1/2 tsp butter to reduce foaming, if desired.  Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly.

3.  Add entire measure of sugar, stirring to dissolve.  Return mixture to a full rolling boil.  Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Skim foam if necessary.

4.  Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Wipe rim.  Center lid on jar.  Apply band until it fits fingertip tight.

5.  Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes (making sure to adjust this time for altitude).  Remove jars and cool.  Check lids for seal after 24 hours.

what i did this weekend

Determined not to be intimidated by this whole canning thing (canning with Mom doesn't worry me because she's been doing it for ages and ages), I decided to try a few things on my own.  I wanted to put up some jams and jellies that would be good around holiday time.  Above are the fruits of my labor:  Pomegranate Jelly, Fig Jam, and Spicy Orange Jelly.