More Good Stuff with Lemons

Since I still had Meyer lemons left from our haul (and since I can't ship them to mamaraby in exchange for snow;) I decided to try a few recipes from a blog post I found recently.

Zest in Vodka will become Limoncello....eventually. Ours is currently in a dark place awaiting the addition of simple syrup...see you in 2 weeks.

After juicing the zested lemons (and freezing the juice in ice cube trays for later use) I chopped the remaining pith, put it in a large pot and covered it with 10 cups of water.

Cooked for about 2 hours....covered.

Strain out cooked pith (supposed to use cheesecloth, but I...ahem...didn't quite read the directions thoroughly) and you have homemade pectin!

Then you can do this nifty test to see if the pectin is viable...pour a bit of rubbing alcohol into a glass or bowl and drop a spoonful of the pectin into it. After a few seconds , it should jell into a mass solid and cohesive enough to pick up with the tines of a fork. If the pectin droops off the tines (which I think mine is doing) the jam will jell loosely (so add a bit more?).

I think straining it thru the cheesecloth would have captured a bit more of the sediment that has settled in the bottom of the jars...but my jams are not clear anyway and I never make jelly.

Just a few pics....

... of the zoo.

Because I don't want to post it Twice....

...if you are interested in our seed-starting setup check out this post on our other blog.

Bread Making...

....and the quest for the perfect 'crumb'. I've been baking almost all of our bread for the past several years and though my sandwich-type loaf is fine, I'm still not completely satisfied with the artisan country bread that we enjoy so much. I want to bake the kind of bread that is the perfect compliment to a steaming bowl of homemade soup or a big plate of spaghetti....crusty and chewy and tasty. The kind of bread that I...ahem...used to buy from Panera.

The bread should have bigger holes and a chewier texture....something that can handle a big slather of butter. I've tried the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day techniques but didn't really like the results or the fact that it takes up alot of space in the fridge.

I did find a recipe in Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads book that looks promising ...takes 2 days to prepare but I'm willing to give it a shot. And I also broke down and ordered a sourdough starter (mine always ended up tasting sour in a bad mouth-puckering way) so maybe that will be a key to the mystical ever-elusive perfect loaf.

One can only hope.

....to be continued.

Meyer Lemons

Lemon season is here!

One of the many joys of living in the valley is a constant source of free citrus. There are so many people around town who just can't use all the fruit produced by one tree, and since ours are still babies we gladly take whatever excess we can get our hands on.

Meyers are our favorite lemons. Because they are a cross between a lemon and an orange, the flavor is somewhat sweeter and less acidic.

The juicing was a long process, made thankfully easier with the help of our electric juicer.

Some of the juice was poured into ice cube trays and then bagged to use all year long.

Zest was 'baked' for an hour to make sure it was fully dried before storing....

...and slices were dehydrated for use in teas this winter...and next!

I also made and canned a big batch of lemonade concentrate ~ pics to follow.

Coyotes

The Governor of California is jogging with his dog along a nature trail.

A coyote jumps out and attacks the Governor's dog, then bites the Governor.

1. The Governor starts to intervene, but reflects upon the movie "Bambi" and then realizes he should stop because the coyote is only doing what is natural.

2. He calls animal control . Animal Control captures the coyote and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases and $500 for relocating it.

3. He calls a veterinarian. The vet collects the dead dog and bills the State $200 testing it for diseases.

4. The Governor goes to hospital and spends $3,500 getting checked for diseases from the coyote and on getting his bite wound bandaged.

5. The running trail gets shut down for 6 months while Fish & Game conducts a $100,000 survey to make sure the area is now free of dangerous animals.

6. The Governor spends $50,000 in state funds implementing a "coyote awareness program" for residents of the area.

7. The State Legislature spends $2 million to study how to better treat rabies and how to permanently eradicate the disease throughout the world.

8. The Governor's security agent is fired for not stopping the attack. The State spends $150,000 to hire and train a new agent with additional special training re: the nature of coyotes.

9. PETA protests the coyote's relocation and files a $5 million suit against the State.


Montana :

The Governor of Montana is jogging with his dog along a nature trail. A Coyote jumps out and attacks his dog.

1. The Governor shoots the coyote with his State-issued pistol and keeps jogging. The Governor has spent $0.50 on a .45 ACP hollow point cartridge.

2. The Buzzards eat the dead coyote.

And that, my friends, is why California is broke and Montana is not.

Happy New Year...

....and the joys of spending it at home watching a movie.

Alternate title~ Why being a recluse has it's advantages.

My high school class held it's 35th reunion on New Year's Eve...and though we missed it (not in every sense of the word) I had a front row seat to the planning and discussions leading up to the event. Or should I say two very separate/split events.

Even at our advanced age...ahem...and the fact that some of us remain fairly technologically challenged, most of said planning went on thru Facebook. And it wasn't all bad (stay tuned). I've reconnected with old friends and made some new ones. People I was intimidated by as a teenager have turned out to be pretty wonderful....and others who I admired, not so much.

High school was fun....some days. High school was inclusive....rarely. High school was painful....a lot. Worries over grades paled in comparison to worries over clothing and boys and the quest for popularity. It was mostly a tough time with some giggles thrown in to help you survive. My dad once said that high school should be the "best time of your life." I wanted to shoot myself in the head when he made that comment. My only solace was that life after high school would be better (which it has been). This is the best it's going to be?....that's just plain depressing.

Maybe some people had a grand ole time in high school. Surely there were those who weren't slayed by adolescent angst but I was not one of the lucky few. The best thing I can say about High school is that it was mercifully short and eventually insignificant. Revisiting that period in my life just didn't seem like a very good idea. So despite being tickled to have reconnected with a few friends from those years, the thought of spending an entire evening with people I barely knew and frankly many who I'd just as soon forget, did not thrill me....at all.

As it turned out, high school didn't end for some people. The drama and pettiness and stupidity continue. My dad used to say that he didn't like reunions because everyone looked so old and you knew you hadn't changed. The sad thing is, some of these people haven't changed...and not in the, "you look great" sort of way. The reunion ended up being split because of differences over venue and beverages (alcohol) and although I have an opinion as to who was right and who were idiots, I'm thrilled to have missed it all. This was definitely one of those, 'Life is too short' moments.

May your New Year be filled with people that make you laugh, think and rarely annoy you!

ps. Since my HS boyfriend was committee chairman (and still as charming as he was in high school...which is to say, not very) I will add that I am incredibly glad to have made at least one

brilliant decision in my youth.

Love having a Fireplace....

...especially during a rainstorm.

Looking In

I love looking into our house (and other peoples:) and seeing the glow of lights from the tree.

Christmas at the Garvers

So glad my Mom is with us for another year (and will be for many more...you promised mom!)

Socks....always a good gift for Dad!

Wison....the comedian.

Brother Robert, Mom and our nephew Nate.

Enough computers?

Enjoying the new slipcover.

Brad and his fiancee Laurel.

Love the t-shirt from Sam, bicycle MPG-infinity!

Merry Christmas

The tree is finally up...

...and Sam's home.

Happy happy Joy joy!