un, deux, trois jewlery club

I love the online shop, French General.   I haven't been on the site for sometime... but I noticed today they have a jewelery club, which is along the lines of a fruit of the month club, but so much better.   You are sent jewelry kits every month to assemble... so fun!

Canning: bruschetta

I have an extraordinary amount of tomatoes and jalapenos sitting in my house and since I bought the new Ball Canning book while I was in Montana, I thought I would try a few of their recipes out. 

Canned Bruschetta
Adapeted from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
(makes 8 - 8 oz jars)

9 cups of roma tomatoes, diced
1 cup white wine
1 cup white wine vinegar
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped basil
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 cup of water


1. Sterilize your jars

2. Place ingredients into stew pan and bring to a boil.   Cook for five minutes.

3. Fill jars leaving 1/2 inch head space, remove all bubbles and placed lids on jars.

4. Process jars in hot water bath for 20 minutes.

I will let you all know what it tastes like in a few weeks.

HOORAH....

I made it back and boy do I have plans.  Since being away from home; cooped up in a hotel working twelve hours a day for two weeks, I have had plenty of time to fantasize about what I was going to do when I returned to normal.   Here are a few things I am going to:

cook from Dorie's new cookbook and join French Fridays with Dorie

Can some of the peppers in the garden, this way or this way 

Can some Thai sweet and hot chili sauce, so I can make Banh-mi without going to the Asian market

Visit an apple farm

Go to the flea market

Watch a bunch of movies

Focus on my blogging class that I haven't even participated in

Hello... from Montana

I am on an extended work trip in Montana and have been working HARD!   I miss my daily updates to my blog, actually I really miss actually having something interesting to say.   These days I am too tired and worn out at the end of the day to have anything at all to say.    UGH.  

I am hoping things will quiet down soon. 

Laboring on Labor Day

Fall Leave Field Guide - I love NY

Well... I have a lot going on and I feel fall in the air, I have pulled out my blankets and am ready for cooler weather.   I am leaving soon to go out of town for work for a few weeks, ugh... just ugh.   I also signed up for Blogging your Way course, taught by Holly of Decor8 and Leslie from A Creative Mint.    I am really excited about it... but I am not quite sure what I was thinking when I signed up... but I really didn't want to miss out and I am sure I can "squeeze" it in.  

Hope you all are enjoying your last few days of summer.

Mixed Tape: August 2010 Edition

Picture from The Vaselines MySpace Page

Howdy friends.   Thought I would take a minute and let you all know what I have been listening to this past month.   As you can see I finally scored Florence and the Machine's cover of Addicted to Love.    I am really in love with The Vaselines even though I hadn't listened to them since the 80's after they broke up and really didn't realize they had actually reunited and released any new material..   I know, I know what you are thinking, pshaw what kind of music fan is she?    So I dedicated myself to listening to their more recent releases this month.    Check them out, on myspace (they did a great little video called The Vaseline's on The Vaseline's).   And I added one of their older songs on to this months playlist!

1.   When the Sun Don't Shine - Best Coast
2.  Addicted to Love - Florence and The Machine
3.  Seattle - The BPA
4.  Mongrel Heart - Broken Bells
5.  Chemicals - Lodger
6.  Lights on - The Pierces
7.  King of the Beach - The Waves
8.  Monster(bleep) - The Vaselines
9.  Sex with and X - The Vaselines
10. Miss You - The Dynamics
11. Oh-lala - Saint Privat
12. Memories - Waldeck
13. Le Shin - !Dela Dap
14. To Dry Up - Wax Taylor