The weekend of the 4th was great. Friday was a court holiday, so Thursday was my Friday. I got off work early on Thursday and my mom and Owen met me for Free Thursdays at the SAM (more on that later).
Thursday night we had the best night ever with Scott and Aimee. We took a date night and went for dinner, mini golf, go karts, and a movie. It was seriously the best thing ever ever ever. The weather was perfect and I won at mini golf. :)
Friday was spent putting around and spending time in the garden. We went to the Phinney Ridge Farmer's Market to grab some raspberries for making freezer jam. I had been wanting to make freezer jam for some time, and Aimee served as an inspiration on Thursday night because her family gathers annually to make enough jam to last through the year.
Ryan told me the cutest memory about his grandmother, who had raspberry bushes and appears to have been quite the homemaker with stellar pie crusts and an amazing garden that Art (her husband) kept. Apparently, during raspberry season, she would take a piece of cloth and tie a little container to the grandkids' waist so they could go out and pick raspberries. Ryan says that it was so fun and they would just gather berries for jam, and eat a few along the way. I love this memory and wish I could have known Art and Bessie.
Back on track.
SO, we got raspberries and made freezer jam. The basic recipes call for a 3:5 ratio of raspberries to sugar. This is baffling to me. I want to actually taste the essence of summer on my toast, not the essence of C&H. So, I procured some 'Low to No Sugar Pectin" and carried on. I added the package of pectin to 1 3/4 cups unsweetened apple juice, brought that to a boil, boiled for 1 minute, then poured it over 5 cups smashed raspberries. The recipe called for only 3 cups but my mother and I are always of the theory that you increase the best parts of a recipe :) Then you add sugar to taste. I only added just over 3/4 of a cup and it was perfect for our family's liking. Delicious! I can't wait to 1) make this an anual thing, and 2) make apricot and plum freezing goodness soon.
My garden is petering out. People told me that you really do need to keep planting throughout the season so you don't blow your wad early and then have nothing but lettuce. I've officially blown my wad. Chard's done. Beets gone and eaten. Peas are up. Arugula is gone. My pumpkins and squash are not yet ready to eat. Same with my pickling cucumbers. I seem to be ignoring my monster kale plant... we really should eat that for breakfast with an egg or for dinner as a bed for a little grilled braut... hmm.... In any event, I need to spend some time in the garden this weekend planting and what not. I'm going to plant another delicata, some more cukes, more bush beans, and then we'll just go from there!
Anyway, this is becoming a long post so I'll wrap it up. We had a slumber party at Pete and Leah's house for the 4th. They have a great view of Gasworks Park. Owen didn't like the fireworks that were going off around the neighborhood at all because they were too loud, but he loved the ones that he could see and he would clap at appropriate times and say, "oooooh," when the really good ones went off. He was so tired after the party on the 4th and a brunch with friends the next day that he took a 4 hour nap when we got home. Yahoo!
Thursday night we had the best night ever with Scott and Aimee. We took a date night and went for dinner, mini golf, go karts, and a movie. It was seriously the best thing ever ever ever. The weather was perfect and I won at mini golf. :)
Friday was spent putting around and spending time in the garden. We went to the Phinney Ridge Farmer's Market to grab some raspberries for making freezer jam. I had been wanting to make freezer jam for some time, and Aimee served as an inspiration on Thursday night because her family gathers annually to make enough jam to last through the year.
Ryan told me the cutest memory about his grandmother, who had raspberry bushes and appears to have been quite the homemaker with stellar pie crusts and an amazing garden that Art (her husband) kept. Apparently, during raspberry season, she would take a piece of cloth and tie a little container to the grandkids' waist so they could go out and pick raspberries. Ryan says that it was so fun and they would just gather berries for jam, and eat a few along the way. I love this memory and wish I could have known Art and Bessie.
Back on track.
SO, we got raspberries and made freezer jam. The basic recipes call for a 3:5 ratio of raspberries to sugar. This is baffling to me. I want to actually taste the essence of summer on my toast, not the essence of C&H. So, I procured some 'Low to No Sugar Pectin" and carried on. I added the package of pectin to 1 3/4 cups unsweetened apple juice, brought that to a boil, boiled for 1 minute, then poured it over 5 cups smashed raspberries. The recipe called for only 3 cups but my mother and I are always of the theory that you increase the best parts of a recipe :) Then you add sugar to taste. I only added just over 3/4 of a cup and it was perfect for our family's liking. Delicious! I can't wait to 1) make this an anual thing, and 2) make apricot and plum freezing goodness soon.
My garden is petering out. People told me that you really do need to keep planting throughout the season so you don't blow your wad early and then have nothing but lettuce. I've officially blown my wad. Chard's done. Beets gone and eaten. Peas are up. Arugula is gone. My pumpkins and squash are not yet ready to eat. Same with my pickling cucumbers. I seem to be ignoring my monster kale plant... we really should eat that for breakfast with an egg or for dinner as a bed for a little grilled braut... hmm.... In any event, I need to spend some time in the garden this weekend planting and what not. I'm going to plant another delicata, some more cukes, more bush beans, and then we'll just go from there!
Anyway, this is becoming a long post so I'll wrap it up. We had a slumber party at Pete and Leah's house for the 4th. They have a great view of Gasworks Park. Owen didn't like the fireworks that were going off around the neighborhood at all because they were too loud, but he loved the ones that he could see and he would clap at appropriate times and say, "oooooh," when the really good ones went off. He was so tired after the party on the 4th and a brunch with friends the next day that he took a 4 hour nap when we got home. Yahoo!
4 comments:
ohhh i'd love to try the not-too-much sugar jam! who know if it'd be ok for my sweet tooth, but i'd love to at least try it???
And fun memory of grandpa art! I love things like that -- it was a good addition to the post!
Thanks Shan!
I wish I meet Art & Bessie too.
Nice big pix.
Can I have your freezer jam on toast or english muffin next time I visit? Yum!
Love the new look (and four hour baby naps)!
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