Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
Scrap-bustin'
After spending the weekend doing many things – wine-making, cooking, watching movies, going for walks and sewing – I’ve got some bragging rights on this cool scrap-busting project. Fancy cloth dinner napkins! I wish I could claim the design as well, but truth be told I got it over at Sew Mama Sew a few weeks ago and have been waiting for time to make it happen. I’ve managed to make the better part of three sets (of four), but ran out of thread this evening before I could get the finishing top-stitches on the last few – and I’ve got four more sets half cut out. At least eight of these napkins are for our dinner table (we only use cloth napkins and I never have enough), but the rest of them are heading out as holiday gifts. Each set is unique, of course, because they are all made with different combinations of scraps.
Even though my corners aren’t perfect and my lines aren’t always straight, these still turned out beautifully and feel rich with their cotton tops and muslin backing. B likes them so much he wants me to make a table-cloth to match ’em for dinner parties – which I agree would make a quick but stylish project to tie it all together.
Thinking ahead to Christmas cheer.
(I am not at all religious, but I absolutely love the Advent Conspiracy videos for their message of simplicity, love and joyful tradition over consumerism and stress.)
It may seem a little early to talk about Christmas, but really if you’re going to opt out of the shopping it’s better to think about this earlier rather than later. In my family, we started the discussion about not shopping for Christmas in August, because my mother sometimes starts that early! But Brian and I decided some time ago (last year in fact) that we wanted to start winding down the commecial Christmas in our life and this year we are seeing that happen – which I am really excited about!
Excited why? Because for me the worst part about Christmas is the shopping, the fretting about the right gift, the money put on credit cards that we spend months paying off. And that worst part taints all the other good parts (family, eating, bright holiday lights, parties, friends, festive drinks) so that I end up feeling less than celebratory about it all. So I put it to my family (my parents, brother and sister-in-law) who we spend Christmas Day with every year: How do we all feel about not exchanging gifts? How about we just give each other nothing, or handmade gifts instead?
And surprisingly the overwhelming response I got was — relief. Relief rather than resistance. Because probably for most people the most stressful thing about the holidays is the last minute fit of gift-buying, or guilt about not gift buying, and the attendant debt that goes with it forever after. So I’m not alone.
Of course Brian and I aren’t able to go without giving anything, because we like to share things with the people we love and care about – and so this year we are working on a series of gifts for the people in our lives which include some baking, sewing, and canning that we’ve been working on since September. The sewing is what I’m least sure about at the moment because I’m really just a beginner-level sewer – but over at Sew Mama Sew, they have started their annual Handmade Holidays month which includes fabulous tutorials for all of November. I am making at least one project off a previous year’s Handmade Holidays and another from their scrap-busters month earlier this year.
Additionally if you are stuck for ideas about what to make – over at the New American Dream they have loads of ideas under Simplify the Holidays – along with an Alternative Gift Registry which I think is such an awesome idea for those of you planning weddings or other events (some of the most treasured gifts from our wedding were in fact the harvest boxes that came from our friends’ gardens!)
So I say – for the first time in years – I am excited about Christmas again! And I encourage all of you to consider a Christmas without commercialism, because I promise it will be a lot less stressful for everyone. (I just hope I can get these damned sewing projects finished on time).
Autumn Apples!
A few weeks ago I posted at the Vancouver Fruit Tree Project about my fall apple-canning plans… but it wasn’t until these last couple weeks that we actually got ourselves going with 80 pounds of apples turned into applesauce and other things.
In particular, B discovered (and made two dozen jars of) a new recipe that is just heavenly – Apple-Maple Jam. Depending on your sugar tolerance, it’s perhaps a little sweet for toast, but with brie and crackers it’s to die for, and mixed into plain yogurt it makes a brilliant breakfast. Really, very simple – this will be part of our xmas gift-giving this year!
Apple-Ginger Chutney | If you eat curries as often as we do, this is another apple-essential in the larder. Get rid of those non-local mango toppings and try this chutney instead. No exaggeration, this is the recipe that got me hooked on canning, since I’ve never been able to purchase it anywhere. It’s not goopy like a lot of the bottled chutnies are, making it much more than a simple condiment. It adds substance to a meal!
Recipe by Bernardin:
Makes about 7 x 250 ml jars.
3 cups (750 ml) prepared Granny Smith apples, about 5 large or 1 lb (500 g)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cups (500 ml) chopped onion
2 cups (500 ml) dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1- 1/2 cups (375 ml) cider vinegar
1 cup (250 ml) golden raisins
1/4 cup (50 ml) peeled and minced ginger root
3/4 tsp (4 ml) ground mustard
3/4 tsp (4 ml) salt
1/2 tsp (2 ml) red pepper flakes
- Place 7 clean 250 ml mason jars on a rack in a boiling water canner; cover jars with water and heat to a simmer (180°F/82°C). Set screw bands aside. Heat SNAP LID® sealing discs in hot water, not boiling (180°F/82°C). Keep jars and sealing discs hot until ready to use.
- Peel, core and coarsely chop apples. Measure 3 cups (750 ml).
- Combine prepared apples and remaining ingredients in a large stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 40 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Ladle chutney into a hot jar to within 1/2 inch (1 cm) of top of jar (headspace). Using nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if required, by adding more chutney. Wipe jar rim removing any food residue. Centre hot sealing disc on clean jar rim. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip tight. Return filled jar to rack in canner. Repeat for remaining chutney.
- When canner is filled, ensure that all jars are covered by at least one inch (2.5 cm) of water. Cover canner and bring water to full rolling boil before starting to count processing time. At altitudes up to 1000 ft (305 m), process –boil filled jars – 10 minutes.*
- When processing time is complete, remove canner lid, wait 5 minutes, then remove jars without tilting and place them upright on a protected work surface. Cool upright, undisturbed 24 hours; DO NOT RETIGHTEN screw bands.
- After cooling check jar seals. Sealed discs curve downward and do not move when pressed. Remove screw bands; wipe and dry bands and jars. Store screw bands separately or replace loosely on jars, as desired. Label and store jars in a cool, dark place. For best quality, use home canned foods within one year.
Apple-Maple Jam | A simple recipe and one worth trying. This would make lovely gifts for the holiday season – and apples are cheap right now!
Recipe from Ball’s Blue Book of Canning
Yields 8 250 ml jars
3 qt Finely chopped apples (about -6 pounds)
6 c Sugar
1 c Maple syrup
1 ts Cinnamon
1/2 ts Allspice
1/2 ts Nutmeg
1/4 ts Cloves
- Combine all ingredients in a large sauce pot. Bring slowly to a boil.
- Cook rapidly to jellying point. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. This takes 1-2 hours
- Pour hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Adjust caps.
- Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath.
Wandering with the hungry ghosts.
It’s been a week of hungry ghosts and as much as I want to write all about that, now is not the time. Suffice to say that our tentative agreement is being voted on and some people are very unhappy with the union (I should also acknowledge that many people are happy and/or neutral with the deal).
I’m still battling the bronchitis that started last week with the addition of a cold that started on Monday night – but after three days of taking in mostly only fluids (one solid meal a day) I’m starting to feel a bit better today. Still sick, but not as dragged out as I’ve been feeling. For the first time in ages I’m not taking Advil or any other cold medication, so that’s a sign that something is improving.
Beyond that I don’t have a lot to say except that I’m out here, mostly on the road around the lower mainland and hoping that December 1st arrives quickly. Fifteen meetings to go before then.
Red Cedar 