Tracie

For my coworkers and some family members, I made Christmas ornaments out of white wool felt. they're little doves, and I stitched them with yellow embroidery floss and blue beads for eyes.

http://www.livingcrafts.com/

I got the pattern from Living Crafts magazine (my favorite natural craft magazine).

I'm also making little tealights out of walnut shell halves, wicking and beeswax. They're really pretty.

Finally, I also give out Saint Lucia breads. One batch of dough can make one huge wreath or two 1.5lb or three 1-lb braids. I use a kitchen scale to divide the dough evenly when I make braids.

St. Lucia Bread

1/4 cup water, to 110 degrees F

1 packet (or 2 1/4 tsp) yeast

pinch of sugar

Let these sit together for five minutes or until foamy

3/4 cup whole milk, scalded

a few grains of saffron, crushed (optional - or can use 2 drops yellow food coloring or nothing)

let these sit for five minutes

1 tsp cardamom

3/4 tsp salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup sugar

Blend the above in a large bowl with the milk and yeast/water.

Mix in:

4 cups of flour

one cup at a time and knead until smooth and elastic. This takes a while. (I use the dough hook of my kitchen aid to mix on low for 7 minutes). Add up to another cup of flour during kneading if the bread seems to need it. Har har. Dough will be somewhat sticky.

Let rise in a lightly oiled bowl for about an hour or until doubled. Punch down, divide into thirds.* Roll each third out to a really long rope (maybe 20 inches). Braid the ropes, then form into a wreath. Let rise for 20-30 minutes in a warm place or until almost doubled.

Brush with an egg wash (egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp milk or cream) or half and half, and sprinkle with raw sugar (optional). Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, turn the oven down to 350 and bake another 10-15 or until golden brown and it looks cooked.

When cooled sufficiently, drizzle with a glaze made from 1 cup confectioners sugar and 2 tbsp milk (optional).

* This recipe makes one large wreath that can easily serve a crowd. Or you can divide the dough in two before proceeding and make two straight braided breads that will *generously* serve 8 (you can make one and give one). Or, you can measure out the dough in 1.5 to 2 oz portions, roll each portion into a rope and form into a knot, a spiral, an S, an X or a variety of other traditional Swedish shapes (makes about 24-30 buns). I use my kitchen scale for dividing dough – it is much more precise and yields more uniform braids.

My favorite hasn't been posted. It's easy and healthy. They're always a huge hit (especially the sweet potatoes/yams) and are devoured with no leftovers.

Roasted Autumn Veggies

Peel and cut into 1 inch cubes an assortment of any or all of the following veggies: (you can use only sweet potatoes and it's just as good)

yams or sweet potatoes

parsnips

carrots

turnips or swedes or rutabegas

pearl onions (peeled, but whole)

jerusalem artichokes (interesting flavor, like an earthy potato)

butternut squash or pumpkin

Toss the cubed veggies with olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary and a few peeled garlic cloves (these may be sliced into 2 or 3 pieces if desired). Spread in a large roasting pan or jelly roll pan.

Roasting: There are many options -- lower temp for longer time or higher temp for shorter time. You can cover with foil for the first 20-30 minutes. the time it takes to roast depends on many factors, including how full your pan is. I like to roast the veggies the day before, and then put them in an ovenproof serving dish to heat up in the oven once I take the turkey out. That helps eliminate guesswork.

A single layer of veggies not too crowded should take about 45 minutes to roast at 400 degrees (20 minutes covered, 25 not covered).

I like to add whole brussel sprouts to the mix after I remove the tinfoil.

Remember to stir every 10 minutes or so after you remove the foil.

Deb, double check your grocery stores. My usually way overpriced store had nice looking tomatoes today for $1.49/lb.

I know the original recipe said to use drained tomatoes, but Violet said not to drain them so I didn't drain mine. The salsa was wonderful.

Another batch, coming up to a boil.

This time the changes I made were:

ANNIE’S SALSA

8 cups plus 1/4 cup tomatoes, peeled and chopped

2 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper used poblano

3 – 5 chopped jalapenos used 3

6 cloves minced garlic

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp pepper

1/8 cup canning salt used 1 T instead

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup sugar didn't use sugar

1 cup vinegar used 1 c commercial lime juice

16 oz. tomato sauce

16 oz tomato paste

Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars, process in BWB for 15 minutes.

hoping to get a perfect 8 pints of (hot) salsa!

Thank you so much Darlene!!

Yay Vlynn!!

Just don't want my question lost, plus I have another...

Violet:

since it seems fairly consistent that this recipe yields 7.75 pints, do you think it would be safe to increase the fresh tomatoes by 1/4 cup in order to make the last pint full? I would think that it wouldn't affect the acidity, but wanted to ask to be sure.

Also, is it safe to use 1 cup lime juice instead of vinegar? It's commercially bottled lime juice from concentrate. (Real Lime)

Thanks!

Violet, since it seems fairly consistent that this recipe yields 7.75 pints, do you think it would be safe to increase the fresh tomatoes by 1/4 cup in order to make the last pint full? I would think that it wouldn't affect the acidity, but wanted to ask to be sure.

Thanks!

Would the frost kill them? Can you take them inside to ripen on the windowsill? I hope your harvest makes it!!

7.75 pints in the water bath canner. That stuff took forever to bring up to a boil (or so it seemed)

:-)

It's really yummy!! I'm going to bring a jar to the neighbors later.

Thank you so much for the encouragement Violet and Stephanie!

It's simmering now. Jars sterile. Water boiling to cover lids.

Whee!!!

Okay, everything is in the pan, waiting for the dishwasher to count down to 15 minutes left. Then I'll turn on the burner to simmer it for 10 minutes. It looks amazing!!!

I used 2 T sugar instead of 1/3 cup. I used 1 T salt instead of 2T salt (1/8 cup). I used cider vinegar (1 cup). I figure I'll taste-test it before I put it in the jars and can add more salt and sugar if I feel it needs it.

I used 3 jalapenos and 1/2 poblano for my hot peppers. I used the other 1/2 poblano as part of the 1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper. Should be nice & spicy. A good friend of mine grew the garlic (german - amazing flavor). Tomatoes are from my garden, my neighbor's garden and a favorite farm stand (all the peppers & cilantro are from that stand as well).

So yay! 25 minutes or so until I turn on the pot.

Okay, jars are in the dishwasher. Veggies on the counter. I'm getting ready to go....

They way it's been explained to me before is that we have stronger bacteria and bugs than there were a long time ago. So a canning recipe that may have been safe in 1960 might not be safe now. They recommend using only safely tested recipes from trusted sources such as the Ball Blue Book or the USDA. I had a canning book that my mom used when I was a child, but I tossed it (on the recommendation of the ladies here) because I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I'd say it's especially important to listen to the precautions with items that are meant to be eaten out of the jar (like pickles and salsa).

Thanks Steph!!!

Anyone know how many pounds of tomatoes this is?

I know what you mean. The description really has me pegged as well. :-)

SO weird. INFJ are supposedly less than 1% of the population, but of 13 people reporting scores, five of us are INFJ. Not a scientific poll, I know, but still and interesting coinkidink.

INFJ

# moderately expressed introvert

# moderately expressed intuitive personality

# distinctively expressed feeling personality

# moderately expressed judging personality

Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging

by Joe Butt

Profile: INFJ

Revision: 3.01

Date of Revision: 6 Mar 2005

Beneath the quiet exterior, INFJs hold deep convictions about the weightier matters of life. Those who are activists -- INFJs gravitate toward such a role -- are there for the cause, not for personal glory or political power.

INFJs are champions of the oppressed and downtrodden. They often are found in the wake of an emergency, rescuing those who are in acute distress. INFJs may fantasize about getting revenge on those who victimize the defenseless. The concept of 'poetic justice' is appealing to the INFJ.

"There's something rotten in Denmark." Accurately suspicious about others' motives, INFJs are not easily led. These are the people that you can rarely fool any of the time. Though affable and sympathetic to most, INFJs are selective about their friends. Such a friendship is a symbiotic bond that transcends mere words.

INFJs have a knack for fluency in language and facility in communication. In addition, nonverbal sensitivity enables the INFJ to know and be known by others intimately.

Writing, counseling, public service and even politics are areas where INFJs frequently find their niche.

Awesome! I did the math though, and returning the canner to amazon.com (where it was $74.99 plus tax) ends up being cheaper. The regulator would have made the canner $87 (plus shipping). This way, I paid $10 to ship it back to amazon and get a $75.99 refund, then bought the walmart version of the presto canner for $59.97 (which includes the weighted gauge). Plus there's the instant gratification factor ;-). I figure I saved at least $17 this way.

Good to know. Okay, maybe I'll unpack the canner and not send it back. Thanks Violet!! You're such a great resource to have on this forum!!

Thank you Violet!

Is that okay for model number 01755? I don't see my model number listed there. I called presto and they said that a weighted gauge wouldn't fit on the canner I have.

I got the 16qt Presto pressure canner from Amazon.com today, but I'm returning it because it only has a dial gauge and I don't want to have to get the durn thing tested all the time. i called Presto, and apparently Walmart is the only place to get the one with the weighted gauge.

So hubby's gonna have to live with me buying something from walmart...

thank you. Oh man, that's a tough one. DH is vehemently opposed to walmart, he generally doesn't care how much money we save. But I really think it's gonna soon, and I need to prep

This Presto pressure canner is less than half the price of the same size All American.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...ER&v=glance

Is it good enough? I could afford to buy it today.

thanks.

:-)