Midnightmom

3 hours ago, Jeepers said:

I see 10 right off the bat. But I'm handicapped without my laptop. I keep having to scroll up and down on this phone.  

Yeah. I "transplanted" a few things and added some others. The coolest thing is that the "insect" on the sunflowers matches the "insect" on the fence sections, and the sunflowers were purchased a few weeks ago and the fence segments a few years ago!

First "update." Spot the difference???  

My 2024 Spring "garden" is "planted."   

(I think I might have posted this in another thread -back in March(?), but decided to keep it here, including all of the updates and "progress" reports.)

11 hours ago, Littlesister said:

Yep, that is for sure ugly strawberry jam. I don't eat enough of it to warrant making jam any longer. So, I just buy a few jars, and use it up till I am down to one and then replenish it. I do have a few more jars than I would normally store because of GS using it. 

You can use this recipe to make one jar at a time: no pectin and no water bath canning needed. And, it is delicious!!! It is my new "go to" recipe.

Water, strawberries, allulose, lemon juice, xantham gum

After using either method of getting a band unstuck, I would definitely due the "tap" test to make sure the lid is on there because of a true vacuum seal and not just being stuck like the band was.  

I actually have 3 1/2 cases of the strawberry jam I made last year. It looked delicious back then, now, not so much. Apparently, sugar just isn't for flavor, but also functions as a preservative - especially in "preserving" the color of the fruit in the jam. I believe I used Swerve when I jarred these up. Not at all appetizing, and I don't eat a lot of it anyway, so I am pretty sure they are going to get dumped.

THEN:   

NOW:   

4 hours ago, Necie said:

 

Make wine!!! 🍷 

How???

Remember, these were made with a sugar substitute. 

I think I have 4 or 5(?) cases of half-pint jars. Most of them currently have strawberry jam in them as I went "wild" last summer when the 99c Store was selling one pound packages for 99c each! They looked sooooooooooooo pretty - last year. Now, not so much as they were all processed as low-sugar recipes and they all look "grey" now. They still taste ok, but the appearance is very off-putting......and we know we "eat with our eyes" first.

Given the current circumstances, I am very strongly considering cleaning out those jars and using them to put up some other items that it doesn't make sense to store in larger jars: salsa, spag sauce, some other condiments(?), and possibly some corned beef??? (cooked, shredded, and loosely packed 50% meat/broth as if in a soup). I haven't made up my mind on that yet, but at the same time I could not pass up buying extra when it was on sale in March. 

I'm not really sure what will wind up in those jars............yet. I like fresh asparagus, but have no idea if I would like it once it has been canned. Would buying a jar of commercially canned spears help me make up my mind??? (feel free to give me some opinions, please.)

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(for those of you who do not want to get on a mailing list, I am adding a PDF of the book.

The Founders' Almanac eBook.pdf

8 hours ago, Becca_Anne said:

Midnightmom not sure what this has to do with Making Memories but that's more like the stuff of nightmares glad I skipped the Easter candy this year 

Since Easter is a celebration with "traditions" this seemed like the best place to put it. 

Thank you to our members who have served, and condolances to those who may have lost someone during their service.

Quote

March 25th is National Medal of Honor Day — the anniversary observance of the awarding of the first Medals of Honor. It’s an opportunity to recognize all of the recipients of our nation’s highest military award for valor and recall their extraordinary service and sacrifice on behalf of their brothers in arms and in defense of American Liberty.

 

Since those first medals were awarded, American presidents and military commanders have, in the name of the United States Congress, presented Medals of Honor to more than 3,500 recipients — and amazingly, there have been 19 double recipients. In a nation of some 330 million people today, there are only 63 living recipients.

 

We had quite an interesting weather pattern here yesterday.

Got home from helping a neighbor and it was hailing so I decided to "wait it out" in the car. The hail came through in 3 different squalls and I was finally able to get out of the car and into the house. This is a short vid of what is sounds like inside of a car when it is hailing! You can't hear it while the window is up, but once I put it down (ever so breifly) you can hear the thunder that came with this storm.

I don't think a many people had gardens in yet, so I don't think the hail did damage to that, but, if you weren't prepared for high water you might have had some issues!

These are pics of different areas of the SAME town! Some places got it thicker and faster with larger hailstones. In some places the hail didn't melt, but accumulated like snow. In other parts it came down so fast and hard and melted so quickly that is caused some local flooding.

I-5 south of Anderson got some significant accumulation of hailstones. It was rather slow and treachearous be driving at the time.

Someone was able to take a pic of the stormcell from Redding (looking south towards Anderson) 

Sometimes what you don't know is better???  

Why Melted Bugs On Candy And Lemons Fuel A $167 Million Industry | Big Business | Business Insider

When used on food it is listed as either shellac OR confectioner's glaze.

20 hours ago, Jeepers said:

Darn you Midnightmom. I had to touch the screen to scroll up away from it. I almost had to touch that fish. The struggle is real girlfriend. The struggle is real. 

 

See. That there is why I used to lie and say I was allergic to fish. And yes I remember that terrifying commercial.

Thanks for the reminder.  

 

Moving on....

At least I didn't post a vid of the fish singing!

10 hours ago, Jeepers said:

I know it will involve another call to India for assistance. I can barely understand them.  

I tell them to slow down and enunciate better. And I have to say it multiple times for the same sentence! So annoying!!!  

Do you remember these being popular???

On 3/19/2024 at 1:35 PM, Jeepers said:

I didn't know either. She touched on it in a video called "In My Brokeness." It was a sad one. She certainly deserves happiness. 

I don't know when they got married, but apparently they knew each other in high school.

On 3/19/2024 at 8:52 AM, Jeepers said:

If realtor mentions staging I'll tell her/him to digitalize it. Put it on the computer and insert furniture. Badda Boom Badda Bing.  Don't know if that's a thing or not but it should be. New marketing idea? 

 

Towards the end of the video I posted she talks about digital furniture. She said that people who see a furnished room online can be "disappointed" if they don't see the same thing IRL. 

Time stamped: 

This is quite an aerobic "exercise." Not even going to try to keep up with these ladies - get tired just watching them!

Hope  you enjoy this few minutes of fun.  

Me, doing my version of the dance.   

ETA: I just noticed that this orchestra does not have any violins or other string instruments .... it is all woodwinds, brass, and and some drums. 

5 hours ago, Jeepers said:

BTW Midnightmom, did you know The Kneady Homesteader remarried? I just learned about it last night while watching one of her videos. His name is Danny and that's all I know. 

I had no idea! I hope they are happy together.

3 hours ago, Littlesister said:

When I do get the time to make it, it will be the first time doing it. Hope it will come out as good as yours MidNightMom. 

when you decide to make a batch, check out YT channel Mary's Nest. She is VERY thorough and takes you through the process in "baby steps" which is a good thing if you have never fermented anything before.

The other channel I have posted above (The Fermented Homestead) is very much more "frantic" and "jumpy" in style (she has ADHD). entertaining, but difficult to follow if you need slow and methodical.

3 hours ago, Jeepers said:

I think what will sell this house will be things they can't see. Like new furnace, water heater, water softener, sump pump, all new wiring and all new plumbing. And it's all been updated and inspected up to code. Also all new flooring and paint. It will be move in ready as far as cleanliness and no maintainance for a long time. At least that's what I've been told. I did buy all new stainless appliances although the fridge is an albatross. I under estimated the size. It's huge.  

 

All very good selling points. Allows for room in the budget for cosmetic renovations. 

@Jeepers

I thought of you as I was watching this vid. I was intrigued by the title and decided to watch it. She gives tips on how to make YOUR home look like an HGTV home in the pictures you add to your listing. None of the suggestions are expensive, nor are they permanent. She also reiterates consulting with your realtor for specifics in your selling market.

Quote

In this video, Kati explains how HGTV has destroyed how buyers view pictures online and how that has affected how much people will pay for homes. From home renovation and interior design to house flipping, see how shows like Property Brothers, House Hunters and Fixer Upper influence buyer expectations. Learn staging tips and seller strategies to boost online presence and appeal to modern buyers. Kati's video offers insights into making your home stand out, whether you're selling or seeking inspiration. Watch now for the latest in design and real estate trends!

 

3 hours ago, Littlesister said:

The sauerkraut looks really good. When I get more time, I will need to start doing that.  I do have a couple of gal. jars I can use. I have never made it before because we never really ate it that much.  But would like to make at least one gal. of it. 

1 hour ago, Jeepers said:

That's a lot of cabbage. I like sauerkraut but I had a bad experience one time when I tried to make it. I'll spare you details but I'm not going to try it again. It was gruesome. 

 

I'm thinking about buying a huge gallon jar of it and canning it in 1/2 pint jars. 

Ladies - the "secret" to making sauerkraut is to get the brine correct. It needs a 2% brine. the easy way to figure this out is to weight the cut cabbage in grams, move the decimal point 2 spaces to the left, then double that number to know how much salt to add to that cabbage. Pack it tightly into a jar, put a weight on it (inside the jar) so that all of the cabbage stays submerged in the brine, and let it do its magic for a few weeks. (make sure you put it in or on something to catch the brines that bubbles up out of the jar as it ferments. It is very mild and very crunchy compared to what you can buy in the store. And, the brine has probiotics in it that are good for your gut. Repackaging what comes from the store probably won't taste that good - mushy and salty. But, if you do, I would rinse the kraut and pack it into the pint jars, pack it down, and top it off with a 2% brine before processing. Add 1Tbs of water to 1Qt of water to make sure you have enough for your pint jars, and use that to top them off.  It can be water bath canned. Recipe is in the USDA Book of Home Preservation (page 6-7)

This vid should help.

Is @Jeepers in the way of this storm?

My guestimate was incorrect. It took all 4 heads of cabbage (both bags) to make one gallon of sauerkraut.

Hopefully you can see how much water has already bubbled out of the jar since yesterday.

Since I wanted to make 4 gallons, I had to go back to Safeway and get 4 more heads. So, the four bags shown here contain the remain12 heads if cabbage!

(Each bag is 2.5 gallons)

Now I have to weigh it all out and add the correct amount of salt to each bag and get it into the jars.