Days 14-17: A Whole Lotta Schtuff

Garlic scape pesto. We've been using it on sandwhiches.

Chris, Jason, and I are finally relaxing with beers after a very busy few days. My plans for relaxation failed to realize themselves but I kind of figured that would happen. My inner-Martha, a flat of strawberries, and several impromptu projects took precedent.

I showed Jason how to make several things in the past few days. We made yogurt, garlic scape pesto, and strawberry shortcake. Each time we do something that is new to him he gets out his notebook and jots down instructions. It’s pretty cool to imagine that he’ll go home with a whole book full of cool skills.

Heated milk for yogurt cooling in an ice bath.

Once it's cool enough you add the culture and then it's on it's way to becoming yogurt.

I should also note that in addition to what seem like bigger projects, we have also been teaching him some basic things like how to use a slow cooker, how to make whipped cream, how to make gravy, etc. This just reminds me how important it is I teach these things to Jack now so that he’s more prepared when he lives alone as an adult.

I also got to go to the second FSC Swappers event, and got so many goodies, and met lots of great people. I also got to see some people I met at the last swap. One of the ladies I met was Becky she did a post about her swap experience.

Chris and Jason removed a huge lilac bush-tree thing from the yard in preparation for the fence. Then they went and priced materials. It’s going to be expensive, but about what I thought it would be, and still ultimately cheaper since we are doing it ourselves.

I’m making the most of strawberry season (since I completely missed it last year) and froze 4 quarts of berries from a flat I got from Kilpatrick Family Farm. That was after we ate tons of them. I’m getting more on Monday to freeze as well.

Yes, canning is fun and cool, but I’m not super into jam, I’d rather use the berries in smoothies so it makes more sense to freeze them. I was also not lazy this year and pre-froze them in smaller batches in a baking dish before bagging and freezing again. This reduces freezer burn and having them all clump together while in the freezer.

I used some of the berries in the Brown Butter Banana Strawberry Bread I made for the contest I ran this week. I also happened to make 2 other recipe from Joy the Baker this week, completely without planning it that way. I made the Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies and the Mustard Roasted New Potatoes.

I’m not exactly sure what the weekend holds but I’m sure it will be interesting.