Furnace is On

No hidden meaning there.
We just have the heat on regularly now as the days and nights are becoming colder.  I love curling into my warm bed for quiet time.  It's nice having a husband whose body temperature always feels a good 10 degrees warmer than mine (he "loves" having my ice cold feet against his calves).  I almost phrased this: "It's great having a hot husband" but think that may be misconstrued. 

Our Tuesday morning Bible study was cancelled so I think we will drive to Menards for some furnace filters, maybe stop by my sister's house.  Last night I made some more marinara sauce in the crock pot and the smell was so savory good in the house on this cold morning.  We canned 12 large jars of pomegranate and plum jam on Sunday night.  Our deep freeze is crammed full of jelly:

My parent's freezer is stocked with some of the jars as well as our upstairs freezer.  Thank goodness I bought all that pectin at Meijer when it was 48 cents per packet.  (Some of this is pesto, marinara, salsa and apple butter).  Almost 100% of the organic fruit was gifted to me before it was dumped into compost.  All the canning has made me appreciate the modern conveniences we are blessed to have.  It blows my mind to think about how much work it was for a family to put dinner on the table back in the pioneer days.  Harvest time has a nice ring to it when you see the pretty Indian corn & pumpkins, but harvest used to equal grueling work, work that was completely necessary for survival.

God has been teaching me so many things in this season.  This week has been a challenge in many ways....learning to lean on Him and not keep "taking back" and having a pity party over all the burdens that He has lifted from my hands.

Beautiful Fall

The month of October has been so beautiful here in the Midwest.  Since there hasn't been many windy days, the trees are full of leaves.  Some are still green but many have changed to flaming reds, gold, orange and purple.  This fall is possibly one of the most gorgeous I have ever seen.

This fall has also found me very busy (mostly in the kitchen).  We have been blessed to receive a huge amount of organic produce that likely would have been composted or thrown away.  When I bring it home, I know that I need to get busy prepping it within a few hours-it is that ripe.  My parents came to dinner last night and after we ate my mom helped me make plum and raspberry jam.  We invented a new recipe and it is delicious.  Our yield was 3 pints and 5 quarts.  We also chopped apples (unpeeled) for the crock pots.  They were soft and cooked down today, so I ran them through the Foley food mill and made unsweetened sauce.  That sauce is now reducing so I can have apple butter for fall baking.  My mom is an excellent cook and she is always so helpful to keep my kitchen tidy.

Today I made more jam from 3 bags of organic grapes (green, red & black) that were on their way to becoming wine.  I added some plums that were soft, too.  I got about 4 1/2 quarts total and brought some to the neighbor's home.  The salsa just finished and I popped it into the fridge to chill.  The result of making salsa, apple butter & jam at one time is that your house smells oddly wonderful.  A little garlicky, a little plummy.

The boys (and E) and dozing off on the couch right now and I need to go take a shower.  God is so gracious and good to our family. 

What is this?!

After scouring the internet high and low, I have yet to find a definitive answer as to what function this item serves:

My first thought is wine carrier, especially because MADE IN ITALY is stamped on leather.  The strap shows wear and the metal components of the strap do not look new.  Lined in thick black fabric, needlepoint on outside.

Any vintage buffs out there who can shed some light on this?
Thanks!!

No More Jelly Jars

Once again, I resorted to a random container to hold jelly. 

The color of the jelly is so beautiful; it was made with very ripe red and yellow plums.  Mr. K.  gave me a giant bag of plums and they were on the verge of turning into wine.  After washing them and pulling out the pit (yes, they were that soft), I cooked them down in the Dutch oven.  When the peels were slipping off and the pot was a bubbling, fragrant mass, I added a bit at a time to my makeshift chinois.  The juice dripped slowly and I pressed the pulp.  The plums produced about 8-10 cups juice and a few cups of pulp.

Sugar and pectin added and...voila!...plum jelly.  I only had a few jars so the lot of it will sit a covered refrigerator dish.  I covered and saved the pulp because I remember reading that it makes fantastic fruit leather.  If anyone knows of a good fruit leather recipe, let me know!

Off to start my quiet time, the best part of my day.

Tart Cranberry Lemon Bread

A few years ago I created a recipe for cranberry lemon bread.  As a lover of tart-sweet breads, I never found a recipe that was "sparkling" tart...puckering lemon and tart cranberries with a lemony-vanilla cake-like bread.  Many experiments later, this bread is our hands-down favorite, loaded with cranberries and walnuts.  The batter is VERY stiff and it almost needs to be patted into the loaf pans.  It makes 3 generous 9 x 5 loaves so some can be frozen.

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. lemon zest
Juice from 2 lemons +  jam to equal 1 1/2 cups (I used homemade yellow plum preserves)

4 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

About 3 cups fresh/frozen cranberries (I use a 16oz bag)
About 1-1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts

Cream butter & sugar.  Add eggs.  Add zest & juice/jam mixture and mix all.  Sift together dry ingredients and blend into wet.  Last add berries & nuts and mix together.  (A KitchenAid reigns supreme here).  

Lightly spray or butter three 9x5 loaf pans.  Place batter (stiff!!)  into pans and press down, if necessary.  Bake in 350 degree oven until done (about 45 minutes; I usually determine by the smell and/or pressing center of loaf).  Let cool and slice.  Like most breads, it tastes even better if you can restrain yourself and let it rest a couple days.

*Also waiting to make my pumpkin latte.  Etsy has been so busy, among other things.  Per MySweetCreations suggestion, I am going to buy some vanilla syrup (or make some).

Stay tuned!!

Fall in the Midwest

Unlike my husband, I am thrilled when the hot, muggy days begin to give way to cool days and cooler nights.  Autumn has been my favorite season for as long as I can remember. 

One of my favorite memories is a day spent raking my Grandma Fitzgerald's huge yard, heaping the leaves into massive piles that were twice the size of me or my sister, Jill.  (They seemed like small mountains).  The day was chilly and I remember getting cold even with my jacket on.  Burning leaves was the climax of our fun day and the smell of the huge bonfire and smoke was/is wonderful.

We have been "blessed" with many trees in our yard.  Unfortunately, leaves must now be bagged and placed curbside.  Adding insult to injury, the Village requires waste stickers on each bag.  We usually have around 30:( 

The fall baking has already begun.  In a few weeks, Meijer will have their apple sale.  They bring in about 10 varieties of fresh apples from Michigan and supply bags for filling.  For a flat price, one can cram as many apples as possible in a bag.  T & C help choose a colorful variety. We pile them into vintage bowls and use them for all kinds of baking.  Two favorite recipes are: chunky apple cake and apple butter.  I think I posted both recipes last fall....I will check & link back.

Seeing all the advertising for pumpkin spice lattes has made me want to learn how to make them at home.  Doesn't everything taste better homemade?  I will be trying this weekend and will post pics & review. 

Best news of all this week!  My sister, Lisa, had a baby girl!  After 3 boys, baby Hannah is a much anticipated arrival.  Cannot wait to meet her.

As for my adventures in vintage, T & I were out last night and I spotted a curious cookie jar shaped like a pig.  He looked "familiar" to me and I was fairly certain that he was a collector's item.  We scooped him up for $2.99 and here is his listing.  Found out that he is, indeed, a collector's item:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/81373503/american-bisque-cookie-jar-1950s-cookie

Wisdom from my sister

Does every stay at home mom feel like September is actually the "start" of the year as opposed to January?  This past week, month has been busy.  Between the new quarter for children's ministry, managing the soccer team and prepping T for school, it has been non-stop action.

We have been very consistent in adhering to regular family devotions and it has been a welcome moment at the day's end.  If any body has ideas on what would be a resource for both 10 and 3 year old boys, let me know! 

Next week, my Tuesday Bible study starts up again and I am so excited for B & A to be teaching!  I miss the accountability, the prayer time, the mommy talks. 

Now on to the title of the post.  My sister, Lisa, was a guest blogger for a website and had some great thoughts to share on being a wife.

http://www.domestickingdom.com/2011/07/11/first-hugs-and-couch-time/#comment-25