Ironic Canner

Nineteen years ago I started a girls only party in my 620 sq ft apartment. Somehow we all fit in there and had a blast. I remember having to open the windows and turn on the air conditioner because of all the...well...hot air! The party had a few rules associated with it. First you had to bring a wrapped Christmas ornament, one that you yourself might like, and also bring your favorite holiday food. There were probably 10-15 girls at that first party and we unknowingly started a tradition that lasts to this day. The first party was held on a Thursday night because we were all single and didn't want to 'waste' a weekend night. That reason seems funny to us now, but just try to change the day of the party and there would be mutiny! Since that first party I have moved countless times, (I was an apartment hopper) until finally settling into my first house post-marriage. We're on our second house and so much has changed, but the party remains the same. The weather here in...

I have been making this fudge for quite some time and give out the recipe all the time. Anytime I do I feel guilty because it is insanely easy to make! (Even easier to eat, trust me) You'll need: 3 cups of chocolate chips - I've used semi-sweet & dark, it's your preference 1 can condensed milk 4 tbsp butter - trust me, use real butter 1 tsp vanilla 1/4 tsp salt  Aluminum foil 8X8 pan Line your 8X8 pan with foil and lightly spray it with a non-stick spray Basic recipe: Put 3 cups of chips, full can of condensed milk and 4 tbs butter cut into smaller chunks.  Microwave these 3 for 1 minute, no longer of the chocolate can scorch  Remove from microwave and stir like crazy until all ingredients are blended. Mix in 1 tsp of vanilla and 1/4 tsp salt.  Pour this mixture into the lined pan and chill for 2 hours. After chilled turn the pan over, peel away the foil and cut the fudge into small portions. Trust me, this fudge is very ri...

Day Before Thanksgiving Haiku: My shopping is done Kroger cannot lure me now Time for gluttony I love Thanksgiving for so many reasons, but the biggest one is that I love to cook. I am not a good baker, but a savory cook? I hold my own. This year's menu: Chorizo cornbread stuffed turkey English peas (aka rich man peas*) Mashed potatoes/pan dripping gravy Yeast rolls Orange/Cranberry sauce Italian stuffed mushrooms The recipe for the chorizo cornbread stuffing was one that started with a recipe I found online and over the years I have made it my own. The key is the chorizo. Never use chorizo bought at a chain grocery store...unless you're in Mexico! I go to an awesome little taqueria in a town close by and as a bonus I usually grab some of the best baked goods around. The other important thing I learned after sharing with my sister, is that chorizo is different. She lives in the NE and when she bought chorizo it was Portugese. The Portugese cho...

Random thoughts on the day of my birth, or would that be anniversary of my birth? Either way I didn't do any of the work, thanks mom! I admit that I didn't know that being 46 would feel like this. I'm not sure what I thought it would 'feel' like, but I can assure you that when I was 18 I thought 46 would be all about early-bird specials and comfortable shoes. OK, one out of two as comfortable shoes do win the battle 99% of the time. The beauty of aging is that the things that once were vitally important somehow faded away into things that truly are important. I had a great conversation this morning with a dear friend about 'first world problems' and how we all need and have reality checks throughout our lives but don't always pay attention to them. This particular friend recently beat cancer. <I'll let that one sink in for my 18 yr old self because I bet she wouldn't have been able to wrap her head around a friend being that kind of sick....

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I have achieved many things in my life, but a few days ago I acheived Perfect Woman status...I lost my voice! Now please don't go all feminist on me, this is just a little joke. I'd say the same thing about the Perfect Man if *any* of the guys in my life lost their voices. So this weekend I am 'going to ground' as they say. My guys are out camping and I am home with the pooches, some hot toddys, ranch bean soup, and NyQuil. Oh and my Roku for some serious TV watching. Marathons they're called. I find that phrase to be very funny. We as a society have taken something as completely crazy healthy as a marathon and turned it into a way to describe sitting on the couch (or snuggled in bed), watching hours and hours of TV.  'Merica! "What's Ranch bean soup?" you ask in what has to be a Yankee accent. Why am I being a geographist? It's only because I think that Ranch Bean Soup has to be unique to the south. Maybe I'm wrong as it has no Velvee...

I posted on FB today that my application to be a Southerner was revoked because it snowed and I only had a 1/2 a loaf of bread in the house. Only someone who lives in or has lived in the south could understand that there is an element of truth to in that statement. The truth comes in the fact that if you were not born a southerner...well you will just never really be one! I myself am a geographic bastard because I am an Air Force brat. I was born in Oklahoma, but was only there for 2 months. My joke is that I saw everything there was to see and crawled out on my own. No offense to Oklahoma at all, I have had great times in OK, it just wasn't in the cards for me to stay long there or anywhere really. But now onto southerners... Southerners have a love/hate relationship with snow. I came from the north where snow is just a part of winter. You deal with it the best you can, but you never let it hinder your day to day life. If it ever closes things down it's not so much s...

A friend and I went to a new coffee shop today and had our normal gal-talk thing going on. Today it so happened that I brought along a few items that I had canned and was now gifting/sharing with her. We started talking about how "in" canning is right now and I jokingly said that I was doing it ironically. OK, truth be told I also said I was going to grow a mustache ironically, but I think we all know that happens after 35 anyhow.  So then the Ironic Canner was born. I have a lot to say and not a lot of places to say them in. This just may be the spot after all! So the coffee shop was Cafe Brunnelle and I have to say that I really enjoyed not only my company, but also my perfect temperature Tokyo Tea Latte. And the chocolate croissant wasn't too shabby either.  I will discuss the canning aspect of me soon as I get more comfortable with this. I have been making a lot of flavored extracts and if we are friends you now know what you're probably getting for Chr...