Project 123
Okay, I really want to do better at updating than I have been doing, but internet at home is a precious commodity, along with time and writer's inspiration and work isn't always the best place to do it. I am at work now becaue I came in for the weigh in in which not very many showed up and now I have time to kill until 1:00.
Project 1: Making Jerky. Has anyone ever made jerky? This was something D and I tried last year. (Wow, doesn't that sound like a long time ago?) It was December, I think. It is relatively easy and very good. Wow, I should make some more because it doesn't last long. It's a little gross if you think about the fact that it is basically raw meat dried, but I like to think of it as raw meat cooked at a very low temperature until it is dried. Give it a try if you have some old roast laying around that needs to be used because ice crystals are starting to infest their way into the innermost part of its being.
Project 2: Making yogurt. This I just tried on Saturday. I had no idea yogurt was quite so easy to make and so good. I remember homemade yogurt as being a little lumpy with a weird flavor. Mine is a little lumpy with clear congealed areas thanks to my impatience and thus stirring it to make sure it was getting thick because once you get to the bottom of the jar it is all nice and smooth. All you need is some milk and what do you know? Yogurt (for the whole live culture). It really makes sense in the whole reproductive scheme of things. Dogs create dogs, cows create cows, petunia seeds yield petunia plants, yogurt breeds more yogurt. Doesn't that just make sense? You have those two things, add some unflavored gelatin to keep it a little thicker, cook it for a bit to a certain temp and then bring it down to another certain temp and keep it that way for hours on end and PRESTO you have yourself some yogurt. Next time I am going to use flavored gelatin and add some fruit. Can't wait--I think I am going to try some more on Saturday.
Project 3: Homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup. This kind of came about because some of the weight loss ladies were asking for a healthier version of the boughten stuff, so I found a recipe I wanted to try and then searched a cookbook for a recipe that took cream of mushroom soup and then I made it. It turned out thick and yummy. You really could add any spices you want and instead of mushrooms you could add chicken for condensed cream of chicken soup or celery for condensed cream of celery soup and...well you get the idea. Now in the whole scope of things, the calories are about the same, but the fat is way decreased and i will need to check on the calories because that will vary based on what kind of milk you use. I'm thinking you could use skim milk, drop the calories and fat even further and still have a great taste. We will have to see. First, I would need to try and sneak skim milk in the house and then I will need to find enough uses for it so it doesn't go bad on me.
Project 4: Starter Friendship Bread. Yes, I dug it out of my freezer where it had been put many long months ago. Does anyone know? Will it still be good? I really like the bread and decided it was time to resurrect the started. So now it sits on my cupboard along with the puppy milk replacer and my egg cartons of flowers, which I suppose could lead to....
Project 5: Geraiums and Petunias. I started them last Tuesday morning and I am happy to report that at least some of them seem to be growing. The geraniums started sprouting and shooting less than 36 hours after I planted them. The petunias have been slowly coming. I am holding my breath. Last year I got about 5 plants out of 50 of these nice trailing petunias. So we are hoping for a better turnout. They have the life, warm (on top of the stove), moist environment. I have seen a few shockwave and some supercascade poking through and am hopeful the rest will follow. I believer it can take up to 2-3 weeks for them to germinate, so we will see.
That I believe may conclude the projects at hand unless you count the quilt I am working on or the patterns I bought a few weeks ago to make these cool crafty items or the dress i want to sew and of course there is laundry to finish and fold and iron and put away and then get out and wear and use and make dirty and wash again and on an on ad infinity. How does that go again?
Good day to you all
Project 1: Making Jerky. Has anyone ever made jerky? This was something D and I tried last year. (Wow, doesn't that sound like a long time ago?) It was December, I think. It is relatively easy and very good. Wow, I should make some more because it doesn't last long. It's a little gross if you think about the fact that it is basically raw meat dried, but I like to think of it as raw meat cooked at a very low temperature until it is dried. Give it a try if you have some old roast laying around that needs to be used because ice crystals are starting to infest their way into the innermost part of its being.
Project 2: Making yogurt. This I just tried on Saturday. I had no idea yogurt was quite so easy to make and so good. I remember homemade yogurt as being a little lumpy with a weird flavor. Mine is a little lumpy with clear congealed areas thanks to my impatience and thus stirring it to make sure it was getting thick because once you get to the bottom of the jar it is all nice and smooth. All you need is some milk and what do you know? Yogurt (for the whole live culture). It really makes sense in the whole reproductive scheme of things. Dogs create dogs, cows create cows, petunia seeds yield petunia plants, yogurt breeds more yogurt. Doesn't that just make sense? You have those two things, add some unflavored gelatin to keep it a little thicker, cook it for a bit to a certain temp and then bring it down to another certain temp and keep it that way for hours on end and PRESTO you have yourself some yogurt. Next time I am going to use flavored gelatin and add some fruit. Can't wait--I think I am going to try some more on Saturday.
Project 3: Homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup. This kind of came about because some of the weight loss ladies were asking for a healthier version of the boughten stuff, so I found a recipe I wanted to try and then searched a cookbook for a recipe that took cream of mushroom soup and then I made it. It turned out thick and yummy. You really could add any spices you want and instead of mushrooms you could add chicken for condensed cream of chicken soup or celery for condensed cream of celery soup and...well you get the idea. Now in the whole scope of things, the calories are about the same, but the fat is way decreased and i will need to check on the calories because that will vary based on what kind of milk you use. I'm thinking you could use skim milk, drop the calories and fat even further and still have a great taste. We will have to see. First, I would need to try and sneak skim milk in the house and then I will need to find enough uses for it so it doesn't go bad on me.
Project 4: Starter Friendship Bread. Yes, I dug it out of my freezer where it had been put many long months ago. Does anyone know? Will it still be good? I really like the bread and decided it was time to resurrect the started. So now it sits on my cupboard along with the puppy milk replacer and my egg cartons of flowers, which I suppose could lead to....
Project 5: Geraiums and Petunias. I started them last Tuesday morning and I am happy to report that at least some of them seem to be growing. The geraniums started sprouting and shooting less than 36 hours after I planted them. The petunias have been slowly coming. I am holding my breath. Last year I got about 5 plants out of 50 of these nice trailing petunias. So we are hoping for a better turnout. They have the life, warm (on top of the stove), moist environment. I have seen a few shockwave and some supercascade poking through and am hopeful the rest will follow. I believer it can take up to 2-3 weeks for them to germinate, so we will see.
That I believe may conclude the projects at hand unless you count the quilt I am working on or the patterns I bought a few weeks ago to make these cool crafty items or the dress i want to sew and of course there is laundry to finish and fold and iron and put away and then get out and wear and use and make dirty and wash again and on an on ad infinity. How does that go again?
Good day to you all
Ok I am hear again. Love all your projects.
ReplyDeleteWe have been trying yogurt too. the first batch was great the second our thermometer died and so it flopped and the third I guess my yogurt was bad. Not sure what else it could have been. I've been using my crock pot on keep warm. It does need to be watched. We have friendship bread starter in the freezer too. Unless I threw it the other day, can't remember. I'd be interested in hte cream of soup recipe. Oh well I'd better quit or my comment will be as long as yours and my laundry for sure is. -Dorothy