I didn't mention it a week or so ago when I tried my pickled garlic for the first time and it was delicious. I made it last fall and it is so, so yummy. I also made pickled peppers last fall, which I just now popped open for the first time. They. Are. So. Good. Seriously. I am terribly impressed with myself.

The boy and I had been buying lots of frozen burritos at Costco and we figured we could make them ourselves, so today I am home with a bunch of tortillas, some soaking black beans, a jar of homemade jalapenos, a rice recipe ready to go, and some cheese. We'll see how the end results turn out!

In other home canning news, I made strawberry jam last weekend. Mmm. If only other kinds of berries were as cheap and plentiful as the strawberries... I know I'm going to have to do something with peaches in the next couple weeks, but I miss the time I spent in Oregon when all kinds of berries grew abundantly. So abundantly that uncountable bushes and vines and trees were considered more like weeds than food-bearing plants. It was amazing. Ah, well. I can't complain - the tomatoes are in the ground, the peppers are waiting for new pots and the herbs are happy.

Now if only we could have chickens...

So I made pickles a week or two ago. I've been trying to make my own "stuff" lately - pickles, applesauce, scarves, that sort of thing. (I've been using this website as a reference for some stuff. It's not pretty but it's got loads of helpful information.) Well, today we opened the pickles and tried them for the first time.

Oh. My. God.

They are so good. I have been woefully underprivileged in my store-bought-pickle life thus far! They are quite literally the best darned pickles I have ever tasted. And I made them! Me! With my own little hands! Wow! I am so proud.

Hopefully the garlic I pickled this evening will be half as good!

I pickled peppers on Tuesday evening. I have this to say about the experience: When the book says to wear gloves while slicing and de-seeding the 10 cups of peppers...DO IT! Seriously. I didn't, and regretted it.

It all started back in the spring, when M and I bought several jalapeno plants, two bell pepper plants, and a handful of banana pepper plants. They all grew like crazy but the banana peppers in particular produced oodles of peppers. Not knowing what else to do with them, I decided to pickle them. I supplemented with banana peppers from the farmer's market and jalapenos and serranos from the grocery store. (Boo. But oh well.) I got the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and some mason jars. I'm no stranger to preserving, but I wouldn't exactly call myself an expert either. So I didn't wear gloves. I've never worn gloves before and they've never bothered me, but I hadn't counted on the cumulative effects of slicing and dicing that sheer volume of peppers. Ouch! Oh, the burning. I was willing to try anything. Aything. I can say that alcohol, water, soap, salt, vegetable oil and a myriad of other substances did little to quench the burning pain in my finger tips. I even found one suggestion to run your fingers repeatedly through your hair. (It didn't do anything.) Finally, I tried a paste of baking soda and water and it helped a little. Enough, at least, to allow me to go to sleep!

They look pretty...I just hope they taste good!