So we (still) had leftover rice and beans from last week's burrito-making extravaganza. (Still!) Since they were nearing the very end of their edible lives, I decided I'd better do something with them to make a little more palatable. (They taste fine, but I've looked at them so often in the past week that I just couldn't fathom eating them the way they were!) I grabbed a can of tomato paste from the cupboard, some water, combined everything with some of those delicious pickled peppers and some chili powder and made a delightful, chili-like pot of...um...something. It's really tasty anyway, especially with some cheese on top, and I knew that if I didn't do something with the beans and rice they were just going to get thrown out. And I hate wasting food.

So now I'm sitting here nibbling on my...chili?...watching my kittens sleep, listening to the birds outside and thinking about maybe making some tortillas. Because there's very little better than a homemade tortilla, even when it's made by a white girl from Maine like me!

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...

I went to the Sunset Valley Farmer's Market yesterday for the first time in a very long time and came home with some wonderful goodies - flavored cheese spreads, fresh sweet onions, potato rolls, multi-colored eggs and fresh non-homogenized milk! I was super excited about the milk because I've heard that fresh milk is amazing. While this stuff was pasteurized (they can't legally sell it if it isn't) at least it was fresher than the regular stuff we usually buy and non-homogenized too. (Shake that cream, baby!) I had a little glass of it last night and it was really good. Smooth, creamy and delicious. No weird tastes. Mmm! And, I can't wait to cook up my fresh sweet onions with some tiny golden potatoes and maybe some peas in butter. Best. Simple. Meal. Ever. Seriously.

And fresh knitting too! I am about to finish my very first sweater, which is turning out quite nicely and which I hope, um, fits. (I really think it will, unless I gain horrendous amounts of weight in the next few days...) I've decided that I need to finish the project I'm currently working on, knitting-wise, before I start something new. Or, well, at least a couple of them. (I have four projects currently in the works, and I just keep bookmarking more!) Next to finish are my hedgerow socks with beautiful Sundara yarn. I've already made one...I just have to get the other one underway!

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!