I held out as long as I could...

I'm not really sure when it started, but my sister Meg and I have the silliest tradition. Every fall, we hold out as long as we can before drinking hot chocolate and listening to Christmas music. One day, one of us will cave and call the other at the crack of dawn pronouncing that "Its the most wonderful time of the year!" courtesty of Mr. Andy Williams.
From then on, you can drink all the hot chocolate you want and listen to all the Christmas music you want.

So I broke down this week. I blame the choir broadcast on Sunday. They sang "Count your Blessings" from White Christmas.

How can you not start to feel the holiday spirit when you hear that song? Just a day or two later is was really cold and I got the hot chocolate craving so I called Meg and she wasn't home. This is not usual, considering all she has goin' on back there. But I spoke with Nancy and told her I was calling to sing Christmas music to her mother. She just laughed, as she does with most the crazy things her aunts do. *sigh* the silly things that you keep you going :)

My love affair with peaches

When I started working fruit last summer, I had no idea I'd have a new love interest...peaches. In the beginning weeks of September, I lose all interest in other fruits and vegetables and focus solely on peaches. Suncrest, summer sunsets, Rosa, Pink Ladies, JH Hales, Angeles...I adore them. Everyone waits for Elbertas- they're nice but its like eating at the snack bar of a hospital when you have a gift card to the Melting Pot. So my dear sister told me how to freeze some so I can eat fresh peaches all winter long. I didn't make it with suncrests- I ate them too fast! So I bought 1/2 a case this week of Angeles and put some up tonight. Here's how it works.
First- buy your peaches from Tagges or some other decent local farmer like Burgess, where my sister buys her's.

Then soak them in some hot tap water to help them peel easier.

Peel and pit them. Place them in 100% orange juice for about 3-5 minutes. I just left them in there while I peeled the rest of the case.

Place them on a cookie sheet- either in halves or slices, whatever you prefer. Place them in your freezer for a bit to flash freeze them. I left mine in there for 90 minutes.

Remove them from the cookie sheet and place them into freezer safe ziplocks! Done!

My first ever canning extravaganza!

My mom and grandma used to can all the time when we were little. Peaches and grape juice and tomato juice and pears and chili sauce. It took forever. I still remember my mom burning her hands when the clamp came off the grape juice! Canning is a dangerous business! :) But ever since I started working fruit, I've wanted to learn how. My sister is fast becoming the canner of the family so I'm taking tips from her and did my first EVER batch of Grandma's chili sauce. Talk about intimidation by food! Its a recipe not a peace treaty, for heaven's sake. And on top of that, I'm a home ec teacher! How scary could this be?!
First I started with my favorite tomatoes from the market. They're an heirloom tomato called Brandywine. I fell in love with them last summer. An heirloom means the seeds are original- they haven't been genetically engineered or mixed to become a hybrid of somesort. The skin is thinner and they are sweeter. They go soft much faster so you have to be ready to use them when you find them.

Along with my tomatoes, I picked up some fresh green bell peppers and onions. Can't beat the freshest stuff out there!

Then I cooked and boiled it down for about 3 hours. I could have done pints but the half size jars seemed perfect for me. And it made 12 perfect jars!

So there they are- currently sitting on my counter downstairs waiting to pop. And I only had to call my mom once and text my sister twice!

My next project will be peaches. I wish I could say when that will be but sometime in the next month is the closest I can get to a date. I'm just waiting for the Angeles peaches. They are soooo good.

I have to also say- when mom asked if anyone wanted her canning supplies out of the basement when we sold the house, I should have said yes. I debated and then thought- what the heck am I going to do with that?! That was Grandma seeing if I was paying attention- once again, I wasn't!

Welcome Fall :)

Today, I got sucked into someplace I rarely go- Tai Pan. Overload on cheap decor and rude mommies with strollers in too small of a space. Anyway, I had a coupon for a fall decoration. I don't have a lot of fall stuff so I went. I figured a Friday afternoon at 3:30 was safe. I fell in LOVE with the pumpkin. Plus it was the only one I could find so I figure I'll have something unique at my house (despite the fact that it came from Tai Pan) OR everyone else already has one and I'm just slow. I thought the fall blocks were cute, as well. So there it is...my tribute to the new season.

My ears are still ringin'!

Yep- Keith Urban was tonight. I've seen him probably 6 or 7 times. I know Meg doesn't understand why I love love love his music but that's fine. I bought the tickets back in APRIL! The original plan was for me and Derek to go (our deal was that we had to get dates haha). Anyway, he went and got himself a baseball scholarship and had to move. I'm so sad he wasn't here tonight. Some traditions just have to wait another year.
But anyway- had he been here, the night wouldn't have turned out the same. Let me recap for you:
1. Dani (BEST BFFFFFFF ever!) gets us on the parking list so we don't have to fight the mobs anywhere. Sweet.
2. Upgraded seats to front row at the back where Keith sits and gets all "intimate" with the thousands of people at the arena. Ecstatic! Thank you bfffffff!
3. Jaycee buys a $30 shirt. Puts it on.
4. Concert starts- we are singing our guts out.
5. Keith comes to the back for his songs...delightful! Great pictures.
6. Concert person comes to Jaycee and tells her he's taking all of us up to the front because she's wearing Keith's shirt and knows all the lyrics!
7. We go to the FRONT OF THE ARENA and spend the remainder of the concert at his feet.

That about sums it up. Best concert ever. Finally beats out Ricky Martin and Garth Brooks. HARD to do, let me tell ya.

A yummy little treat

The 5 Minute Chocolate Cake

4 tbls flour

4 tbls sugar
2 tbls cocoa

1 egg

3 tbls milk

3 tbls oil

3 tbls chocolate chips (optional)

small splash of vanilla

large microwaveable mug

Add the dry ingredients to the mug and mix well. Add egg and stir until moist. Pour in milk and oil. Blend until batter is combined. Add chocolate chips and vanilla. Mix one more time. Place mug in microwave and cook for 3 minutes at full power (1000 watt microwave).

The cake will rise over the top! Don't freak out! Allow to cool and pour onto plate, if desired! Enjoy!