Why the Hell Not?

Perfect Party Favors

One of my girlfriends turned 40 a few weeks ago, so I decided to make some quick and cute party favors for those that came to her birthday lunch.  Here they are:

I cut them out using my Big Shot and a bag die cut.  I learned that, unfortunately, Sizzix's dies do not like to do multiple layers of card stock at one time.  If you do use multiple layers, they tend to cut through (at least partially) places where a score should be.  So, if you are a bulk crafter like myself, prepare to be rolling a lot when you're making a lot of these!

These went together pretty quickly.  I used Wow Flowers as the set, Taken with Teal ink, Silver Liquid Pearls (for the flower center) and Papertrey's new distressing ink cubes for edge inking.  The ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.  The circles are in Shimmery White, Certainly Celery, and Pixie Pink.

I also used my ATG to adhere these, which I wouldn't normally do as it's often not strong enough for 3-D projects.  I usually use red line tape, but the ATG was handy, and it held up pretty well!

Here's a shot of the tops, after I filled them. 

How to (or how not to) Make Lower Sugar Strawberry Jam/Preserves

Technically, these are strawberry preserves as I used whole fruit.  However, I also completely goofed up the recipe.  Despite this, they still set just fine thanks to a great product.  Sure Jell, you stand up to your name even when I mess up your recipes!

Remember our strawberry patch?  Well we saved some of the berries that we picked throughout the Summer.  We hulled them and froze them.  And here they are.  All ready to be cooked up into delicious jam.  

We froze them in batches.  The top ones apparently juiced themselves prior to freezing.

Now, in canning, you're supposed to measure everything exactly.  The reason for this is that you need pretty precise proportion of sugar to acid to pectin to make it all set. 

But, I'm lazy.  So, did I measure the fruit?  Nope.  Not even close.  I just guesstimated what was in there.  That looks like 6 cups of crushed strawberries, right?  I think so.  And apparently I did a good guesstimation job as I ended up with slightly less finished product than I should have (which means more pectin for the product = a better chance of truly setting). 

At this point, I was supposed to mix the pectin with 1/4 cup of sugar, which I did:

I used Sure Jell Premium Fruit Pectin for Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes.  Whew!  That's a mouthful!  Since I used a lower sugar pectin, the recipe actually requires me to mix the pectin with some sugar, rather than just adding it directly into the fruit, like normal.  Then, I was supposed to add the pectin into the fruit and bring it to a boil.  However, I did this:

Oops!  I added in the rest of the sugar (3 3/4 cups) my berries.  And the pat of butter (to reduce foaming).  Once I realized that I'd totally messed up, most of the sugar had "melted" into the defrosting berries -

 

Zoinks! What to do?  What to do?  So, I pulled out the only other pectin I had in the pantry - regular ol' Sure Jell - and guess what?  Apparently you always put the pectin in first.  Not canning for a while clearly messed my brain up.  That and not reading directions...

So, I figured I'd try to make it work.  After all, if it didn't set, then it would just be refrigerator jam!  So, I threw the pectin mixed with sugar in too and turned on the heat. 

Nice action shot, eh?

Waiting for a rolling boil...

 

Not there yet.

Not quite there...

There!  See the bubbles and how the strawberry stuff looks totally pissed off?  That's what you're going for.  A boil that does not slow down even with constant stirring.

Now, had I followed the recipe like a good girl, this the point where I'd add in the extra sugar (the sugar that I didn't mix with the pectin), and then bring it back to a rolling boil and boil for one minute.  However, since I royally messed this up, I just boiled it at the rolling boil for a couple of minutes.  And, I knew I was onto something when I could feel the pectin working.  It's not as weird as it sounds.  I could feel the liquid thickening as I stirred it, which is part of the early stages of setting.  If you're following the recipe in the package (as you should), then you'd turn off the heat after a minute.  If you're not, well then, hope yours sets! 

Oh, and here's a little tip.  If you want to make your fruit be more crushed, you can smash it up against the side of the pan while the liquid is boiling like this -

The boiling actually cooks the fruit, which makes it softer and easier to smash.  This also apparently works better with fruits like peaches than it does with strawberries...

Here's another tip.  Of the safety variety.  Notice that I used a really tall pot.  There's a reason for that.  Since I was working with a lot of sugar, I wanted plenty of space for the sugar to grow during the cooking process.  If you don't leave enough space, the mixture will boil over and onto your stove.  And, if you get it on your skin, it'll burn you badly.  Since it's sugar, it'll stick as it burns, which means it's much harder to get off to stop the burning process.  So, morale of the story is use a tall pot!  

This picture shows just how much the sugar grew during the cooking process.  I took it shortly after turning off the heat.  Note the "high tide" line a couple of inches above the liquid.  The line shows just how much the sugar grew during the short cooking time.  

Now for "canning."  I used the tiny, yiddle, adorable, precious, and oh-so-cute Ball mini jars.  I love these jars!  They're little half pints, I think. They'll be super cute for neighbor gifts at Christmas.  I actually had enough left from my last canning adventure to use only that size.  They also have the normal wide-mouth top, which is essential for easy canning.  And, this funnel (the blue thing) fits perfectly in them. 

 

As you can see, I took this picture after I filled most of the jars.  I used a ladle to get the filling from the pot to the funnel.  I would have shown you an action shot if I was a mutant and had three arms and hands.  However, since I only have two, I had to put the ladle down to take the picture.  My ladle holds about a half cup and I filled each jar with about a ladle and a half of liquid.  Since I used whole fruit, I tried to make sure each jar had a good amount of fruit in it.  

Then, I wiped the top and rim of each jar with a wet towel.  You wipe the top so the seal on the lid will have full contact with the glass and will seal properly.  You wipe the rim as your metal rim that will hold on the lid will contact the rim of the glass.  If there's sugar and gunk on the rim of the glass, then the metal rim will stick and be a pain to open later. 

 

Awwww....my yiddle jar got a yiddle friend...

Aren't they cute on their play date?

Take the lids from their boiling water bath (using the magnet on a stick) -

And put them onto the jars.

Add on the rim bands, tighten well, and use your rubber tong thingies (also found in the canning aisle) to put them into your boiling water bath for processing. 

Process for 10 minutes and remove from the water bath.  Then, let the lid popping begin!  Mine are still popping (almost an hour later) and will continue to pop for a while yet.  Popping is good though as the sound is from the lid popping downwards indicating that a vacuum formed between the jam and the lid.

To make your own at home you need:

(1) To Follow the Sure Jell recipe exactly;

(2) 6 cups of crushed strawberries, hulled (frozen works well)

(3) 4 cups of sugar

(5) One package of Sure Jell Premium Fruit Pectin for Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes (pink box)

(6) All of the usual canning supplies.

Good Luck!

Boston's North End - a Foodie Find

Everyone who has been to Boston (and paid attention) knows that there is a rule in the North End - "Eat, preferably until you're so sick you cannot eat anything more.  Then, burp so you can eat some more."

The North End is the Italian section of Boston. It's known for its food and pastries.  There's a restaurant I've been to on each prior trip to Boston.  I didn't take a picture of it as when I took Mark there on his first trip this last month, it sucked.  I conferred with friends in town and they said the same thing.  The restaurant lost it's spark.  Which is really sad as it was truly fantastic.  So, morale of the story is that finding a restaurant in the North End doesn't mean you've found a good one.

However, we did find this place on our last day in Boston and it was divine.  As in so good it's worth the plane tickets to just go back and eat there.  It's that good.

Mark wouldn't let me take pictures of our food.  He said I was a weirdo. I felt like a dork taking this picture (thanks to his censure) so I didn't go to the Gelateria next door (which the restaurant owners also own).  They claim to make their own gelato (most places in the North End import theirs from Italy which is a bit of a sin in my book as gelato is best very fresh), so I likely missed out.

But back to the food - it was a chilly and icky October day so I ordered something that is a very rare find in Texas - osso buco.  It's basically a large piece of bone-in veal flank that has been slowly cooked in a tomato-based sauce.  Kinda like a whole meat Italian stew.  They served it over a bed of saffron risotto, which was a bit undercooked.  I wasn't a fan of the risotto by itself, but with the veal and sauce, it was incredible.  The blend of the flavors was fantastic.  And, the veal, as it should be is osso buco, was fall off of the bone tender.  The portion was also insanely large, so I could only finish about half of it.  Had I not thought the TSA would give me hell for bringing it on the plane, I would have taken the rest home.

Mark got a daily special of squid ink pasta (also called black pasta) with a tomato and garlic sauce and fruiti di mare (assorted fish).  The pasta was homemade.  he pasta had kind of an earthy, yet under the sea, taste.  The sauce was light yet creamy and full bodied.  The fruiti di mare included mussels, clams, shrimp, and some additional fish.  I'm not a big fish person, but I really and truly had to fight stealing his plate from him.  It was that good.  My mouth is watering just thinking of it.  I liked it even more than the squid ink pasta (that had a squid ink sauce) that I had in Venice in 1997.  Heck, I liked it a lot more than that; that was a bit much. 

The one downside to this restaurant (besides that it's not in Dallas) was that they do not serve tap water.  Is that authentic Italian?  Annoyingly, yes.  However, even in Italy you can get tap water at most places if you ask in Italian. Here, not so much.  However, the bottled water wasn't unreasonably priced for a restaurant, the food was fantastic, the bread basket they brought (a mixture of a peasant style loaf and focaccia) was divine, and the food, oh God the food, was absolutely incredible.  And, the waiter suggested a wine that was not on his glass list that went perfectly with my osso buco.  And, he did it by the glass.  Great food and service makes it a total foodie find.

Bunker Hill

Today is Veteran's Day.  While we're remembering and paying respects to the men and women that have fought for our freedom over the years, we should also remember our first set of veterans - those that fought in the American Revolution.  Those that originally gave us our freedom.  Those that helped to form the great nation we live in.

The Battle of Bunker Hill was the first major battle in the American Revolution.  Bunker Hill is also in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and only a ten or so minute walk from the U.S.S. Constitution.  Ironically, the monument, like the battle, is not on Bunker Hill.  It's on Beacon's Hill.  The story goes that the British had an incorrect map and intended to fight on Bunker Hill but went to the wrong hill.  Abigail Adams, who later became the First Lady and even later became the First Grandma, witnessed the battle and wrote about it in her diary.  Can you imagine witnessing such a battle almost in your own backyard?  Back then, this area was sparsely populated.  Now, the monument park is surrounded by a neighborhood.  Cars line the street as off street parking is a rare treasure. 

This is actually the view of the monument as we came up the hill:

It's a 221 foot granite obelisk.  Like the Washington Monument and the San Jacinto Monument, you can go to to the top.  Unlike the Washington and San Jacinto Monuments, there are no elevators.  So, if you plan to go to the top, make sure you're in shape, have your walking shoes, and aren't afraid of confined spaces.  Oh, and arrive earlier than we did so the monument will be open.  

As you walk up, you see this:

As for the battle, it occurred on June 17, 1775.  June is typically warm and a bit rainy in Boston.  However, due to the rain, the weather can also be chilly in June. 

The very inexperienced colonials were told to hold their fire "until you see the whites of their eyes," to preserve precious ammunition.  Our militia was in its very early days and consisted of many inexperienced warriors.  Heck, at least in this battle, it consisted mostly of farmers.  However, we were also led by many former British officers, who were battle trained.  Regardless, the colonials were fighting a much more experienced and equipped British army.  

In the end, the British did prevail in this battle.  The colonials survived two major surges (finally losing on the third) and caused the British to suffer major casualties.  While the colonials suffered a considerable number of casualties themselves, the number of British casualties far outweighed the number of colonial casualties.  In the end, the British realized that the colonials, though inexperienced, were much more of an opponent than they thought we would be. 

The original monument on this site was an eighteen foot wooden obelisk erected in 1794 by the King Solomon's Lodge of Masons to honor Dr. Joseph Warren.  Dr. Warren, at the time of the battle, had recently been elected Major General of the colonial army.  He was also a mason.  He perished in the third surge of the battle. 

In 1823, a group of prominent local citizens began to work to erect a more permanent monument.  The monument we have now was completed in 1842 and dedicated on June 17, 1843 in a major national ceremony.

Also, like so many of the sites in the Boston area, the museum (which is across the street from the Massachusetts gate) and monument are free to visitors. 

U.S.S. Constitution - Charlestown, Massachusets

A few weeks ago, Mark and I went off to Boston for a fun vacation.  We found cheap airline tickets, got a great hotel in the Theater District for cheap, and off we went.

On our first day there (October 21), we walked over the bridge into Charlestown to see the U.S.S. Constitution - the oldest undefeated commissioned warship afloat.  We, by complete accident, visited her on her 212th Birthday.  See, we'd missed the morning activities of them towing her out into the Harbor for a seventeen gun salute.  Heck, we were so clueless that we didn't realize we were there on the day of her birthday (rather than just near it) until near the end of the tour.

She's not only the oldest warship in the United States Navy, but she's also the first.  President George Washington commissioned her shortly after we declared independence from England.  See, we'd been protected by the British Navy while we were one of their colonies, but once we declared independence, we no longer had naval protection.  So, we set out to build a powerful navy.

You might also know her by her nickname - Old Ironsides.  Although she is made of American Oak, the oak is so strong (and three layers thick) that it bounced most of the cannon balls off of it during her first battle with the British navy.  During the battle, one of the British seamen exclaimed, "Huzah!  Her sides are made of iron!"  Hence, the nickname.  Old Ironsides, and the crew, returned to Boston heros.  And, thirty-two battles later, she's still undefeated.  And afloat. 

And, she may be old, but she's a beauty.  Check her out -

Yessir, that there's a mighty purty frigate.  Mighty purty.

Half of her masts and all of her rigging are down as they're rebuilding her deck.  Again.  The new deck they put on ten years ago is flat and holds the snow on in the Winter, causing damage.  So, they're putting a curved one on. 

Here's the ongoing construction on the deck and a lady that was on our tour.  Hello lady:

Turning 180 degrees...

 

She has three decks.  The second deck is where the guns and kitchen are located.  They also located the daily rum and water rations on this deck.  This deck is shorter, but still tall enough that the average sailor (average sailor height back then was 5'6") could stand up.  I, however, had to stand in between the rafters. 

This shows just some of her 44 guns.  Each gun took approximately nine sailors to operate.  Which means that the U.S.S. Constitution sailed with nearly 500 sailors aboard.  

See the thick white rafters that go up the sides of the hull in between the guns and end about ten feet into the deck above?  Both below decks have those.  They're part of the support system that allows the frigate to be both be balanced and to hold these super heavy guns while not buckling the decks. 

Turning around...

 

Our tour guide (the guy in all white with the blue scarf) is talking about the water and rum rations.  The daily doses came from wooden containers like the one in front of him.  Note his clothing.  The pants were made of left over canvas from the sails.  They usually used sails that were no longer usable as sails.  The pants have a lot of pleating in the back, as the sailors had to bend over the rigging and needed gimme room so their pants wouldn't rip.  The shirts were usually made of cotton or canvas.  The scarf was actually not for show, but rather to protect their backs when they were up in the rigging.  The scarves would block tar and grease from getting onto their clothing and was much easier to wash than their regular clothing.  His uniform is what sailors would have worn when they were doing ceremonies or coming into their home port for a celebration.  During normal operations, they would wear whatever clothes they brought on board with them.  And, they'd have two hours one day a week to do the washing - meaning washing their clothes, themselves, and anything else they had that they wanted washed.  They also had to use part of their water rations to do the washing.

Another important point is that our tour guides (we had one at each station) were not just tour guides.   They're active duty service men and women that are stationed there.  Remember, the U.S.S. Constitution is still a commissioned warship.

And lastly, we visited the third deck - the berthing deck.  This deck was too short for even most of the sailors of the time.  However, since it was a deck for sleeping, it didn't matter as much.  The regular sailors slept in hammocks strung throughout the deck.  They had three inches of "space" left in between the hammocks when they were all strung.  Sailors would sleep in shifts, so there would usually be 250 sailors sleeping at one time.  Can you imagine the smell?

 

As you can see, the same supports (in white) are down here as well.  When sailors had done something exceptionally good, the captain would reward them by letting them move their hammocks to where they were in between the supports.  In that location, they had an extra two inches of space in between the hammocks.  Ooooooooohhhh...  Of course, on a ship that had been sailing for months at at a time, a little extra space was a big deal.

The officers slept in berths like this -

 

As you can see, there isn't a lot of space, but it's a heck of a lot more than the enlisted men got!

And let's talk about food.  Although the sailors did get three meals a day, they usually only got one hot meal - lunch.  The rest were cold leftovers.  And they had a huge variety in what they ate - heavily salted stew and hardtack.  Every day.  Yum.  Since salting was the main preserving method of the day and they didn't have enough fresh water to soak the salt back out of the meat, they ate very salty meat. 

Also, there were two cooks on board (yes for 500 men).  One for the crew (hence the stews) and one for the captain.  Let's just say, it was good to be the captain or an officer.

Prior to boarding, we went over to the museum.  By the way, all of this exhibit is free to the public.  They do have a suggested donation, which we did, and I recommend giving.  The museum has a very cool kids' section upstairs that gives you hands on learning about how sailors lived during that time.  Your kids can try out the hammocks and even walk amongst the rigging.  And, like a Disney movie, it has plenty to keep the adults interested as well.

On the way to the museum, we passed the original dry dock -

 

They bring her in here, pump out the water, and she'll sit on the blocks below so they can clean the hull, repair it, paint it , and whatever else needs to be done.  At one time, there were quite a few more of these in this area, as Boston was a huge shipping port.  However, now only a few remain.

If I remember correctly, when they launched Old Ironsides, they took her out of this dry dock.  It took several tries, and nearly a month, to launch her.  She sunk down in the ways too much when they initially tried, so they had to excavate more before she could get into the harbor.  Plus, they had to add a lot more men to the pulling ropes.  The men lined the sides of the dock and literally pulled/pushed her into the harbor with well tied ropes. 

The little boy is still there...

Mr. Why really, really wants to be an adult.  He'll sit with you and ask hardball questions about anything he thinks adulthood offers.  If you tell him you've been to a city, he wants to know everything about the city. Everything you saw, everything you ate, the history of every step you took.  He tries so hard to be an adult, and then you get little glimpses of pure boyhood like this:

Pinwheel plus USS Constitution hat (which I'd just given him) plus too small Sponge Bob pjs equals ultimate childhood moment.  Now, I'd just given him the hat, but he came up with the rest on his own.

 

This is going to be a big spin...

And then Little Miss had to get in on the action -

In cute piglet pajamas. 

Not bad for undoctored phone pictures either.  Not great, but not terrible!