Pizza Crust.

Just because I enjoy cooking does not mean I want to spend all day making a meal. I've wanted to make homemade pizza for awhile but a lot of recipes call for time to let the dough rise and I'm impatient. I finally found a crust that is quick, easy and delicious.

Ingredients:
1c. warm water - you want the water really warm, not lukewarm
1 Tbsp. white sugar
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast - that is how much is in 1 packet
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups flour - I used half wheat and half all purpose.
spices - I used basil, oregano and garlic. Use whatever you'd like but don't skip it or the crust is a little bland.

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix water, sugar and yeast in a bowl until dissolved.
Add the olive oil, salt, and spices.
Add flour, stir until mixed well.

This will be a stickier dough than if you were making bread but it shouldn't be too moist either. Add more flour if you need to.

Let dough sit for at least 10 min. while you prepare your toppings.

Sorry the photo is so dark. My camera was not cooperating. 

I did not roll the dough with a pin. I spread a little olive oil on a baking sheet, put olive oil on my fingers and spread the dough out with my hands. If you added more flour you could probably use a pin without it sticking but it really isn't necessary.

Next add your sauce, cheese, and toppings of choice.

Bake for 15 - 20 min at 425. Mine was done in 15 and was amazing. The whole house smelled good, the crust was really filling and so yummy. I'd eat the crust alone just dipped in olive oil and vinegar and it'd be amazing.

I'm linking up at For the Love of Blogs for Tasty Tuesday, Beauty & Bedlam and This Chick Cooks. Check them out, there are lots of great recipes. 

My Summer Goals.

I have other little goals and ideas but these are the main ones. I really ought to learn to use my sewing machine. I've had it for a few years now and I'm fairly certain that there are enough tutorials online for me to figure it out. Plus, I'm going to visit my sister in July so if I don't figure it out by then I can always have her show me.

What are your favorite ways to hang something that doesn't have a hook on the back? I have a painting my brother had mounted for me but I have no way to hang it. Our house is very slowly beginning to look like a home but I still have a lot of things to hang, repair, or paint and I hope to get to it soon. It really bothers me that there are totes and boxes all over the house still.

Dandelion Bouquet.

Yesterday I saw Jake jet out the front door leaving it wide open. I followed him out and he was already around the house and in the backyard so I yelled asking what he was doing. He told me not to worry about it and later he handed me a little bouquet of dandelions. He told me they were the only "flower" blooming around the house other than the lilacs but I already have lilacs in the house so he got me these instead. So sweet!

My New (Used) Sander!

I love how the box is covered in little drops of sheetrock mud. 

I told my dad about how I'm building a dining room table and it was going really slowly because I was having to sand a kajillion boards by hand so he gave me one of his old electric sanders. My dad owns a construction company so he has roughly 3-80 of any piece of construction equipment you can imagine. I swear he has at least 80 tape measures but he misplaces them all of the time.

The new to me sander is awesome. The boards look a lot better and are much more smooth than they were when I was sanding them by hand. I can only use the sander for about an hour before I have to take a break because my hands are numb and my arms feel like jello but I am making progress!

These are the boards I still have left to sand. 

Also, who designs the face masks now-a-days? Jake and I walked our dog to the hardware store so I could purchase a mask because inhaling sawdust is no bueno and the masks are literally as big as my face. I can cover my eyes, nose, and mouth with one mask. Ridiculous.

Gamers.

Jake and I play video games. That's how we met, it's something we have a lot of fun doing, together and separately. Mainly we play games on the PC but we also have an xbox and an N64. I mean, if you're going to have a gaming system of awesomness, you better have the 64. Anyway, sometimes we like to take it old school and bust out a classic, Rummikub. We played together at a friend's house once and had so much fun we ran right out to the store to pick up our own set and it only cost $5. I was really excited about how inexpensive it was. It's a simple, fun game and it takes a nice amount of time for someone to win. It doesn't take a whole day of your life like Risk or Monopoly. Honestly, I don't think I've ever finished an entire game of Monopoly.

What's your favorite game to play with your honey or family? I love playing Apples to Apples with my family.

Also, I got the coolest gift yesterday. I didn't take any pictures yet because it was raining and windy so hopefully I can show you tomorrow.

WILW - Father's Day Gift Idea Edition.

I just wanted to remind everyone that Father's Day is coming up on June 19th. That seems kind of far away but we all need time to decide on and order a gift so really it's a lot closer than it seems. To help you get the gift giving ideas flowing, I've collected some man friendly ideas from etsy that would be good for birthday gifts as well.

1. Fox on a Bike Shirt by DarkCycleClothing.
2. Cigar Box Shave Set by OrangeFuzz.
3. Embroidered Leather Rotary Dial Cell Phone Case by FelixStreetStudio.
4. Handmade Music Watch by HandMadePeople.
5. Custom Engraved Pocket Stone by sjengraving.
6. Silver Hand Stamped Guitar Pick by PoppyChicJewelry.
7. Recycled Dad's Root Beer Tumblers by BottleHood.
8. 6 Pack Frame Cinch by WalnutStudiolo.

I've linked up at Lollipops.

Pickled Asparagus.

Jake loves pickled asparagus and since asparagus is in season, I thought I'd give it a try. I had never even heard of pickled asparagus until I met Jake but it's a childhood favorite of his and now I know why, it's freaking delicious. I love pulling out a spear and just munching on it. 

There are tons of recipes online so I just read a few and kind of took all of the ideas and suggestions and did my own thing. I love adjusting things to my own personal tastes. Most of the recipes were very similar and differed only in the amount of vinegar used. I made some jars with more vinegar and some with less just to kind of see what we would end up liking. After devouring a few jars, we're of the opinion that more vinegar and less water is better. 

The ingredients I used are:

Dill Seed

Garlic

White Onion

Red Pepper Flakes

Pickling Salt

Mustard Seed

Asparagus

White Vinegar

Water

I cut the asparagus so it would fit in the canning jars then cooked it in boiling water for 2 min. You don't want to cook it for longer because it will be cooked again in your water bath when you seal the jars.

I basically put all of the spices and the onion in the bottom of the jar, packed the jar very tightly with cooked asparagus - if you don't pack it tightly the asparagus will overcook in the canning bath. 

Boiled the vinegar and water together, filled the jars, and then processed for 10 min. 

There are more detailed instructions here, here or here.

My Niece Loves Me.

I just had to share this with everyone. Look what my sister left me over on her blog. That is my sweet little niece rocking the best onesie ever! It's the best because I picked it out (obviously). This was immediately put as my desktop background. I can't wait to see that little face when Jake and I head down to California in July.

My Garden, in Progress.

So planting a garden was not really planned. I just kind of decided to do it. Next year I'll do it right and tear up a nice big section rather than planting around what was already here and the weeds. Everything in my greenhouse is coming along nicely though.

I really need to thin out the carrots and radishes but it's been raining lately and I was not about to go out and do it in the rain. It's been nice for awhile here but I guess it's still Spring because we had some random rain this past week.

My pepper plants survived 3 days of thunderstorms. Thankfully. I just transplanted them about 2 hours before the freak storm hit. Also, our animals do not like the rain, at all. I have so many ideas for chili peppers, I can't wait!

Come on zucchini! I think this is what I'm most excited for. I love zucchini and I can't wait to make some yummy veggie enchiladas full of zucchini.

And here is a pretty picture of our backyard after Jake mowed it and the giant tree that shades my car. I'm also growing green onions, cucumbers and yellow wax beans. I can't wait to harvest. Oh hey, do any of you have any knowledge or advice about growing lettuce? I'm really interested in it but have never tried it before and am curious if it's difficult. We need a weed eater to get to that grass that grows up along the fence. I took scissors to the grass around the front porch. I think the people driving past thought I was crazy but after Jake mowed it looked so nice except for the crazy tall grass growing up the sides of our steps that was knee high. Not so pretty. I had to get rid of it.

I Turned 25 Today.

We don't really have anything planned. I told Jake that all I want is some chocolate cake and flowers. I usually don't go too crazy for my birthday since I prefer to celebrate half birthdays instead. Half birthdays happen 6 months after your birthday (I bet you figured that one out yourself). Jake doesn't even really have to get me flowers though because we have a giant lilac bush in front of our house and I cut some down to put in my kitchen the other day. Jake found a random tulip growing in our yard and cut that for me too since tulips are my favorite. The lilacs smell so nice. I love my little pitcher vase that I got at Ross for $3 a long time ago. It's held a lot of flowers for me and I don't think I could love a basic clear vase as much as my little pitcher.

See you guys after the rapture.

My First Blanket.

It's kind of a trip to look at it with the light shining through the lattice from behind. Anyway, I finished my first blanket. I used a pattern from Attic 24. It was easy to follow once you get the hang of converting it to American terms.

I love the colors and can't wait to start a blanket for Jake and I since this one is not staying with us. I used Lion's Brand Vanna's Choice yarn which happens to be on sale at JoAnn's right now. Also, you can get coupons in store for 10% off your entire purchase during Memorial Weekend or 20% off if you have a military i.d. Guess what Jake is doing for Memorial Weekend, oh that's right, using his military i.d. to get me a discount on yarn!

It's a gift for a little baby boy who hasn't been born yet. I am so excited for his mama to get the package. She's been my best friend since we were girls and I'm so excited because I know she'll be an amazing mama and her baby will be so loved and stylish to boot. The blanket is by no means perfect but it was made with a lot of love.

I also made a little card to include with the blanket. It's the first card I've made in for-ev-er. I am a dinosaur lover and this paper just makes me so happy! It kind of makes me want to watch The Land Before Time. I can't wait to get my craft room in order so I can get to work creating in an inspiring space.

What I Love Wednesday Number Nine.

1. A Collection of 9 Large Succulent Plants by SucculentsGalore. I really need to go get some succulents  for around my house. So pretty. I especially love the purple one.

2. I Like You Cause You Like Me by LuciusArt. This print cracks me up. It reminds me of something my sister would give me.

3. Old World Handbag by CayennePeppyBags. Such a gorgeous bag. I like the fabric mix used and that amazing giant button. This shop has so many other beautiful bags too. It was really hard choosing my favorite for this post.

I'm linking up at Lollipops for What I Love Wednesday.

How To: Fold Wontons.

Growing up I always loved when my Aunties came to visit. It meant yummy Asian food time was near. One of my favorite things we'd make together were wontons. I love wontons because they're delicious and versatile. You can fry them or cook them in soup. You can fill them with whatever you'd like. Being vegetarian I always stuff mine with a mixture of minced carrots, celery, water chestnuts, baby carrots and soy sauce. If I'm making them for carnivores I just add whatever leftover meat is in the fridge, usually pork or chicken. You can also make the very popular crab and cream cheese version or desert versions with peaches and cinnamon.

Folding won tons isn't hard but it's not something that is learned in the average American household so I thought I'd share here. There are several different ways to fold them and different regions fold them differently so your way may be different than mine. Most use a mixture of a lightly beaten egg and water to keep the wontons closed. I usually just use warm water, it works well and I usually just wet the wontons with my finger. Sticking my finger in egg kind of grosses me out.

First, the easiest way is by simply folding one corner to the one across from it, forming a triangle. These are perfect for pan or deep frying. Plus, they hold more filling than more complicated foldings.

Secondly, this is the folding my family uses for soups. Fold one corner to the one across from it, just like in the last folding. Then, take one of the bottom triangle corners and fold it over to the other corner. These hold together well when boiling away in your soup.

Another very popular way to fold is referred to as the nurse's cap. It would take a lot of photos to explain it so instead I found a video. This video also features the flower bud fold.

The thing about wontons is that they are very time consuming to make. To cut down the time, make a little assembly line. Have someone chop the carrots, someone else on the celery etc. and then have everyone's nimble fingers folding away.

I decided to go for a yummy dessert filling, peach/cinnamon/brown sugar. YUM!

Be careful how you stack them after folding, they can stick together. If you're making lots, use a sheet of wax paper between layers to prevent them from sticking.

Make sure your heat isn't too hot or else you'll burn them in a matter of seconds.

I'm linking up at For the Love of Blogs for Tasty Tuesday and Home Sweet Farm for Delectable Tuesday. 

Where Do You Sell?

Lately my sister and I have been discussing some of the different sites that host handmade stores online. We're both in the process of opening or reopening our shops and are kind of curious about what everyone else uses and how they like it. My sister does most of her selling through friends/facebook and just wants a storefront to list some of the smaller items and make purchasing easier for her customers.

Etsy:

Pros: Well known, more people use it and purchase from it. People are always browsing etsy and your items could end up on the front page which gets tons of views.

Cons: You have to pay every single time you list a product. You want to continue re-listing so your items will show up at the beginning of searches and not 200 pages in. There is also a transaction fee every time you make a sale.

Big Cartel:

Pros: Is becoming more widely used. Doesn't charge transaction or listing fees.

Cons: Not as well known or as easy to search as etsy. If you want to list more than 25 items there is a big jump in price. (You could open a free shop with only 5 products but, eh). Doesn't really have the built in advertising like etsy does.

ArtFire:

Pros: No transaction or listing fees and unlimited listings.

Cons: Not very well known and I think it's kind of hokey/ugly looking.

So tell me, where do you sell? What do you like about it, what don't you like? Do you think it's worth the price of the service? Do you wish you would've opened shop elsewhere? Do you purchase from online shops? Which site do you prefer to shop from (easiest checkout, etc.)?

And We're Back.

{via}

Oh yay, we can all log into our blogs! I'm glad our posts have shown up again, I hope our comments are restored too.

Today Jake had a doctors appointment at the new VA clinic we'll be using and he decided to bring his computer monitor along with us in case there was a Best Buy nearby. For the past six or so months his computer and monitor have been acting up. We know his tower just needs to be replaced but the monitor was only purchased last May. It kept flickering and then one day just turned off and wouldn't turn back on.

Today we took it into Best Buy and they gave us a credit for the original cost of the monitor since it had been less than a year (barely), isn't reparable, and is still under warranty. Good news, monitors are less expensive now then they were a year ago so we have a Best Buy credit and the new monitor Jake chose is better than his old one. Needless to say, he's super stoked.

One thing I learned while looking up Best Buy's return policy though is that Samsung monitors already have a three year warranty on them through the manufacturer so it's kind of ridiculous to purchase another warranty through Best Buy, which they'll try and get you to do. We wouldn't have been able to replace it immediately with just the Samsung warranty but we would've been able to mail it and have a new one sent to us so I won't be buying any extended warranties again without researching them first.

I Have an Itch for a New Tattoo.

I kind of want to get a portrait on my arm of Katharine Hepburn. She's my favorite actress ever. I love that in a time of bombshells on the big screen she was beautiful but didn't compromise the fact that she was brilliant too. I love her quick wit and how she always looked so great in pants when everyone else was wearing a skirt. She was a strong woman and that is something I can really admire.

I have quite a few tattoos and I've posted some of them before as I got them but not all in one post. I'm still not going to post all of them, just the ones I can easily find photos of. My mom hates that my little brother and I both have a bunch of tattoos but I really enjoy them.

Frida Kahlo, another woman I admire for her passion and talent. Sorry the photo is a little pixel-y, it was taken on my cell phone. Which by the way, stopped working the other day so I have a loaner phone straight from 1995 and the only ringtones downloaded on it are Nickelback. I swear someone hates me.

This is a Sailor Jerry peacock that I had done in more modern colors. I have a thing for peacocks. They're so beautiful and vibrant.

This is my sugar skull drawn for me by Steve Fuller at Southside Tattoo in Ashland, OR. He is the amazing talent that did all of these tattoos for me. We gave the skull a pop art inspired background so it would fit in with the sun I had done a long time ago.

I always love peoples' expressions when they find out I have tattoos. One of my old bosses didn't even know for about 2 years and then didn't believe me until I showed him. When I got Frida done, my district manager didn't notice her for about a year because I was always wearing cardigans. One day I took off my cardi and he was blown away that I had a tattoo. I guess I don't come across as the tattoo kind but now-a-days it seems like everyone has some ink so I don't think you can really peg someone as a "tattoo type of person" anymore.

Val Bauer.

One of my old high school friends is awesome. Well, all my high school friends are awesome but Val is super awesome. We both were on our schools' dance teams in high school and bonded over that and our love of music. Val is currently studying at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts in England. So cool! He's recently released the first single from his upcoming studio EP, Drink the Dregs. You can download it for free for a limited time here.

You can read all about Val's year at LIPA and his music on his blog.

Here is a description of what this new EP holds:

"Themes of heartbreak, booze, and working class blues are reflected in the music of his latest studio EP, Drink the Dregs. Recorded in Liverpool, the album’s songs deal with love and hurt, the hopelessness of feeling stuck yet longing for a sense of home, and struggling with reconciling the desire to move on with the difficulty of not looking back."


Go check it out!

Honey, I'm home.

This sign is on the road where Jake's dad lives. I want to take it down and put it up on my wall. I think it's awesome. 

I don't even know where to begin. We went to visit Jake's dad this weekend in Jake's hometown. I've mentioned it before; the town is so small there is no gas station or stoplight or grocery store. We had a lot of fun and a few interesting adventures. We ate at the Snack Bar in the next town over which is where Jake worked in high school. They have amazing fries, my mom would be hooked. While there, his old boss invited us to a birthday party at the bar later that night. We decided to go and the most hilariously disgusting thing happened.

I'm sitting there drinking a beer, it's pretty late and the patrons were very drunk. I see this guy stumbling around, he is covered in really bad tattoos. He has a wife beater on and you can see his chest tattoo which is the outline of a suit shirt and tie. That was one classy suit, let me tell you what. Anyway, he stumbles over toward some cowboys and words are exchanged. During this heated argument, suit tattoo guy's teeth fell out onto the floor, his freaking teeth. Another guy picks them up off the sticky floor, hands them to him, and he puts them back in his mouth. I about died. I don't think I've ever seen anything top that at a bar, and I doubt I ever will.

One thing I thought was kind of odd is that people there just stop by each other's houses to hang out or say hi. Everyone is always really welcoming and glad to visit. Where I'm from you always call someone before you stop by. I'm not sure which I prefer. It was nice to just pop in and say hi but I think if people just stopped by my house randomly I'd have to do the dishes and vacuum more often or else I'd have a heart attack if people saw my house sometimes. It's not like we're slobs or anything but sometimes you just get busy and the dishes pile up for a few days.

Also, apparently big farms now have gps on their tractors and that is how they get the lines so perfectly straight in the ground. I also learned that we need to get a kinect for our xbox. We played a few games while we were at a friend's house. I love the dancing game, it's a good little workout. I think Jake and I would have a lot of fun doing the adventure games. I'm really awful at the one where balls are coming at you and you have to hit them back but I sucked at war ball in middle school too. I didn't want to do P.E., I just wanted to read my book and not have balls flying at my head.

Friday Randomness, Again.

Jake and I are going out of town this weekend to visit his dad. I still had some leftover strawberries after making jam earlier in the week and I wanted to use them up before we left so I popped over to one of my favorite sites, Food in Jars, and found a recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Butter. Let me tell you, this stuff is delicious. It was lucky that I had extra vanilla beans hanging out from making vanilla extract earlier in the week to use in this recipe. If you decide to make this though, be advised that it takes a very long time. I was able to wash the dishes, fold a few loads of laundry, mop the floor, and scrub the labels off of some glass bottles and it still wasn't quite ready yet. I'll definitely make it again though, even with the time commitment.

I've been working on this blanket for the past few weeks when I have spare time, like at the VA waiting room. It's my first project as I've only recently learned to crochet and the only other things I've made are some "coasters" for Jake which were basically just me practicing different stitches and they're the ugliest coasters ever but he doesn't mind. This blanket is intended as a gift but I kind of want to keep it for myself. Jake says I have to make one either for him or for our bed next. I'm going to go with bed so I get to enjoy it too. Deciding on the colors/pattern is so difficult though because I like everything.

Also, I started a compost last night. Any tips? I've never tried composting before. I've got to say, I love Jake for going along with all of the things I do. Sometimes he thinks my sustainability/green living ideas are a little odd or "gross" but he always supports me and goes along with it. Now if I can only figure out how to convince him that we should get chickens.

Have a great weekend!

PTSD. What is it?

I occasionally reference Jake’s PTSD here on my blog but I’ve never done a post on what PTSD actually is. I know that a lot of people have a vague understanding of it, I did before Jake and I met, but since then, I’ve learned a lot and I thought I’d share that with you today.

PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It’s an anxiety disorder that occurs after a traumatic event. Often times after your life was in danger. Soldiers aren’t the only ones that suffer from this (think rape victims, victims of other violent crimes) but more and more soldiers are coming home and presenting with the symptoms.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs website, there are 4 types of PTSD symptoms.  Most other sites claim 3 types of symptoms.

1.              Re-living the event: memories of your trauma can come back at anytime.

Ex. Fireworks remind Jake of gunfire in Iraq. After the first 4^th of July he experienced this he now wears earplugs on the 4^th of July/New Years Eve. We don’t celebrate either of those outside of our home.

2.              Avoiding situations that remind you of the event.

Ex. Jake never watches war movies. Ever. Never ever ever. No Inglorious Basterds for him.

3.              Feeling Numb: difficulty expressing feelings.

Ex. I don’t really have an example but Jake does have a hard time expressing his feelings at times. Not always, but it happens.

4.              Feeling Keyed Up (Hyperarousal): Always being on guard.

Ex. When we go out we always sit at a table where Jake can have his back to the wall so he can see the other patrons and nobody can come up behind him. If a table like that isn’t available, we’ll wait.

As you can see, Jake has all 4 types of symptoms. This is typical as to be diagnosed with PTSD you generally have to have multiple symptoms from each category. These aren’t the only symptoms of PTSD though.

According to HelpGuide.org other common symptoms are:

Anger and Irritability

Guilt, Shame and Self-Blame

Substance Abuse

Feelings of Mistrust and Betrayal

Depression and Hopelessness

Suicidal Thoughts

Feelings of Being Alienated and Alone

Physical Aches and Pain

One of Jake’s symptoms is debilitating headaches. You know how when you get a migraine it ruins your whole day? Imagine that every single day but with varying degrees of pain. Some days it’s bearable, others you just can’t do much of anything. Well, when you have enough "can’t do much of anything" headaches every week you become unemployable. He has tried every medication combination under the sun and nothing helps. Or if something does help initially, it usually leaves him with a rebound headache that was worse than the original.

A lot of people with PTSD also suffer from nightmares. Were you aware that there is a medication to help a person forget their nightmares? There is, he takes it. It works fairly well too.

He suffers from a wide range of other symptoms as well, some of which I've mentioned previously. 

Two-thirds of people will eventually get better but one-third will not. I really hope that Jake is one of those that will get better but his doctors say his case of PTSD is very severe. In the meantime, we'll continue going to a million medical appointments at the VA and do our best to adapt to a life with PTSD. 

What I Love Wednesday Numero 8.

This awesome Calligraphy Bed from Anthropologie goes for $2, 498. Jake used to weld in high school, both of my brothers know how to weld, one does it for a living, and my dad knows how to weld. One of them should be able to make me something similar, you'd think. I'm not going to hold my breath though, they're all busy doing other things. Jake says maybe this winter he might be able to do something if we get all the welding stuff.

I just got this in the mail yesterday and already have so many ideas on things I want to can this summer. It made me want to go out and buy a stack of other books in hopes that they're as full of awesomeness as this one. If you've never canned before, this book goes through the steps. She breaks everything down from traditional canning to freezer jam, drying fruit, making butters etc. The second half of the book is full of recipes that look and sound amazing.

I saw this tree top bench on terrain and it reminded me of the driftwood you'd find on the beach back home in Oregon. I want a giant stump for a coffee table or to turn into an ottoman. There is one in our neighbor's backyard and I'm pretty sure nobody lives in that house so I don't really know who to ask about whether or not I can have it.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam.

I've been really busy the last couple of days. I mean, super crazy lady busy. I pickled asparagus, which was a lot of work because I had a lot of asparagus. Then yesterday I decided to use up some of the rhubarb that is taking over a corner of my backyard. I've never tried rhubarb before but Jake was super excited for a strawberry rhubarb pie, which I'm going to make tomorrow. I decided to try out the Strawberry Rhubarb Jam recipe I found on Barefoot Kitchen Witch which is an awesome blog full of recipes and gardening tips. I used her exact recipe for the first batch and it was so easy and tasty. For the second batch the only thing I changed up was that, after adding the sugar and stirring it all up, I decided to add about 2 Tbsp. of ground cinnamon just to give it a little something different.

All you need for the jam are strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, pectin and your regular canning items (giant pot, jars, etc). I won't copy the entire recipe but if you click on the link in the first paragraph it takes you right to the Kitchen Witch's funny post on how to make the jam. She posts a zillion pictures too which is so helpful.

Having never dealt with rhubarb before I had a lot of questions and did a lot of googling. I wasn't sure if you needed to peel it or not, you don't, but you can pull off any little strings if you want. Just be sure to wash it. Cut off the leaves and throw them away as they are toxic. If you're growing rhubarb in your garden, only trim a few stalks off at a time and your rhubarb will continue to replenish itself so you can keep cutting from the same plant.

In addition to the jam, I started a batch of vanilla extract that I'll be giving as gifts to my family. An 8 oz. bottle of pure vanilla extract goes for $20 at the grocery store but you can make your own at home for so much less. I've seen a lot of posts on how to do it all around the web but Kristina from Lovely Morning posted about it the other day and inspired me to get my butt in gear. Kristina used 2 vanilla beans per cup of vodka but I've read other posts that used 3 so I went down the middle and used 2.5 beans per cup of vodka. I also cut them down one side but did not break them open. Check out her post for some great ideas on finding beans at a decent price.

I'm linking up today at For the Love of Blogs for Tasty Tuesday.

My Weekend Adventures.

These are the awesome glasses made of old beer bottles I picked up by Recycled Glassware Co. 

I went to the Farmer's Market in Boise on Saturday and it was fun and awesome and full of all kinds of cool and interesting stuff. I picked up a giant loaf of fresh bread and some awesome glasses. I would've spent more time wandering around but it was pretty chilly out and I was by myself. One of Jake's PTSD symptoms is that he has a really hard time being in crowds of people. He becomes very anxious, even if he has taken his anxiety meds. Sometimes he'll brave it anyway but it just depends on how he's been feeling. If we go to a restaurant we always wait for a table that is in a corner, up against a wall, so Jake can sit with his back to the wall so nobody can come up behind him and he can see where everyone is and what they're doing.

In addition to the Farmer's Market I did what will hopefully be all of our grocery shopping for the next 3 or more months, not including produce. When gas prices skyrocket food costs generally increase as well and I've already seen that begin to happen so I decided to stock up. I think people thought I was crazy, a small girl barely able to push a giant cart full of 20 bottles of juice, packets of pasta, blocks of cheese. Did you know you can freeze blocks of cheese? Stock up on Tillamook when it goes on sale and then stick it in the freezer. My goal for the summer is to live out of our pantry and only buy fresh local produce from the stands on the side of the road all over this area (and eat what's in my garden). Of course if there is a really good deal on one of our staples I'll purchase it to replenish my pantry but only if it's a really good deal. I also have grand plans to can a lot of veggies this summer and fall to use throughout the winter.

I'm hoping we can get away from the little trips we make to the grocery store which is just two blocks away. When we "need" something we'll walk down there, pick up the spice or whatever it is we "needed" and end up with a box of pastries and a red bull too.