a hippie with a minivan

Hot Pepper Jelly…

One of my biggest cravings this pregnancy and one of the only things that I could eat for a few weeks when nothing was appealing to me was a toasted bagel with goat cheese and hot pepper jelly…

There is only one place that I can find hot pepper jelly around here and since I haven’t went there in the last few weeks my supply was running low and I needed more… I had checked out recipes a while back and because I was already doing some canning this weekend and had some Jalapeños to use up I thought it would be a good time to try…

I was right to do so!!

It was easy, quick and the results were perfect!

2/3 cup hot peppers (can vary according to what type of peppers used and how hot you want your jelly, I used 6 Jalapenos, half with seeds)
1 large sweet red pepper
1 1/2 cups vinegar
6 cups sugar
liquid pectin (2 packets)

– In a blender, blend the peppers and the vinegar together… (I used a cup of the vinegar first and then rinsed the blender with the 1/2 cup left)

– Pour into a pot, add sugar and mix well…

– Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 min.

– Either sieve at that moment to make a clear jelly, or keep the pieces in to make a chunky jelly… (I sieved half so make it not too chunky but not too clear…

– Return to boil and boil for another 5 min.

– Remove from heat and quickly add the liquid Pectin.

– pour into 1/2 pint jars (250 ml) and process in boiling water for about 5 min.

The jelly will set and you will have 6 jars of spicy-sweet goodness…

This is definitely a keeper!

Apple picking…

Took a while to get this post up but I guess it is better late than never…

Last Thursday we went apple picking at an orchard on Mont-St-Gregoire, south of Montreal. It was an activity with the Homeschooling group but it was supposed to be on Wednesday and was cancelled because of rain and then put for Thursday as a non-official outing which ended up being nice because we were a smaller group then intended and it was nice to be able to talk to people more…

The day turned out to be gorgeous and the kids got to play in the park and eat their lunch while us mom talked and shared until we decided to buy our bags and head out to the Orchard on the tractor ride…

We were let off of the tractor in the orchard where there was another park and we were able to go pick apples and the kids played and we talked more…

Xavier didn’t stay long to pick apples.. but he did pick a few…

Colin and Khéna though loved it and I sat on the ground and they filled up the bag completely…

When it was time to go the kids didn’t mind at all because it meant another tractor ride and they were getting tired from a day full of playing and fresh air… a quick stop in the shop and a few purchases and we headed back home…

This is what we ended up with…

A BIG bag of apples… I don’t know how much exactly but at least 30 lbs, probably more… A few pounds of plums, Local Blueberry blossom honey and some Apple Ice Cider for Simon…

Over the weekend a few pounds of the plums and apples got made into some yummy treats… and I still have a lot to do…

Learning to raw feed…

In the last few days/weeks I have been learning more and more about raw feeding a cat… and of course I still have a lot to learn…

I am pretty sure that she was being fed prey by her mom before she came to us because I was told that she wasn’t taking to the kibble much that they were trying to get her to eat and she took to raw food perfectly.

The first day I prepared little baggies with a few oz of food a day in them with the amount that an adult cat would eat… pretty much just chicken, chicken hearts, livers and a few pieces with bone to make a complete diet. However, Kittens, like babies, go through growth spurts and she can sometimes eat nearly two of the daily portions in a day and then eat less the next. All the portions are frozen and then I just need to take one out, let it thaw (or thaw it in warm water) and then serve. I takes about 15 min to prepare all the portions and it really isn’t too much more work than feeding kibble…

So I have just been feeding her four times a day and giving her a bit more than I think she needs and letting her be the judge of her appetite…

I have also read many times on the Rawcat Yahoo group that when they are young it is the best time to get them used to eating many types of food… So after having chicken the first week, I then went and bough a cow heart and portioned that all up for quite a few meals and then this weekend I bought some pork for her also…

She has eaten everything without hesitation (though she doesn’t like the fat on the cow heart too much) and the more little portion that I have ready the more variety she is getting…

I had also asked on the group if it would be a good idea to try to feed a mouse to her if Sparky (our older cat) caught it and left it in front of the door which he does on occasion. The answer was to try… she might or might not take it…

So when he left a little mouse next to the door during the night we decided to give it a try this morning… When she eats I often tough her to get her used to our presence and so she is OK if someone touches her or her food when she is eating. But when we presented her with the mouse in the kitchen then decided to move her outside on the balcony to continue, she growled and didn’t want us to touch it… it was hers!

She ended up playing with it for about 10 min…

(click on a pic to make it larger)

touching…

Pouncing…

Carrying…

Holding…

And then finally she broke the neck, or the skull or something that when *crunch* and then she starting to eat it…

And then within a minute of starting to eat the little mouse… it was gone..

and she was still hungry…

Great video on "Informal Learning" aka Unschooling

“Dr Thomas is a developmental psychologist, author and a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Education. Interviewed at HESFES, Dr Thomas explains about his research into how children learn and his investigation into autonomous, or informal learning.”

I think this explains the theory of unschooling very well.

A few current thoughts…

Things around here have been quiet…

The summer was busy, but not too much but it feels good to start back into a normal routine again… My aversions seem to be going away and though there are still a lot of things that don’t look appetizing, I can eat more meals that I make, which in turn gives me a little more inspiration to cook. Lately I have been going through the freezer and using the food that we have in our meal plans…

I am trying to get our food costs down but I find it hard. I can spend a lot less for a week or two but then have to spend a lot more the next week in order to replenish a lot of our staples. So basically things spending the same amount when you make the average.

But, we are using more things up which is good.

My energy is also seeming to come a back a bit… I swam a bit last week and would like to go again tonight… Swimming normally (crawl) feels great but only if I don’t use my legs much… when kick with my legs I get contractions and it doesn’t make swimming that comfortable. Having more energy also means that again, cooking is easier, making bread on a regular basis and getting some more cleaning done in the house… Simon has been working a lot on the downstairs lately. We have a bit of a mold problem, it is not in the walls or black mold but looks more like a grey dust on the walls and on a few pieces of furniture. We bought a dehumidifier and that seems to help with the humidity and Simon has been taking everything out and cleaning it, moving furniture etc and a lot of things are not going back were they were before… instead being bagged and either headed to the garbage, recycling or for donation.

Last week I made a new friend… I feel like a kid when I think about it… she just opened a little Maternity store in town where she sells motly local baby products including cloth diapers and soon wraps and slings etc… though she doesn’t homeschool we have so many other things in common and it feels great to be able to meet and talk to someone in the area…

I have also made a decision about the local group and will not be going back. A few things happened and were said at the last meeting that were the last straw for me. I might still do a few activities on the outside with the group but I won’t do much more than that… I will try though to go with the other further groups a bit more often.

So life continues… the leaves are changing and fall is arriving and soon things will start going faster as January approaches… It is still a bit of a shock to think that we will be adding another little life to our brood… scary and exciting at the same time…