We Can Can

Last summer, I got the brilliant idea that I wanted to try canning our food. I had finally run out of the things my grandma had canned since moving from her old house, and I wanted to stop relying on store bought things in metal cans or pickled beets with too much cloves for my taste.

So Andrew and I went to a local bookstore, sat down with a couple of coffees, and started looking for a book we could follow.

You Can Can was the best in the stack. It had big glossy photos, step by step, and focused on the basic pantry staples (not full of things lavender - jalapeño jelly and coriander infused pickled corn).

We stated going crazy with canning.

Here's the evidence from early last fall:

We also froze everything we could freeze, and eventually we had to get a deep freezer - that I filled.

It was kind of nuts because we didn't know how much we could get through.

This year, we got a late start but it's been a lot easier because we know what is worth the hassle. For me, it's these:

(This is 40 lbs we purchased when we saw a sign as we were driving along a Wisconsin highway)

And these:

(Andrew doesn't like them)

Surprisingly, we didn't come close to finishing these:

Unfortunately, a huge amount of frozen food was lost in March when, over vacation, a circuit broke in our basement and turned everything in the freezer to soup. I don't know what made me feel more upset - having to throw away all that work or all that good, healthy and organic food.

This year, are goals are a little less lofty. We want to try to re-do a few things that didn't turn out so great (dill pickles - I used a packet to make them "dill" and ended up with scary neon over-salted pickles; red cabbage - tasted like vinegar so strongly that it couldn't be served warm). We've also learned that some things have a million uses (zucchini relish and canned tomatoes). Some things are darned delicious (sweet pickles, pickled beets, minted pears, peaches, spiced apples). Some things are great in smaller quantities (apple sauce, apple butter, cranberry relish, apple pie filling). And since our one jelly was a raving success (tomato basil), we want to try more of those.

Last week, we started with the essentials when we realized our CSA had given us an abundance of zucchini. We had a small quantity - just 4 jars - of zucchini relish, but it's a start.

This week, I decided to document the process for the blog as we canned tomatoes (from our own garden), dill pickles, and made freezer corn. Since we are a lot more comfortable with the process now, we basically did all 3 at once.

Pickles are crazy easy, and with fresh dill they are even easier. Here's what I prepped (after googling what a "head of dill" is. For the curious, it's the flower part).

And here's our basket of tomatoes. 

To peel tomatoes, you start with making an x on the blossom side (which is the opposite end from the attaches-to-the-vine side). This is important prep.

The pickling juice for the pickles was just vinegar, water, salt, and sugar. It's on the left. On the right, a nice hot water bath was getting started for the tomatoes.

Then Andrew and I went to our "stations" - on the left side of the stove, I get my mise en place together for filling the jars (top) and Andrew uses the right side for sterilizing everything.

We work pretty well as a team.

Pickles were first to be canned. I stuffed the slices and dill into the jars and then used the funnel to ladle the hot pickling liquid over the top.

They are gorgeous when finished - the fresh dill looks so much better than neon green!

Next in line, we tackled the tomatoes. We hated canning tomatoes last year because they made an unbelievable mess. But this year it went a lot better.

I did them in two batches and used a system of having a strainer in the sink with cold water to peel and core, and then threw the tomato into a bowl on the other side of the sink. Everything stayed nice and contained.

Here's the second batch (romas) in the hot bath to loosen their skin:

Then Andrew needed to go to the store, so I tackled the corn (with a little help shucking from my mom).

I use a modified version of my grandma's recipe. By modified, I mean that I don't measure the corn, use 1/4 c sugar and a sprinkling of salt. But I do measure out 5 cups of ice water for some reason.

Then it goes into the freezer. I try to get all the air out, but sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn't. The corn always turns out yummy regardless. 

Today our yield was 4 quarts of tomatoes, 6 pints of dill pickles, and 8 2-serving bags of corn. Tomorrow is my favorite - beets!

Mission Accomplished/Crisis Averted

We went to see the other house today.

 I LOVED it. 

I could see myself living there, easily. It has weird quirks and tons of character. And the space! The bedrooms and closets are huge. Three, yes three bathrooms. Built-in drawers with original cup pulls in the closets. Original hardware on all the built-ins. Extra storage space galore. A work bench/room. And the attached garage! Attached, people. This is really a serious thing when you won't live in a house that was built after 1930. The outdoor space was amazing, complete with a pear tree.

The amount of work needed in this home is exhausting, though. The rooms with original hardwoods need to be re-sanded and stained. Nearly every light fixture needs to be updated (ohh and how I nearly died when I opened an attic storage space and spied the original dining chandelier), and there is a lot of questionable electrical work. There were holes in some of the plaster in the closets. One bathroom needs to be entirely ripped out and started over. Plaster needs work in spots on ceilings. One room has teal carpet and a dragon mural. The basement is finished but not waterproofed. And last but not least, the kitchen needs a complete overhaul.

A big part of me wished it could be our next house, but it isn't going to be.

And yet I left the property feeling very happy about the whole experience. 

Six years ago, we would have looked at this home and dismissed it out of hand. We wouldn't have known how to estimate what a bathroom or tear-out would cost. We wouldn't have known what to do when refinishing floors or even what we want and need in a kitchen. We would have been terrified of all the unknowns that don't really bother us now. This would have been an insurmountable project for us back then.

Now that we've been homeowners of a an old house, we know what we are capable of (and what we aren't). As we walked through, Andrew and I were evaluating cost, process, and complexity - all things we couldn't have possibly understood as first-time home owners (and certainly couldn't have tackled while preserving our marriage). 

Seeing all those blank canvases (with old house bones) made me feel excited about our next home - we will certainly be able to find that perfect old house and make it ours, while restoring as much of its original character as we can in the process. We can take on more next time, and it will work out beautifully.

Seeing that old house also made me realize that I want to enjoy what we have and what we've done with this house for a few more years before starting from scratch.

So speaking of that, may I present my messy kitchen:

Oh yes, all that hardware matches.

Here, too.

The fridge doesn't quite fit centered, but it's not as off-centered as it looks here. Just an angle. And please pretend that you can't see my sink full of dirty dishes.

And of course there is a story about those dang knobs. Because this is a long post already, I will summarize a little bit.

Lowe's called in the afternoon that my order was in. So after work, I stopped by (on my way to meet the realtor).

Me: hi, I'd like my order

Lowe's kid: I have no idea what I'm doing

Me: hi, I'd like my order

Lowe's kid: I have no freaking idea what I'm doing. Why don't I make you stand around for awhile, since I'm sure your time isn't valuable.

Me: I'm trying to be nice, but I really hate doing business here.

It went something like that.

Wouldn't it be nice if that was the end?

Do you already know where this is headed?

Wrong dumb stupid freaking knobs.

We returned them, had dinner out, and then went back to Menard's and bought the knobs.

And some dots. 

Andrew has a candy weakness for dots. Since dots are located near cabinet hardware at Menard's, every time we've been there (and Andrew has been grumpy), I've suggested getting Dots. We hope this is the last cabinet-related outing to Menard's, so this time Andrew got his favorite Tropical ones.

I was a little bummed out about "losing" the savings that I'd found at Lowes, but I used my $25 visa gift card that I won in a weight-loss challenge at the Y. So at the end of the day, there was a $5 difference in price, but we wound up with $2 cash savings on out of pocket expenses. So I can still say that we spent only $30 on cabinet hardware.

That's the recap of our evening. One project done (well, mostly done but that is another post for another day), one house visited, and one house to be loved and appreciated by us for a few more years to come.

Bungalow Love (and why we are looking at a house on Tuesday)

Yesterday I started drafting a post that was basically an open love letter to my house - how I've learned to deal with (even appreciate) small closets, a small kitchen (that was huge to me when we first moved in, because I'd seen so many teensy galley kitchens in our house-hunt), and how small spaces mean that you get cozy with the people you love and live with. We are not bursting at the seams in our two-bedroom house, mostly because we've learned to live in a way that uses space efficiently with less stuff (and I still have a lot of stuff, frankly). The lightness - literally and figuratively - that our space has allows in a lot of happiness.

And moreover, our house has a history - long before us of course, but a history with us, too. There are scratches in the floor in the guest room where you can see how my grandpa, who is no longer with us, was much more efficient at sanding the floors than we were. There are Motawi tiles that I grouted into the hearth - a gift from Andrew when we went to Des Moines to celebrate my 29th birthday. Our families helped us with projects here, and we learned so much by learning how do to do all those little things on our own, too. This house is very loved.

So there you go. That's the summary of the post that was swimming in my head yesterday.

So with all that love for our little bungalow, why on earth are we going to go check out a new property on Tuesday?

What is "insanity," Alex?

I always have an eye out for our next house, mostly because we very clearly know what we want, and I want to reassure myself that this mythical house exists. 

In our next home, we have a pretty crazy wishlist. It includes:

Everything that our current house has ---

Air conditioning and modern heating

A new roof, furnace, etc

Built ins and character (unpainted woodwork)

A finished basement

At least 2 bathrooms

Outdoor living space

A decent sized, well-thought out kitchen

A decent yard

2-car garage

A good neighborhood

Plus ----

A specific zip code east of the one we are in

A specific neighborhood east of the one where we live

Dining room built-ins

A working fireplace

Bigger rooms, in general

Bigger closets in the master bed (two closets would be grand)

1-2 more bedrooms (would be okay +1 bedroom and a non-conforming guest bedroom)

Fully fenced yard

The problem is that when you add what we have to what we want, we exceed what we could reasonably spend. So Andrew and are in total agreement that what we want to find is a home at has the bones of what we want, but cosmetically may need some work. For example, I can deal with ripping up carpet and sanding wood floors. I can deal with taking down wallpaper. I'm not afraid of bad ceiling fans or ugly light fixtures. And I can work with outdated kitchen cabinets, floors, and counter tops.

We also hate moving. Our next house is one that we plan to be in for a long time. So it needs to have space for us to adapt, change, and grow into.

So that's why it's a little crazy when I said to Andrew, "I think I found our house."

It's the price we want, a bungalow, 4 bedrooms, finished basement, attached garage....and no one has painted the woodwork. French doors. Sconces. Glass door handles. A partially wrap-around porch. Fantastic bungalow exterior style with brick and stucco. 

And, the carpet and paint is awful, the kitchen out of date, and the yard a little overgrown.

I spent most of the evening mulling over what would happen if we fell in love with it. I thought about it this morning, too. Would we move? Could we?

Spoiler alert: ultimately, I don't think we're moving any time soon. It doesn't really make financial sense, since we've planned our past major improvement projects based on the idea that we stay in our current house five more years. And even if we did love this other house, the neighborhood is not the one that I have my heart set on. If a house is my dream house, the neighborhood has to be right, too.

Even though I can't imagine leaving our little bungalow it's fun to step outside just for a few minutes and wonder what another house might have in store for us.