2008: The Year in Homemade Goods, Part 1
December 23, 2008
This year, or at least the last six months, I’ve been a lot more crafty (craftier?). I’ve always been someone who likes to make things–pipe-cleaners and yarn were staples of my childhood. I think I got it from my mom, she was always making something:
latchhook rugs, afghans, puffy fabric picture frames, strawberry jam, clothes for us (I’m still traumatized by the boxy Hawaiian shirt she made me one year), Christmas ornaments made of walnut shells, sachets.
I was her assistant in most, if not all, of these crafts. (by the way–I have a short story titled “Party Planning” in the forthcoming anthology Fool For Love, from Cleis Press and edited by the lovely Timothy J. Lambert and RD Cochrane, which tells of a young boy and his craft-crazy, party-planning mother).
Anyway, so this year I was all crafty all the time.
It began with my garden, where I grew several kinds of tomatoes, a big batch of Basil, Cayenne Peppers, mint, and Habanero Peppers. In November I made Habanero Jelly– which is delicious. And jam-making is so easy! It took all day to do it but when I was done I had a dozen jars of spicy-sweet Habanero Jelly and three jars of Apple Butter (store bought apples!). Here‘s the recipe I used.
Here’s a funny quote about cooking from Alice B. Toklas:
What is sauce for the goose may be sauce for the gander but is not necessarily sauce for the chicken, the duck, the turkey or the guinea hen.
- Alice B. Toklas, The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook, 1954
**Is she REALLY talking about cooking here?
I’ve documented the JELLY MAKING process in photos (for bigger, and more pics, see my Flickr page):
note: Habaneros are HOT peppers. Wear goggles and gloves when chopping them and place them in a sealed plastic bag when done.
Make sure to keep all windows of the house open while boiling Habaneros!
just a dab’ll do ya! Habanero jelly on a bagel with cream cheese is pure–and hot!–heaven.
In Upcoming Posts:
Making Marshmallows
Making Soap
My Crafty Purchases This Year
Crafts for the Future
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December 24th, 2008 at 8:08 am
Oh Rob, you really need to come to one of my craft parties!!!
December 24th, 2008 at 11:40 am
I love making marshmallows — and I take them as gifts to all my winter parties. They are so superb, and so simple, and they really blow people away. Plus, you can lie a lot when people ask you how you make them, “Oh, you have to get a pig’s head from the butcher and boil the gelatin out of it…..well, how do you THINK they make gelatin, sweetheart?”