adventure

  • Canning: Apple butter

    We’re safe and sound here in Providence. The hurricane swept through yesterday and we stayed snug in the apartment, catching up on schoolwork and relaxing. There were several hours of Diablo III (Josh) and of baking cheesy pull-apart bread (me).… Continue reading

  • This meal brought to you by Christopher Columbus

    Ah, Columbus Day. I’m not sure there’s any other secular holiday more filled with angst and mixed feelings than this one. When I was little, we learned the basics of Columbus Day. We sang that catchy song, the one that… Continue reading

  • Canning fruit (II)

    Yesterday I recounted how my friend Nina and I decided to can 40 lbs of tomatoes. When I left off, we had just realized how much time (and patience) this project required. Nevertheless, we persevered. Once the crushed tomatoes had… Continue reading

  • Canning fruit (I)

    Last Sunday, over dinner at our local Ethiopian restaurant, my friend Nina said, “When can we can?” And thus began a rather silly and ultimately fruitful (heh) endeavor of canning 40 lbs of tomatoes. And making lots of canning jokes.… Continue reading

  • To make ice cream

    It’s been a busy summer, one full of transitions: family milestones, a move ten minutes down the road, exotic travel, a new school. This week I’ve been focusing on that last one, a new school, as we get ready for… Continue reading

  • Supposedly delicious (II)

    As I mentioned earlier, I love perusing the old cookbooks at the cottage to see what earlier generations enjoyed eating. People of my great-grandparents’ generation apparently cooked with quite a lot of lard in the 1930s, while those of my… Continue reading

  • Mint julep

    Now that summer (with all its heat and humidity) is in full swing, my sister Lissa has been contemplating what would make the weather more bearable. There’s swimming, long afternoons in Starbucks, evenings at the air-conditioned movie theater.* There’s also… Continue reading

  • Frontier House (II)

    A few days ago I gave an overview of PBS’ miniseries Frontier House, where three modern families live for five months on Montana homesteads as though it were 1883. Here are just a few things that were fascinating about the… Continue reading

  • Frontier House

    It’s 1883. You’ve arrived in a desolate part of Montana with your family and all your worldly belongings, ready to create a homestead and start your new life as a farmer. You have only the woods and the tools you… Continue reading

  • Tips for housekeeping in the 18th century

    1. Save all your wood ashes. You can gather them in a barrel and pour water over them to create lye. (See no. 2.) 2. Save all your cooking fat. You can boil it with the lye to make soap! Yes,… Continue reading