Stuff and things.

-I've been drinking way too much coffee lately.  I don't know how to fix this.  You see, I'm so tired. And this leaving the house by 7am thing is for the birds (woe is me).  I used to get up at 6 and putter around until leaving at 8:15ish (oh, Alaska, maybe I do miss you).  Now, I have to be out the door by 7ish and I hate it.  The taste of coffee is the only thing that'll get me out of bed.  It's awful, really.

-Scott has it in his head that we need a camper.  I'm not opposed to the idea, because we all know I'm not camping in a tent anytime soon.   However, after I told him I was planning on visiting every Laura Ingalls Wilder museum in the country, this became his reasoning when he presented the camper idea to me: "Well, this will help us go to all those museums.  Pet-friendly hotels are a pain to find and it seems like a lot of those places *you* want to go are in the middle of nowhere."

Well played.

-If you  haven't made your own almond butter yet, you need to.  It's tasty.  I've never actually bought my own, but this is so good that you'll never have to anyway. A giant bag of almonds can cost anywhere between $4 and $8.  2 cups of loose almonds will make about 1 1/2 cups of nut butter.

In a food processor, put 2 cups of almonds and turn it on.  Add a few sprinkles of salt.  Maybe a drizzle of honey.  It takes about 15-20 minutes and, yes, your food processor may get really warm and start to smoke a bit.  It'll all work out, promise.

It tastes better after it sits in the fridge for awhile, so that's where you should keep it.

-I got my Great Pumpkin Swap package in the mail!

Thank you, Karen!  You are so sweet!  (Scott beat me to the Pop Rocks!)

-We started watching Jericho last week.  Scott's friend gave it to him with an "Eh, you might like this".  I made fun of it for the first few episodes.  Like, we hate this show.  But we can't stop watching it.  We're almost done with the first season and it's only been a week.

I think it was ahead of its time.  It's pre-all-the-other-apocalyptic-shows.  I feel it didn't last because, for the first time ever, CBS (America's most boring television network) was ahead of its time.  Let it be known: Jericho was the only amusing show that CBS ever did.  Then they canceled it.  The network should be proud.

Really, it's awful.  You'll hate it.  But maybe you'll be like me and be so intrigued by the fashions of 2006 that you won't be able to turn it off.

-Speaking of fastion...We went to the Rams game in St. Louis on Sunday.  (It was boring, in case you were wondering.)

But what I did notice was the sheer amount of well-dressed people in that city.  I'd never imagined that I'd see so many great boots and coats at an NFL game.  No Crocs in sight.  But I did see a pair of Danskos.  I was sure to point them out to Scott.

-Scott is taking the GRE in a couple of weeks.  Confession: I haven't taken it.  I haven't thought about taking it.  I don't really plan to take it. Two years ago, I didn't even know what it was. Since I don't have immediate plans of a Masters degree, I probably shouldn't worry about it.  ...Right?  I'm not lazy.  I'm just not spending $15,000 on extra education if I don't have to.  That makes sense...right?

Any Stuff or Things to share today?  Was anyone else practically bored to tears by The Walking Dead on Sunday?  I kept waiting for something big to happen.  Nothing did.

Old Navy and Honey Butter

I feel like these sandals are a blister waiting to happen, with that little toe-loop thingy.

I was tricked by a sign...I thought they were $10.  They were $19.50.  I wasn't happy.

These shorts were $10 though.  And this black tank was about $4 last fall. Old Navy does have its place when it comes to clearance.

Shorts/Sandals/Tank:  Old Navy //  Sweater: Macy's?

Also, I need a haircut.  I found a salon that does cuts for $23.  A salon.  I'm intrigued.

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So the same day I had my bad Old Navy sandal-trickery experience, we were at Scott's mother's house.  She made honey butter.  I fell in love with it.  I mean, you'd think, "It's so simple. It can't be THAT good."  But it is.  Spread it on a piece of cornbread, a bagel, or (bestillmyheart) a biscuit.  It keeps well in the fridge, but I don't think it'll last long.

Honey Butter

1 stick butter, softened (not melted)

1/2 cup honey (I like a lot. You can use less.)

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

Mix the butter, honey, and cinnamon together well.  I just used a fork.  You can add more cinnamon (or even some nutmeg) to taste.

Store in the fridge, but let soften before serving.  It's best on warm bread!  The only thing that kept me from eating it with a spoon (frosting-style) was the fact that it's all butter.  At least frosting is primarily sugar.  

Sharing at WIWW, Random Wednesday, and Walkabout Wednesday

Strawberry Freezer Jam

I dare you not to eat this for dinner.

My favorite way to eat Strawberry Freezer Jam was always on plain ol' (thick) white bread with butter.

These days, I've matured.

I'm eating it off of biscuits.  Pillsbury, of course.  I bake enough.  I can't be expected to make fresh biscuits everyday when I can just pull them out of the freezer.

I read online that you could also eat it with ice cream, a' la sundae-style.

The only ice cream I had in the freezer was coffee-flavored.

I haven't matured enough to try that flavor combination.

My grandma used to make buckets of this stuff during strawberry-pickin' season.  Enough to last the entire year.  Now my mom does it.

I have no strawberries to pick here in Alaska, so I bought them on sale at Wal-Mart.  Unless you want to make a lot of this freezer jam, you really only need less than 2 pints for this recipe.  It works for us. 

Strawberry Freezer Jam

2 cups mashed strawberries
3 cups sugar
1.75 ounces pectin
3/4 cup water

Once the strawberries are mashed in a mixing bowl, stir in the sugar and let it sit to macerate for at least 10 minutes.

Stir together the pectin and water in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Stir into the strawberry-sugar mixture.

Pour into freezer safe containers and let sit in the refrigerator overnight before putting in the freezer.  It will keep for months once frozen.

Shared at:
Tasty Tuesday at Nap Time Creations
Melt in Your Mouth Monday
Totally Tasty Tuesday 
This Chick Cooks
Cast Party Wednesday

Rhubarb Jam

I have this problem.

It starts with a "rhu" and ends with a "barb".

Some may think this is definitely not a problem.

I would like to invite those people to come take the problem off of my hands.

It's a problem to me because I don't really like rhubarb.  I don't dislike it.  I just can't get the idea that it's the same texture as celery out of my head.  Something the texture of celery has no place in a dessert!

However, there are many of you out there that adore rhubarb.


If you are one of these rhubarb-loving people:

After you fly to Alaska, rent a hotel, rent a car, and drive to my house, you are more than welcome to as much rhubarb as your little heart desires.

You're welcome.

After you've procured your rhubarb from my house (again, in Alaska), you can have UPS package it up to ship it to your house.  Once you fly home and the UPS package of rhubarb is delivered to you, you should make this jam.

It's surprisingly sweet and tasty.  Almost strawberry-like. 

Rhubarb Jam
makes 2 pints

8 cups rhubarb (fresh or frozen), diced
1/3 cup orange juice
1 t. orange zest OR orange extract
1/2 cup water
2 cups sugar

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, combine all of the ingredients.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Then, cover, turn to low heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

If you really do love rhubarb, I'm sure that the cost and inconvenience of traveling to Alaska will definitely be outweighed by the fact that you have all the rhubarb you want.

Shared at Totally Tasty Tuesdays