Green Tomato Jam

Posted on the wonderful blog Tropical Velvet is a recipe for green tomato jam. Becca gave me a jar of the precious stuff quite a while ago, and it sat unappreciated in my pantry for a good year before I decided to try it on a quesadilla on a whim. Heaven in a bottle. I don't think it is meant to be eaten this way ... I think it is truly a jam, but it has a sour piquant flavor that complimented well the salsa and sour cream. I would call it a chutney, I think it would work really well as a relish for meat. Anyway, if any of you have a derth of green tomatoes in this frost-danger zone, give it a try. I'll make a batch next week and post the results.

I'll also be doing grape juice and domestic huckleberries. Cherry and pear tomatoes are drying on my roof. The farmer's market is full to overflowing. Our neighbors plum tree branches are bent low with tart sugary fruit. I love love love this time of year.

And for more Canners Gone Wild, visit my sister Bryn's house. She is a canning fool. I think she'd can her kids, if it were legal.

Good Guys/Good Hair

A while ago Gabe asked, "So, good guys always have good hair?" It wasn't really a question. He wanted me to confirm what he had observed on the television. I found it very funny -- partly because he put into words what popular culture so badly wants us to believe, but is taboo to say out loud. And partly because of Gabe's innocence. I found it a little scary that he picked that up so easily (I don't let him watch much outside of PBS).

We assign so much of a person's personality to their looks. Give them good hair, a straight, mid-size nose, angular cheek bones, and a fit body, and they are a good guy. Give them a receding hair line, a large nose, eyebrows that meet in the middle, an asymmetrical face, a scar, extra body fat, and they are a bad guy. Have you ever looked in the mirror to see if you are a good guy or a bad guy?

I like to see atypical faces and bodies in the media. It is nice to remember what real people look like. It is nice to remember that good guys can be real looking. We are so saturated by media, it is easy to be hard on ourselves and others based on looks. And this isn't particular to women.

I have three boys, so I thought that I wouldn't have to deal with the scary world of body perception, but I guess I will. I wonder how you teach boys to have a healthy image of themselves and their bodies. And their hair ...

Savvy Suckers Breaks Even!

Today, after my fourth visit to the farmer's market, I officially broke even. I've spent an unnamed dollar amount on my sucker research, experimentation, practice, licensing, and design (that doesn't even count the sugar). And today I reached that unsaid dollar amount in income! Yay! It is a labor of love, but it makes me so happy that my hobby is not costing us an arm and a leg.

There are about three weeks of farmer's market left. If things keep going well, I may even make some money. That said, I did find out today that I have to pay TAXES on what I bring in there. And I want to get some more stuff for making molds. I have some great ideas for elf suckers.

Lists and Sucker Recipes

I really like lists. I like writing down things to do so I don't forget to do them. I like checking things off, and feeling a sense of accomplishments. Sometimes, I sneak in one or two things I've already done onto my list, just so I can check them off right away.

A few years ago, I did a time line for my parents ... the list of all lists. I had my siblings help me compile places we have lived, cars we have owned, pets we loved (and just tolerated), visits to the emergency room, missions, births, weddings, graduations, etc. Then I compiled all of those into a year-by-year timeline with cute little graphics. It was an AWESOME list. But a little weird trying to fit a record of so many lifetimes onto a handful of paper. I wanted my mom to have a reference when she organized photos. (Oh yes, this one was in 1973 because we were in the Springville House).

Last night I couldn't sleep. I got on a carousel in my brain, flipping through all the tasks I had to do before Saturday. I got up, made a list with three sub-categories, and wrote down everything. Then I had a bowl of Cookie Dough Ice Cream and fell asleep.

Change of topic: Does anyone out there know someone who makes suckers? I'm looking for sucker recipes. My suckers melt at too low of a temperature (Leo's melted in the hot car today), and sometimes morph at even cool temperature when they are left in the cupboard for a while. I need to fix this before I try and sell them in the sun at the farmer's market. Anyone who comes up with a solution to this will get a LIFE TIME SUPPLY of peppermint three stooges suckers.

Lilly and the Russet Gigantus

For those of you who don't know, I wrote a book called Lilly and the Russet Gigantus which is still looking for a publisher worthy of its greatness. My brother-of-many-talents Toby is creating the book in audio form, and it should soon be available on i tunes. (I've heard a chapter, it is really funny, Toby has Mr. Widison's voice down pat). Toby has also created an author's blog to create some buzz (PR word for getting someone to hear it besides me and him). I love having my own PR guy. I wish I would have had him in high school ... I probably would have gone to prom!

Anyway, check out my Lilly blog. Toby has also made some very valuable comments about how to improve the book -- most of which involve a bloody word hatchet. I've begun the carnage, and it should result in an evenly lovelier, more engaging read. I really value his input ... and I'd love more feedback, if anyone wants to look at the new version! It actually is a great book, if I do say so myself, and I really do believe it belongs in print.

Family Circus

I have always been amazed that The Family Circus is still in print. Really, I've never even chuckled at it. The other day, I accidentally read it (yes, I still read newspaper comics every day), and thought with a shock, "this looks a lot like my blog! AAAAAaaaah!" For those of you who roll their eyes at the "cute" antics of Billy and the crew, I AM SORRY that my blog is reminiscent of Family Circus. Really, they are so much cuter when they are your own kids, and your own stories.

This, of course, does not mean this blog will become more pithy. I just wanted to let you know that I am aware of my life imitating a mediocre-eye-rolling-really-not-that-funny sort of art. Oh well.

We are gearing up for the big 40th anniversary/Retirement Bash for the Palmer Parents at Bear Lake. It should be a lot of fun if the weather cooperates! I can't wait!

A two-year old's dilemma

It had been a tough morning. Leo had three fits over 1. Scooby Doo. 2. A Burger King Crown. 3. Sponge Bob Square Pants. It had taken a lot out of him. Now he was faced with another tough situation ... he was both Hungry AND Tired. What to do? Easy, combine the two!

I wondered where he was going with that pillow!