Knitting, Singing, the Universe and all....

My birthday is Hallowe'en, and yes, the apostrophe indicates that you know how to properly spell the word! ("e'en" is a contraction for "evening") As a child it was much akin to a Christmas birthday -but it's gotten much more fun the older I get. This year, my friend, Joni happened to be visiting from Scotland where she's lived with her husband for many years. And she brought me a spurtle!!! I was soooo excited :-) The spurtle is that lovely turned piece of wood in the pic above - and it's been used since the 15th century to stir.... porridge! The Golden Spurtle Porridge Making Championship competition is held in Carrbridge Scotland every year. I quickly chopped and steamed up some of the delicious apples Stan and Bev brought down, ran them through the chinois, and added some spices for Apple Butter making... The spurtle lived up to it's reputation - the rounded end fitting evenly against the ceramic sides of the pot - not one lump was left ...

Yes, we CAN!! I have been mad in the kitchen lately 'cause the garden has been put to bed, and I have boxes of pears, apples, tomatoes, plums, and peppers in our little house - and they invited a bunch of dark bellied dew lovers in to visit. Well, I really got annoyed that the DewLover family keep inviting more and more relatives over, so the produce.... is going to have to produce! for this batch of Honeyed Pickled Peppers I used about equal amounts jalapenos, banana peppers, and ripened, red banana peppers. I assume that you know enough to sterilize your jars and use proper pepper precautions such as wear gloves and don't touch your eyes!! ;-) For 4 Pints (8 - 1/2 pt. jars): Prepare about 2 - 2 1/4 pounds peppers: wash, slice into 1/2" rings, and seed. Prepare brine: 4 c. organic ("live" - the type with the mother in the bottom!)) cider vinegar 2 Tbs. (or, my method: 2 large bloops out of the jug) of honey 2 tsp salt 2 heaping Tbs. pickling spice mix Heat al...