Let go of the Fear and Just Do It!

Over the last few months, I've started venturing out of my little comfort zone, to realize that my writing isn't as bad as I always told myself.

Sure, I need some fine tuning...but overall, the articles I've written for the Alpine Sun haven't needed massive edits, or even any edits, to be "printer ready", and I'm working on an article on spec for a magazine. Just have to get some GOOD pictures for this one. Magazines are so picky about that.

I do believe that everyone has at least one good story in them, whether it's a book, an article or short story. It's in there, just let go and do it.

One thing that really did help me was a copy of the AP Stylebook. It's not infallible, and it's not what you'd use for most books, but it will make you pay closer attention to how you structure your writing. Seeing as I write mostly for community newspapers, it was the perfect gift for me.

Now, I don't bring in a lot of money yet, but that is the goal. The small checks I get every month make the exercise at least pay for some of my time! Maybe one day I can quit my job and write full time...

David's Pureed Vegetable Soup

Well, the twins had a birthday - and they don't have any new scars.

Not a huge accomplishment by most standards, but when you consider that they are identical boys who are incredibly competitive and down-right brutal towards each other at times, the birthday with no new scars takes on a larger significance.

Since we've all been sick the last few weeks, I'm sharing my husband's recipe for a pureed vegetable soup that always makes me feel better...even if the kids won't eat it because it's green.

David's Pureed Vegetable Soup

1 Quart Chicken or Vegetable stock - the Chicken stock will tone down the veggie taste if your kids are anti-green.
1 Bunch Greens - Kale, Chard, or even Napa Cabbage
1 Can White Beans
1 Bunch Green Onions
1 ½ Heads Broccoli
½ Medium Yellow Onion
3 Cloves Garlic
1 Tbl Dried Rosemary
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Coarsely chop all the veggies, and keep about 1 cup each of the broccoli and greens, the can of beans and the green onions separate.

In a large sauce pot, place all ingredients except salt and pepper, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Taste the liquid, and salt and pepper as needed. Continue cooking over a low simmer until everything is soft, then take off the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Once the soup is cooled to a sane temperature, place small batches in the blender to puree.

Be careful with this part! If you place too large a batch in your blender, or the soup is too hot still, it will spew HOT soup all over your kitchen and quite possibly yourself!

Once you have everything pureed, place it back in the saucepot over medium heat and add the broccoli and greens you kept separate earlier. Cook these for just a few minutes until they are slightly tender, but still crisp.

Serve!

Makes about 6 servings...be forewarned, they will go back for seconds...

Home Canning for Your Family's Health

With all of the incidents of tainted food in the news recently, I thought it was a good time to talk about canning your own. I'm sure many of us remember our Grandmothers pulling out a far of jam for your morning toast, or tomatoes for that night's dinner.

These were some of our best memories: knowing that she cared enough to make these things for us. Little did we know at the time, but we would never have jam that tasted quite that good, and spaghetti with meatballs was never quite the same as Grandma made.

My reasons for canning initially weren't for the health of it, but to deal with the overflowing crop of tomatoes and zucchini. We had so much a couple of years ago, that we just couldn't eat it all, to the point that much of it began to spoil. That, I think, was my turning point. I was tired of the waste. It wasn't until later that I realized how much better the tomato sauces made with my tomotoes out of the garden were, and that I knew exactly what went into them.

When I made strawberry jam for the first time, the best compliment came from my husband: it was as good as his Mom's! Truthfully, we will never buy another jar of jam or jelly at the store. Somehow, they all just taste like sugar to us now.

Soon after we started canning our fruits and vegetables, we started reading the labels on the packaged food we'd been eating. The cans of chicken soup have MSG in them, and packages of spices for things like taco seasoning are positively laced with the stuff! We never realized how much junk went into the canned chili we bought for chili dogs, so I made our own and canned it.

That first year we went crazy, making jam or jelly out of every fruit we could find, and very rapidly found ourselves with a stockpile of jam of every type! We also pickled vegetables. I bet you didn't know that zucchini makes the best bread and butter pickles!

Most of our family and friends got gift baskets for Christmas that year...want to take a guess what was in them?

Home canners can take pride in the fact that what they are doing for their families will improve their overall health by making many of the same things you can get in the stores, without the additives.

The best part about all this, is that we know that everything in those jars of food is safe to eat, unlike the melamine they've found in baby formula from China.