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source unknown: seen on Plurk
>Knitting Philosophy
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>Tomato Salsa for Canning
>My new go-to book is Put ‘Em Up! by Sherri Brooks Vinton. I bought it myself; this is not a sponsored post or a review. I had a lot of tomatoes, but we had to buy the jalapeno peppers. Mine are not growing very quickly – or they’re being eaten by the furry creatures that bounce through the yard. Maybe that’s why the bunny was collapsed under the rain barrel? Never mind. Just kidding.
Heirloom Tomato Salsa
1 cup distilled vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
3 pounds heirloom tomatoes (any kind – or a combination of types)
1/2 pound onions, diced
1 cup chopped cilantro (optional; I used only 1/4 cup because mine was really potent)
Bring the vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil in a large nonreactive saucepan. Add the tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos, and return to a boil for 5 minutes. Add the cilantro and remove from the heat.
To preserve:
Either refrigerate (for up to 5 days) or use the hot-water method.
For the boiling water method:
Ladle into clean, hot, half-pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Release trapped air. Wipe the rims clean; center lids on the jars and screw on jar bands. Process for 15 minutes. Turn off heat, remove canner lid, and let jars rest in the water for 5 minutes. Remove jars and set aside for 24 hours. Check seals, then store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.
I made these Sunday night, but I didn’t try the results yet. I’m a little concerned it might be too spicy; I used the full 2 jalapeno peppers. I guess I’ll find out soon enough; daughter is home, and she likes spicy salsa.
>Weekend Pajama Mama
>It could be a reality show. Really. It’s the actuality on many weekends in my house.
Accomplishments, worthy of air time;
- Read the entire Sunday newspaper, including sorting the ads and reading the few that mattered.
- Spent some quality time with a heating pad on my stiff and sore back.
- Scaled the peak of Mount Washmore and began the descent. That is, finished the majority of the washing and drying and began folding and stashing the clean clothes.
- Reclaimed the kitchen table. No easy task, this one: it was covered with canning supplies from making salsa last night, a crate of leftover tomatoes, papers from my school and Amigo’s school, bases for two crockpots (the crocks were in the dishwasher and sink), professional membership applications awaiting my checkbook, cloth bags from yesterday’s farmers’ market, and more.
- Filled and ran the dishwasher.
- Took out and emptied full compost container.
- Made breakfast, started coffee, dealt with the daily meds (including claritin and tylenol for the seasonal sinus headache).
- Charged my cell phone.
- Labeled and stored salsa made last night.
- Handled two tedious but important school tasks (cut out felt pieces for white-board erasers, placed computer username/ password stickers on colored index cards) while watching The Muppets Take Manhattan. “Because you share a love so big, I now pronounce you frog and pig.” Priceless.
- Reclaimed recliner in bedroom, relieving it of its temporary status as repository for clean jeans and t-shirts.
“Okay, Daisy,” says the show’s producer, “So what? A lot of working moms multi-task on weekend mornings. What’s so big about this list?”
“Well, darling,” replies Daisy, “Did you see what’s missing? All of this was accomplished in my pajamas.”
I can’t wait to see what happens on the Labor Day episode.
>Distracted on Market Day
>
It was an easy day at the Farmers’ Market. We didn’t buy much this time because we still had a lot in the kitchen and we were going to be busy for several days. The greenish pint containers were full; the berries were already in colanders in the sink when I took the picture. Do you notice something else, though – something that doesn’t usually come home from the Farmers’ Market?
No, I didn’t mean the apple pie. That’s a special treat, but I meant the plastic bags.
Yes. The bags. I was so distracted with the start of school that I forgot the bags. Here they are, right where I left them, waiting patiently to do their job.
Where has my head been lately? Never mind. I know.
>She needs to read.
>Every year about this time my blog changes tone slightly. I’m still eco-conscious, I’m still harvesting from the garden and cooking (and this year, canning) the produce. But as August ends and September approaches, Teacher Me moves to the forefront of my mind and my blog.
I’m reading a new resource for teaching reading: Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study in Teaching Reading. The first in the series is A Guide to the Reading Workshop. I’m reading along, and I keep stopping to contemplate. I think, “I should print out this quote to hang by my desk.” Then I read a little more and think, “This might work for (insert child’s name here). And then I begin thinking about specific children, former students, kids I’ve known, and how reading fit into their lives.
One young woman (she’d seen too much in her short life to really be a young girl) was part of a rather transient family. “Korrie” had moved four times; I was her fourth classroom teacher in one school year. I noticed she’s coming back to our school and rejoiced. She’s a difficult student, one with many problem behaviors, and what she needs most is stability. She’s coming back! The same building, same counselors, same rules and expectations, same core group of kids in her grade.
Korrie liked to read. Admit it, she wouldn’t, but once in a while it showed. She had a winning ticket in a prize drawing and she picked a book: a Junie B. Jones book. Easy to read, good quality writing. One day in a guided reading lesson, she admitted she’d read ahead – against advice. Then she looked down at her lap and muttered, “It’s a really good book.” I couldn’t be mad. I couldn’t help smiling, in fact. She tried to stop, but I caught her smiling back.
When I realized this, I made it a goal to get books into her hands. When she lost two library books and didn’t pay the fines, it broke my heart. Of all students, this one really needed the library. I called her dad. He sincerely cared about his daughter and wanted her to succeed in school. He paid for the lost books and promised to look for them. I promised he’d get a refund when (not if) the books turned up, even if it was a year later.
Looking at my class’ reading data showed another item: despite her stubborn attitude and frequent absences, Korrie had made a year’s progress in reading. She was still slightly below grade level, but she was learning. She was progressing.
Despite her chaotic life – an absent mother, frequent moves, very little money, difficulty making friends – this tense and angry ten-year-old could and did read.
I’m making a note to myself: talk to her fifth grade teacher. Let him know that reading is key with Korrie. Maybe, just maybe, we can help her be a child again – through reading.
>Old Time Baked Beans in the Crock Pot
>I found this recipe long, long ago when my kids were young, our incomes were low, and we needed cheap and decent nutrition. Using dried beans and a few basic kitchen staples, these baked beans are delicious and high in iron. This dish can be vegetarian or use salt pork or bacon. The flavor is similar either way.
Ingredients:
1 lb. dry small white beans (Great Northern are my favorite)
1 small onion, minced
3 Tablespoons each molasses, ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
Optional: 1/4 lb. salt pork or 6 pieces of bacon, diced
Soak beans overnight. Sometimes I soak them for an entire 24 hour period because I really, really don’t like crunchy beans.
Rinse and drain.
Put beans and 3 cups of water in the crock pot on high, covered, for 1 hour. Combine all other ingredients. Stir into beans. Cook, covered, for 7-8 hours on low or 4-6 on high. If the mix dries out, heat 1/2 cup water to near boiling and add to beans.
Tip: coat measuring spoon lightly in oil or nonstick spray to help the molasses and ketchup measure and pour more quickly.
Stir occasionally. Serves 8-10 as a side dish and makes a great leftover. If you’re a hot dog or brat person, this bean dish makes a great base for Beans & Weenies. Dice one hot dog or bratwurst into a bowl of beans and reheat: there’s lunch!
>Back to school, thrift style
>Back to School sales: blessing or curse? Both, really. Reading the ads carefully and taking inventory of supplies already on hand can save a bundle. Buying on impulse when in the store “Ooh, look at that cute notebook with the Glee cast on it for only $1.79!” can add up and overcome the best of budget planning.
We’ve learned to spend a little more on quality and a good warranty when buying big items such as backpacks. The backpacks in our home are all name-brand and all more than two years old. If you know how hard we are on backpacks, that’s a strong statement. I use a Lands’ End backpack on wheels in place of a messenger bag or briefcase. Amigo uses a Jansport model that’s big enough and strong enough to handle his Braille books.
Second-hand shops and thrift stores are a great source for school clothes, whether student or teacher. Amigo often wears second hand jeans and shorts; they’re worn-in, comfortable, and easy to button and zip. I choose wisely, looking for jeans without rips or tears or holes so they’ll last a while. I’ve bought brand-name jackets at thrift stores, raising the quality of my wardrobe and saving me money. The last time I bought khaki pants for him, I got one pair free thanks to a coupon in the local paper. One Old Navy, one Cherokee brand (Target), both in good shape and a good fit for him.
Books, books, books! An elementary teacher can never have too many books. Even buying thrift, I have a bad habit of piling my cart too full of books. I’ve learned to look for the right color tag (many thrift stores have a color code that is on sale on any given day) and look for specific titles, authors, series, and genres. I won’t buy junkie books, even at sale prices.
Today I’m working at home; finishing laundry, updating my class schedule in Excel so I can post it and provide it to parents, cutting out laminating for my room, and more laundry. Tomorrow: Open House. Where did summer go? Pass the coffee!
Don’t forget; I post at Green Spot-On on Mondays. Go on over to see the latest in Volunteer Oregano. Yes, Oregano.
>Mosquitoes, begone!
>Following a long car ride (2 1/2 hours each way), I stretched my legs and my aching back by watering the garden. Filled the watering can from the rain barrel, poured it over tomatoes, filled it again, slapped at mosquitoes, poured the water over the peppers, filled up again, slapped at more mosquitoes, dumped water quickly over roots of zucchini plants, started speeding up the process by using a second bucket because I COULDN’T STAND THE MOSQUITOES ANY MORE.
Is there a vampire variety of mosquito? Those in my backyard are certainly bloodthirsty. Chuck suggested that the FAA is issuing tail numbers for mosquitoes now because they’re getting so big. I’m afraid for the neighborhood bunnies or the little dog next door; the mosquitoes might carry them away!
Meanwhile, I noticed beans, finally, beans! I didn’t see any zucchini, just the potential for a few squash. But I didn’t even pick the yellow pear tomatoes, the little ones that seem to ripen daily. I could not, would not, stay in the torture chamber any longer and expose myself to the vicious bloodsucking flying insects that continued dive bombing me everywhere I went.
Somehow, I got the rhubarb and the herbs watered.
Somehow, I rinsed the bunnies’ litter boxes and left them out to dry overnight.
Somehow, I made it in the deck door without letting any little bugs follow along.
Somehow, I washed with soap and water to get the dirt off, but didn’t scratch any of the bite marks.
Somehow, I found the Benadryl gel quickly and spread it on all the bites I could reach – and a few that were rather awkward. How does a mosquito climb in my t-shirt sleeve, for example?
After all that, I had to wash my hands yet again so I could take out my contacts without pain and agony.
It’s a no-win situation. With heat and no rain, I’ll have to water every day, exposing myself to the winged elements. If we get rain, we’ll get more larva that turn into these evil winged critters. The neighborhood bats aren’t eating enough. Ideas? Maybe ketchup?
>I’m still here!
>Teachers started school Wednesday.
La Petite had a (part time) job interview.
Amigo goes back to school Tuesday.
‘Nuff said. New posts soon. Meanwhile, pour the coffee.
>Big Top Chautauqua
>Look closely – behind the gravel walkway, beyond the tent on the left, is a hill. It’s Wisconsin, so we can’t call it a mountain. But in winter, people ski here.
Imagine – at the bottom of the hill, a big tent made of canvas, striped blue and white, sturdy and secure, with a stage inside. This place seats 900+ people in its theater for shows that run three and a half months a year, when the ground is thawed and the snow is gone.
Also on the grounds is a tent for concessions and souvenirs. We had a fish boil – Amigo’s first. While he befriended the others at the table, I visited the souvenir stand and picked up a DVD and a t-shirt. Do you see the wires above the food tents? I wasn’t kidding about the ski hill. The lift wires are up all year.
This, my friends, is the home of Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua. Amigo and I have fallen in love with the home troupe, the Blue Canvas Orchestra, and their guest on this lovely night, author and humorist Michael Perry. We traveled to the Big Top for the first time this year, and we’ll definitely go back.