2008 Garden & Canning Inventory

GROWING IN MY GARDEN
Arugula (curly leaf)
Arugula (rocket)
Basil
Catnip
Chard (Rainbow)
Chives
Chocolate Mint
Japanese Cucumber x 2
Lavender
Oregano
Parsley
Peppermint
Peppers
Rosemary
Sage
Strawberries
Thyme
Tomatoes - 42 plants of 19 heirloom types
Tomatoes (~10 volunteers - mystery!)
Watermelon
Zucchini

HARVESTED
arugula
basil
broccoli rab
chard
cucumbers, Japanese
lavender
lettuce
oregano
parsley
peas, English
peas, Sugar Snap
peppermint
peppers
plums, red
strawberries
tomatoes

FORAGED
apples, green
apples, red-flesh
apricots
candy caps
golden chanterelles
figs
lemons, Eureka
lemons, Meyer
peaches, yellow
peaches, white
pears, Asian
pears, bartlet
persimmons
plums, green gage
quince
tomatoes

PRESERVED
applesauce, unsweetened
applesauce, unsweetened w/fresh ginger
apple pie filling
butter, quince
chutney, apricot
chutney, lemon-fig
chutney, lemon
chutney, peach-chipotle
chutney, peach
chutney, persimmon (3 types!)
golden chanterelles (18# dry sauteed & frozen)
infused vodka, apricot
infused vodka, santa rosa plum-ginger
infused vodka, green pear & vanilla
infused vodka, Asian pear
infused vodka, persimmon
jam, apricot
jam, apricot-chipotle
jam, fig
jam, green gage
jam, quince
jam, white peach
jam, yellow peach
jelly, apricot
jelly, white peach
jelly, yellow peach
jelly, yellow peach-chipotle
jelly, plum
jelly, plum habanero
jelly, plum lavender
jelly, plum spice
jelly, quince
juice, lemon
juice, Asian pear
juice, tomato
pesto, arugula
pesto, chard
pesto, basil
plum sauce
relish, Pottsfield
tomato sauce, red
tomato sauce, yellow
tomato sauce, orange

DRIED FRUITS
apples
cantaloupe
ginger
Asian pears
persimmons
cherry tomatoes
tomatoes

Persimmon Blondies

IMGP9283
Originally uploaded by jennconspiracy

These tasty treats were easy to whip up and taste great - they blend persimmon, brown sugar, Chinese 5 spice and chocolate chips into a rich, moist blondie that I am looking forward to making again (with pecans!).

This is another recipe test for Hannah's new cookbook so that means no recipe secrets here!

The Truth About Homemade Laundry Soap

I finally finished my bucket of homemade laundry detergent. Over the last six months, I have done some reading on the ingredients in the detergent as well and have some observations.

• Homemade laundry detergent doesn't work very well. I stirred the goop. I doubled the amount used - my white cotton socks are so grey and ugly that they look like rags for cleaning the car.
  
• The homemade laundry soap doesn't dissolve well in cold water (which is all I use) and often leaves goopy streaks on the washing.
  
• Fels-Naptha is made from petrochemicals and isn't very green. Probably shouldn't go on the garden, either.
• Borax, while a naturally occurring mineral, is bad for your vegetable patch in greywater as it can accumulate in the soil.

I've still got some Borax, washing soda and bar soap - I'm torn between making another batch, stronger, to see how it performs - or finding a hazardous waste disposal for the stuff and going with a biodegradable powdered detergent in a recycled cardboard box.

Thoughts? Observations?

Fight the HATE!

Tomorrow, December 10, is my birthday and International Human Rights Day. Call in GAY! Or come celebrate with me.

"On December 10, 2008 the gay community will take a historic stance against hatred by donating love to a variety of different causes.

On December 10, you are encouraged not to call in sick to work. You are encouraged to call in "gay"--and donate your time to service!

December 10, 2008 is International Human Rights Day. CLICK HERE to join us, and search or add to the list of human rights organizations that need our help RIGHT NOW. "

BIRTHDAY: To be quite honest - I had planned to take this day off anyway, so I am not going to be complying with the intent of the cause as I had already made reservations for fun things for my birthday.

I am a sagittarius and we get the entire month to celebrate to make up for thanksgiving, xmas, and all the other holidays hogging the air time.

* Last weekend, I took and passed the motorcycle safety course and DMV written test last weekend, followed by a celebratory dinner at Berkeley Cha-Ya.

* Last night I went to see "I Can't Think Straight" at the Roxie with two friends (followed by dinner at SF Cha-Ya, what can I say - I like their food).

* Tomorrow (actual bday), I plan to:

• do laundry & pack for my trip
• visiting a thrift store in my neighborhood with limited M-F 10-3 hours for the first time
• early lunch with a coworker who is calling in gay
• soaking at Kabuki Springs followed by "Nirvana" package from 3-6
• dinner at Millennium

* Thursday - Dame Edna "First Last Show"
* Weekend at Orr Hot Springs

PERSIMMONS: I am nearly done with persimmons. I know, it's silly. I have got to get the photos up. I didn't take a lot of photos of the table full of persimmons but James has one that I'll try to copy... some of the persimmons were so ripe that I ended up over drying them and they are a bit crispy but still delicious. I have a few more persimmons to dry - they are nearly ripe. I have a lot of pulp reserved for sorbet and frozen margaritas. Yum.