Matthew, Brian, Brittany and Megan.
Brian, chilling on Jen's deck in Denver, Colorado.
Brian at Lookout Mountain in Colorado.
Megan, Brian, Jennifer, Matthew and Brittany.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Brian in Denver
Brian, chilling on Jen's deck in Denver, Colorado. Brian at Lookout Mountain in Colorado. Megan, Brian, Jennifer, Matthew and Brittany.
First Fridays
Gypsy eyes, circles to the left, stars to the right, twirls, spins, contras, squares and so much more, all while dancing to the lively, mesmerizing tunes of a Contra dance band. I call it smile therapy and that's what brings so many of us out to the Fairhaven Library for the first Friday and third Saturday dances each month with the Bellingham Country Dance Society!
This video, Dance Flurry 2008 - Synchromesh Contras as found on YouTube, is an excellent example of our dancing at the Fairhaven Library.
Along with so many smiles and friendly people, Contra dancing is pretty high energy and an excellent way to get a fun workout. We have a half-hour workshop before the dance so that beginners can become familiar with the most common, basic steps, and the callers often do a walk-through with us of the basic steps for each new dance before we actually start that dance. There are never any worries if someone starts to do the wrong step, the other dancers always help point the beginners in the right direction with a friendly smile. Here I am, pausing between dances.
Amazing smile therapy, and such fun!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Dancing on the Dock
They called it honkytonkcajunhippiebillyblues, and what a great turn out it was for the annual Taylor Dock dance. 
The final outdoor concert of the summer season sponsored by the Bellingham Parks and Recreation in appreciation of our community, Jon Parry and Joe Paquin (and Friends) entertained us with some great favorites in their lineup of songs.
The final outdoor concert of the summer season sponsored by the Bellingham Parks and Recreation in appreciation of our community, Jon Parry and Joe Paquin (and Friends) entertained us with some great favorites in their lineup of songs.Maria Dalagan Cole!
Jennifer and Doug!
Guess who? 
Taylor dock, filled with dancers.
Sunset on the bay as we danced. Beautiful!
I can hardly believe that summer is so close to being over, and fall, just around the corner.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Crab Apple Jelly
Homemade crab apple jelly! From the tree to the kitchen to the jar, it just doesn't get much tastier than this! Wow, it turned out so pretty and tastes so good, it is almost hard for me to believe that making it was so easy and that all it took was some crab apples, water and sugar.
I washed the crab apples, carefully trimmed the little flower ends off, removed any stems that remained, placed them into a pan and covered them with water.
For an hour or so, the pan full of crab apples gently simmered on top of my stove until all the fruit was soft and mushy and the water was a juicy pink.
Straining the mixture in small batches through cheese cloth, the juice and pulp were carefully separated.
I discarded the pulp and put the juice into the cleaned pan, cooking and stirring until it had boiled for about five minutes.
Next I added sugar to the boiling crab apple juice and gently stirred it in until it had dissolved, making the juice look bright and glossy.
Stirring continually, the sweetened juice began to boil once again.
It continued to boil until a rolling boil was reached. I stirred and kept the mixture boiling for about ten more minutes.
Toward the end of the boiling time, I drizzled a small amount of the mixture onto a cool saucer as a test to see if the jelly had cooked long enough so that it would be thick like jelly once it was cool.
Meanwhile, I had sterilized the jelly jars and kept them warm so that they would be ready to fill with the hot jelly once I felt it had cooked long enough.
Carefully ladling the hot jelly into the jars, I wiped the tops of each jar to make sure they were completely clean, then added the lids and rings. When finished, I sat back and enjoyed hearing the gentle sounds of pop - pop - pop as the jelly cooled and the jar lids sealed, safely preserving our crab apple jelly for the months ahead.
Next I had to call Kriss and confess to her that there may be a possibility that we will NOT be able to give any of this jelly away to our friends like we had first planned.
I washed the crab apples, carefully trimmed the little flower ends off, removed any stems that remained, placed them into a pan and covered them with water.
For an hour or so, the pan full of crab apples gently simmered on top of my stove until all the fruit was soft and mushy and the water was a juicy pink.
Straining the mixture in small batches through cheese cloth, the juice and pulp were carefully separated.
I discarded the pulp and put the juice into the cleaned pan, cooking and stirring until it had boiled for about five minutes.
Next I added sugar to the boiling crab apple juice and gently stirred it in until it had dissolved, making the juice look bright and glossy.
Stirring continually, the sweetened juice began to boil once again.
It continued to boil until a rolling boil was reached. I stirred and kept the mixture boiling for about ten more minutes.
Toward the end of the boiling time, I drizzled a small amount of the mixture onto a cool saucer as a test to see if the jelly had cooked long enough so that it would be thick like jelly once it was cool.
Meanwhile, I had sterilized the jelly jars and kept them warm so that they would be ready to fill with the hot jelly once I felt it had cooked long enough. Carefully ladling the hot jelly into the jars, I wiped the tops of each jar to make sure they were completely clean, then added the lids and rings. When finished, I sat back and enjoyed hearing the gentle sounds of pop - pop - pop as the jelly cooled and the jar lids sealed, safely preserving our crab apple jelly for the months ahead.
Next I had to call Kriss and confess to her that there may be a possibility that we will NOT be able to give any of this jelly away to our friends like we had first planned. Why not? Because it tastes so very, very GOOD!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Crab Apple Harvest
Perhaps when Dan, our tree man friend, pruned that tree instead of taking it out like she thought he might, he may have known that we would be able to put its yield to good use. Likewise, today was the first annual crab apple harvest at Kriss's!
Climbing up her ladder to reach the branches, she picked and shook the tree in order to get enough crab apples for us to make a winter's worth of jelly to share with all of our friends.
Climbing up her ladder to reach the branches, she picked and shook the tree in order to get enough crab apples for us to make a winter's worth of jelly to share with all of our friends.Jesse and Torrie played with the ball in the yard under the trees.
"For old time's sake", Jesse allowed me pull him around the yard in the wagon.
Later, at home in my kitchen, I washed today's harvest and tomorrow shall cook up our fruit and fill the jars with our jelly.
Next we shall try to identify the pear tree in her yard and some ways that they, too, may be enjoyed. And what about those chestnuts? What can be done with them?
The apples on this little tree are great picked right off the tree and enjoyed as a healthy snack while she works out in her yard.
Grown naturally, none of the trees have been treated with pesticides, chemicals or poisons in hopes of keeping our world safe and healthy.
"For old time's sake", Jesse allowed me pull him around the yard in the wagon.Later, at home in my kitchen, I washed today's harvest and tomorrow shall cook up our fruit and fill the jars with our jelly.
Next we shall try to identify the pear tree in her yard and some ways that they, too, may be enjoyed. And what about those chestnuts? What can be done with them?
The apples on this little tree are great picked right off the tree and enjoyed as a healthy snack while she works out in her yard.Grown naturally, none of the trees have been treated with pesticides, chemicals or poisons in hopes of keeping our world safe and healthy.~~~~~
My recipe for Crab Apple Jelly
15 lbs Sour Crab Apples
Cold Water
1-1/2 Pounds Sugar
Options - Fresh Mint, Red Food Coloring or Cloves
Wash the crab apples and quarter without peeling. Place in a large pan and add just enough water to cover the fruit. Simmer on the stove gently until the fruit is soft and tender. Drain through a jelly bag, gently shifting the pulp from time to time to keep the juice flowing yet being careful not to force the juice through the jelly bag as that can cause the jelly to become cloudy. Measure out 32 ounces of the juice into a 12-quart pan and bring to boil for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and boil for 5 to 8 minutes longer, or until a small amount of the boiled mixture jells when dropped onto a cold plate. Pour into hot clean jars and seal with rings and lids. Continue cooking 32 fluid ounces at a time until all the juice has been used.
Options:
Mint Apple Jelly - Cook a few sprigs of fresh mint with the apples when preparing to extract the juice.
Red Crab Apple Jelly - Stir in a few drops of red food coloring just before pouring into the jars. Avoid adding too much coloring.
Spiced Apple Jelly - Tie a few whole cloves in a piece of muslin and drop into the juice at the beginning of cooking, removing just before pouring the jelly into the jars.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)