THAT is freezing rain coming in. (Update: this radar image is Mary Poppins compared to what is on the screen now). There's a another band or two in Illinois also headed east. We're supposed to get up to an inch of ice.Firewood is in where I can grab it easily. I have all kinds of sci fi and historical and biographical type books. The household has arctic rated sleeping bags (snow camping, always fun) and gear to cook over the fire if I run out of all of the pre made gourmet goodies. I have roast chicken, part of a leftover roast beast, homemade rolls, salad and I made a trip to the store for those emergency rations.
Coffee, some snacky stuff, Barkley treats, a favorite condiment, and some beer. What did you think I'd buy, more sterno?
But sometimes colorful is good.Homemade Jalapeno Jelly (recipe in comments for now). I dropped off a couple of jars for friends, hanging on the door with bagels and cream cheese, ringing the bell and running. (OK, not running, Doc says I'm still two weeks out from anything more than a tactical mosey.)
Serve on a hot toasted bagel with a smear of cream cheese or dollop on a block of cream cheese and grab some tortilla chips. Eat it out of the jar with a spoon, the perfect combination of slightly sweet and hot. Some things aren't bad to be housebound with.
Serve on a hot toasted bagel with a smear of cream cheese or dollop on a block of cream cheese and grab some tortilla chips. Eat it out of the jar with a spoon, the perfect combination of slightly sweet and hot. Some things aren't bad to be housebound with.
22 comments:
Looks/sounds simply wonderful.
(Sriracha for the win.)
WV: fixate. Huh.
Last year we made some Peach-Habanero jelly called "Peaches and Scream." Very good in sweet and sour type recipes...
In nature colorful is usually bad and a warning sign, like the bright bands of a coral snake.
In computers and information displays it's usually or often a poor engineering design-choice - why on earth would bright green indicate cold or a level of intense (or not- intense even) rain??
Pet-peeve: someone really isn't paying attention to the use of the color spectrum when they worked-up the display. Never-ever use a whole freaking rainbow for a small-variable, short multiple of units in projection. It's lame.
Jalapeno Pepper Jelly
1 large green bell pepper
12 jalapeno peppers
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 pinch salt
6 cups granulated sugar
4 ounces liquid pectin
4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
Combine the washed green bell pepper and 12 jalapeno peppers (stems removed)in the container of a food processor or blender. Process until finely chopped.If you wish, you can add a little of the cider viniger here to help it process better. This can be done in batches, if the peppers do not fit. I left some of the seeds in.
Transfer the peppers to a large saucepan, and stir in the cider vinegar. Bring to a boil, and let simmer for 15 minutes.
If you want a totally clear jelly, strain mixture through two layers of cheesecloth and discard the pulp. I did not, having diced the peppers with a little vineger VERY finely.
Return the liquid to the saucepan, and stir in the salt and sugar until dissolved. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the mixture comes to a rolling boil (one that cannot be stirred down), boil for one minute, then stir in one and a half teaspoons of butter(this keeps ths foaming down) and the liquid pectin and let it boil for for an additional 3 minutes.
Stir in the remaining jalapeno peppers (optional for a little extra texture and heat) and ladle into sterile jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe any spilled jam off the top, seat the lid and tighten the ring around them.
Put the lids on each jar and seal them by putting a ring on and screwing it down snugly (not Incredible Hulk snug, but snug).
This is where jar tongs come in really handy!
Process the jars in the boiling water bath. Keep the jars covered with at least 2 inches of water. Keep the water boiling. In general, boil them for 10 minutes. I say "in general" because you have to process (boil) them longer at higher altitudes than sea level, or if you use larger jars, or if you did not sanitize the jars and lids right before using them. The directions inside every box of pectin will tell you exactly. The directions on the pectin tend to be pretty conservative. I've found that by pulling the jars out at about 10 minutes with the last jar out at about 12 minutes it works fine.
We can relate to the personal storm prep--we have about 18" of snow heading our way (depending on who you ask) on top of a base of about 24". The supermarkets are crowded with people buying chips and soda............seems like a good time to us to roast a duck with fingerling spuds...................
And, yes, as already noted, Sriracha for the win!!!!
Yukon sez: Off to town to get my life sustainin' supplies; gunpowder, ham hocks, cornmeal and guitar strings.
Cracks me up every time. :)
I must admit I approached jalapeno jelly with some trepidation the first time it was offered to me. Now I am an addict.
We are in the 18 to 24 inch range also. Have plenty of firewood, food and my Dutch ovens are ready should I need to cook by the fireside. That Jalapeno jelly sounds like a good addition to survival supplies. I may nip out for a extra bottle of bourbon before the storm hits though.
Looks yummy. Of course by now you know I love anything with some heat in it except sauces with a lot of vinegar in them.
Sriracha! I worked with a half Chinese engineer who called it "Chinese Ketchup". It's one of those that has too much vinegar for my taste.
Just heard on the news that Gov. Quinn has made a disaster declaration for the state of Illinois and the legislature cancelled session for the week. Jumping the gun a little aren't we?
Predictions for my area call for as much as two feet of snow through Wed. with a blizzard warning. I may not be going anywhere again until Wed. or Thursday.
Keep the healing process going, take it easy and careful.
Hot peppers are great for ailments and cold weather days.
Prefer hot toddies over beer, splash of rum n lemon with honey.
Gonna be a 3 dog night.
Chobani eh? The One Who Will Not Be Trifled With prefers the Silk brand. Usually eaten with a handful of pecans and almonds.
Maybe it's just me Brigid, but did you ever notice that not much good comes in from Illinois?
I'm just saying...
Dann in Ohio
In South Park's Uncle Jimbo voice: "It's comin' right for us!"
Stay war, stay dry, and in the morning try some Espresso Jelly on your english muffin!
Ohh! Smart Puffs! I miss them. It's funny how I worked at Mac in St Louis, for 4 years, I think there was 4-5 cm of snow (total) and it paralized the city. Now with AGW-BS it looks like you're getting tonnes of the stuff. If it was the weekend, I'd be house-bound with some Knob Creek.
You got WAY better food than Murphy and I do. Enjoy the weather-induced (enforced) down-time.
Time to break out the Firefly and Torchwood DVDs.
Knob Creek will see us through this 49 degree overcast weather.
> Firewood is in where I can grab it easily. I have all kinds of sci fi and historical and biographical type books.
I like your idea of storm prep!
@Hat Trick,
"Jumping the gun a little aren't we?"
Hey, anything that sends the legislature home for a week can't be all bad...
Old Grouch - Yes that is one silver lining in this mess.
Dann in Ohio - There's lots of good things that come in from IL. It's just the Chicago politicians that control our state government that give us a bad name.
Illinois is home to several gun manufacturers such as Rock River Arms and Springfield Armory. We did lose Les Baer across the river to Iowa.
True story: I got to speak with the sous chef at the White House many years ago. He called my employer's 800 number to get a recipe for Hot Pepper Jelly. Seems Barbara Bush was having a shindig!
Mmmmmmmmmm. wonderful things, quiet night, warm fire, lots of goodies.
Yes, I'm slightly odd. Five days of snow cover here was just an excuse for us to not leave the house. Of course, being honest, it was just an excuse since we could have driven through any of it. Don't trust the other drivers though.
Have you tried Habanero Gold? It's eaten the same way. And very, very addicting.
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