Not Dabbling in Normal
I’m a new writer over at Not Dabbling in Normal blog. I’m sure if you like reading about all the crazy thing I do, you’ll love reading about all the things the other writers do. I’ll be writing a few times month over there. Head on over and check out my introductory post today.
You’ll enjoy reading posts from writers such as:
Kim from the Inadvertent Gardener (she has a pet camel)
Warren from My Home Among the Hills (he’s a frequent commenter here)
Anna from Corgi Hill Farm
Sarah from It Blows Here
Alan from Roberts Roost
Tara from the Organic Sister
Cassandra from The Thinker’s Rock
Spend some time today on their blogs and read about all the interesting things they do.
Do you have a blog or someone else’s blog you’d like to recommend? Link to it in the comments below.
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Behind the Scenes
I hate to have my picture taken and I’m not a fan of seeing pictures of myself either. I’m much more comfortable being the one behind the camera. I’ve been sorting through my photos and I found some Mr Chiots has taken of me. As much as I hate to see photos of myself, I figured you might like to see a few of the person that’s usually behind the scenes here at Chiot’s Run.
Do you like having your photo taken?
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Making Preserved Lemons
I’m a huge fan of all things lemon. If I have a choice I’ll take lemon anything: cookies, cakes, scones, etc. Sadly lemons don’t grow in NE Ohio (unless you can manage an indoor tree) so finding a local source is not going to happen. The next best thing to local, is finding a small orchard to buy them from. I searched on-line and found a small orchard in California called Lemon Ladies Orchard. I ordered a 10-lb box of Meyer lemons and they arrived several days later.
I have so many recipes for these lemons I probably will run out of lemons long before I complete them all. First on my list was making a batch of preserved lemons for the pantry.
I picked out 15 nice lemons, coarse sea salt and grabbed a nice sized jar from the pantry. While I sterilized the jar, I washed and quartered 10 of the lemons (cut the stem end off and quarter lemons lengthwise). Next I added the lemon quarters to my jar adding a scant tablespoon of salt after each row. Pack the lemons tightly but don’t crush them. You can also add spices if you’d like, cinnamon, cloves, etc.
Keep adding lemons and salt until you’re up to the top of the jar (I used a quart jar, you can use 2 pints if you’d like).
When you reach the top, take the remaining 5 lemons and roll on the counter to soften (makes them juice better). Juice the lemons into the jar, add enough juice to cover the lemons, use more lemons if needed. Remove any air bubbles and top off with the remaining salt (you want to use about a half cup total for this recipe).
Allow lemons to ferment on the counter for 2 weeks (3-4 weeks if you used regular lemons and not Meyer). Shake the jar occasionally (every couple days) to redistribute salt. Store in the fridge and enjoy in recipes, they’ll keep for about 6 months. When you want to use them you can rinse the lemons if you don’t want to add so much salt to your recipe or you can leave them salty. They may acquire some white crystals, this is OK. Here’s a recipe for Israeli Couscous with Butternut Squash & Preserved Lemons.
Not wanting to waste any part of these lovely lemons, I decided to candy the rinds of the lemons I used for juice.
These little jewels are so tasty! I also used the syrup left from the candied lemons and made some lemon ginger hard candy. *recipe for candied lemon peel
What’s your favorite flavor?
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Quote of the Day: Cree Indian Saying
“Only when the last tree has died and the last river
been poisoned and the last fish been caught
will we realize that we cannot eat money”
Cree Indian, 1909
Mr Chiots and I are big fans of camping and hiking, it’s our vacation of choice. We just watched the PBS National Park special and we really enjoyed it. I visited most of the National Parks with my family growing up but Mr Chiots hasn’t been to very many.
We’re hoping to go on a long vacation next year to add a few to his list. He’s particularly excited to visit Mt Rushmore and I can’t wait to go back to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. The place we want to visit most is Alaska!
We’re thankful for all of those that came before us that saw it fit to set aside the parks and continue to save them for all of us to enjoy. We want to see as many as we can and enjoy the beauty of this great country we live in!
Have you ever visited any National Parks? If so which is your favorite?
**All of these photos were taken at the Great Smoky Mountain National Park during 2 different trips (one with our very best friends, hence 4 sets of hiking boots).
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‘Tis the Season for Christmas Cards
It’s that time of the year to start planning Christmas cards, if you’re going to send them out. Mr Chiots and I are hoping to do a short movie this year. We are waiting for a lovely snowy day though, then we’ll get to work. Hopefully the weather cooperates so we don’t have to scramble for another option late in the season. Yesterday I went to my parents house and took photos of my nieces & nephew for my sister’s Christmas card. My parents will most likely be using a few of the photos as well for their card.
We came up with a great idea for her family card, I’m sure you can guess the theme. How can you go wrong putting these cuties on your Christmas card???
I still need to make a few minor changes, but this may be the final card.
Do you make your own Christmas cards, buy them, not send them, or have another interesting option?
