A New Project

One childhood memory I have is of the rows and rows of Mason jars filled with brightly colored homemade canned goods on the shelves in my parents' basement. My Mom did the canning and Dad was so proud to show off ~ literally ~ the "fruits" of her labors. I also recall listening for the "pop" of the lids that indicated the jars were sealed.

I have never attempted canning. To freeze? Yes. But canning? No.

Then I discovered an Onion Marmalade recipe on a blog I've been following:
http://www.homegrown.org/profiles/blog/show?id=2263119%3ABlogPost%3A71718

Simple ingredients. Simple process. I could do this. There's a big bag of onions in our storeroom and a bag of cranberries in our freezer. I'll need to get the Mason jars and lids. Once I've invested in everything needed for the "waterbath," this just may be the beginning of attempting other preserving projects (and adding new shelves to the storeroom).

Thanks to Homegrown.org for posting the Onion Marmalade recipe.




Ingredients

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10 Cups slivered sweet onions
2 Cups apple cider vinegar
1 ¼ Cups lights brown sugar
1 Bag cranberries
8 Cups water
6 Cups white sugar
2 Tablespoons fresh grated orange peel

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1. Brown in lager pot or cast iron onions, cranberries, cider, and brown sugar cook until onions are translucent
2. Add Sugar, and water
3. Bring to boil over medium heat, add orange zest
4. Boil for about an hour and a half until at gel point
5. Jar and lid
6. Process in waterbath for 15 minutes (Makes 6 pint jars)

First Adventure of the Season at the Lake

                                One of my favorite pics of Lake Champlain taken at the camp.

We were up there this morning. The icy lake was blanketed with snow. No beach. The water was frozen on the rocks right up to the road in front of the camp. Air temp hovered around 32 degrees.

I just checked the lake level ~ a disconcerting 99'. It's usually about 96.5' at this time of year, if I read the charts correctly. I will be hoping and praying for cool sunny days and a drier than usual April to keep the lake from flooding like it did in 1993. We've had more than our share of precip' already this year, right?

A huge tree had blown over in front of the camp, just missing serious damage to the house. So Geo and I and Phil were there this morning with Phil's chainsaw to clean up the damage. Well, good news is that we now have an improved lake view. We hauled lots of branches, then sawed -off parts of the trunk. When it came to the stump parts, all I could do was roll them across the yard out to the back. Whew! I felt like I was participating in the Big Loser work-out challenge. By the end of the morning sawdust was clinging to our muddy clothing.

We left camp with the place looking lots better. I am so eager to enjoy another season there when the weather warms up. I only hope, with snow melt and spring rain. that our little camp on the lake will not become our little camp in the lake!

March 24 ~ I need to add a little amendment to this post. D.D. our local WCAX weatherperson notes that what is really needed is warm weather soon so we do not experience rapid snowmelt  in April, leading to flooding shoreline. It's difficult to out-figure Mother Nature.

Brunch and an Aria

The Stowe Area Opera Lovers met on Sunday for a delightful brunch at Trattoria de Festa in Stowe, VT. Trattoria de Festa is a Tuscan style restaurant, a perfect setting to hear critically acclaimed opera bass singer Erik Kroncke accompanied by none other than Mary Jane Austin.

Restaurant owners Tony and Patty and crew served brunch from the bar. (This in itself was well worth the snowy slushy drive from Williston !) Then Erik and Mary Jane performed. It was opera "up close and personal." It was as if the restaurant were transformed into an opera house with everyone enjoying front row seats. An added treat was Erik singing "Some Enchanted Evening,"  from South Pacific, a goosebump experience for me.

Erik's repetoire extends impressively from Beethoven to Weber. One of his recent roles is the Grand Inquisitor from Don Carlos. We look forward to seeing his performance in Carmen at the Green Mountain Opera Festival in Barre, either June 17 or 19.

The Stowe Area Opera Lovers group was formed in 2009 as a grassroots effort to enrich the members' experience of opera and to gently introduce newcomers to this art form. It's a way to encourage opera appreciation in an informal way. Geo and I have attended dinner and now brunch with this group and we've enjoyed meeting them and hearing about favorite operas.

Our next opera event will be with friends E & P who invited us see Carmen at the movies ~ Yes ! ~ this will be a 3D experience, complete with glasses.

We applaud W & J of Stowe for forming the Stowe Area Opera Lovers and fostering its growth.

You may want to check out  http://www.greenmountainoperafestival.com/ to learn more.

2nd Annual UVM Diversity Symposium

Geo and I attended the second annual Diversity Symposium at UVM Davis Center ~ Serving and Learning from our New Neighbors in a Multicultural Environment.

Keynoter L. Michelle LeBaron from the University of British Columbia quoted poet David Whyte's The House of Belonging for the audience to consider transitioning from one home to another. The change is unsettling. In a new situation, "one good word is bread for thousands," and disperses fear in an unfamiliar environment. How "spacious" and "permeable" is our home? How is space made for everyone to belong? What could be the "good word" to help new people to feel welcomed?

A panel of one immigrant and three refugees told their stories of trying to "fit in," or find belonging in a new community. The biggest challenge to making connections, they agreed, is language. Another is just figuring out the system and where to go for assistance they need. They also agreed that it is valuable to them that they are able to preserve their own culture and traditions.

What I noted was the immigrant's comment that there are many services to assist refugees, but not for immigrants. If the refugee makes connections to the community through various agencies, the immigrant makes connections through a job.

Also thought-provoking, "We love diversity unless it means giving something up."
When we do make "space" for everyone to belong, change is going to occur for ourselves as well as the for the newcomer who had left a home behind. Everyone gives up the familiar (or "home" as one knows it), and everyone can be enriched by the resulting multiculturalism.

The break-out sessions continued discussions on how connections can be made.

One other comment impressed me: to encourage inclusion, "let's not celebrate diversity, let's hire diversity." I'm wondering, is this an expression of affirmative action? Any comments?

NOFA VT 29th Annual Winter Conference

Geo and I attended the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont Winter Conference. Actually, we are really small town suburbanites (or as our neighbor says, "Front yard suburb, back yard rural"). Farmers we are not, but we are members to support organic farms, to learn sustainability practices, and to interact with some really neat counter-cultural farming people. There were about 1200 of us meeting at UVM.

Keynote speaker Shannon Hayes outlined differences between an organic agricultural lifestyle and the mainstream consumer culture. She called the two "parallel universes." One is ecologically sustainable, in harmony with the life-death-life cycle, and the other is focussed on acquiring corporate wealth without regard for renewal of resources. One is nurturing, appreciates sacrifice, and promotes renewal, while the other consumes and lives in dread of scarcity. One sees a pork chop and thinks "whole pig," and the other sees a pork chop individually wrapped and thinks "endless supply."

The corporate culture sees the household as a unit of consumption; monetary wealth is the measure of success. The organic agricultural family experiences the household as a unit of production; success is determined by how much money you don't need to spend. Home for one is a refuge; for the other, it's a starting point from which "life ripples out."

According to Hayes, ever since the industrial revolution and through the women's liberation movement, people have lost basic skills needed to sustain themselves. Therefore they need to earn more money to buy more goods and services. The corporate culture benefits. The environment and social justice are compromised for the sake of more wealth. Crossing the path from one "parallel universe" to the other is a transformational process.

This was just the keynote ~ the workshops were just as informative and thought-provoking.

It was good to see Senator Sanders and Governor Shumlin there to support the organic farm movement. According to Senator Sanders, Vermonters have a profound role, no less than revolutionary, in leading the way for our food future. Cheers for family farms and for sustainability.

Hint to My Valentine

Dark chocolate. Dark, dark bittersweet chocolate.
No truffles.

An Early Sighting

Looking out the window this morning, I spotted this lone robin. Where did it come from? It's blustery out there! With this hardy robin in the tree, can Spring be far behind? 



Super Bowl XLV

The best about Super Bowl XLV:

~ The Pack are the Champs ! (You can take the girl out of Wisconsin, but you can't take Wisconsin out of the girl.)

~ Little Darth Vader  (What was that car in the commercial...?)  DV is frustrated, but perseveres, and the power becomes evident. Joy !

~ The technological wonder of a brilliant light display half-time. Unfortunately, the technology somewhat overpowered the performers. (Black Eyed Peas, unplugged, it was not.)  Reminiscent of Beijing Olympics, this worked.

Go, Pack, go !  Go, Little Darth Vader !

Another slice

Another pic from Food Photography class. I like the translucent quality in this one.

My Day and Harry Bliss

This morning I did the laundry and ironed while keeping an eye on CNN for news about Egypt.

I spent the afternoon at an investment club educational meeting learning a little more about forecasting sales, earnings and PEs. (This was actually very interesting!)

Later Geo and I enjoyed a delightful dinner at Daily Planet ~ scallops for him and pork for me (it's usually the other way around ~ he loves pork, I love scallops).

Then we were off to an artist reception for Harry Bliss, a New Yorker cartoonist and children's book illustrator. (I've been aware of him since daughter Addie met with him for a school project years ago.) It was a treat to see his work and to hear him speak about it. He describes his cartooning as social commentary with fresh ideas to be shared with thousands.

Soooo, when I got home I found his website and subscribed to "a cartoon a day" delivered to my email inbox. (I'm looking forward to checking tomorrow's email!)

He is a remarkable talent, so I am sharing his website here. Enjoy!

www.harrybliss.com

 

Patrick Leahy - United States Senator for Vermont: Release

Patrick Leahy - United States Senator for Vermont: Release

A statement from our Vermont Senator on the arrests and assaults of journalists in Egypt ~ I thought this was very much worth sharing.

Major Snow Day

A major snow day today, although it looks like other parts of the country got hit a lot harder than we did.

Spent much of the day watching events unfold in Egypt. I wanted to get up-to-the-minute reports, so I decided to open a twitter account.

Before posting on twitter, I wanted to upload a photo. My few attempts were unsuccessful until I went to a photo optimizing website. Once I located a user-friendly site, it seemed like it was just seconds when my photo was ready to post. Technology absolutely amazes me.

I linked my blog to twitter. AND, I already have one follower: daughter Adriene. She's so far, yet so near...