Canning Pasta Sauce

Recipe: Canned Spaghetti Sauce

8 pounds *tomatoes 
4 tbs olive oil
6 cloves garlic diced
3/4 cup red wine
1/3 cup wine Vinegar
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice (this thickens your sauce)
1/4 cup lime juice
3 tsp Italian seasonings
1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
1/4 cup sage chopped
1/8 cup thyme chopped
1/4 cup oregano
1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
1 tbs maple syrup
1 tbs salt (after cooking salt to taste)
pepper to taste


Add-ins: green pepper, mushrooms, shallots

*you can blanch and skin tomatoes before adding (place tomatoes in sink, pour boiling water over them, soak until you can safely handle, the skins should pull right off when sliced open). 
This time I chose not to, for more pep and a thicker sauce!






Heat oil and add garlic. Sauté lightly, add vinegars, wine, and spices

Add the tomatoes. Bring to boil. Simmer for 60 minutes or until desired consistency. Cool and blend using blender to smooth sauce. For a chunky sauce add chopped vegetables (add-ins) into sauce after blending.

Can while sauce is hot (temperature-wise)
Jars need to be hot also. This is accomplished by setting a cake pan with hot water in it on the stove top. Place your jars in the water and turn on low heat.

Once jars are hot (and sauce), ladle sauce into the jars. Fill leaving an 1" head space. Wipe off tops, place lid and ring on top, tighten, and place in hot water bath for 40 minutes. Start your timer once the water is boiling. 

Remove jars from water, place upside down on a towel and cover with another towel, until cool.


Tada! Sounds easy doesn't it! Well that's because it is!


Shout out to my niece Katrina who recently jarred her own peaches!

May you find some saucy comfort in your life!
P.S. Have you checked out my Etsy store yet? Find saucy items made just for you here!

Gardens and Gardening

Gardening and the memories of...

I remember the huge garden that my parents planted every year growing up. All the wonderful fresh vegetables and fruits we had, right from our own yard. Not to mention the apple tree - something I am happy to find here in Minnesota.

Some of my fondest memories growing up were gleaning in the farmer's fields, that is, collecting the imperfect fruits and vegetables left over in the fields after harvest.

Taking the harvest home and canning it up, or drying out the fruit and vegetables for when winter came. Now more than ever I am feeling the need to get back to those roots. Though it is still beautiful here in the midwest, now is definitely the time to plan ahead for when the grass turns from green to white. This year with moving into a new home I opted to do container gardening and just planted a few items zucchini, lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes.

Gleaning and gardening have evolved over time and farmers who used to sell their produce at the end of the road now gather in their communities to sell, which is a constant reminder for me to tend to my own back yard greens. Don't have your own space to grow stuff? Check out Gardening Matters: "Community gardens allow families and individuals without land of their own the opportunity to produce food, and provide a place for gardeners to share knowledge and skills." Find a community garden day location near you OR host your own!

Did the word gleaning peak your interest? Minnesotans check out the following:

 The Minnesota Project     Fruits of the City – We will be expanding the program this year and harvesting more surplus fruit from fruit trees in the Twin Cities. 

 Facebook Garden Gleaning Project.  The Garden Gleaning Project facilitates the harvesting and distribution of fresh produce from private and community gardens for use at local food shelves in Hennepin County Minnesota.

Refrigerator Pickles
From the Kitchen of Rosemary Walser (Grandma)

2 to 3 cucumbers (or other vegetables)
1 onion, sweet
1 stalk of celery
2 clove of garlic
        Slice vegetable to your preferred size
2T salt
2 cup sugar (I use 1 cup brown and 1/4 cup maple syrup)
2 cup vinegar
1 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp ground ginger
         In sauce pan bring water, sugar, and salt to boil let simmer for 5 min.

For this recipe  I've improvised the vegetable list to include the following from our Local Farmers Market and from my backyard. I used: 

Carrots | Cauliflower | Banana Peppers | Green Peppers | Red Onion

In glass container, I use two large quart canning jars, (you may need more), add vegetables, then place full jar on folded towel and tap. This is to settle the vegetables into jar; then you can add more vegetables until the jar is packed full (it's okay to over fill).

Add hot liquid to the jars and tap jar to remove air pockets.

Let cool then tighten lid down and refrigerate.

You can start eating as soon as they are cold!

These will keep for 2 to 3 months in refrigerator.

Enough of that, I've got to go eat some refrigerator pickles!

Wishing you comfort in your carrot picklin' life!

Diy Wood Display Easel

So I am back at markets in the Twin Cities area, but need, desperately, a display-stand-something-ruther to post my products and prices. Instead of winging it, like I normally do, I am going to follow the directions. Yay for directions! Love the style, compliments of Gail, Craft Show Display Easel. Ready to see how I did?

Supplies:
4    1x2x4's;
3    1/4 wing nuts;
3     2 1/2 in X 1/4 in bolts

                                                              

Tools
Safety Glasses
Clamps
Pencil
Tape measure
Cutting tool (I used a Circular Saw)
Drill
Ruler
Sand Paper
Sanding Block
Optional: A husband with experience in wood crafting 
Required: Patience (both you and your husband need this)

Step 1) My poster is 11 1/2 (width) x 17 1/2 (height) and I want the easel to hold it and have some leg room of about 4 inches. Measure and mark your board to desired length. I picked 21 inches long, using a ruler I made a straight line - for cutting them.

Step 2) Cut with safety!



Finished with the first cut! Only three more to go... still got 10 fingers (and a patient husband).




Step 3 ) Using a ruler line up your boards to the angle you want for you easel legs. You are going to cut the outside boards to create your angles

Placing your rule on the center board you can draw a line like this on the outer board to create your angle. Then off to the saw and make your cuts.

Remember: measure twice, cut once! Or in my case, measure, measure, measure, measure.... cut.


    





Step 4 ) Place your pieces together to mark where your bolt will be. Flip the pieces onto the sides where you will be drilling. Continue the pencil lines around to mark where your center is on each board. Using clamps to hold your boards steady, drill your holes straight through the center piece. Drill at an angle on both side boards.



TIP: If you aren't engineer-minded, like me, as for help! If you live in a neighborhood like mine there are always garage doors open, and friendly neighbors working on their own projects. Since this one is quick and fairly easy anyone who owns a saw should be able to help you turn your vision into a real wooden piece of art.

    

Step 5) Using your bolt and wing nut put your easel together. Then mark and cut off ends that are too long to make all of the edges fit together nicely and so the legs sit flat on the table.

Step 6 ) Sand all of you pieces to get them smooth. Its always best to sand with the grain of the wood (as opposed to against the grain).

 


Step 7) For this last part you'll want to wear gloves, staining!

Step 8) Let all pieces dry well, then assemble your easel!

Finished and ready for the next Craft Show! Note there aren't any prices. I will be laminating my board so I can write in marker the prices - ooh ahh. I know. Versatility. Check out my Etsy store for prices and products right now.
Hoping your hot summer day is full of comfort!

                                                   

So many Blogs so little time.

This is a blog, about blogs.

My blog is about ThreeComforts and my products for beauty, body and home

Currently I am following so many blogs, I love them! What an obsession it's become.  All these how to's for living, cleaning, making anything & everything; craft ideas, and helpful hints on being healthy, exercise, romance, fashion, finance; fixing any and everything, running your own business and it's all such great advice.

And now I have more emails than I can possible read in a day.  I don't want reading blogs to become a chore. Don't get me wrong I love reading every one of them, in fact I could spend a life time or two learning from all of the wonderful advice givers and crafters out there. But I, like everyone else, have a life to live, and a business to run.

Not to despair! There's an app for that. There are great tools to organize all of the blogs you follow and to cut down on the amount of emails you are receiving.  It's like Pinterest for blogs, with a reminder of new posts in one succinct email. So, I am still following lots (and lots) of blogs but I'm only getting 1 email about them all. And you can edit the settings to either receive emails daily or just when the blogs your following update new posts.

So check out these apps for following blog-sanity:

Bloglovin       Follow your favorite blogs with Bloglovin'. Discover what's trending in Fashion, Beauty, Lifestyle & more. Sign up or log in today & never miss a single post!

Blogkeen      Blogkeen helps you keep track of your favorite blogs - there on Facebook, and on your mobile phone.

Blogganize    Love reading blogs but have trouble keeping track of them all? This is an app that allows you to organize and categorize the blogs you love to follow in one easy and convenient place. Available for iPhone, iPad, iPad Mini and iPod Touch.

Don't like any of those? Check out this site: APPCRAWLR

I've counted them and I'm not ashamed to admit that I am following over 50 blogs. Here's a list of some of my faves:

Mind Body Green

Healthy Holistic Living

The Fresh Exchange

Kabila Gornia

Healthy Women

Living Well Spending Less

Handmadeology

Marketing Creativity

Simple Pure Beauty

Spareness & Simplicity

Let me know if you use Bloglovin, and your thoughts about it. Or if there is something else on your mind...

May you find comfort in sharing whatever you have to say, in the comment section below!

Posting Of the Past II

I remember getting hand written recipe's on scraps of paper or note cards from my grandmothers. I love looking at their hand writing and loved being in their kitchens. Today, to still have those memories and the recipe's that were made in their kitchens, well, it's priceless.

Card of the Month!

Recipe cards and storing recipes has greatly evolved over the years. My daughter only has 3 cookbooks! Tsk tsk.

I remember getting recipes from card of the month clubs, writing them down at get togethers and clipping them out of magazines.

But nowadays your girl friends can just email you that recipe you were looking for. Or you can do a search and find it online. Who knew that my Great Aunt Vi's family recipe for Coke-a-Cola Cake was enjoyed by many other families?

Now there are numerous online recipe banks that exist today, yippee for us bakers and cooks and recipe hoarders alike. My favorites are: Betty Crocker, Food Network, and All Recipes.

Probably most of you use those same sites as a 'go-to' when your looking for something new, or something old. Here is a recipe from Women's Household the "Readers Recipes" section of the January 1966 issue page 28

This recipe is from  Mrs. Earl Wells, Littleton, NH:

Apple Sauce Fritters

1 cup flour 

1 tsp sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 Tbsp salt

1/4 cup milk

2 tsp melted shortening

1 egg

1 cup apple sauce 

Shift dry ingredients. Combine egg, milk and melted shortening with apple sauce. 

Stir into dry ingredients. Drop spoonfuls into deep fryer (365 degrees). 

Fry till golden brown about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towel. 

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Good served with crisp bacon or a slice of ham.

Please let me know if you try this recipe, especially is you already have a version of it that doesn't require a deep fryer! I'd love to hear it! And of course, please (my husband begs you) heed the advice at the end - good served with crisp bacon or a slice of ham!

P.S. In writing this post I found a recipe for Zucchini Relish. Here in Minnesota our zucchinis are growing like crazy, I'll definitely be coming at you with some zucchini recipes!

May you find comfort in your life.

Quilted Table Cloth Part I

A two part series on my newest project: Quilted Table Cloth.

Quilting is one of those skills that has been passed down from generation to generation in my family. I love seeing everyone's work, especially since I know how much effort goes into it. I have a collection of quilt projects that I have started, some I've inherited from grandmas and others that I've started myself but failed to finish. Enough is enough, it's time to see one project to the end.

  As a housewarming gift I received some fabric from fellow quilters (thanks Debbie and Ruth!) and since I am like any other average crafter it didn't take much effort to find matching fabrics in my personal stockpile. In case you're curious the oranges print was the gift; the others I've collected over the years - I generally buy them when they're on sale with the idea that I can find something to use them for. Of course that theory has proved wrong time and time again, hence the started but not finished projects overflowing my craft baskets.

Most of the time I don't follow a pattern, I just start putting shapes together until they look right to me - which usually looks right to other people!

Stay tuned for part II!

May you find comfort in your life (and perhaps patience if you're really excited to see the end product!)

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