Pack it! Was Not in the Title

Alas, 22 days until take off and still we have not lifted another finger towards packing. There are just to many other exciting things going on!

Recently I purchased 3 new cookbooks, and quickly became obsessed with one of them. Jam it! Pickle it! Cure it! by Karen Solomon is a book filled with colorful pictures, recipes, and tips for how to make your own preserved treats. I am so excited for the coming summer when I can try my hand at canning my garden goodies! Even if you are not an aspiring cook, it is just interesting to flip through the pages and see what some of your staples are made from. For example, there is a recipe or how to make your own ketchup,mustard, and mayonnaise. I had no idea how many ingredients there were in ketchup, and how few there were in mustard.

Needless to say, when I received notice from 18Reasons that there was going to be a Jam it! Salon with Karen Solomon herself, I was giddy. Last night Boyfriend and I, along with a friend who often accompanies us on our dates (her boyfriend lives over the bridge) made our way to 18th and Guerrero with our own homemade goods in hand. People from all over the community brought in their creations to share. Among other delicious samples there was fresh baked bread, home brewed beer, kraut, sour cherries, pickled carrots, apple sauce, kombucha, crackers, and my personal favorite, lemon curd. We all ooo-ed and awww-ed and exchanged recipes and cooking tips while munching on the delicious snacks.

As we left, Boyfriend and I, along with our friend thought we were being sneaky taking last spoons of lemon curd. Apparently we were not as subtle as we thought and they offered us the rest of the jar because we had brought so many delicious treats and 'were eating it like we were orphans.' I have to say, I am willing to sacrifice class for lemon curd that delicious any day. Not embarrassed at all. Besides we are already classy for having gone to an intellectual salon a la enlightenment.

As it turns out, this was the third Jam it! Salon which made it especially fun because people were bringing back treats that had needed more fermentation at the last salon, and recipes that they had improved upon since the last round. Even the book author, Karen Solomon brought some trials for her new book. I think i am going to buy the book just for the ploughman pickle recipe.

This event was not only delicious, but brought together people of all ages and backgrounds with one thing in common, food!

Let's Go Far Far Away from here Honey Bee

It is officially 23 days until we leave on our adventure for Paris, and then Oregon, and we have packed approximately 4 boxes. Packing is hard! Especially during this time of year when it is staying light later and all of the good after work and weekend activities have started coming back.

For example; we could have packed some more last night, but instead we went to a Kitchen Table Talk about Honey Bees. We went with some apprehension as the last lecture we attended, while interesting, was far too much like school with its power points, and we ended up leaving early. However we could tell that this one was different as soon as we walked into Viracocha. Viracocha is on the corner of 21st and Valencia and it is somewhere between Paxton Gate, Mrs. Havashom’s house, and a thrift store. It is one of those giant warehouse type spaces with lots of wood on the floors, on the walls, and on the ceilings. There were succulents in the windows which continued inside, old clothes, books, pianos, and bathtubs among other things, all on display in unexpected ways. There was also what turned out to be a real cat, and a real person playing the piano. The actual lecture was held downstairs where there was a nice spread of snacks, local honey, and wine. One thing that made it feel less like a lecture was the way the various seats were arranged for optimal crowd watching (what up Michael Pollen! We saw you hiding in the back!).

The talk started out with the movie Pollen Nation. Following the screening Michael Thiele, Dr. Michelle Flenniken, and Cameo Wood talked about their work and personal experiences with honey bees. I appreciated German native, Michael Thiele’s passion, but was obviously most interested in Dr. Michelle Flenniken’s presentation as it included things like slides of DNA. Cameo Wood, who owns Her Majesty’s Secret Beekeeper shop in the Mission, also gave a surprisingly informative talk.

Obviously packing was impossible after such a mind stimulating evening…

Picture borrowed from
Moral Behavior
Sean McCann, UF/IFAS Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory
6CB@NIST

Get Ready for the Next Episode

Just as I said I was going to do months ago, I am revamping my blog.

Or perhaps I should say we are revamping our blog.

As we prepare to start the next chapter of our adventure boyfriend will be joining the blog front as 'Aspiring Mustache' (despite my attempts to get him to stick with Boyfriend as I have dubbed him).

Lots of exciting things are happening! We are leaving our first jobs out of college jobs after 18 months employment and I am going back to school. Before commiting myself to the next 10 years in the prison of formal education, we are adventuring to France! When we return (literally the day after we return) we will be moving, and trying our hand at gardening, physics, beekeeping, calculus, carpentry, and biology among other things.

Onward and upward!