...is how I have spent my afternoon. At some point I'm going to have to get going on school stuff but I just haven't been up to it yet. I'm a little tired today and I'm already ready for the weekend- it's been a really busy week.
So when I came home from school and meetings today, I cleaned up the kitchen from my last cooking endeavor (which I'll get to) and decided to try the new hobby I have decided to have: canning. Food Network Magazine had some really easy recipes that were pretty small-scale, which was nice because a lot of these recipes make pounds and pounds of stuff. I decided to make plum vanilla preserves because that's something unique that you can't just buy. I just finished them (the jars have to sit for 24 hours now without being moved) and all the lids popped (which is a good sign and means that the jars probably sealed properly). Although the process takes awhile, it really doesn't require constant attention, so if you have to be around the house anyway because of homework or whatever else this is a good thing to try.
Anyway, I realized today that I'd never done an update on my last posts. I think the last few weeks have been actually very successful, and I'm feeling pretty productive. I am (pretty much) keeping up with all of my classes. My freezer is full of homemade chicken stock, lasagna, and beef stew, ready to be reheated when I don't feel like cooking dinner. Overall, this semester is already extremely busy and pretty stressful, but I think I'm keeping up well enough.
Oh- and my recipe index is up and running. I'm actually really proud of it. I have ten or twelve categories (starters, soups/stews, salads, etc.). Every recipe I can remember cooking is written on an index card that also has the cookbook it came from and the page number, any notes or changes I made to the recipe, and the category it should be filed under. I found a really nice index card box at Office Depot that's just plan black. Also, the random recipes I had all over the place are now filed into books, so that got taken care of too. I've already cooked a couple of them now that they're organized well enough that I can actually see what's what.
I can't think of many other updates. Can you tell I'm just not in the mood to talk about school?
