Strawberry Jam Procrastination.

This week has been hard to do homework and study when I want to be reading for fun, cooking and cleaning around the house, playing outside, and looking for jobs for when I graduate in 9 weeks. I think I have found a ton of ways to procrastinate studying for my finance class. One of which was to make Strawberry Jam. As you might remember, a few weeks ago Eric and I went strawberry picking and picked 2 gallons of strawberries. Well some of these strawberries were frozen for smoothies and jam making. I like to make freezer jam and it is SOO easy!

Here is what you need:
4 Cups Sugar
2 Cups smashed strawberries (like I said, I use my frozen ones so they have to be thawed first)
2 Tbs of lemon juice
1 Packet of Pectin



5-6 cleaned jam jars with self sealing lids
1 Ladle
1 funnel (makes it a lot less messy!)



In a large sauce pot mix together the sugar, strawberries, and lemon juice.




You want this to cook hot so I usually have my stove up all the way. Bring the sugar fruit mixture to a rolling boil (this is when it keeps boiling even after you stir it). Mix in pectin and stir for 1 minuet.

Remove from heat and skim off any foam that might appear on top. Use the ladle and funnel to pour mix into jam jars. Leave about a 1/2 inch room on top.



Fill up all of your jars.




Then screw on lids tightly (please use an oven mit or towel to hold onto the jars...they will be HOT!). Now leave out to cool down on the counter. Once cooled place in the freezer for storage. The Jam will last one year in the freezer and a few weeks in the refrigerator.

Good luck Jamming!

Altamaha River Preview

Like I mentioned in my last post...last weekend we went canoeing down the Altamaha River in South Georgia. We started at Carters Bight Landing and ended 28 miles down river at Jaycee's Landing. It took us 7 hours to paddle down the river (however we did float a few times) and spent one night on the shores of the river. We had a great trip!

Here are a few pictures from Kelly's camera...

CSA Week 5

I didn't take a picture!?! I know, it is hard to believe! This week we received basil, cilantro, dill, more summer squash, radishes, beets, kale, lettuce, and garlic scapes. I have never made squash casserole, but I think I am going to try it with the large amount of squash we have been getting! Anyone have a good recipe?

In other news....I am back in school and again completely overwhelmed. The two classes I am taking are demanding a lot of work. One class, leadership, I know I will enjoy and will enjoy the challenge it brings. The other class, managerial finance, will not be a joy in any way shape or form. Right now, I am just hoping for a 'C'. On the bright side, I only have 7 weeks of class left...that is 14 class nights before I graduate!

We also went canoeing this past weekend on the Altamaha River. We did this trip with Michelle and Kelly like we did last year. I will tell you more about the trip when I get my pictures developed (I used a waterproof disposable camera). So stay tuned....

CSA Week 4

It just keeps getting better and better! This week we got: butter lettuce, beets, turnips, carrots, broccoli, strawberries, onions, arugula, basil, cilantro, chard and TONS of summer squash. It is all SOO good! I think the carrots are the best I have ever tasted. They have amazing flavor! Here are some pictures of all the wonderful veggies that we got.





AND, tonight I go back to school for my final 8 weeks of class. I am taking managerial finance (YIKES!) and Leadership. 16 class nights left before I graduate with my MBA. :)

Corn & Basil

One of my favorite foods is corn on the cob. Not just any corn on the cob...but grilled corn on the cob. I grew up eating grilled corn in its husk and cooked over a camp fire or on the grill. It is sooo good! A few years ago my friend Missy introduced me to corn on the cob with basil. All you do is husk the corn and then wrap the cob in tinfoil with some butter, S&P, and basil leaves then grill it until it is done. The basil adds a wonderful flavor to the corn! Next time you have corn on the cob you should try it!

Strawberries and CSA Week 3!

Tuesday was a wonderful day! I had a 1/2 day of work and spent my time doing things I normally don't get to do on full work-days. I got to go to lunch with some friends! I also got to spend the afternoon with my wonderful husband who was willing to take me strawberry picking at Washington Farms! We had a good time picking (and eating a few) strawberries. As always I had my camera....and as always Eric didn't want me to take pictures of him but I have to. I think he is pretty cute. ;)







We picked 2 gallons of strawberries for $20, a great deal if you ask me! And they are SOO delicious! After picking, we drove out to Roots Farm to pick up our weekly CSA. Week three is so far the best!!! We got: broccoli baar, onions, garlic, turnips, two heads of butter lettuce, carrots, radishes, beets, dill, kale and more strawberries. It is all very yummy! We still aren't sure what to do with Kale. We've tried a few things and haven't been too impressed....maybe its just not for us.

Look at all these beautiful veggies! YUM!



As always, I cant wait to see what we get next week for our CSA! We are trying to plan our meals around the veggies and I think we are doing a good job. I am always looking for new recipes though, so please share if you have some good ones!!

The AT - Rock Gap to Burningtown Gap

This past weekend we went hiking on the Appalachian Trail with our friends Michelle & Kelly. I have to say it was rough going!!! This was the first time Eric and I had hiked on the AT since last August and it was my first time hiking with a pack on.

We started out early Saturday morning at 7:30 to drive to Franklin, NC. We drove the car to our final destination (Burningtown Gap) and waited for our pre-arranged shuttle drive to the beginning at Rock Gap. We got on the AT and at first I was excited to be back on the trail...but right away we started going up hill. Hiking with a 20-30lb pack on is VERY different than hiking without one. That first step up was a lot harder than I thought it would be!

Spring is just starting in the NC Mountains. We saw a lot of beautiful wild flowers while hiking. Here is a picture of one but we saw may other varieties!



After about 4 hours on the trail, I was tired and had a migraine. Not a good thing. It took a lot in me to keep going. It felt like we kept going up and up and up. It was a real mental and physical struggle for me. I wanted to stop but there was no place to camp...and you cant call it quits when you are in the middle of nowhere on the AT. Finally, after 7 1/2 hours of hiking we found a place to camp. It was on an old forest service road that appeared to be decommissioned. THANK YOU U.S. Forest Service! (Most hikers, including myself, aren't big fans of the U.S. forest service...but I was grateful for them on this day!!) We quickly set up camp before the sun went down and started making dinner. Here is a pic of our makeshift cap site. Michelle & Kelly camp in a hammock....we are "old fashioned" and camp in a tent. :)


We ate dinner quickly and went to bed early...We were tired and it was cold outside! We think the temperature fell to around 35 degrees that night. I was very grateful to have a nice warm sleeping bag!!

On Sunday we got up around 7am, packed up our camp and started up the trail by 8:00. We went up hill again for about another two miles before reaching Wayah Bald. Along the trail we ran across a wild boar and her piglet. The sow was HUGE :) I think it was one of the biggest pigs I have ever seen! Her little piglet was very cute though. We didn't want to startle them too much (that big of a pig could do some damage to us!) so we waited for them to run away before continuing up the trail. Unfortunately we never saw them again to get a picture.

Once on Wayah Bald we enjoyed the views while eating breakfast. There is an old fire tower on the Bald and you can see for miles! It was very beautiful! We could see where we had hiked the day before across the mountains. In the picture below you can see Siler Bald, it is the middle/right peak where there is a big patch of grass on top. On Saturday Eric, Michelle, and Kelly hiked to the top of the grassy knoll while I rested at the bottom.


From Wayah Bald, most of our hike was down hill. I was somewhat grateful for the change but my legs were working just as hard as they were the day before. On this day we only hiked 4 1/2 hours before we were back to our car. Overall, we did 18 miles in roughly 12 hours (including rest breaks). Sunday was a HUGE challenge for me, but Saturday well made up for the hard day before! However, I am SUPER sore today from the long hike over the weekend. I really didn't want to get out of bed this morning!

Here are some other pictures from our hike.... The view from Wayah Bald.





Burningtown Gap: The End!


Kelly, Michelle, Eric & I After 18 miles...I think we look pretty good don't you!?

Roots Farm CSA

School is out (until the 20th) and I am still busy! So I haven't posted anything about our CSA this year and I am finally getting to it. We decided to try out Roots Farm and boy am I happy we did! We have had two weeks of veggies so far this year and they have been great! We have gotten lots of very fresh lettuce, kale, rainbow chard, arugula, onions, garlic, basil, rosemary, turnips, radishes, and....STRAWBERRIES!

Last year our CSA said we would be getting fruit but we never did. I am SOO happy to have some already this season. I cant wait to see what we get next week! Until then, here are pictures (from my friend Michelle) of our first shares!




This weekend we are finally going hiking on the AT. This will be the first time since August...I am excited but nervous! I am sure I will have pictures for you on Monday...I wont have class so I will have time to blog!!!

Almost done!

Well folks I am pretty much done with school this semester! I have one presentation to do on Monday and I will be completely done! WHEW!! I will have a little over two weeks off before I go back for my last 8 weeks. WOO HOO!!

Thursday was my last night of statistics and when I was done with my final I got to go out with a few girls from class. We went to Gosford Wine for a wine testing and then to Transmet for some more wine and food! It was a WONDERFUL night! It was great to finally get out and enjoy myself without having to worry about school or work!

I am excited for these next few weeks off! I plan on reading and spending a lot of time outside. In two weeks we are going canoeing again down the Altamaha River. Today we went out for a test run on the canoe to try and prepare for the 50 miles down the river. The lake at Sandy Creek is always fun but today we had to battle the wind. We started out going with the wind and of course made it to the end of the lake quickly. We started paddling up a small creek and quickly turned around when we saw a snake in the trees! The way back was much harder in the wind. My arms were definitely sore by the end! It was great to be out in the water and I cant wait to do it again!

Today was the first time putting the canoe on the Matrix and it definitely doesn't look as ridiculous on it as it did on the old Hyundai. Of course I had to take a picture....

I also wanted to share the awesome logo of our Mad River Canoe.... What do you think the rabbit has in it's hand?