Friday bullets, July 13, 2018

And here we are again...

Look at this:

These are the first two eggs laid by our hens. They are probably, at this point, the most expensive eggs in history. And since they're the first eggs from a young hen or hens, they are still a bit small. Here they are next to a regular store bought egg.

Y. was the first one to find the egg. It was very exciting.

It gives me hope that the rest of the hens will start to get with the egg laying program, and won't just be feed-eating patio decorations.

What in the world did I ever blog about before we had chickens?
With J. home for the time being, we are working on jobs that can get done. Painting the kitchen has risen to the top of the pile. It truly has the worst paint job in the world. It's sort of pinky-lavender, but with "decorative" splotches on it, so it is not one single color. There are many things to dislike about it, but the thing that drives me most crazy is that it always looks dirty. Dirty looking walls in a kitchen are just gross. So now we are experimenting with different colors to see what we like.

And can I just point out the off-center light? Why??

You can't really tell in the light in the photos, but the paint on the left is kind of blue, the center grey, and the right, white. I'm leaning towards the white, because I like the way my pretty blue tile for the back splash I got last year looks with it. I cannot wait for the kitchen to be a different color.

Today's plan involves cherries. I want to get a bunch in the dehydrator, make the jam I started with some yesterday, and do cherry pie filling. Tomorrow I will probably make more jam. Sunday I will probably continue to make jam.
Yesterday, I made vanilla fig jam. It's pretty good. Someone asked me for the recipe, and because I cobbled a couple of different recipes together, I feel I can share this one.

Vanilla fig jam - makes 1 1/2 pints

1 1/2 pounds of fresh figs, quartered (I would use a kitchen scale to be sure you have the right amount)

1 heaping cup of sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 vanilla bean pod, cut open with the small seeds scraped out and added to the figs

Mix everything together in a non-reactive bowl, cover, and let sit in the refrigerator from a couple of hours to overnight. (Though admittedly, I let mine sit for two days because I couldn't get to it when I should have.) When you're ready to make the jam, set a colander inside a non-reactive, heavy bottomed pot, and pour the fig mixture into it. Let it sit for a bit while all the juice drains out into your cooking pot. Take the colander and the figs and set them aside for a moment. Using a candy thermometer, cook the syrup, stirring constantly, until it reaches 220 degrees. Add back in the figs and any other juice that has collected. I also poured in a 4-oz jar of homemade pectic, though it set so well, I'm not I really needed this. Using an immersion blender, blend the figs just a little bit. You still want some chunks, just not big ones. Turn the heat back on under the pot, and stir until the jam is boiling, but it can't be stirred down and it feels slow and sticky. Spoon into clean canning jars, 1/2 inch headspace, and process for 10 minutes. Or, you could just spoon into clean jars, and store it in the refrigerator for immediate use.

Like the mulberry jelly, you can use this as jam, or deglaze a pan, or as a spread on grilled cheese sandwiches.

We got the news yesterday that the huskies have been born from which we will get one. TM is over the moon. The puppy should be ready to come home in early September. TM now has a dog brush, and he's ready.
I'm nearly done with Y.'s new cloak, and then will make G.'s. There is much excitement and impatience.
M.'s cat Amun and P.'s cat Midnight seem to be working out a relationship, though evidently Amun wanted to play yesterday, and Midnight did not. Feelings were hurt. Amun and Nefertiti have only encountered each other once so far, and Nefertiti puffed up like the marshmallow man and scampered away. I guess we forgot to mention to her that there was another cat in the house.
Nefertiti really likes Secunda, the African Clawed Frog's fish tank.