The Masons

No, not the secret society Masons.


I'm talking about a totally different society - one of Mason jar lovers.


I belong to that society.  I looooove me some Masons.


I love how useful they are.  You can use them for everything from drinking glasses, to storing nails or buttons, to their original use...canning.

I haven't become a full-fledged canner yet.  I've done some quick pickling, but nothing requiring hot water baths and sterilizing.  I do have Todd's mom's canning equipment which she gave me along with box after box of Mason and other canning jars.  Until the time comes that I fill all those jars with veggies and jams I will continue to use them for their many other uses.


For example, we'll be using TONS of Mason jars for the wedding.  Filling them with flowers and candles and maybe, hopefully, some cute little doughnut holes for dipping in coffee.  


We use Mason jars to drink from.  We have a few stashed in our cabinets.


We've also taken to using a Mason jar for to-go cups for iced coffee!  It's so handy!  The lid screws tightly on and voila!  No spilled coffee in your car...

And just look at how pretty and interesting they are!  Todd recently came back from Wisconsin with a couple more boxes of Mason jars from his parents' cellar.  


These are ollllllld Masons.  With lots of history and personality...

I love the really big ones.  They're so different with their size!  And I think the blue ones are so darn purdy...

Take a look at what this one says, "Strong Shoulders."  It just seems to perfectly describe what a Mason jar is all about...

Todd's dad found this one.  1858!  A quick Google search revealed that Masons were invented and patented by John Landis Mason, a Philadelphia tinsmith in...1858!!
  

Neither Todd or I have seen one with this kind of pattern before...

These photos are just for fun.  I like seeing what Photoshop can do...

Caution: Disaster area

My kitchen saw an explosion of activity yesterday.  

I was in the mood to bake and also wanted to make something for Todd to take with him hunting.  I chose chocolate chip cookies for the hunting trip, caramel corn just cuz, spaghetti with homemade meatballs for the company we had for dinner, and breakfast burritos for Todd's first day of hunting.

And this is the end result:

Remarkably, my kitchen looks in better shape in the photos!  Guess you can figure out one of my chores for the night.

Picklefritz

What the heck is Picklefritz?

Well, after dating Todd for a while now and visiting Wisconsin a few times I am convinced Wisconsinites have a diet of mostly cheese, beer, and pickled foods.

Todd's not too picky and enjoys just about everything, and in true Wisconsin form he does love a pickled something or other, to the point that his grandparents used to call him Picklefritz.  

He really wants "us," a.k.a., me, to try canning, which I'm not opposed to and have always wanted to learn anyway.  His mom even gave me all her old canning stuff so I have no excuse but to get my can on.

So, over the weekend, I decided to try my hand at it.

I chose a quick pickling recipe I've had hidden away in my recipe books for a while now.  It's called quick pickling because it doesn't require the boiling of the jars and all that jazz.  You just throw it all together in a jar and let it sit in the fridge for a week and...like magic!...pickled...whatever you chose.

In this particular instance the recipe called for green beans, which we had in Old Fashioneds at his grandma's house last year.

It is super simple, too!  

The beans as they're getting snapped and thrown in the jars...

Beans swimming in spicy pickling juice.  This recipe calls for LOTS of garlic and some dried hot red chilis...

And Todd can't keep his hands out of them!  To really "pickle" they're supposed to sit for a week, but he keeps sneaking beans.  I have no confidence they will make it to the end of the week.  But I can see why.  This recipe is truly fantastic!  And, as I mentioned, amazingly simple!  

I highly recommend it!  You won't be disappointed.

Kitchen Conundrum

I have lots of kitchen utensils, but there are a few things I want - very badly - that I can not, for the life of me, find.  The thing that gets me, is the stuff I want is simple.  I can not find simple.  I can find anything BUT simple.  It's annoying.

There is a recipe I wanted to try for supper tonight - seafood potpies - that I would like ramekins for.  Simple, white, large ramekins would do just fine.  I don't know why I don't already own some, but I don't, and I want them.  This is not the recipe, but the ramekins would work!  I want to make seafood potpies.  If the recipe works I'll share it!

Todd and I went on a fruitless search today for them.  Target had pretty much what I was hoping for, but only had two in stock which isn't going to do.  After Bed, Bath & Beyond, Khols, Penney's and Dillards, we gave up.

I also want scissor tongs.  Silver.  Short.  Rounded ends.  How can this be too much to ask?  None of the above mentioned stores had them either.

And finally, I want an extra large, antique biscuit cutter.  I've searched the antique stores and have found smaller ones, but no biggie.  It's really crampin' my biscuit cutting style! 

The search is ongoing...