Canning and Tanning

I was able to accomplish one of my goals for yesterday:  planning dinner.  It was actually very good, especially considering my lack of pre-planning.  I got my second week of veggies from the CSA I belong to and it had garlic scapes, spinach, kale, radishes, green onions and turnips.  I also had some broccoli that my husband cut from our garden.  So, for the wee one and I, I made pasta with sauteed broccoli, green onion, garlic scapes, garlic cloves and cannellini beans with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.  I will definately be making that again!  Due to my husband's aversion to anything green he just had pasta with marinara sauce.

After dinner I got everything set up for canning.  My husband was a dear and got my big stock pot full of water and heating before I got home.  It takes FOREVER to get that much water boiling!  I sterilized the jars (we don't have a dishwasher so I have to do it old-fashioned) and the caps and heated up the strawberry jam to boiling.  My husband always helps me with canning (because he's the best husband ever) and does the "dangerous" job of taking the sterile jars out of water and then putting the full jars back in to seal.  I managed to get 8 jelly jars of jam. 

Before I started canning I looked at my CSA produce and realized I had requested way more radishes than I could eat so I decided to try my hand at pickling them.  So, I sliced them thin, made a batch of pickling brine and went ahead and canned the pickled radishes too.  They need to sit and soak for about a week or two before I dig in but we'll see how they turn out.  I'm thinking of making my dad a homemade basket for Father's Day and put jam, pickled radishes, some fresh lettuce and homemade bread in it.  I don't like canning unless I can get at least a full batch done so I was glad that I planned the radish pickles beforehand so the 4 jars I was able to fill would get sealed.

Here is a picture of my canning adventure:

Strawberry jam on the left, pickled radishes on the right

This morning I got my first spray tan.  It was...interesting.  You go into a little booth, take your clothes off (obviously) and a woman uses a spray gun to "paint" the bronzer on.  I made sure to exfoliate the evening before and then moisturize the drier spots (i.e. elbows, feet, knees).  I didn't get completely undressed - I kep my skull and crossbones undies on - I'd show you a picture but that's even TMI for me!  The color is pretty dark and it looks splotchy in a few places but the lady said that it will even out after I take a shower and wash the external bronzer off.  It is supposed to be tan under the bronzer so we'll see.  I can't wash for 10 hours and my skin still feels a little sticky.  I'm anxious to see how long the color lasts.  Supposedly, it will last about 1 week; I'm hoping for a little more time than that. 

I have a pretty full day today and am excited to plan my upcoming weekend!