Wednesday, November 26, 2008

quince-tastic


Adam took these pics of Phillip a few weeks ago in our yard. P was so very, very excited to carry that quince around. Unfortunately, it was the only one on our tree that turned yellow, so no jelly.

Ooh, have I got something great coming in the mail to tell you about! I ordered volume one of my very own blog book! I realized awhile ago that this is the only place where I have a coherent record of our life since 2005. So after a bit of looking, I found Blog2Print, where you can have your blog converted into a print book. It was exactly what I wanted - minimal effort, excellent-looking result. Each book has a maximum number of photos it can handle, so I could only do a book covering a few months. I chose January to June of 2007 - months of great anticipation for P's arrival. I'll have the rest of the blog converted into books gradually, since they're kind of pricey. For that particular book, it's about $50. I think it's definitely worth it.

One other tidbit for you - I found a terrific blog last night with gorgeous photos, ample amounts of craftiness, tutorials, food and other lovelies. It's A Foothill Home Companion, by Molly, and you should definitely check it out.

And Happy Thanksgiving to you Americans out there! I know more about turkeys than I will ever need to know, thanks to Martha's Sirius channel this week. (Take your turkey out when it's 160 degrees, and let it rest for at least 30 minutes, during which time the temp will rise to 165. Don't overcook it- that's the number one trouble with turkey. There are dry and wet brining techniques, and I can tell you all about them. Cornbread stuffing? Check. Gravy? Check. Pumpkin pie? Check, check, check. Actually, I learned a technique for keeping pie crust crispy this afternoon. Blind bake your crust until it's almost done. Brush with an egg wash, bake for another 5 minutes or until that's cooked on, and then add your filling. It creates a barrier that will keep your filling from making your crust soggy. Brilliant!) Enjoy your time together!

5 comments:

Molly said...

i've never had quince jelly - we have flowering quinces here, but no edible quinces that i've seen. thank you for the plug - it's always nice to meet new people! hope you have a wonderful weekend (yes, i'm in weekend mode already and looking forward to four days at home with my family).

Sarah C said...

I can't decide which of those pictures I like better - P's such a cutie!

Anonymous said...

Ooh, thank you very much for telling me about Blog2Print! What a great idea!

Our free-range turkey, despite not following Martha's method, turned out so moist, the juices overflowed the cutting board with the "moat" ridge and went all over our island. Yikes. I told dh we'll do duck next year. ;)

I forget whether I mentioned it previously, but I love your holiday background!

Stacey J. said...

loving that first shot!!!!

Goatmeal_Crisp said...

The experts on NPR (actually, one of the "experts" was screenwriter Nora Ephron, so I'm not sure what that was all about) were talking about speed-cooking turkey -- 2 1/2 hours at 450 degrees. They said it makes the outside really crispy and the inside super moist, and that there's no need to cook a turkey for hours and hours. They claim that you don't even have to baste it -- just salt & pepper it, stick it in the oven and drain off the juices occasionally. Intriguing! Then they discussed brie soup, which kind of scares me even though I love brie. The recipe is one kilogram of brie and three cups of cream.