Octoberfest

Biscuits

2 C flour
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 T butter
2 T shortening
1 C buttermilk (1 cup regular milk with 1 T vinegar)

Mix dry ingredients with fats using a pastry cutter until mixture is dry and crumbly. Slowly add milk. Mix until they are biscuits. Pat out on floured surface and cut them out using a wine glass (or a biscuit cutter if you are fancy like that). Bake at 350* for about 15 minutes.

Snozzberry Syrup

Hand pick your snozz berries for best results. Ideally, you will harvest them before they bloom. If the berries stay on the plant too long, they can dry up. Sort and rinse 7 pints of fruit. Carefully chop each berry into 18 pieces and boil them with the juice of 1 lemon for 5 minutes until they get soft. Pour fruit into a mesh strainer to separate the fruit from the juice. Press them if necessary but do not badger your fruit or it may spoil. You should get about 5 C. of liquid. Boil 7 C. sugar and 2 C. water to form a simple syrup. Add berry juice and boil (med-high) for 5 minutes. The syrup will have expanded to the top of the pot. Turn heat off and let cool. In your canning pot, boil enough water to come to the top of the jars (10 C. easily) and also boil your canning lids. Fill canning jars with syrup. Wipe rim of jar with clean paper towel, place a canning lid on top, fasten with screw-on band. Submerge jars into boiling pot of water, and boil for 10 minutes. Remove jars from water and let cool for a few hours. Jars are properly sealed when you hear them 'pop'.

Chicken and Pesto

We had BBQ chicken on the grill served with spinach and pesto pasta.

Pesto
1/4 C. pine nuts
1/2 C. basil
3 Tbs. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled
salt to taste

Puree on high until it forms a smooth paste.

Fun Skirt

For Halloween, I am going as an 80s punk rocker. I made this awesome skirt from pink satin and black tule. It's too much fun!! Simplicity pattern 2067, skirt B.

Baby Socks

Baby socks in pearly white. There is a ribbon slot just where cuff ends and sock bottom begins, but I don't know what color I want to use just yet.

Grilled Pork Chop

Pork chops on the grill with rice pilaf and steamed cauliflower. I sat at the pool soaking my feet while I BBQed today. Quite possibly the most relaxing thing on earth you could think of.