Why yes... I am posting from here again

  
This is chicken jerky.  The marinade is a simple soy sauce and ginger with some spices and liquid smoke. You marinate it for about 24 hours and then put in the dehydrator. I have made about 2 gallon bags full so far and have another 2 to go. I have made turkey jerky in the past, but this is really easier and I think I like it better.  (Wasn't there a dance called the Herky jerky ?? )  lol

  As you've probably guessed , I'm in holiday gift mode.   Not buying anything for anyone this year, everything home made. (Well, except for the Mrs Brown's Boys set I got himself and the new laptop for me. lol )  At any rate, that's the reason for all the jerky. I'll be baking cookies too-- short breads, sugar cookies, old fashioned ginger snaps.  Nut brittles. Spiced nuts. 2 people are getting batches of my home made granola-- I think I'll make one batch and split it. I make it a gallon at a time for us...  I've made some beautiful  cranberry pineapple jam, Monkey Butter, and an assortment of other jams over the summer.

Today I bought some stockings at the Dollar Store and will use them instead of boxes.  I think that will be fun. I got some bakery bags for the cookies and things too, and some red curling ribbon and some raffia. 

  Tomorrow will be a day of baking and playing...I have a birthday cake to bake, an Italian Creme Cake, for the meeting.  I may be able to get  some cleaning done and my Xmas stuff out too... Not a lot, just enough to remind me of the holidays. lol  I don't get terribly excited about this time of year anymore... it's just the 2 and sometimes 3 of us. No children. I am getting a fresh turkey from Bussmann's in Gillespie this year. It will cost about 3 times  what I normally pay, but I am assured that I will not be sorry.  We'll see.  If it is really that much better, we may raise a couple of turkeys of our own next year. We are talking about raising meat birds.  We have butchered hens before...not a favorite thing to do, but probably doing it more often would make the job seem easier.  It would be good to have some healthy clean meat...

  Next week I will get everything else done, all the last minute local gifts. The ones I need to finish are the ones going to Wisconsin.  So, hopefully I can get a batch or two of cookies done to send along with the jams and jellies.


  I'm tired and heading for bed soon... Just wanted to post on this blog before the year is over.  I've been wicked busy canning everything from roast beef to jam to pork loin to chicken breasts to navy beans to potatoes to jalapenos. I canned tortellini in marinara for a quick heat up meal.  I canned 3 kinds of soup-- in fact, we had the French Onion for supper tonight and it is fabulous.  I canned French Vanilla Creamer. (You know, to have on hand for guests who like cream in their coffee since we rarely have dairy here.)  I've been a canning fool...

  I'm reading Amy Tan's second novel  The Kitchen God's Wife. I have read several of her books and don't know how I missed this one, but I'm lovin' it.  

  Alright campers-- I'm done for today.  I may make it back here, since I finally got that glitch figured out that was making this blog hard to post on.  I keep saying I'm going to get more disciplined about writing again, and maybe 2018 will be the year that it actually happens.  

  You just never know...