Oven Tomato Sauce

Looks like this may be the last tomato harvest of the year.

We've actually been going through them so fast (and Bob's been giving a lot away too) that I haven't given a whole lot of thought as to what to do with them all and I haven't preserved any for the winter.

Recently, I read (on my sister's Yahoo list) a way of preparing tomatoes to use as a sauce and to freeze. I've made it twice before and this time, I was determined to get extra to freeze.

I picked as many tomatoes as I could find on the bushes as well as a few peppers.

I also found some basil and oregano, brought it all inside and added a few onions and garlic.
My son helped me by briefly dipping each tomato in boiling water and then plunging them into ice water to make them easier to peel. Peeling is not compulsory, but it makes the sauce a little more civilized.

The tomatoes were chopped into halves and quarters and I squeezed some of the seedy parts out as I was preparing them. I chopped the onions and peppers, smashed up quite a bit of garlic, cut up the basil and oregano and found a box of baby portabello mushrooms, then sprinkled all of those as evenly as I could over the tomatoes. A little salt and pepper and a good shot of olive oil over it all, and into an oven at 400 degree Fahrenheit for about an hour and a half.
I stirred it a couple of times as it baked and when it came out, it looked like this:
This was followed by a frenzy of eating! I made spaghetti and added the sauce. We served it with mozzarella and Parmesan and a loaf of Italian bread - oh, so good!

I don't have any pictures of the finished dish (see above frenzy!) Suffice it to say, it was delicious! We served 7 people with one pan of sauce and 2 pounds of pasta. The sauce appears to be thin and watery, but do not be mislead by the appearance. This sauce is full of flavor and especially good when served in a bowl.

I'm a bit excited because after the second pan of sauce cooled, I packaged it in zip loc bags and now have 2 quarts of this ambrosia in the freezer for the winter - or maybe the fall.

Next year, I'll be doing this all summer and we'll be well stocked! Sorry to tell you if you have received some of our overabundance this year you should not be expecting it next year!

Overheated Soap

Okay - I'm back. There may not be any beads for a while, but I do have a bunch of things I've been wanting to blog about and I'll start with the most recent first!

We've been making soap since the early 90's and there is something I have never experienced before. That is overheated soap. Interestingly enough, I've been reading a lot about it lately and was about to ask what is the big deal? My soap gets really hot in the mold while it does its' overnight cure. It settles down and is fine by the morning.

I've heard of "alien brain", which is something else I've not experienced and thought maybe that was the thing everyone was trying to avoid. I assumed that was the problem, that it sort of formed a wormy looking top or something like that.

Well, last night, we were making a couple batches of soap and decided at the last moment to make a batch of Goat Milk soap. The lye mixture is a little different for that one, and I mixed it up just before we started.

We made the first two batches with lye that had actually been mixed the day before and was room temperature. They went fine, but they were normal soap.

The final batch was the Milk soap and even though the lye was still quite hot, we figured it would be fine... Not so much. I walked away to do somethingin the other room while Tina finished cleaning up.

When I walked back into the "kitchen" area, this is what I saw:
The soap had swollen up like a souffle! It had even overflowed a bit:


Since we had never experienced this before, our first reaction was to tape the liners together to form a collar which would contain the growing soap. The next thing to do, of course, was to take a picture! Then, we carefully carried the whole mess out to the cool, cement floor in the open garage just on the other side of the door.

A bit later, Tina checked it and it had begun to collapse. We brought it back inside and put it inside an open window to finish whatever it was going to do.

This morning, I came out to find this:
We might get a layer of soap out of it (we usually get three), but we sure have learned why we don't want to overheat soap!

Caterpillar update

So, my DH identified our bizarre visitor as an Imperial Moth.

From the Auburn University website:

Imperial Moth
Eacles imperialis (Drury) (Saturniidae)

L.L. Hyche, Associate Professor
Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology
Auburn University
3/2000

The imperial moth is distributed throughout the eastern United States west to Texas and Kansas. The caterpillar feeds on foliage of a variety of broadleaf and coniferous trees. Some common hosts are oaks, sweetgum, sycamore, elm, hickories, walnut, maple, basswood, honeylocust, pines, red cedar, and bald cypress. In Alabama, the caterpillar is found on both pines and hardwoods.

Life Cycle, Description, and Habits

The insect spends the winter as a pupa in the soil; adults emerge in spring. The adult is a large moth with wingspread of 100-150 mm. It is sulfur yellow, marked in varying degrees with lilac to purplish-brown bands and spots. Females lay large yellow eggs or in small groups on either surface of host leaves.

The full-grown caterpillar is 75-100 mm long. It occurs in two color forms, green and brown. In the green form, the head is orange-yellow with vertical black or dark stripes on sides and front. The thoracic legs are yellow. The body is green and thinly clothed with long whitish hairs. The second and third thoracic segments each bear a pair of stubby, rough yellow horns, and rows of smaller yellow spines occur along the body to the rear. The last abdominal segment bears conspicuous yellow and black triangular plates. The spiracles along the sides are large, oval and pale yellow to cream in color. In the brown color form, the body, horns, and spines are tan to reddish brown. When fully grown, larvae leave foliage and pupate in the soil. Two broods may possibly occur each year in Alabama; however, the caterpillar is most commonly seen in August and September.

Occurrence, Damage, Importance

The imperial moth caterpillar is a solitary feeder. It may occur on any of the many host trees, and is usually encountered most commonly in late summer and fall. These large larvae individually can consume a lot of foliage, but are seldom present in sufficient numbers to cause serious damage. Large, colorful, and armed with horns and spines, the caterpillar may look fierce and dangerous; however, it is harmless and does not "sting" or stab man.

A slightly bizarre inspiration

I know I've been quite remiss in my posting, but I finally saw something that inspired an immediate post. We were just walking up the hill and a beam of the setting sun seemed to draw my attention to something that I could hardly believe was some type of caterpillar.

Still not quite sure what this is - I'm suspecting a Luna Moth larvae, but whatever it is, it's huge:
I took a shot of it next to a lighter to show the size.

We think this is the front/head end.

And this is the hind end.

If and when I figure out what it is, I'll probably edit this to identify it, but I just had to post it right away!

A little tour of my world

I thought today it might be fun to do a little tour around our place.

First stop is the Soap Studio.

I also have my torch in there for lampworking.

This is where I spend most of my time. It always looks so pretty in the summer with all the plants in front blooming away. The Monarda has taken over for now, but there's a huge conglomeration that blooms there in turn throughout the spring and summer.

It's such a great space. climate controlled and fitted out inside especially for making soap.


Next is the new hen house.

It's where the chickens roost for the night and also where the goats hang out.

I thought it was so cute when it was delivered and Bob actually made the little garden out front and planted flowers there and in the window boxes.

I wouldn't be surprised to walk out one morning and see that he had put up lace curtains!

This is the latest momma and her chicks.

She's the big momma around here with 16 of them. You can't see them all in the picture (because she carefully lead them out of range everytime I was set to take the picture), but I think I caught 14 of them in the picture if you look closely.

She's in special quarters for now to keep everyone out from underfoot of the goats and clear of the pecking order.

When the day is over and I wander into the house, this the scene that awaits me.

We put a permanent addition on the back of our house last year and it is really nice.

The pergola and the brick patio were here before and the workmen did a great job of working around them.

I love the lushness of the giant hostas and ferns under the kitchen window to the right and the way the light filters through the wisteria and the trumpet vine growing over the walk. This is always a cool spot in the yard even on the hottest days.

This is the trumpet vine. It is lush and bright and will forever make me think of summer.

I'm surprised I didn't get a picture of a hummingbird in there since they are often feeding at the flowers.

The seed pods for these will be all over the place this fall and there are lots of little plants coming up here and there in the ground cover near the house.

It's something of a chore to try to keep all those little plants from taking hold.

Suddenly Summer

I know it isn't really sudden, but isn't it amazing the way the world changes in just a few short weeks?

It seems we were just wondering at the bright spring green shoots and waiting impatiently for the trees to be in full leaf.

Suddenly, we look around and see summer is here...

Everything is really "green" green.

We no longer wander freely through the woods because the undergrowth is so thick.

We are eating fresh vegetables from our garden.

This Robin is no longer a harbinger, he's just one of the many, many birds who contribute to the natural chorus in the summer...

Playing tag

I was tagged yesterday and actually finished answering my questions in the morning. With all the things on my "todo list", I was a bit overwhelmed 'cause I forgot about the lavender wands we do every night and how frustrating it is to wait through various medical appointments and play phone tag with travel agents... so, I finally finished this up today!

The rules of the game: Each player answers the questions themselves. At the end of the post the player tags 4 people and posts their names, and goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answers.

Ten years ago... My sister and I were partners in our herb shop, The Herb Basket. We would have just finished our midsummer class called "Eating Your Yard" where we would serve a backyard salad, stir-fried day lily buds and cantaloupe with rose syrup and anise hyssop flowers. My son would have been 12 years old and getting ready to enter the school that definitely made a big difference (for the good) in his life.

Five things on today's to do list... Taking my brother to Hershey Med for testing, finalizing reservations for my son's trip to the Netherlands in August, putting wash away from yesterday, preparing orders for shipment and hoping to get some time on the torch.

Snacks I enjoy... pretzels, bagels, when I'm feeling "healthy" - raw carrots. Oh, and Turkey Hill Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream!

Things I would do if I was a millionaire.... I'm not sure what I would change - I'd probably invest and live off the interest, then try to help loved ones become more secure financially.. (If we are talking big money here - a million just isn't what it once was!) Probably a few trips (first class, of course!) - Italy again, a Greek cruise, Bali and Morocco has always called for some odd reason(!), a visit to an exclusive spa for me and a group of friends, buy a house at the beach (in Bermuda?) - oh, heck, and one in the mountains too, and hire a personal chef and trainer to make me look great when I go to all those places!

Places I have lived... Lancaster, PA - born and raised. For a few years in my youth when my father was in the Air Force, Columbus, OH. When I was younger, I always wanted to live "somewhere else", but now, I can't imagine wanting to live anywhere else!

So now, my friends, you're it!

Tina at The Essential Herbal
Roe at Sunrose Aromatics
Rachel at Zonnestraaltje Designs
Marti at Marti's Majik

So, apparently the teapots are habit forming! After posting the ones yesterday, I kept getting new ideas of how to make more and couldn't resist sitting down at the torch for a few hours to produce what you'll see below.

I woke up very early this morning and was excited to see what would come out of the kiln. I cleaned the beads and wired them up, photographed and already I have the pictures ready posting!

This one, I call "Elegant Pewter". It has a wonderful metallic sheen and the form makes me think of a silver tea service. I love the way the handle ends at the bottom.

For some reason, this one reminds me of leaves swirling in a pond as they dash by in the fall. I just adore this color combination and call this pot "Reflections".

This one has a very earthy finish. The glass used always winds up with the wonderful powdery blue/turquoise patches on the brownish red. It reminds me of a glaze that is used by a potter friend of mine.

I call this one "Tortoise Shell" because that is the effect that this particular frit on the topaz glass always creates.

And finally, "Wedgewood". This blue, when adorned with white or ivory stringer always reminds me of Wedgewood pottery.

Today, I will attempt to put the available teapots up on my website - in the Focals section.

Taking tea in a small way!

More teapots! They took a little while to get finished, since we had other things (for instance a full day yesterday at Hershey Medical Center with our brother) going on, but I think they were worth the wait.

I placed a quarter next to each one when I photographed them so you can get an idea of the size. They are all hollow, so even though they are somewhat large for beads, will have much less weight to them than they would seem to have.

First, a periwinkle blue teapot with vining stylized lapiz and rose colored flowers dancing around it.

A celadon pot with green and pink frits added to look like a rosey pattern.

Milk glass with the same frit as above.

This base color is called opal yellow and I think the roses and forget-me-nots on the vine swooping around it give it a fairytale quality.

Finally, a second amethyst colored teapot with roses and forget-me-nots growing around the sides.

These will eventually go up on my website, but in the meantime, if anything tickles your fancy, please email me at mschwa@ptd.net. At this writing, they are $35 each and will look beautiful on your favorite silver chain.

Two Days at Alloway...

Each year in the beginning of June, Alloway Creek Gardens, Littlestown, PA, holds a Garden and Craft Fair. We have attended as vendors a few times and every time it is an adventure!

This is the view from the side of the home - through the trees and across the fields.

Alloway is one of those treasures down a dirt road where you come around a turn and a beautiful homestead appears. It's in the middle of Civil War history - just south of Gettysburg and Barb and Roger seem to revel in the natural history around them.

Other than the fact that the weather never seems to cooperate - usually we manage to both freeze and roast at some time during the two-day event - it is such a lovely setting with fiddlers, good food, lovely crafts, and of course their gorgeous gardens and plants, it still makes for a wonderful time. At least this year, there was no overnight thunderstorm!

The "Old Log House" is the gift shop and even though I believe they moved it there - it fits perfectly.

Walking through the crafters' area is a joy.

The feel of the place is so laid back (or maybe it was just the heat of the second day!) that the odds and ends that have been brought along to sell seem to belong there.

Somehow Barb and Roger seem to do this effortlessly. Although I know it is a tremendous amount of work, they seem to have perfected the secret of appearing to be a duck serenely sailing along the top of a pond while his feet paddle madly below the surface!

A few more peeks at the gardens:

Lavender, glowing poppies and the fading flower of a spice bush.

Friday's forecast for highs in the 90's never came true and we sat under overcast skies with cool breezes blowing through the tent. It was pleasant, until the sun burned through around 1:30. But, Saturday was everything the weathermen said it would be.. hot & humid.

In my wanderings yesterday when it was so hot and exhausting, I came upon this little structure in the trees. Built, I'm sure for their grandchildren, I was sorely tempted to just climb on up in there and fall asleep in the blessed shade....

I didn't, I went back and rejoined the "grown ups" to enjoy the company and the day as best I could in the sweltering temperatures.

Requests

Well, it began up at the Rosemary House at their 40th Anniversary Celebration.

I was a guest artist in the garden. Nancy Reppert, who owns the Sweet Remembrances Tearoom saw my aromatherapy vessels and asked if I could make a teapot along the same lines. These are the first attempts and I'm pleasantly surprised at how well they worked out.

Both are about 1" from the bottom to the top of the finial.

I tried a couple of times to make teapots with solid bottoms, like the vessels, but they just didn't seem to be working out.

The purple one was my first successful attempt and it's simply a hollow with the handle and spout attached. I played with stringer to add some vines and some stylized blue cabbage roses.

Then, I picked up the Pajama Blue and made another hollow, added a few daisies and again, a handle and spout. I love the "squatty", fairytale look of this one! It looks to me as if it came from Snow White's cottage.

Because they are hollow beads, it made them easier to wire together with a bead cap for the top and a single bead added for the finial.

You can click on any of the pictures for a closer look.

As the day went on, another Reppert Sister, Cary, requested a pendant similar to something I already had made, but with different colors....

This one is the result.

She wanted the organic background with the creased flowers in purple. I think I'll give this a couple more tries and send her some pics for approval.

Last week at our Farmers' Market, I had my jewelry along and a woman stopped by and asked if I had any "patriotic themed" beads. Since it was Memorial Day, maybe I should have, but I didn't.
Actually, I have a lot of trouble finding a good red for this type of thing, and I was trying to figure out how to do some kind of a flag design....

I made a few earring sets in the proper colors, as you can see - but the flag theme evaded me.

As I was standing in the shower the other morning, it suddenly occurred to me - I can use red enamel(!) ... and the flag beads were born. I still have to wire them up into earrings and a couple of pendants, but I'll have a number of patriotic themed pieces for her to choose from this week.

Finally, soap beads... I've been struggling with the old way I was making them, and had actually decided to just stop doing them.

Then I saw a post on one of the glass forums I frequent. A new press was out with words on it. I contacted the press place and asked if I could get a custom press made for soap beads and ... voila!

I can make them in any color that I have glass, but I think I'll try to pare it down to just 4 or five basics.... But, I can always make special requests for people who want to match them to their own soaps....

What has she been doing?

You may think I haven't been doing anything just because I haven't been posting. Oh, but I have. This is just the tip of the iceberg:

"Spring Beauties"

"Happy Talk"

"Dark Shadows"

And finally - "Summer Chicklets". This is what happens when I get a new press that I happen to love! I've just been playing with all the bright colors and have plans for about 8 more beads to complete this set. I've been planning what to do with them as I worked on them. In fact after the first one or two, the inspiration struck to make a loong necklace that I can wrap around my neck a couple of times and that will match all my bright T shirts and other summer clothes.

I've had a number of requests recently and I'll be showing those in my next post. Teapots made in the same way as my vessels, a floral focal on an organic background and some red, white and blue beads for the patriotic holidays.... Soon as I can get them together with my camera, they'll be up.

I'm going to add these bracelets to my website for now....

Monday's beads

After the Landis Valley Show this weekend, where I sold the bracelet I showed in my last entry, I was inspired to make some more of the metallic scroll beads. These aren't exactly the same. I tried a different base and it turned out pretty well. I do still have a large focal that matches the set I sold in a bracelet.
In honor of the little pink and white flowers that bloom all through our woodland area, I made these floral beads and call them "Spring Beauties". I love the pink blush on the petals. That was on purpose and it's always nice when the intended effect is accomplished.
These are called Persimmon Swirls. I think they will become a necklace and matching earrings. The glass color is persimmon and it is a very bright orange/red. The darker portion of the bead is transparent steel gray.

I'll be displaying (and selling) my work at The Rosemary House in Mechanicsburg this weekend. They are celebrating 40 years in business and I am so honored to have been invited to join the party!

Busy, busy, busy

A busy day in the jewelry room yesterday. Along with a few pins and earring sets, I finished up some new bracelets with some of the beads I showed the other day:

Blue Nebula

Cloudy Nebula

Dancing Waves

Ladyslipper Nebula

Traceries

I'll be taking these to Landis Valley this weekend and, since it IS an herb festival, really don't expect to sell much. What is left will be put up on the website - finally, some new items!