Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Is it Tuesday already ? sheesh...

  Pineapple just out of the canner.  Yum. Total preserved was 8 quarts frozen and 8 pints canned.
 Mangoes.  Did you ever see the movie Paulie ? It's a Disney movie about a parrot and a janitor who saves him and gets him back to his little girl (who's all grown up now--he's been in the basement of a University lab). Stars Monk's Tony Shaloub.  Anyway...he plays a Russian immigrant and offers the bird some fruit trying to get him to talk, and so anytime I say mango, I say it like they did--MAHn-GO.  LOL  I peeled and cubed about 13 Mahngoes to get this small bowl full which was about 3 full quart bags for the freezer. Every time I forget what a nightmare job it is processing Mahn-goes, and every year I say I'll never do it again. 

  That's what I did yesterday. 

  I saw the flyer today and it looks like Aldi's still has the pineapples for .99 each, so I might go buy another 10 or 15 and dehydrate some as well. And maybe can some more, as it was easy.

  You KNOW how much I like easy. lol

  Today's agenda has included changing the personality of my dining room table (new tablecloth, placemats and napkins), canning home made bbq sauce (it's in the canner now, 20 minutes @ 10 pounds pressure), and making bread. Making a whole wheat bread with extra wheat germ in it. It's in the breadmaker because my right arm is still too weak and painful to be kneading bread. As much as I love that. This will be great, and I don't have to turn on the oven.  AND--it will be done in time for supper, when we're having breakfast. lol  Bacon, sausage, eggs, potatoes with onions and peppers and TOAST (or biscuits and gravy, which I'm considering).  (That's bacon for me and sausage for him)  (We're not heathens here.)  LOL

  It has been quite a week.  Saturday I attended a wild womans retreat (smile) and we had a blast.  There were workshops on everything from knitting and crocheting to Crystal therapy to massages to Findhorn and intentional living. There was a dreams workshop, there was a chakra spreading workshop and other energy works. There was a bonfire, there was great food, there was singing and drumming and so much laughter and hugs I could barely stand it. I made a host of new friends and I was so whooped by the time I got home that night I slept like the dead for about 9 hours.

  Sunday morning I woke up to find that my brothers house had caught fire in the early morning hours and they lost almost everything. Thank God they are all safe, but seriously traumatized. He lives in Georgia.  It makes you so grateful for what you have, no matter how little it may seem. It could all be gone in an instant.

  Later that morning, the Irishman and I went to a flea market and spent a nice morning together. We didn't buy much, but did see a friend there with a stall, selling her soaps and skin lotions that she makes. We bought 2 bars of pretty smelling soap for me (cucumber mint soap and Patchouli Rain) and a bar of Poison Ivy soap for him (Jewel weed soap) and some hard lotion for me that is a lovely citrus-y smell. All vegetable products.  I also found a silver chain for one dollar for my new tourmaline pendant gifted me by my good friend Ellyn. Afterwards we had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and headed home.  It was an ordinary day, a nice respite from the rain we've been having (which is STILL better than the snow and cold), even though my front yard is like the Okeefenokee Swamp.

  All around, daffodils are blooming and yards are getting green. Trees are leafing out. It's heavenly. The bbq sauce is out of the canner, the potatoes are par-boiling, the bacon and sausage is cooked and the biscuits are together, save the buttermilk. Gonna sit for a minute and plot my evening.

Blessings of peace to you all...


Namaste.

10 comments:

HeatherD76 said...

Your so lucky to get your pineapple at 99 cents. They are in the stores here for 3.00 on sale. I would be stocking up like crazy too. I love pineapple, so I end up buying the canned stuff because it is more cost effective.

Mariodacatsmom said...

Mangos! Yum! They are good. Sounds like you are able to get fresh ones. Nam, you always put me to shame as you get more done in a day than I get done in a week. You are my hero and inspiration.

Beth said...

I love dried pineapple and pineapple can be used so many ways. A wonderful buy at 99 cents each.
I've never tasted a mango before and now I want to!

Akannie said...

Heather--I know. It's crazy, and they are beautiful, always Chiquita or Dole. I love pineapple too...so good to see you, thanks for stopping by !!

My son walked in and saw them all sitting on the counter and called me a fruit hoarder. lol

Akannie said...

Mary--I do love those mahngoes. lol I freeze them for smoothies, mostly. When we lived in Oregon, our favorite Thai restaurant served a dessert that was Mahngoes on sticky rice...A very simple dish of sweet coconut milk cooked rice with fresh sliced mahngoes laid across the top. It was heavenly...

Akannie said...

Beth--me too!! And it's a great addition to trail mix. Great for just snacking on too.

You should try a mango--a lot like a papaya, that soft sweet texture. But a real bear to peel and slice because of the seed. (Almost like the wild persimmons) lol

Mama Pea said...

Your fresh pineapple talk is making me drool. Don't know when was the last time I had fresh pineapple. For some reason, we don't seem to be able to get good ones way the heck up here. You sure would think in this day of truck transportation and all, that would be possible but . . .

I've never tasted a mango, but you make me think I'm missing something. Might have to put that on my Bucket List!

Akannie said...

I'll tell ya, mama...this store called Aldi's is something else. These fruits (pineapples and mangoes) are being brought in from Costa Rica and Mexico, but they are really good quality. That is at odds with the way we try to shop locally and keep out carbon footprint light, but...I bought 11 more pineapples today. I'm going to dehydrate most of them, I think.

Anonymous said...

Dried mangos are yummy!
Look at you go, canning like some sort of Okeefenogee pioneer woman!
So sorry about your brother. Stuff is just stuff, as long as no one was hurt.

Akannie said...

You're right, HIH..stuff is just stuff.

If I could figure out n easy way to cut up mangoes for drying, I would do it. Any tips ???