Jalapenos, peppers and basil, oh my!

So what to do with more jalapenos and cubanelle peppers than one person needs?

You pickle and can them!

But canning is SO labor intensive. Last summer I had my first canning experience when KG, Miss Lynn and I canned 20 pounds of fresh picked peaches. Whew - it was hard work! So when we're only talking about 2 1/2 cups of each kind of pepper it wasn't really worth sterilizing, cooking, filling and processing to yield just 1-2 jars of each. So what to do? What to do?

Easy refrigerator pickles peppers!

I edited the recipe a bit and used:

1 cup vinegar (white or cider)
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
a shake of olive oil

So I cut.

And I cut.


Then I sterilized my jars and lids.

And filled my jars.

Presto! Fresh pickled jalapenos and cubanelle peppers.

I also made Katie's raw pesto sauce with the massive amounts of basil we received in our CSA this week. It only took 1 cup to make this pesto sauce, so I still have about 2 more cups (plus more in the freezer) to use.

I am in love with this sauce! I haven't actually used it in a meal, but I couldn't help myself from licking the spoon after I made it. Pesto is traditionally very very fattening (it's basically all oil and cheese) and I was happy to learn of this amazing healthy recipe to allow me to use some of my basil.

Yep, that's just one cup of basil.

And the rest of the basil.

Final product - yumminess!

This time in the kitchen, a 50 minute walk on the greenway in 70 degree weather and washing my car is how I spent my Saturday. I feel so accomplished and refreshed.

How's your Labor Day weekend going?

CMT Awards and Community Supported Agriculture

Sorry for the radio silence the last two days. Busy week here in Big Life. Last night I attended the CMT Awards, which was fabulous. Can I cross 'attending an awards show' off my 101 in 1001 list that I haven't created yet? It was really cool to see what goes on behind the scenes production wise, I get a kick out of seeing the stage guys prepping the celebrities for their intros.

Tonight, KG took me to her gym to see if I would like their water aerobics class. Being the stubborn girl I am, I chose the "heavy weights" and I can already tell I'll be sore tomorrow! It's a great feeling. I plan to try out the Y Saturday and make a decision where to join.

Wednesdays are CSA (community supported agriculture) day in the Big Life household. I joined a CSA from a local, organic farm with 3 friends. When you join a CSA you pay a fee for the 'season' (ours is May - Oct) and then each week we get a 'share' of what is produced on the farm. For the last 4 weeks, we've brought home a 1/2 bushel of fresh produce to enjoy. So far, we've received kale (lots), broccoli, swish chard, lettuces, zucchini, yellow squash, strawberries, green onions, arugula, basil and so much more!


Our CSA box from the second week


The first CSA meal - Kale omelets and hashbrown potatoes


Another CSA meal - bok choy stirfry


The lettuce plants at Delvin Farms, when we attended the member picnic.

Joining the CSA has been great for trying new produce I haven't had before (Kale, Swiss chard). And it's forcing KG and I to eat more veggies. Tonight, our dear house guest, Sarah, made us cabbage stirfry and sauteed zucchini and squash. It was DELICIOUS!

If you are at all interested in the CSA concept, I completely encourage you to research joining one in your community. They are more affordable than you think (my part of the share comes out to approx. $8 per week), most farms have full and half shares for singles and families alike, and some even with barter services with you. It makes me happy each week as we discover what goodies have been packed in our box and then make a mad dash to consume all of it in 7 days.

It's a pretty packed weekend in Big Life. Sex in the City 2, pool time, CMA festival and a Whole Foods/Trader Joe's trip is in store. And in all of that I need one more work out for my week to make my goal. What are you doing this weekend?