22 thoughts for 22

from august 2013

the one picture that somewhat survived was this birthday, a silhouette of my dining neighbors at a sushi bar in scranton my partner and I visited at 9am on the 21st. a nice quiet start to a day of driving, exploring scranton, and small bottles of wine in smaller bedrooms of good friends.

these are some of the things I've learned recently and will be carrying close to my heart for my 22nd year

twenty two thoughts for my twenty second year

1. get up as early as possible. do as much as you can first thing in the morning.
2. friendships shouldn't be perpetually full of apologies and lies and hurt feelings. or else they may not really be friendships
3. it's not selling out if it's buying into the system
4. coffee deserves to be black
5. western beauty ideals are absolute shit, don't listen to them
6. western gender rolls are absolute shit, don't listen to them
7. always apologize if someone tells you you hurt them. if you care about a person, they deserve the effort not to hurt them again.
8. using slurs doesn't show you're tougher. it makes you look uncreative, incredible, and probably really really mean.
9. dogs are important. animal companions are important
10. it's okay to want the best everything
11. there is nothing wrong with self promotion, especially when promoting your work
12. starting now is better than starting later(or never)
13. always practice your craft, always refine
14. how much this ira glass quote rings true. to summarize, you only get good at something by sucking at it for a long time.
15. re: american healthcare. if you're not getting the service you want, complain complain complain(they do not care otherwise)
16. say what you mean, don't be vague
17. being strong is okay
18. being not strong is okay too
19. drinking is fun until it's not fun anymore
20. good company is better than bad company which is better than no company(maybe not good)
21. I don't really care what I'm making, as long as I'm making something forever
22. still don't think I'm fond of sushi

crv appreciation post

in may I purchased a 1998 honda crv. I quickly became enamored with this little vehicle. it's small, great on gas, cute as heck, and can drive literally anywhere. this is a collection of pictures over the past few months with her, i hope for many more to come.

1. crv at home
2. over the blue ridge
3. relaxing in the back on the obx
4. dune driving
5. over the blue ridge again
6. selfie in side mirror

pepper preservation: freezing

this past summer I was luck enough to grow sweet and hot peppers for the first time in my own garden! my partner and I had a blast planning, selecting young plants, and caring for our pepper gardens over the summer. although our yield(particularly the sweet pepper yield) was a bit smaller than expected, we were excited to preserve our goods for the months to come.

most of the hot peppers were either diced and dried for the spice rack, or pickled for later. besides the handful used to bulk up my canned tomato sauce, I was left with only a few pounds of sweet peppers. so in lieu of the salsa I anticipated making(next year!) I opted for the easiest option I know, dicing and freezing. freezing veggies is one of the easiest and fastest way to store your garden bounty! and even better, this same method can be used for tomato, greens, peas, corn, carrots, berries, and more! just be sure to look up the blanching time for your veggies of choice.

freezing fresh peppers

• fill large pot with water and bring to boil
• fill large bowl with ample ice water
• after water boils, drop peppers in a few at a time and allow to boil(blanch) for 2 minutes
• immediately transfer to ice water to stop from cooking
• pat dry, core, deseed, and destem peppers
• cut peppers into pieces as desired(I cut half into pepper rings and the other half into thin spears)
• lay flat on cookie sheet with a small space between every piece
• freeze flat for at least 20min, up to 45min, or until peppers no longer feel moist and begin to harden(it helps to have your freezer on the lowest setting or closest to 0°F)
• bag peppers in airtight freezer bags and keep for 18mos or longer