Housemade gifts :: #2 Grow your own African violets

Sometime last year (during the summer, maybe) my mom and I decided to grow our own African violets. We removed some of the leaves of my one African violet, dipped the bottom of each stem in water, then in rooting hormone, and stuck them each in a mug (since we always have too many mugs!). By last month, they each had about twenty leaves. For graduation gifts, I re-potted four of them in small colorful pots, and one in this teacup. It just happened to bloom on the day of my friend's graduation party... =)

sweet sushi :: sushi que hice completamente de dulces

I made this for my roomie, who also graduated last week from college.

Lo hice para mi compañera de casa quien acabó su carera al mismo tiempo que yo (la semana pasada).

Housemade gifts :: #1 Pickled Peppers

So, it's really no secret anymore that I give my brother hot pickled peppers. I don't often have luck growing hot peppers, so I buy them from local growers like River Berry and Pomykala. I slice them up and pickle them with garlic, salt, and a mix of white and apple cider vinegars (and a little boiling water, of course). I've also become accustomed to adding a little "Pickle Crisp" to each jar (which is really just calcium chloride)-- it keeps whatever you're pickling crisp through the boiling or steaming process.
I like to layer the pickles by color to give them more of a holiday look.