Remember last week when I was all "we are going to work Stella's ass off this week with the puppy school homework and next week she is going to be the puppy school star"? Well. Tonight we have puppy school. Have we worked on the puppy school homework yet? Not so much. (And by "not so much" I mean not at all.) Clearly tonight is not going to go as well as we'd hoped. Our plan of attack is to exhaust Stella at the dog park before class.
Also last week, I wrote about Westy's team being up 2-0 in their playoff series. I didn't want to make any predictions, lest I jinx it again. I'm happy to report that they pulled off a 4-0 sweep of Westside and have moved onto the finals. Games 1 & 2 will be played on Friday and Saturday in Penticton. I'm being a bad sister and not driving up to watch - the soul-sucking English course is kind of kicking my ass right now and I need to complete it. I write the exam in a month and then I can forget it ever existed.
We're coming up on the 4-month mark in the countdown to the wedding. I am less stressy this month than last month. Last month I was suffering from a touch of Crazy. We haven't accomplished much in the last month but I'm surprisingly okay with it. I'm not sure if it's me being zen or me being in denial. Either way I'm happy to not be hyperventilating about the wedding (anymore.)
I was having a lot of angst over our wedding favours. I like the idea of giving each guest a token of our appreciation. I don't like the idea of buying a bunch of crap in bulk and having 100 coasters (or keychains or candles, etc.) left over at the end of the night. I wanted the tokens to be something consumable but with more thought involved than chocolates (not that there's anything wrong with chocolates - I just wanted the favours to be homemade and there's no way I'd be able to make chocolates. Also, the wedding is in August and I'm pretty sure if we had chocolate favours they'd melt.) So after much deliberation with Turtle (who has been beyond patient with me through this wedding planning process - lady, you rock!) I decided on jam. We're going to make small pots of jam for each guest to take home. I love this idea for a couple of reasons. First of all, Turtle and Bow have both already volunteered their jam-making skills. Secondly, we can make the jam well in advance and keep it in my mom's pantry (this is assuming I can get myself organized.) Thirdly, we can make cheesy labels that say "Thanks for Jamming with us!" (S is a musician and a lot of his friends are musicians so a portion of the reception will be all the musicians jamming on stage.)
So does anyone have any fabulous jam recipes they'd like to share? I've been searching online but haven't found anything that really jumped out at me. Most of the recipes I've found have flavoured gelatin in them (I'm assuming they mean Jello.) I'd prefer recipes that are just fruit, sugar and pectin (and I think lemon juice is a key jam ingredient but I'm not sure.) I've only ever made freezer jam before; this is my first foray into the canning world. I really hope I don't give all the guests botulism.
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I like the jam idea. One of my favorite party favors was a wine stopper, but that's neither here nor there.
ReplyDeleteThe Food Network (foodnetwork.com) has some jam recipes. One that I saw is a strawberry jam (from Jamie Oliver, and it's in metric, which may help - I do not know how metric Canada is with its ingredients) and another is a peach jam. I am sure there are more too. I happen to be a big fan of Food Network recipes, especially those with high ratings.
There's even one from Emeril (http://tinyurl.com/7793u) that has pectin and lemon juice in it.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I jinxed myself with obedience boot camp. Now Calvin is only capable of doing the last thing we practiced hardcore.
ReplyDeleteHope Stel won't jump the maltese though...that'd be shitty twice in a row haha
Jam is SUCH a good idea! Sorry, I haven't done much preserving-I plan to start this summer though, when the garden is actually producing...
ReplyDeleteThe jam idea is really cute. Unfortunately I have no jam-making tips to give you. But I do have an idea. Make the jam color match your wedding colors (if it's possible).
ReplyDeleteGood luck at puppy school!
Hills- The strawberry jam recipe that "-j" recommended--the one of Jamie Oliver's--is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteAnd also, if you fail to achieve a zen-like state in the coming weeks, 3 Benedryl tablets usually do the trick.
i'm an uber fan of freezer jam. it's the bestest, for reall.
ReplyDeletei'm also an uber fan of your puppy school posts and stella. they slay me. truly.
Fantastic idea!
ReplyDeleteMy mom has an incredible recepie that I thought I had in one of my recepie books, but I don't. I'll ask her if the recepie is free for the sharing. It's the most delicious jam I've ever tasted, and I'll definitely pass along the recepie if I can.
I think the jam idea is way cute.
ReplyDeleteIf you wanted to make chocolates though truffles can be really easy. I've made them a couple times and I got em right the first time around. Ugh... so good! But I think the last think you need around the time of your wedding is the stress of making them. At least you can make the jam beforehand!
-J: Thanks for pointing me towards the Food Network; I hadn't even thought of looking there.
ReplyDeleteBen: I know what you mean - Stella thinks that every command means sit. Or she's messing with me. Either is a possibility.
Over-Thinker: Benedryl makes me crazy. 3 Benedryl tablets would probably make me rob convenience stores at gunpoint.
Jess: I love freezer jam too! It's so easy. I don't think I can use it for the favour though - I won't be able to keep it frozen the day of the wedding.
Sharon: Thanks!
Maxie: Mmmm truffles ... the problem with chocolate is that I'd be inclined to eat it all and not give any to the guests.