Repost...What Was in Your Trick-or-Treat Bag?

Sweet, Sweet Memories!

 

Don't you miss Trick-or-Treat?

 

Those who have followed me for awhile may remember that Swiss Days and Labor Day Weekend is the "kick-off" to my holiday crafting season.  To help get you in the mood for Halloween projects I am reposting a "sweet" post on Halloween candy.  I first posted the following in October of 2011...when I had maybe a couple dozen followers.  I did a lot of fun Halloween posts that year...so I may just be repeating a few more of them as the leaves fall and the apples ripen.

 

 

"What didja get?"
As soon as we got in the door with our bulging pillowcases of loot, the older...non-trick-or-treat...members of the family would pounce.  We dumped the booty in the middle of the kitchen table and commenced sorting.  Apples...no way!  Popcorn balls...pretty good, but not quite there.  The golden ticket, blue ribbon, cherry on the sundae...the prize of prizes...was the full-size candy bar...preferrably chocolate!

Vintage Candy!
I just took a little trip to the Candy Wrapper Museum to find the candy we all wanted to find in our Trick-or-Treat bags.

 

The following candies are from my childhood...some of which I had forgotten even existed.

What were your childhood favorites?
 

I thought using marshmallow was a waste of good chocolate.
 

Second best candy bar in the lineup.

 

 

 

Don't think I ever had one of these.  Peanut butter is okay.

 

I know I never tried this one...no chocolate.

 

Did anyone else feel cheated when nickle candy bars became a dime?

 

Don't know if this is my era or not...the 5cents says it probably is.



Milky Way...the Holy Grail...to me...of chocolate bars.

Acceptable Substitutes

Gum is always good.

 

When I was little, I thought these were made from chickens.

 

These always got stuck in my teeth.

 

You chewed these one at a time until they went sugary...lol!

 

I was never sure what the deal was with these.

It was great to be a kid!  Mom would always say, "You can eat three pieces tonight, then you have to put them away and make them last!"  Yeah, right!  I am sure I am not the only one who woke up about noon the next day with candy wrappers in my hair and a tummy ache.  The dog is in a candy coma in the corner and your little brother hasn't stopped running in circles for hours! That grimy bottomless pillowcase wasn't so bottomless all!

May all your Halloween memories be sweet ones!





 

Tomato Season...My Favorite Chili Sauce!

It's Tomato Season!

Cutest tomato label ever!

 

Have you ever noticed that when you plant tomatoes that there is either too few...or too many?  I have the sinking feeling that this is the year of "too many."  The weather has been perfect for tomatoes...hot and sunny.  Now the plants are full of quickly ripening tomatoes...and I am not exactly in the mood to spend days huddled over a steaming canner.  Lucky for me, my husband George loves the "scientific process" of canning.  He'll do all the peeling and chopping...which I hate...and I will prepare the bottles and get the water bath canner steaming.  Fair trade I think!  Last weekend we made the raspberry jalapeno jelly I posted about here.  It was a great success and I now have enough to last for at least a year.

 Of Course I Can!

She looks a tad shell-shocked if you ask me...lol!

 

Homemade Chili Sauce...

Yummy...better than store-bought!

 

George's Chili Sauce Recipe

Yield:  about six pint jars.

4 quarts peeled, cored, chopped tomatoes ( about 24 large)

2 cups chopped onions

2 cups chopped sweet red peppers (about 4 medium)

1 hot red pepper (we use the dried pepper flakes)

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons salt

3 Tablespoons mixed pickling spices

1 Tablespoon celery seed

1 Tablespoon mustard seed

2 1/2 cups vinegar

 

Combine tomatoes, onions, peppers, sugar and salt.  Simmer 45 minutes.  Tie spices in a cheesecloth bag; add to tomato mixture; cook until very thick, about 45 minutes, stirring frequently

 

Prepare home canning jars and lids according to manufacturers instructions.

 

Add vinegar to tomato mixture; cook to desired thickness. Remove spice bag.  Carefully pour hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch  head space.  Adjust caps.

 

Process 15 minutes in boiling water bath canner. 

 

 

Pretty...as well as delicious!

Use for crockpot meatballs...serve over rice!

Better than Manwich for sloppy joes...a favorite Halloween supper treat!

 

Random Acts of  Fall Crafting...

Repurposed bird cage.

Burlap and Sunflowers.

 

Dear little owl...

I love sunflowers this time of year...a preview to Fall.

Owls and crows show up in August around my house.

 

Happy Pre-Fall, Y'all!

 

Bonus!!!!

Tomato Labels...enjoy!

 

 

August is Here...Let's make Raspberry Jalapeno Jelly!

August is Raspberry Month...
At least it is on my calendar...it is also sunflower month, but that's another story.  I am so looking forward to Fall.  It's been a long hot summer.  I glad I'm not the only one who hasn't posted as often...it has to be the heat...and the busy-ness of summer vacations.  I am an Autumn Woman...not only in the seasons of my life, but in my love of the golden waning of the year.  This week I have been taking down the red, white and blue in my home and replacing it with the reds of apples and the golds of sunflowers.  I am also getting ready for the tons of tomatoes that will soon be ready for canning.   Our garden is pretty limited this year...my husband's company has been busy with a complicated job that requires more of his attention than usual.  Tomatoes and Peppers...that's it!  We had planted green beans, but they didn't come up.  Which is okay by me...canning beans can be very tedious.  I'd rather do crafts!  Who's with me? 

Raspberry Jalapeno Jelly

 

Technically...it's a jam...but "jam" doesn't flow off the tongue like "jelly." A few years ago, after spending more than $6 for a small jar of raspberry jalapeno jelly at a craft boutique...and loving it...we decided to make our own.  After all, it should cost less than $36 to make six half-pints of sweet and spicy goodness.   This recipe quickly became a family favorite.  We use it on taquitos (flautas), pork chops, and with turkey...instead of cranberry sauce.  I love it with Swedish meatballs in place of the lingonberry jam they sell at Ikea.  You should try it on cornbread muffins...OMGoodness!

 

My first batch...2011.

 

I love how pretty the bright red jelly looks!  Since I was using Tattler Reusable Canning Jar Lids, from Tattler Reusable Canning Lids, I didn't want to write the contents on the top, so I made some little tags, just to make them extra fun.  We found a great recipe at Greens and Jeans.  The only change we made was to use 5 jalapenos intead of 2.

Greens and Jeans Raspberry Pepper Jam

Makes 6 half-pint jars

Ingredients:

5 cups fresh raspberries

2 jalapeno peppers, (we used 5, 2 with seeds)

1 red or green bell pepper

4 cups sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 package powdered pectin.

Directions:

Wash and pick through raspberries.  Crush berries and place in a large pot.  Chop the bell peppers and jalapenos (wear gloves!)  Add the chopped peppers to the pot along with the sugar and vinegar.

Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring often until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 15 minutes.  At this point, stir in the pectin.  Bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 to 2 minutes.  Ladel into hot half-pint jars and process in boiling water canner for 10 minutes. 

 

That's it...short and sweet as a ripe raspberry!

More fun will follow as the days grow cooler.

 

 

 

A Sweet Project...U and I Sugar Sack Pillows!

 

U and I Sugar...Home Grown Sweetness!

Utah and Idaho...the sugar I grew up with!

C & H Sugar...just a sweet little imposter!

 

This lovely saltine tin was our sugar canister...often found on our breakfast table.

Too lazy to use a spoon...the sugar was poured directly from the tin.

Every bowl of cereal had a half inch of sugar on the bottom...lol!

 

Lehi Sugar Mill....

Postcard from my collection...Lehi Sugar Mill.

 

As a child we often drove by the old sugar factory in Lehi.  It was located near the dreaded "Mill Pond"...a body of water rumored to have no bottom, that would suck down any child who swam there.  My mother's cautionary tales were often exaggerated all out of proportion, but I wasn't going to test her theory.  She once told me that it swallowed a train...the "Orem" I believe. 

See all the spooky smoke over the creepy Mill Pond...all for the love of sugar!

The factory was built in 1891 during the height of  Utah sugar production.  American Fork was also competing for the factory.  In the American Fork library there is a copy of a pamphlet put out by American Fork to show all the wonderful amenities our city had to offer prospective industries.  What they should have offered was a building site and land for a beet farm.  Lehi did just that...40 acres for the factory and 1,500 acres of land.  They also built a road to the location, bought stock in the company and gave perpetual water rights.  Also a plus...two railroads passed nearby...The Rio Grande and the Western Pacific. 

American Fork offered photos of lovely homes and a picture of the Postmaster...who was famous for his mustache and cape.  Who would pass over sedately boring American Fork in favor of  boisterous "shoot 'em up" cowboy town Lehi?   Lehi celebrated their victory with bonfires of looted property and free barrels of beer.  Well done, Lehi...well done! 

 

Sweet Pinterest-Inspired Pillows...

 

Cute pillow I found on Pinterest.

 Sold by Maggie Jane's Vintage Etsy Shop

 

 

I found two bags on ebay...5 lbs and 10 lbs.

Sadly neither one was made in Lehi...and one is from South Dakota!

But they had the brightest printing.

Fun use for milk caps...almost like a prize ribbon!

I love the instructions printed on the backs of the bags.

 

 

Vintage Sheet Jammie Pants...

I am pretty late to the home-sewn pajama pants party...but not too late!  I have been collecting vintage sheets and pillow cases when I find them in the thrifts.  I can't believe how cheap they are sometimes.  I thought it would be fun to make PJ pants from one of the sheets.  I love the cool feel of sheets in summer.

 

Pretty violets...full sheet was $4 at Savers and was enough fabric for two pairs.

I trimmed the pants with vintage rick-rack and found a comfy tee-shirt to match.

They are soooo cool and comfortable, I think I will make a few more.

 

Have a sweet week!