Canning apple butter in the microwave {With metal lids!}

No, surprisingly, I have not gone completely mad. It really is possible to can fruits, jellies, preserves, et al in traditional glass jars the microwave. WITH their metal lids. AND live to tell about it. {I did hide behind the kitchen counter the first time, just in case.} Who knew!?

We were down in the "big city" last weekend and decided to take a spin around the Borders bookstore that was going out of business. On a 50% off shelf, sitting all by its lonesome was a book about microwave canning. What? You can can fruit in the microwave? For only $2.00, I had to have it just out of curiosity.

It's called 5-Minute Microwave Canning, by Isabel Webb, and it is amazing!

Did you know that you can put metal in the microwave? Without causing an explosion or small fire, that is? Well you can, as long as the metal to "other" (food, glass) ratio is no more than 30% metal to 70% other. Seriously. I did it. And I'm alive to tell about it.

Did I just blow your mind?

I love canning fruits to have in the winter months because nothing grows here in Colorado at that time. If we want fresh fruit it's super expensive, shipped from half way around the world, and never tastes as good as the fruits of summer. Our other option is canned fruit, but that can be so high in sugar, not to mention the fact that many cans have BPA in the lining. To me, the best option is to can the fruits my family loves in the summertime and eat them all winter long.

Now, when I say "I love canning fruits..." I don't mean I actually love the process of canning. I love the end result and that pioneer feeling that comes with it. The actual process, while not difficult, is certainly tedious. Using the microwave makes it so much quicker and easier.

But enough about me, I know you really want to know more about this process!

Apple Butter
{Recipe from 5-Minute Microwave Canning}

2 lbs cooking apples
1 cup water
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves (I was out, so I used pumpkin pie spice)

Reminder: First, sterilize your jars, rings and lids. I put mine in the dishwasher using the high temp and heated dry options (two things I never use otherwise!) and just left them there until I was ready to use them. Try to time it so that the jars are still nice and warm though.

1. Place washed, roughly cut up apples (retaining skins & cores)* in a microwave-proof bowl. Add water and lemon juice.

2. Cook on high for about 8-10 minutes or until apples are soft.
3. Puree in a food processor or blender.
4. Return apples to a microwave-proof bowl and add sugar and spices.

5. Cook on high for approx. 6-8 minutes or until mixture has thickened and holds its shape when tested on a cold plate.**
6. Fill clean, sterilized jars. Secure lids.
7. Vacuum seal as directed. {See below}

This made 6 half pint (8 oz) jars of apple butter for me -- Christmas gifts for the kids' teachers!

Here are some of my own thoughts on the instructions above:

*The author suggests leaving the skins and cores in the apples. I actually used 3 lbs of apples and cut the cores out, leaving as much of the apple as possible. I hate getting those little hard parts of the apple that are around the seed. You know what I mean! I did leave the skins on and, even though I processed the heck out of it, I could still feel some little bits of skin. I'll remove the skins next time for sure.

**The cold plate test - If you haven't canned before, this is a way to tell if your product has "set" which just means, is it thick and goopy enough? Put a little plate and spoon in the freezer while you're preparing the above. After cooking it, take a little bit with your spoon and return it to the freezer for about 3 minutes. Take it out, hold it upright and, if your product doesn't run, you know it has set. If it does run, that just means it needs to cook for a few more minutes.

How to Vacuum Seal:
The author gives different processes for sealing each product or recipe in the book, so don't try this with any and every fruit concoction, because they can differ. For this apple butter specifically, put your jars in the microwave in a circle -- no more than 4 jars -- and make sure that they are at least 1 1/4 inches apart and away from the microwave walls. Cook on medium-high for 1-2 minutes. The tops will "pop" (seal) a few minutes after you take them out. Be sure to use hot pads to take them out. They will be SUPER hot!


Leave the jars to sit, undisturbed, until cool. Turn them upside down for an hour or so to check for leakage. If they leak, take the lids off, clean the tops and reprocess. If they don't leak (mine didn't!) you're good to go.

Wasn't that easy?

I also bought a bag of clementines which I canned in a light simple syrup. The kids love eating them in the summer. In the winter, they usually con me into canned mandarin oranges. Now we have our own BPA-free version.

Next up, several pounds of organic raspberries for preserves...aaaand I might try the raspberry gin that Webb suggests. Something for the kids, something for mommy. A little give and take is only fair.

Update: Raspberry preserves are done! I am loving this new microwave technique!

This post is linked to: Wow Us Wednesdays | Penny Pinching Party | Wicked Awesome Wednesday | House of Hepworths | Somewhat Simple | Freestyle Friday | I'm Lovin' It |

Meatless Monday: Faux Larabars!

I was planning to make granola bars today for my kids, but was thrown for a {good!} loop when I saw some girlfriends talking about homemade Larabars on Facebook this morning. {Thanks Shannah & Endy!}

My kids are starving ALL.THE.TIME. You would think that I never feed them. Or that they have a hollow leg, as my grandfather used to say. Nope, I've checked. Just growing kids. And, like any kid who's been exposed to the joyous highs of prepackaged HFCS-laden snacks, they would rather have something store-bought than homemade. My Ethiopians are actually pretty good about eating fruit or yogurt for a snack, but my home-grown kid tells me "Mooooooooom, I want something good." Sometimes it's hard to believe he's a 6 year old boy and not a preteen girl.

Where was I going with that? Oh, yes, I love Larabars and my kids love granola bars, but the good ones can get expensive, plus there's all the waste of individually packaged bars, so I tried my hand at these recipes this morning~

Hot Fudge Brownie Larabars by Chocolate-Covered Katie

Fruit & Nut Bars by Everyday Paleo

I used elements of each recipe, plus my friend Shannah's suggestion of adding cocoa powder and chocolate chips...because chocolate makes everything better. As all the ladies have reported, you can really change this recipe to add fruits and nuts that you like. I used a combination of nuts that I had in the house and the only dates I could find at my little grocery store. Here's what I ended up with~

Faux Chocolate Larabars

• 1/2 c raw almonds
• 1 c walnuts
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 8oz bag of dates {Note: My store only had chopped dates, which are slightly dried. I would recommend using whole pitted dates - see right - which are juicier / stickier. I fixed this by adding about a tablespoon of coconut oil.}
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Dump it all into your food processor and process until sticky. I then pressed the mixture into an 8x8 pan and stuck it in the freezer for about 30 minutes. They were easier to cut and remove from the pan this way. This made 8 good sized bars, but you could cut it into 12 kid-sized bars as well.

Enjoy! This is such a perfect start to the morning - fruit, protein and chocolate.

This post is linked to: Midnight Maniac's Meatless Mondays | Just Another Meatless Monday | Dittle Dattle | Motivate Me Monday | Creative Me Mondays | The Kurtz Korner |

It's the most wonderful time of the year... {Back to School}

For some, the most wonderful time of the year is Christmas, but for me it's Back-to-School time. This is usually something that I don't admit. I overheard a group of moms talking once, saying how sorry they felt for those of us who were excited to send our kids back to school. Until then, I never considered the subject. Note to self: good parents want to spend time with their kids. Check.

So from then on, I kept my true feelings to myself.

Summer in our house means complete chaos. Each Spring, Marc and I plan wonderful things we're going to do with the kids over the summer. (He's a teacher, so he has the summers "off" too...although he wouldn't call it time off.) We plan zoo trips and camp and museum outings, hikes, bikes, a weekend trip or two if we're lucky. And, for the days when we're at home, we brainstorm all sorts of cool homeschoolish lessons.


In reality, summer looks like this: Super Uncle comes out to Colorado and stays with us so that he and hubby can tear apart every room in the house in preparation for a remodel. The kids chase each other around with sharp sticks, stopping every 2.8 minutes to ask for something to eat. I am lucky if I get my work done in 12 hours each day, since I work from home. By the end of each day we're lucky if we've escaped without stitches or a call to poison control.

Now, I love my kids. A lot. I love that I work from home and can be Room Mom, volunteer in the classroom, pick them up from school, take them to dance lessons and science classes and play dates. I love our Friday movie nights and weekend outings. But I also love dropping them off at school again on Monday (and Tuesday, and Wednesday...). In fact -- and lean in real close, because I'm gonna whisper this -- I felt as if the clouds parted and the hallelujah chorus started playing on Tuesday when I dropped the two remaining kids off for their first day of school.

I've gotten more accomplished in the last two and a half days than I did all summer. As I type, there's a plate of homemade "cupcakes" (apple cinnamon muffins with cream cheese frosting) sitting next to me for my little guy's preschool birthday party tomorrow; a pan of eggs in the oven, with which I'll make and freeze "Egg McMuffins" for on-the-go breakfasts; chicken in the crock pot for tonight's chicken enchilada dinner, the dishwasher is empty, the laundry is running, and later I'm going to sneak in a workout before I go to pick up the kids. That's how it's done! {Watch out Martha!}

Oh, and when I pick the kids up from school? Instead of thinking "I'm going to jump off a cliff if I have to hear one more argument." I think "Aw, I missed you guys today!"

Sure I miss the days (and there were a lot of them!) of staying in pj's all day long, staying up late and sleeping in, but I'm pretty sure I'm a more patient mother, organized homemaker, and better chef when school is in session.

Meatless Monday: sesame noodle stir fry with veggies

In the spirit of the Summer Pantry Challenge (where I've been completely slacking) I used up a box of whole wheat spaghetti and some white and black sesame seeds from my cupboards. The spaghetti was actually cooked a few nights before. We had massive amounts of leftovers, so I used it in this stir fry the following day. I had zucchini and mushrooms in the crisper {crisper? who says that?}, so I sauteed them in a bit of olive oil, then added some hoisin and soy sauce as it cooked. As they got soft, I threw in the cold spaghetti noodles, then added the sesame seeds, plus a little more hoisin and soy sauce to taste.

Quick, easy, delicious and meatless!

For more great Meatless Monday Meals, check out Midnight Maniac's Meatless Mondays.

DIY Chalkboard Plaques

With all the remodeling we've done this summer, I've been eager to start the decorating portion of the show. I've seen so many neat things done in chalkboard paint recently, from serving trays...

{Via Pinterest}

To entire walls...

{Via Pinterest}

I wish I was bold enough to have a chalkboard wall. One day! Until then, I made this sweet little plaque to hang on my much more conservatively painted wall.

Supplies: unfinished wood plaque, chalkboard paint, turquoise paint {all from Hobby Lobby}, lace {from my stash}, hot glue gun.

I simply painted the sides of the plaque, allowing it to dry, then applied two layers of chalkboard paint on the front. I'm obsessed with the little birdie stencil I found a few weeks ago, so I had to put one on the bottom of this plaque too. Using a hot glue gun, I added ribbon to the back for hanging.

Now I can leave little love notes and reminders for all the sweet peas in my house.


This post is linked to: Skip to My Lou |  The Girl Creative | Sweet Little Gals | Blue Cricket Design | The Southern Institute | Someday Crafts | Home Savvy A to Z | Savvy Southern Style | House of Hepworths | Tidy Mom | Happy Hour Projects |

My baby heads back-to-school...

Fletcher and Marc started back to school this morning. Fletch is attending Marc's new school this year because, while his old school is phenomenal academically, it just wasn't the best fit for him socially. {Yes, I'm officially a tree-hugging, whole-child-teaching, hippy.} He thinks it's super cool to be going to daddy's school now.

Fletcher picked what I'm sure was ragweed for his teacher - I hope she doesn't have allergies - and put it in a pretty glass juice jar. I wanted to paint it like so many of the sweet painted vases I've seen in the blogosphere lately, but ran out of time.

I got a kick out of the two of them leaving together this morning, playfully pushing and poking each other.

I know Marc will miss his quiet commute to and from work, but Fletcher will love having this time with his daddy.

Do you have school aged children? Have they started back to school yet? Please come commiserate chat with us about it on the School & Learning messageboards at iVillage~

• Kindergarten
• 1st, 2nd & 3rd Grade
• 4th, 5th & 6th Grade
• Surviving Middle & High School
• Homeschooling
• Parents of College Students

Our Back to School Community Challenge is starting soon too. Sign and you'll have the chance to win a weekly $500 Zappos gift card, or a $1000 grand prize gift card!

Plank Yoga Mat Winner!

Congratulations to Janine (@FrugalCrafter) of Janine Rae's Ramblings who said...

Janine said...

I'm tall, and find mats too short. A nice long one would be great! 

Janine is the winner of the Plank yoga mat giveaway! Please contact me at kellie {at} mysocalledgreenlife {dot} com with your address so I can send your new mat.

If you didn't win, but would like a Plank mat or accessory, visit their website. Remember they have a great 60% off sale going on right now. Be sure to like Plank on Facebook too, so you can get all the latest news, products, and sales.

Thanks to Plank for sponsoring this awesome giveaway!

Harvest Time: Peppers

What are your favorite pepper recipes? I have my hands full, with more coming!

DIY Cork Jewelry Board

I'm a very visual person. If something gets pushed to the back of the closet, or hidden between other clothes, it never gets worn. The same goes for my jewelry. For the past 10 years or so I've been using a six-drawer wooden box from Hobby Lobby to store everything but if I don't see it all the time it's out of site, out of mind. I had to laugh the other day when I started pulling jewelry out of the box, saying "Where in the world did this come from?" "This is definitely not mine!" "I have never seen this before in my life!"

Pin It

Time for a more visual display!

I've seen all sorts of creative ideas online lately and, since I have plenty of room on the closet wall, I decided to make a large cork-board display for myself.

I took a plain old cork board (you can use any size, depending on how much jewelry you want to display) and painted the wood trim turquoise. I love bright colors, but have always been too chicken to use them in my house of earth tones, so this closet project was the perfect opportunity to try something a little more bold.

I also bought a little stencil to paint some birdies on the cork.

For earrings, I put a little wire across the top. It's jewelry wire that I happened to have on hand already. You could use twine or ribbon too. I attached it to the board with some wooden tacks that I found a Sprawlmart a long time ago. It would be cute to glue some little buttons on the ends of the tacks. {note to self!}

Finally, I added a few hooks to the bottom of the frame, from which to hang necklaces.

My shoe box contraption is right below this, so it acts as a nice little shelf for extras. I used an old pottery flower pot to hold bracelets, a crystal ring holder, and a small dish for post earrings. I'm considering spray painting the shoe shelf but, until then, it has a little piece of fabric over the top. I also got the stink-eye when I inquired about painting the ugly cedar walls. Boo hiss.

Now to finish purging jewelry and hanging up the rest!

This post is linked to~ Making the World Cuter Monday | Market Yourself Monday | DIY Project Parade | The Kurtz Corner | The Crafty Blog Stalker |

A Trip to Berry Patch Farms

Did you know that yesterday was National Can it Forward Day? It was the perfect excuse to take the kids to Berry Patch Farms for some good old fashioned strawberry picking.

I've never actually been berry picking before, so I may have been more excited than they were -- and I'm not even a huge berry fan to begin with. Something about the texture of all those little seeds that icks me out. I was excited to see what the hype was all about though, and planned to buy pounds and pounds of berries to turn into jam can for Christmas gifts.

When we got to the farm we found that the strawberries were about a week away from being ripe, so each family was only allowed to pick one basketful. My Christmas jam plans were foiled, but I was secretly relieved that I wouldn't be spending hours that night making 87 pints of strawberry jam.

As a special treat from Mother Nature, the raspberries were ripening early and we were able to pick two baskets of them. Both the strawberries and raspberries were like little gifts from heaven...so incredibly sweet and juicy. Even Fletcher commented on how much better they were than the ones we get at the grocery store. It was a great time to talk again about where our food comes from, how food from far away is picked before it ripens, which affects flavor, and how everything at Berry Patch Farms is grown organically.

The kids loved seeing all the animals -- many of which were just wandering around in the open -- including the fattest pig I've ever seen. Her poor little belly just dragged on the ground as she walked. Maybe she was preggers?

My favorite part was walking through the flowers. The flowers they grow there are brilliant. I could have taken home a truck-load! Aren't they gorgeous?

We had such a nice day at the farm {with the occasional "I'm so hot I'm going to die." and "Moooooooooom, when is luuuuuuunch?" thrown in for good measure, of course}. Now we just need to cram all the other things we planned to do this summer, but didn't quite get to, into the next week and a half.

Plank Yoga Mats: Review & Giveaway!

~* This giveaway is now close. Thank you to Plank and everyone who participated! *~

Welcome to the new era of yoga!

Who says every yoga session has to be a quiet, introspective -- or worse -- boring one? Definitely not Doreen Hing, designer of the fun and stylish Plank (TM) yoga mats and accessories. Hing believes that, "Yoga first and foremost can be useful, fun, creative and achievable for those real people with busy lives ~ no matter their passion."

Fueled by her love of fashion, art, design and her belief in conscious consumerism, Hing designed a series of Gripping Art Yoga Mats (pictured above) that combine high quality photography with a functional, gripping mat. She also has a fabulous line of accessories.

Plank loaned me a mat to try out for this review and, while I was hoping for the one that resembles a wooden plank, I received the also tongue-in-cheek "spilled pills" mat. At first I felt like I was doing yoga on a crack house bathroom floor, but the more I used it, the more it made me laugh. It also eerily reflects the colorful chaos of my house. Doing yoga on a mat like this seems fitting when you have three kids doing laps around you screaming "Look Mom! I can do exercises too! Feel my muscles!"

{Yoga on my deck...best start to the day!}

Here are some thoughts I had about the mat~

Length - Plank mats are nice and long. At 5'9" I'm not abnormally tall by any means, but mat length always seems to be a issue for me. Maybe it's because I've always used a cheap Target brand mat?

Feel - Enough cushion to be comfortable on the knees, spine and so on, but firm enough hold a pose without any balance issues.

Slip factor - I found this to be slightly better than other mats. My hands and feet tend to get a little sweaty during a more intense session, but I didn't find myself slipping or sliding any more than I normally would. For some of my less intense sessions I had no slimey slippage. The mat itself didn't slip on my hardwood floors at all, which made me very happy! I seem to jump forward a bit reluctantly, causing my mats to bunch up at times. I'm working on that...

Environmental aspect - The mats are made from eco-friendly, natural rubber, plus 10% recycled content.

To me, the best thing about the Plank mats was the reminder not to take yourself, or your yoga practice, too seriously -- at least not all of the time.

So you're probably wondering, "How do I get my hands {and feet} on one of these rad mats?"

First, you can WIN the Cobra Luxe Yoga Mat right here at My So Called Green Life. Hooray! Just leave a comment below. Unless we're BFFs, please make sure I have a way to get in touch with you, or be sure to check back next Wednesday, August 17th to see if you've won. You'll have one week to claim your prize, then I'll have to pick another name.

You can score additional chances to win by becoming a follower of this blog {I love new friends!}, or by sharing this post on Twitter (cc: @cmkellie) or Facebook. Leave me a separate comment for each that you do so I can reward you accordingly.

I wish I could give each and ever reader a Plant yoga mat but, if you don't win, you can visit the Plank website to purchase mats and accessories. Click on Get Connected to sign up for their newsletter and they'll give you a super secret 10% off code right then and there to use on your purchase. While you're there, check out Plank's Summer Blowout Sale where prices start at 60% off! {Christmas and Hanukkah are only 4 months away!}

Good luck & Namaste!

Upcycle: Tshirt into funky necklace

I am going to be fully accessorized by the time Fall rolls around!  I've been madly purging my closet -- ten year old suits? Yeah, don't think I'm going to be needing those! -- and finally made the decision to discard some old jersey gaucho-type pants that the Hubs hates. Did I say HATES!? {But they're soooooo comfy...and I work from home...and no one sees them...and and and...}

Of course, about 2.5 seconds after I put them in the Goodwill bag I was taking them back out thinking "I know I can make something with all this material!" I was inspired by an old post on the Method blog about the scarves they made from old tshirts and decided to try some necklace type accessories.

You don't need ugly gauchos to make these. Any old tshirt will do! I started by chopping off a big piece to work with. If you're using a tshirt, chop off the bottom hem first. Leave the seams attached so you have a big tube. I used my ruler and rotary cutter to cut strips from 1/4" to 1/2" wide, stopping just short of the seams on the top and bottom so that the whole things would stay attached together. You don't have to leave it attached though.

Once the strips were all cut, I gathered them together, then wrapped extra strips around the seams to hide them. Just tuck those little tails under.

The blue version I made was the first, so I just played with it a bit. It was long, so I wrapped it around my neck twice, then added a shorter version for volume. It turned out more scarf-ish like this.

The second one I made, in olive green, used a much wider piece of the leg. If you're using a tshirt, you'll want to judge how big of a piece to use by how thick your tshirt is. My ugly pants were made of  a very thin jersey.

After putting it together, I clipped one strand from each side and slid some beads on, adding knots between each one, then tied them together somewhere in the middle.

I really like the way it turned out with the beads.

There are so many possibilities with these and no right or wrong way to do it. I think my next one will be braided! I already have my eye on a sage green tshirt the Hubs brought home from a conference last week. Think he'll miss it?

This post is linked to: Market Yourself Monday | Making the World Cuter Monday | Metamorphasis Monday | DIY Project Parade | Just Something I Whipped Up | Made by You Monday | Get Your Craft on Tuesday | Tip Me Tuesday | Take a Look Tuesday | The Inspiration Board | One Project at a Time | Nifty Thrifty Tuesday | Tuesday Tutorials | Works for me Wednesday | Look What I Made | Whatever Goes Wednesday | Blog Stocking Thursday | Frugal Friday | Friday Flair |