Fruit Scrap Vinegar!

What a fascinating and amazing process! A few fruit scraps became 3 cups of beautiful and truly delicious fruity vinegar, with next to no active effort.

In the round bottle above is my pineapple vinegar, my first try, from Sandor Katz's book, 'Wild Fermentation'--(thanks for the recommendation, Linds!) Here's the process:

After eating a fresh pineapple, chop up the peel and put it in a glass or plastic bowl. Dissolve ¼ cup sugar in 1 quart of water and pour over the peel. Stir, cover with a cloth, and set aside. Stir occasionally—or not! You could weight the fruit with a plate if you like. In a day or so, wild yeast will begin to work on the sugars and you will see foaming as the yeast produces alcohol--it’s becoming wine. In a week or so, foaming will subside, and wild bacteria will begin to make the alcohol into acid, producing vinegar. You can strain out the fruit at this point. Let it mature for a couple of weeks in the bowl, covered by a cloth. You have pineapple vinegar!

The vinegar is rather mild and has a lovely, amber color and a definite, delicious pineapple aroma and flavor. I looked forward to watching the process day by day--it was fascinating! I do abhor waste, so the whole idea of using odd bits makes me very happy!

In the tall bottle is my next attempt, strawberry vinegar. After our recent family reunion, we ended up with several cups of rather iffy strawberries--not spoiled, just not in prime condition--so we crushed the fruit and started the vinegar process with them. It's just finishing up, and the vinegar is a lovely rosy color, with a nice strawberry aroma and flavor. We ended up again with about 3 cups.

Now I'm wondering. . .what next? My neighbor's apricots are almost ripe. Plums are coming along, then grapes. . .apple peels for sure. . .

Thrift Thursday--Carroty Watering Can!

At long last there was a moment to stop in the thrift store recently--summer always seems to offer a lot to occupy time and brain space. And what a delightful find! I can now water my one surviving house plant in style!

I love the the carroty bright orange color and shape! They make it a great addition to my fruit-and-vegetable collection. The glaze varies a bit in texture and shine--very satisfying. It's signed 'Katrina' in glaze on the bottom--I googled it, but didn't really learn much. Any thoughts?

And only $1.50! My apologies for the way the green onion seems to be growing out the top--I was hoping my photography was improving!

Miniatures Monday--a Tea Party!

The furniture from my dear, departed dollhouse has been packed away for quite some time, but I do get it all out now and then to dream over it and think of playing again.

And inspiration struck! My 1/12 dollhouse furniture, (lovingly crafted years ago by me) is just the right proportion for my Littlest Pet Shop Blythe dolls!! Too fun!

So, last week my two girls Jane and Dot (on the left) invited two of Care's girls, Lolly and Soleil (on the right) to a tea party at my house. A good time was had by all--especially Care and me!

It's fun to think again about all these parts of my dollhouse furniture collection--I do love tiny things, especially making them! I made many of the things here--the teapot and dishes are a treasured souvenir from the Washington, DC Dollshouse Museum, and the dining table is a splurge from a shop. My friend Vickie painted the tiny oil painting (thanks, Vickie!) and a few of the accessories were gifts from friends.

The shelves and the Arts and Crafts chairs are made of basswood, and the rug is made from one side of a BigLots handbag (I have another just like it!) The chandelier was a club project. The shelves display my miniature teapot collection, made of beads and scraps--I hope to post a better photo of them another time. Dot is holding her doll, Nancy--you could see a couple more photos of the girls on my Flickr photostream, if you like!

Thrift Thursday--Shaker Collection!

I just love odd glass salt and pepper shakers, and always watch for them at the thrift store--I'm forced to admit that I can hardly resist them!

Over several years now, I've accumulated a group--I love their similarities and their contrasts in shape, size, style, and age. It occurs to me I can officially call this a collection. And I'm quite pleased that none of them cost over a dollar!

I like the way the slightly tarnished but shiny silver plate tray ties in with the slightly tarnished and shiny shakers--they add a little sparkle to the day!