On Vacation

Hi all,

Just a quick note to let you know I am taking a little break. Nothing is tragic or anything like that. Just needing a little time to think.

Will be back before you know it!

Until then, eat lots of honey, sit in the sunshine, kiss your cat, and enjoy the folks you love.

Many hugs,
Matty

Random Thoughts

Before I even sat down to work on the computer this morning, I dropped my coffee on the lovely handtied rug in front on my rocker and my English muffin with peanut butter face down on top of the coffee. Somehow, I don't trust today.

After dropping my toast and coffee, I sat down to read college email. Another professor had sent out an email reminding us to vote for our safety video which is a finalist in the statewide contest. Sadly, he meant to write "push." He missed a letter. I can't stop giggling because the next email from him attempted to explain it. Somehow, I think his day is going to be worse than mine. Lesson: proofread and don't explain.

Yesterday we had 46 eggs. (Yes, Ron, I have JUMBOS this week!) The girls are happy to be rid of the snake. Me, too.

Moose and Anabell aren't eating their food which means they have found deer remains somewhere. I have tried to catch them so we could get rid of it, but haven't been able to do it until Tuesday morning when I saw Moosie come to the porch, nudge Anabel and the two of them sauntered down the road. Evidently, they thought I had left, because when I showed up with the car following them (I was on an errand), they took off running to the house as though they had been caught with their paws in the Milk Bone jar. Isn't it funny how even dogs feel guilty? What's up with that??

Monday morning the Mister went out to uncover the bike for his ride to work. He heard: "Peep! peep! peep!" He looked everywhere, but couldn't find the source... that is... until he lifted the other bike cover. One of the escapee hens had set up a nest and her little guys were hatching! We have two yellow diddles and one black diddle. Mama is doing well; we are now checking everywhere for more rogue nests.

My nephew, who is 12, has decided to go into real estate because his CDs are not earning enough money. He is now looking at houses. He announced after leaving one house: "It smells like dog pee and would cost to much to recarpet. We need a fixer upper, but not one that needs that much fixer upping..." Somehow, I feel a future tycoon in the making.

Fall is in the air. For three nights now we have had to use a blanket and I have offered the Mister $20 to get up first and close the windows. Where did summer go?

How's your week been??

Good-bye, Dear One

The first time we saw Mary, she was tied to a clothesline in front of a trailer on top of a mountain. The Mister swore he heard banjo music (think: Deliverance) as we drove the winding narrow road. I had decided I wanted a goat and a student had told me of one that needed a home as her owner was divorcing and couldn't afford to keep her.

"She's a goat," is all my student told me.

She was.

With legs no more than six inches long, she managed to carry her barrel-shaped body around as though she were a ballet dancer on pointe. She surveyed us carefully as we got out of the car, obviously shaping us up as novices in the world of goat ownership. I thought she looked pregnant and asked the owner. She didn't know.

"Bubba!" she shouted at her son (really, that was his name). "That there goat down the road. Hit's a boy goat or a gal gal?"

Bubba didn't want to leave the front seat of the car he was sitting in and listening to the radio. He rolled down the window to answer her.

"I dunno, Momma," he slurred. "Might be. Who can tell?"

I knew I had to rescue this gal from her life on the clothesline.

"How much for her?" I inquired.

We settled on $25. I got the best end of the bargain.

Mary was one of those goats who always knew she was in charge. Unlike the ladylike "baaaas" from the other gals, Mary sounded like Bea Arthur. She would stand at the fence, look at the house, and bellow "nnnneeeeeaaaahhhhh" as though she were swearing. When she would run, her tummy would rotate her trunk, while she tossed her head like a beauty queen and spritely twinkled to where you wouldn't want her.

She was just that way.

This past winter she kid, her second kidding. We didn't mean for her to be pregnant, but she had different ideas. She ended up with a c-section and one darling little guy with an Elvis curl. The surgery left her weak and lacking luster. After a week of forcing yoghurt and water into her, she rebounded and became the curmudgeon we knew she was. It was a frequent thing to see her little guy standing on her back, surveying "his" goat yard.

Yesterday, after a perfect first day of classes, we got home to feed. I headed to the milking parlor and opened the door to check the does. Mary was dead. Apparently, she had a heart attack early yesterday and just fell over where she was standing -- at the milking parlor door -- waiting for dinner.

This morning it was tough to not hear her call from the yard. But, she is buried next to her darling Maestro, the billy she loved more than anything. He, tall, magnificent; her, short, round. But, they were devoted to each other until he died. They spent hours next to each other, on opposite sides of the fence, rubbing, talking, and her adoring him. Now she is with him again, looking up at him, and saying, "What a goat! what a goat! what a goat!"

First Day Musings: Possibility

I dwell in Possibility--
A fairer House than Prose--
More numerous of Windows--
Superior--for Doors--
Of Chambers as the Cedars--
Impregnable of Eye--
And for an Everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky--
Of Visitors--the fairest--
For Occupation--This--
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradise-- 

-- Emily Dickinson

This is The Day Before Classes Start. It is a Day of Possibilities. Everyone has an A. Everyone is happy. Everyone is successful. I haven't gained 12 pounds from medicinal application of chocolate.

There is something about Starting that Is So Good. 

"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best -- " and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't know what it was called. -- Winnie the Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner

Yeah. Like that.

I think this is why I am addicted to Starting. I love the feeling of success before something can fail. I like the joy of completion before it is done. I crave the affirmation that I can do it before I have.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. -- Eccelsiasties 3:11

So, today I am going to dwell in possibilities. I am going to embrace the happiness of The Day Before and hope that it continues to The Next Day. As Pooh, I am going to anticipate the satisfaction of what is to come and believe it is every bit as delish as I can hope.

And, the cynic in me is ordering new pants....

In A Hurry

Email from a student: "Ms. H, may I add your class because I want to graduate on schedule."

Me: "Who did you take English 111 with and what grade did you make?"

Replay: "I took it with you in 2003 and made a B."

Yeah. Wants to finish in a hurry. It's a two year degree. Do the math...

This is why I need medicinal chocolate on a daily basis...

A Little Research

As an academic, it is important that I continually conduct research in order to keep current in my field. As such, I have found that primary research, that which I conduct myself and not those of another researcher, are the most reliable and valid sources of information that I can utilize. As such, I present for you my findings on:

The top ten things to do in a meeting

10. Read an assignment you are giving to your students.
9.   Knit.
8.   Try to sleep without snoring.
7.   Count how many other people are sleeping and are snoring.
6.   Take bets with your seatmates over who will go to sleep first.
5.   Text the most pregnant staff member and suggest she stand up and scream, "My water broke!"
4.   Text another faculty member and ask them to grab their chest and fall on the floor (if number five doesn't work).
3.   Play "Angry Birds" on your phone.
2.   Count how many times the words "stakeholder", "progress", and "change" are used in one presentation.
1.   Play "Hang Man" with a colleague using only words that describe the meeting.

Guess what I did today?

Better'n TV

The Mister has a gig in a few weeks. This means he has taken out the violin and the mandolin and is practicing around the house. I love it!

This is one of his original compositions "Emerald Isle." It could just be that he is Irish and I am Scot-Irish, but this music touches us deeply.

Enjoy!



(I can't believe I learned how to do this! Whoppee! Pictures AND video?? OMGoodness.. nothing is sacred...)

You Might Need to Know This

Cleaned the hen house.

Found a six foot black snake who had taken up residence in the hen house.

And she liked it.

A lot. A whole lot.

There may have been just a little screaming.

And running.

A water hose was involved.

Snakes don't like cold water.

Just so you know.

Don't ask how I do.

Someday, though, you might be glad you do. 

P.S. The Mister is my hero. He just counted the loops as the snake was coiled up and said, "Gee, it sure is pretty. Look at that! Isn't she pretty? Wow! And she isn't that fat, is she?"

Note to other Misters: Never say a snake isn't fat. It implies the listener is... Just saying...

Happy Monday!

Make Mine Boysenberry, Please

I am redoing our front storm door. The original storm door is 15, no, 20 years old and last spring, Anabelle (the dog) plunged through it during a storm. She is deathly afraid of any loud noise and this particular storm had her coming undone. Before I could open it to let her in, rrrrriiiipppp, she tore right through it.

So, I spent a little time looking for Just The Right Storm Door and found it; but, it was a custom order and I had to wait for it to be manufactured and shipped. It took, sigh. six weeks.

But, here it is:

Did you notice that it has a SOLID bottom panel?? 

So much for puppies coming in No Matter What!

Sanding done; the primer is done as well. And, now, well, I am painting it this lovely colour:

Boysenberry Jam.

Isn't it lovely?

Can you see my fine helper?

He watches the underside for runs and spills.

Yeah.

He is a great painter...

I just hope the Mister doesn't mind

that the Mooser is sporting a little bit of Jam when he comes home...

Simple Things

One of the things that summer brings which is so much joy is the ability to gather flowers at will.

Using whatever I have for vases makes the arrangements all the more interesting.

I have added red and blue food colouring to this vase so the hydrangeas will turn purple. Of course!

I love yellow and blue together. It is so crisp!

These are from my Grandmother's flower garden, transplanted when she died ten years ago.

She called them "Goldenrods."

Can you see the extra little treat in the bouquets?

Mint.

I read on Susan Branch's blog that she did that and loved the idea.

They smell wonderful!

Do you keep flowers in the house?

Freedom

It's official. I resigned from my co-directorship yesterday. And I feel gooooood, so gooood, I got my freedom, to plagarize James Brown!

It has been an agonizing decision. I love the workshop, the community in which it is held, and the participants (except when they have mosquito bites and make me go to the ER because they want to believe it is bedbugs).

But... isn't there always one of these in any situtation?

The long and the short of it is this: I was tired of working my arse off and someone else taking credit. I was tired of being jumped on for my political beliefs (which are more conservative than my partner's). I was tired of being treated like an administrative assistant. I was tired of people not even hazarding to think I had any knowledge on the topic just because I didn't have a PhD (piled higher and deeper). Or that I had nothing to say because I live on a farm in NW NC. After all, what could a gal in that situation think? Doesn't one need to be urbane to think? And, the final straw came when the partner screamed at me in a public place about an issue and the Entire Restaurant Turned Around and Listened to his rant. OMGoodness. Can you say mortified??

I share all this for one reason. Certainly all of us, except those few narsicistic souls who believe it is all about them, have been in this position. Many of us are boxed into relationships of some kind and feel like it is the Tar Baby -- we can't let go because we feel stuck.

Something happened to me in Walden Pond that I can't explain. I saw my life in a way that I understand addicts do: a moment of clarity when they realize the path they are on and can see both roads their life might take. As I floated there, I saw that my life was chocked full of things and people I really didn't like. And, I felt, as Henry wrote, that I was living a life of quiet desparation. There is a lot of pain accompanying this feeling and I wanted the pain to stop. And, the only way to do it was to clear all the clutter and say what I truly felt with kindness and love.

I slept the best last night that I have in months. It feels good to just say, "No." Heck, I might even get into the habit.

Show Me You Love Me

When the Mister and I were married,

it was a party with a wedding in the midst of it.

Our ceremony was by the creek on his farm at the time,

Sycamore Springs Farm.

We had tents, his band mates, and lots of good food.

Besides Grandma's Lemonade, we had pimento cheese sandwiches.

It is one of our favorites; we have joked that

even as we are getting ready to step to the other side,

our last meal will have to be our form of ambrosia... food of the gods..

Easy Peasy Pimento Cheese



Start with 1/2 of the large Velvetta cheese

(the fat kind, not the 2% milk kind -- bleh),

1/2-3/4 c. Miracle Whip (or Mayo),

and a small jar of pimentos.

I also toss in some shredded

whatever-we-have-in-the-fridge-that-needs-eaten cheese.

This batch it is some Colby. Cube the Velvetta and grate the other cheese.



Everything goes in the food processor at one time.

Using your blending plate, blend for one or two minutes until it looks like:

This is the best part. Sample and make sure you have enough Miracle Whip to suit

your taste. I like mine rather chunky, so this is perfect for me. If you

like yours smoother, blend longer and add more Miracle Whip.

After putting the spread in a sealable bowl or Tupperware,

scoop out a small amount for a sandwich.

Scrape all the best, chunkiest, tastiest part from under the blender blade

and make yourself a very delicious sandwich. After adding a

very ripe white peach for dessert,

you will be ready for a nappie

after lunch.

When the Mister came home last night and saw this in the refrigerator, he turned around and said: "Baby, you're the best!" I felt like Jackie Gleason had dropped in!

Bon appetite!

Boundaries -- And When To Push Them

Last night at, oh, 11:15 p.m., I got this wild hair; I wanted to try my hand at designing a shawl. It is to be a gift and so it had to be Just The Right One. Since there was no sleeping going on, I looked through every pattern I have. Nothing caught my eye. So, I dug out my Mary Thomas's Book of Knittng Patterns and started thinking about the special person I wanted to design for. I looked at the yarn in my stash (this is an embarrassment as there is so much) and found Just The Right Colour.

The Perfect Yarn is very soft blue, yellow, lavendar, and grey lace weight. When I saw it a few years ago at Orchardside Yarn Shop in Raphine, VA, I had to have it, but I didn't have a project in mind. As you know, that seldom matters in the case of yarn or fabric. Home it came. Now, it is going to a good purpose and is just perfect. The colours just suit the recepient and will go with nearly everything.

What I have decided is to make a stoll with a garter stitch border and edging to keep the shawl from curling. The first pattern is a flower which is 38 rows high; this will be followed by a 20 row repeat of butterflies. The back will be "rows" of honeybees which I will fashion from a combination of eyelets, small and large. I think it will be lovely!

I am nearly done with the first row of flowers. It was so exciting to watch the pattern develop that I couldn't go to bed! At 1:15 a.m., the Mister woke from his "pre-bed nappie", yawned, looked at me, and asked if it were morning. Technically, it was... and I was still stitching away!

Would you like to try this pattern out with me? Here's how you start:

Spring's Coming Shawl

Yarn: Lace weight (but I think you could use anything, depending on the size you want your shawl; mine is about 24 inches wide using lace weight and #4 needles)
Needles: to suit your gauge and yarn
Gauge: Gauge is for sissies!

CO 90 stitches.

Knit 10 rows for a garter stitch edging.

Place markers after the first five stitches and before the last five. This will create a garter stitch edging. You wlil knit these stitches every row.

Flower Pattern
16 stitch repeat

To keep up with your pattern, place a marker after each repeat. This will help you keep each pattern correct.

Row 1: Knit.
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: K6, YO, S1, K1, psso, K2
Row 4: Purl all stitches.
Row 5: K8, YO, S1, K1, psso, K6
Row 6 and 8: Purl
Row 7: K6, YO, S1, K1, psso, K8
Row 9: K4, YO, S1, K1, psso, K10
Row 10: Purl
Row 11: (K2, YO, S1, K1, psso) 3 times; K4
Row 12: Purl
Row 13: K8, YO, S1, K1, psso, K6
Row 14: Purl
Row 15: K10, YO, S1, K1, psso, K4
Row 16: Purl
Row 17: Knit
Row 18: Purl
Row 19: K10, YO, S1, Y1, psso, K4
Row 20: Purl
Row 21: Knit
Row 22 Purl
Row 23: K4 (K2tog, YO, YO, S1, K1, psso) twice, K4
Row 24: Purl. Purl the 1st YO and Knit the 2nd
Row 25: Knit
Row 26: Purl
Row 27: K2, K2tog, YO, YO, S1, K1, psso, K4, K2tog, YO, YO, S1, K1, psso, K2
Row 28: Purl as row 24
Row 29: K6, K2tog, YO, YO, S1, K1, psso, K6
Row 30: P6, P2tog (stitch and 1st YO), K2tog (2nd YO and stitch), P6
Row 31: K2, K2tog, YO, YO, S1, K1, psso, K1, YO, YO, K1, K2tog, YO, YO, S1, K1, psso, K2
Row 32: P6, P2tog (stitch and YO, including strand below), P1, K1 into YO and strand, P7
Row 33: Knit
Row 34: Purl
Row 35: Same as Row 27
Row 36, 37, 38: Same as Rows 24, 25, 26
Row 39: K4, (K2tog, YO, YO, S1, K1, psso) twice, K4
Row 40: Purl, same as Row 24

Okay; that's your start. When I get the next pattern worked, I'll post it for you to use. I can't wait to see how this works out. Please bear in mind that I have never done anything this complicated from scratch before. If you find an error, will you please let me know? And if you are going to knit this, will you let me know as well? I am eager to see if it is as attractive and pretty as I believe it to be! So far, I love love love it!

Happy Monday!

First Day Musings --- Creative Homemaking

Yarn holder and handmade knitting needles: Riverslea Farm

The Hidden Art of Homemaking, by Edith Shaeffer

Knitting project: Hannah's hat with Bear Yarn (shetland wool)

Several bloggers have written about Edith Schaeffer's The Hidden Art of Homemaking, and, frankly, after reading it the first time, I didn't get it. Where were the hints on organization? Recipes? Patterns? Anything, please?? Nothing of that kind was there. It was a book about creativity and how to tap in and use it in your life -- not just your home.

The first publishing was in 1971 -- how well I recall that year! I was in love with Iverson James McCann and wanted to live on his family farm in South Georgia growing peanuts. Yeah. It was a good year. But, if you can remember those days, you recall, too, that was a time of great confusion about gender roles and Just Whom Am I? This book seems to answer some of those lingering questions.

Homemaking is neither masculine or feminine. Rather, it is our way of attempting to create a full life which honors our Creator. And, since we all have the Breath of God in us, we are all, to some extent, creators as well.

So many people like to cite the Proverbs 31 woman as the perfect wife. However, if you look closely at the scripture, you will see that she is strong, wise, hard working, physically active, prudent, determined, and CREATIVE. Aren't these qualities that describe men as well as women? Isn't this really what all of us should be? Women are not meant to "love pink, fluffiness, glitter, and watching men's muscles" as I read on a blog not long ago. Frankly, I nearly tossed my cookies. Such a statement demeans a woman, but also the man, if all he is good for is physical labor and admiration.

Women are strong. We are wise. We are demanding. We are tender. But, most of all, we are just as unique as the men we adore. Flex those muscles, emotional, mental, spiritual AND physical! It is within your means to create the life you want to live. As Shaeffer writes: "The Christian should have more vividly expressed creativity in his daily life, and have more creative freedom, as well as the possiblity of a continuing development in creative activities." In short, why are you just sitting here? Get up and create something beautiful!

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y

Dishcloths are quick and easy to knit and they are great sellers at the Farmer's Market. I have been addicted to the waffle dishcloths, but have discovered there is a lot of interest in: "the round one Grandma / Mama used to make." So, I set out to knit a few.

Here's the first, and so far, the only one:

You knew it would be purple, right??

Anyhow, the first pattern Went Just Fine, but then the pattern went all to slaw. I couldn't get it to match up. It looked like this:

Okay. You probably can't see it; the row is one stitch short. One. Only One. I couldn't find it. I looked at my yarn overs and such. Nothing. Nada. Then, I realized, I was ending the pattern one row too soon. Of course, it makes a lot more sense if you knit, I guess. If you don't, just trust me, it was like trying to tie your shoes with a knot in one side of the lace; it will tie a sort-of bow, but you still know it isn't right.

Are you brave enough to give it a go?

Round Dish Cloth Pattern


Materials: 4-ply cotton yarn, such as Peaches and Cream; knitting needles of appropriate size to match the yarn (I use size 8).

Cast on 15 sts.

Row 1: knit

Row 2: k3, YO, k until one st remains on left needle. DO NOT KNIT LAST ST, turn.

Row 3 (and all odd rows): knit

Row 4: k3, YO, k until 2 sts rem on left ndl. Turn.

Row 6: k3, YO, k until 3 sts rem on left ndl. Turn.

Row 8: Bind off 3 sts, k2, YO, k until 4 sts rem on left ndl. Turn.

Row 10: k3, YO, k until 5 sts rem on left ndl. Turn.

Row12: k3, YO, k until 6 sts rem on left ndl. Turn.

Row 14: Bind off 3 sts, k2, YO, k until 7 sts rem on left ndl. Turn.

Row 16: k3, YO, k until 8 sts rem on left ndl. Turn.

Row 18: k3, YO, k until 9 sts rem on left ndl. Turn.

Row 20: Bind off 3 sts, knit across (15sts total).

Repeat rows 1-20 seven more times. Bind off, leaving a long tail for sewing the seam. Sew cast on edge to bind off edge, and sew around center and pull to close hole.

Happy knitting!

It's A Dozey...

There is a typhoon over Okinawa and it is a dozey. Will you please remember our Airmen (and mine in particular) as they wait the winds and water out? Apparently it is quite bad...

I Passed!

I saw this at Goodwill this week and wanted wanted wanted it...

I mean WANTED IT!!

It was $75 for 10 pieces...

I WANTED IT...

I drove home.

Looked it up on the Internet to see the value.

I WANTED IT NOW...

I thought about $75.

It wasn't that much...

I REALLY WANTED IT....

I showed it to my BFF Eleanor.

She agreed.

I not only wanted it; I needed it.

What a friend.

We decided that if it were still at the store today,

I could bring it home.

It was.

I left it on the shelf.

I have decided that it is just stuff.

I want my house paid for so I can stay home.

The $75 was transfered as a principle payment on the house.

I still want it... but I don't need it....

Funny thing.

This scripture has run through my head all morning: 

 Matthew 25:23:

His lord said unto him,

 "Well done, good and faithful servant;

thou hast been faithful over a few things,

I will make thee ruler over many things:

enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

I Think I Have A Problem

I am picking up firewood on the side of the road and

convincing strangers to help me load it....

At least I am not carrying my new chain saw with me...

Yet...

I haven't shown you that nice toy, have I?

Do you think I need a 12-step program or a bigger car?

All Bubbly!

This times two is how many bars of soap I have made in the past few days --- nine batches to be exact -- or 54 bars. Each is scented for the fall or Christmas holidays. Some of it will need a little trimming around the edges, but for now, it is done and drying.

With the humidity, it is tough to get the soap to dry well. So, I moved my drying rack upstairs and have a fan on in the room. That will do nothing for the humidity, but it does get the air moving a little to help it out.

Today I started on a new adventure. I want to get my dairy license so that I can start selling cheese. Without the license, I can't and I just won't bend the rules for anyone --- even though I am tempted sometimes! So, I have been to the Health Department and talked with them for quite a while. Seems I won't need a commercial kitchen license to make cheese, just the dairy one. That will certainly, I hope, make it more doable. And, since I will never milk more than four or five does, I will fall under different regulations. Brenda, at Granny's Best, inspired me to give it a go. Of course, she does it on a much larger scale than I!

Have you tried to make homemade cheese? It is quite simple. Really.

Simple Homemade Cheese

1 gallon whole milk (skim won't work! You need the fat!)
1 pinch salt
1 large lemon, juiced


Directions

Pour the milk into a large pot, and stir in a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the milk from scorching on the bottom of the pot.

When the milk begins to boil (small bubbles will first appear at the edges), turn off the heat. Stir lemon juice into the milk, and the milk will curdle. You may need to wait 5 or 10 minutes.

Line a sieve or colander with a cheesecloth, and pour the milk through the cloth to catch the curds. What is left in the cheesecloth is the Farmer's Cheese. The liquid is the whey. Some people keep the whey and drink it, but I give it to the hens. They love it, and me, when they have it!

Gather the cloth around the cheese, and squeeze out as much of the whey as you can. Wrap in plastic, or place in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator.

You can season this with almost any herb mixture. How about some of that pesto?? Or, maybe some garlic and onion chopped for a dip? Or chili peppers? Or just plain? You can't go wrong with it! I promise!

Enjoy!

Nine Minutes Or Less

We are eating a lot of this these days. Kinda tells you what did well in the garden.

It is becoming this:

Whole Wheat Pasta with Pesto. 

Yummers...

Garlic Pesto

3 c. basil leaves (wash if they have been sprayed; I use a combination of curly basil and sweet basil)
3 T. pine nuts
1 clove garlic or 1/2 t. powdered garlic (or to taste)

Using a food processor, chop until blended. Mine is chopped until the pine nuts are fine little grains.

Add:

1/2 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Mix until blended.

I put mine in a pasta bowl and then add the pasta to it. It seems to blend better. You can also add little butter to the pasta just before mixing it with the pesto. We put fresh Parmesan cheese on the individual servings, but you could add it to the pesto as well.

You can freeze this as well by spooning the mixture into ice trays, freezing, and then storing in a Ziploc or freezer container. When you are ready to use, set out and let thaw. Perfecta for marinara, too!