Here are this week’s Thursday Things:
1. I was getting my hair done last week and I asked my stylist what flat iron she uses and she showed it to me. They sell it at the salon for $145 plus tax.
I went online with my iPhone, googled it, and up came this deal from Overstock: $67.99, no tax, free shipping. Babyliss Pro Nano Titanium Variable Temperature.
I now realize it’s sold on Amazon for a similar price and wasn’t necessarily a “hot deal” on Overstock. Either way, it was still less than half the price had I bought it in the salon. Pays to do a quick google on things like that, always.
2. I plopped that sucker into my virtual shopping cart faster than you can say 450 degrees. My other flat iron was nearing it’s last leg. I bought it in 2004 and it gave me 8 great years but I needed a new one.
After just a few days, I am loving the new flat iron. My hair doesn’t get snagged in the plates and they’re five-inches long so I can fit a big section of hair in at one time.
The faster I can flat iron and be done, the better. I don’t go tiny section by tiny section and make it look perfect; I literally do maybe ten huge sections, ten passes, two minutes max, and I’m done. Good enough. Just something to tame the frizz, and make my half wavy, half straight, part kinky, part frizzy, definitely confused follicles all get on the same smooth, flat, page.
3. Cupcake Icing Kit – 5 hand-selected jumbo tips and re-usable pastry bag for $19.50. Great value.
Now, if only I could get past my mental issue of wasting tons of glorious frosting as it sticks to the sides of the pastry bag and not having the patience to clean pastry bags. But this set is cute enough that I think I could be swayed.
4. It seems Betty Crocker may be trying to get in Christina Tosi’s league by adding beer and pretzels to cookies. Yes, good old Betty is putting brewskies into cookies.
Betty Crocker (General Mills) is a Minnesota-based company and I grew up in Minnesota and will always have a soft spot for Minnesotans. And Betty Crocker and cookies of all types.
5. I wonder if beer would work with potato chips, Cap’n Crunch, butterscotch and chocolate chips in Compost Cookies. Actually that may be a little bit too much composting for even me.
6. Remember when I started canning? Well, you may not, but I sure do. Boiling water, time, energy, lots of research, pectin, and hot pepper fumes wafting into my sinuses, I figured it out.
Enter Hot Pepper Jelly
Then I found Stovetop Hot Pepper Jelly and no true canning is required. Stovetop.
7. Well it seems that Sue from The View From The Great Island has a French friend, Elisa, who grew up making jams and jellies from the fruit of her family’s orchards, which dates back to the 1500s. Her family has been at this awhile.
From Sue’s site: “According to Elisa, for the most basic of all jams you technically need only 4 things: fruit, sugar, clean jars, and a scale. The scale is essential because you need equal amounts, by weight, of the fruit and sugar. There are lots of variations and subtle changes you can make, including using special sugars with added pectin, and different combinations of fruit and flavorings…”
And from Elisa: “I’ve never heard of anyone, either in Belgium or in France, boiling the jars after filling them. Sometimes they do it before filling them – but just as a way of cleaning them well. But most people nowadays just put them in the dishwasher. To make sure, I checked more than a dozen websites on jam making in French, and none of them mentioned boiling the jars. However, they all said to turn the jars upside down when the jam is cooling down. This creates a vacuum that allows for the conservation of the jam and prevents contamination from bacteria or molds. You know, like when you open a jar for the first time, it makes this popping sound when the vacuum is filled with air? … and the extremely high sugar content stops the proliferation of bacteria (this is why historically sugar is used for food preservation – just like salt or vinegar). AND, my biggest argument: people in France and Belgium have been doing it like this forever and we’re perfectly fine :-)”
Leave it to the French to make amazing food and have a shortcut. I am so on board.
Sue’s Plum Chutney with Thai Chili and Lime is one example of no canning. Just boil the mixture, pour into jars, and invert. Done.
8. With the abundance of summer fruit, I hope to make jam with it.
Or put it into Creamy Mixed Berry White Chocolate Crumble Bars
9. Ever wondered about seasoning a cast iron pan? The differences between seasoned, unseasoned/bare, enamel, and recommendations are discussed. Short ‘n sweet and very helpful.
10. Have you entered the Champion Sports Bras Giveaway?
What are your Thursday Things?
Feel free to link up anything fabulous you’ve made, done, seen, or bought.
Do you have a favorite flat iron? Favorite pastry bag and decorating tips? Favorite cast iron pan? Ever tried canning?
I want to hear about all that stuff!
Averie! That’s the same hair straightener I use! I bought it for $99 on Amazon, though… you managed to find a much better deal. ;)
Beer in compost cookies… hmmm… while I think my boyfriend would LOVE that, I don’t think I’d be a fan!
Ooh fresh homemade jam just sounds heavenly. Did you find canning quite easy to pick up? It sounds daunting to me but then again, homemade jams and chutneys sound very tempting…!
I talked about it all here https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/02/hot-pepper-jelly.html and that post details it in layman’s language. Making the mixture is not the hard part; it’s the boiling water and processing those jars and truly canning that’s a bit tricky and cumbersome. But according to this woman, NOT necessary…at least in France since the 1500s :)
I have a Babyliss hair dryer and it is A-mazing! I have super thick locks and it dries them in no time. I just pray that my precious hair dryer never dies :)
Really? I need a new hair dryer, too. I have been buying $19.99 ones from Target every 18 mos or so the past few years after YEARS spent buying really expensive ones but them giving out on me. I will look into their dryers!
I would give my right arm if I could have someone teach me how to can the old school way. I made apple sauce with my BF’s parents a few years ago. But I have no idea how to do it on my own. Instead, I do a ton of freezing (tomatoes, jams, green beans, peppers). We have chest freezer in our apartment kitchen, so I have the room!
I taught myself and basically my hot pepper jelly post https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/02/hot-pepper-jelly.html details it in layman’s language. Making the mixture is not the hard part; it’s the boiling water and processing those jars and truly canning that’s a bit tricky and cumbersome. But according to this woman, NOT necessary…at least in France since the 1500s :)
wow, the colors in those berry white chocolate crumble bars are stunning! they literally jump off the page! very artistic and very scrumptious looking! thanks for sharing!
I hope they put you in a good mood for SUMMER! :)
as far as pastry, you would spend less (or same) to go to a professional baking store (or even a hobby store like Michaels?) and buy individual tips you would actually use. then get the converters and buy a box of single use bags! I have one reusable bag and I … NEVER “reuse” it! ;)
*sigh* each week I see Averie’s Thursday Things come up in my reader… and I think GEEZ, please tell me she is posting early! it cannot be Thursday already!! :)
I know, the weeks just fly by sometimes!
Single use bags are the way to go…I bought 2 reusebale bags and there is no way I would EVER reuse them?! I mean who cleans that all out?!! It’s SUCH a big mess, I just cannot see spending all that time doing it! I totally agree with you!
The link to the beer cookies is broken! I’m really curious about these, even though it doesn’t sound appetizing to me, they have potential – especially if Guinness is involved.
link fixed! Thanks for LMK!
Just wanted to drop you a quick note that I absolutely adore your blog. I’m always using the yummy treat recipes for gatherings and they are always a hit. Thanks for all this! Can’t wait to see what comes up tomorrow:)
Thanks, Jennifer for reading, saying hi, and LMK you always use my recipes!!! :)
Don’t you love finding things online for a WHOLE lot cheaper than in the store? Especially hair/beauty products, I’ve noticed. It’s so interesting to me that there’s usually such a huge difference in prices. Oh well! I’m super excited to start canning, as well! I’ve got a ton of strawberries that I’m hoping to turn into jam (or at least some of them, anyway). :) Have a great Thursday!!
Just wanted to pop in and say I flat iron my hair the same way ;). Who has time for all that fuss?
especially with a small child!! Seriously! Life’s little details like that ( i.e. perfectly sectioned hair) REALLY change after a baby :)
Need to re-season my cast iron, thanks for the reminder. My thursday thing today is all about popsicles! Having fun experimenting.
It’s probably super old and a hand me down, but if you have a recommendation, LMK!
I have a pastry bag set as well as a cookie cutter set from childhood. I’m terrible with using them both though. I always want to make pretty cupcakes. Never really turns out that way though.
Great info Averie, thanks! Canning isn’t really so bad if the process and safety are already in your head so you can enjoy making stuff. I think the real botulism threat is probably more with canning meats and some vegetables but fruit and sweet stuff can be really fun. Especially when you can experiment like ‘Plum w/ Thai chilies’, awesome!
I recently posted some of my canning recipes on a ‘Canning’ website and the author got so bent out of shape that I wasn’t following every detail of traditional canning. She kept responding over and over again picking apart line after line of my recipes. Really pissed me off to be honest and I ended up removing all my post because of her responses even though I had tons of hits on those recipes from her own readers wanting to know more. I think canning has a bad rap sometimes of being stuffy and uncreative is all I’m saying. I’ll be trying your jar sealing method asap! Thanks.
Did some candy that was pretty cool yesterday that was awfully easy for, candy that is: https://cannedtime.blogspot.com/2012/05/raw-cane-sugar-sea-glass-candy.html. So easy that I wanted to do it in more and more colors. It’s called Sea Glass Candy.
Great luck with your fruit canning and BE CREATIVE! I know you’ll have some great recipes for us from it ;)
I’ve had my straightener for years and I love it, but it is definitely running out of steam. I think they just lose their power after so many years? I’ll need to look into that one whenever I buy a new one!
Woohoo – frosting! I just bought my first frosting tip kit and I’m looking for an excuse to make cupcakes using a recipe from “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.” As for not wasting any frosting (which would be a crime), I think the perfect solution would to be to turn the bag inside out and lick the rest off! lol
Oh wow, I so need to get a decent flat iron…I’ve been way too cheap but I dare say the damage I’m doing with my cruddy one may be sending me to get my hair cut more often so maybe I’d save in the long run.
As for Thursday things, I’m getting sort of obsessed with Campari and Champane cocktails. The culprit behind this obsession here: https://scrumptiousgruel.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/keep-the-love/
Fortunately I know my tolerance so I only can take down about one before I quit…