St. Jacob's and strawberry picking

I have a lot of updating to do because I've been slacking in my blogging duties.

My friend, Daisy and I went walking in St. Jacob's.  The walk was gorgeous and green.  And St. Jacob's is a town I'd love to explore because of the cutesy little shops.  I love seeing the talent from the Mennonites that reside here.

Our mapped out trail.  It was surprisingly cool that morning.

Apparently, they don't allow people to ride their horses along the trail.  Such a sad day.

The lovely river

In this bag, provided by some thoughtful people, were condoms and lubricant.  I laughed that people would be willing to have "business time"out on a trail. 

Canada day, Greg and I watched most of the match between the U.S. and Germany, and then headed over to the Mitchell's for a potluck.  (I'd say BBQ, but the BBQ actually wasn't on...)  We played with friends, laughed, and talked, and then Greg and I headed home to watch the fireworks that was literally across the street.  I feel lucky that we didn't have to drive anywhere else 'cause the traffic was terrible.  The funny/terrible part about that night was the number of cars parked on the lane divider.  I didn't know you could get away with this!!  A cop on a motorcycle actually had to drive around the street to keep traffic moving because so many people were also parking illegally in the street.  The cop was pretty awesome just giving the warning, "Keep moving!  This isn't a parking lot!  I will have to write you up if you don't move your car!"

On the 4th of July I ended up working 'cause I helped a friend out on Monday by watching her kids on Monday.  Fortunately, I didn't have to go to work until the afternoon on the fourth, so I got to pick strawberries with my friend Daisy and her kids.  I had a blast picking strawberries, and we were fortunate that the weather had cooled down quite a bit since the hot weather I experienced on Monday while watching kids and playing outside with said kids.

With the strawberries I picked, I was able to make about 10 cups of jam (I made two types: freezer jam made with pectin and cooked jam made with lemon juice and sugar.).  I also froze a lot of strawberries.  The strawberries were a softer and smaller variety, which in my opinion, are better for jam making then for cutting up and serving on a plate.

M. holding up her basket of berries.

Y. taking a break

R. testing the strawberries

Our haul: 26 & 1/2 lbs all together!!  

Kimchi

Lately, I've been on a hunt to find some really good Korean recipes.  After my mom went to South Korea for the military, I've been interested in the Korean culture.  Fortunately for me, I have a friend from Burma who enjoys cooking a lot of Asian foods and is willing to teach me.  I just have say one thing really quickly.  I was told that the Asian market in Kitchener is very small.  Lies.  They haven't seen a small Asian market.  Try going to the Asian markets in Provo or Orem, Utah.  I was told that the market in Toronto was much better, but for a white girl like me, I was pretty satisfied with this place even though the smell of fish was overpowering.

Anyway...
If you are looking for a kimchi recipe, I suggest looking here.  Maangchi is a fabulous place to start learning how to make Korean foods. As a side note, my friend and I didn't make the kimchi with the porridge and we didn't use the dropwort.  We did, however, add an Asian pear.  This kimchi rocks.

My friend did the hard part cutting up the vegetables so beautifully. 

 I only had one yellow glove for mixing this kimchi together.  Wear gloves unless you want red pepper flakes to stain or burn your hands...

Mixing the cabbage, sauce, and vegetables together.

My friend was so happy that this kimchi turned out so well!