2011-03-04 [Kaimee]: Hehe, just thought I'd mention that I made plum jam, pear jam, apple sauce, pear chutney, plum chutney, bacon jam, preserved caramelised onion, canned tomatoes, canned pears, pickled cucumbers, and pickled onions over the last few weeks. All using produce from our garden or friends gardens! :) Well, the bacon was purchased as pork from a local farm, and home cured, so it still counts ;)

2011-03-04 [Akayume]: BACON JAM!?! What is this madness? XD
It does. (:
That is so awesome! I am super jealous. It's still winter here so I'm waiting for everything to melt so I can garden again!

In the meantime.. I knit!

2011-03-04 [Kaimee]: Oh, bacon jam is my new best friend! It's very similar to caramelised onions (and in fact, contains them!) but it's essentially bacon rendered down very slowly over a very long time, then processed into preserve jars. Check out http://ohjoy.blogs.com/my_weblog/2010/11/bacon-jam-spreadable-heaven.html :D

2011-03-04 [Akayume]: It. Looks. SO. GOOD.

2011-03-07 [Kaimee]: It IS xD I'm seriously eating it on everything. Current fav is avocado, bacon jam, lemon, salt and pepper on crusty home baked bread <3

2011-03-07 [Akayume]: Just like, slices of avocado and lemon? This sounds soooo good!

2011-03-08 [Kaimee]: slices that I kinda mash into the bread a little, like a spread :)

2011-03-08 [Akayume]: Ohhhh, yum. :3

I wish I was as creative of a cook as you. DX I am sooo jealous.

2011-03-09 [Kaimee]: That's not very creative, it's just yummy :)

2011-03-09 [Akayume]: It's very creative! Trust me! XD I am nowhere near so nifty. I take bread, put butter on it, and call it a day. XD

I wish I could cook/create more, but I don't have time and I suck. :( I learn by watching and doing, so a cookbook is hard for me unless I already know the recipe.

2011-03-10 [Kaimee]: I guess I've always just thrown food together, and never really worried about recipes, so cookbooks would probably be hard for me too x)
I would recommend tastespotting.com if you're looking for help/inspiration. I generally browse it, look at the general ingredients and/or method and then just make it up from there. Yeah, if a recipe calls for simmering for a couple hours I'll simmer, but I don't generally follow everything step by step or even look at the recipe again once I've started messing with it. I just add salt and butter 'til it tastes good xD

2011-06-10 [Nioniel]: Cool beans. :)

2011-06-10 [Akayume]: X3 I haven't done any steps. Still. :P

2011-06-10 [Nioniel]: I might. :)

2011-06-10 [Akayume]: I want to make my own soap!

2011-06-10 [Nioniel]: Me too! :D

2011-06-10 [Akayume]: I found a good recipe online... I have to dig it up again though. I have a million and two favorites... >.>

2011-08-15 [Kiddalee]: What I love about this page is the number of links to tutorials. I'm going to try many of these.

I disagree with #30. Most people will use cotton to make their own dishcloths, and they don't make sure it's organic. Cotton is the most pesticide dependent crop in the world. The work that goes into the yarn is almost as bad as buying dishcloths from the dollar store, and more expensive.

I would suggest getting linen, hemp where it's legal, or organic cotton. Anything that uses non-organic cotton is not going to help.

At least learning to make a dishcloth will teach you the basics of knitting or crochet, and you can use that knowledge to make all kinds of things.

2011-08-15 [Akayume]: That's true. I love to knit, and I've found that going to specialty yarn stores and getting yarn that's been hand worked/dyed is great (although yes, a little expensive.)

And sankoo. I really need to try to do these again. >.< I might start at the new year like my 365 project. :P

2011-08-19 [Blaithin]: I love this Akayume, Thanks for the link! I'll definitely start trying it. A lot of the things I helped with when I was younger on the farm but have gotten away from when I've been moving around the last couple of years. I really want to start doing it again though and can't wait to get a place of my own and plan it all out!

2011-08-19 [Akayume]: Awesome. :D