Author: Rachael

Teaching Scratch to Elementary and Middle School Kids

Teaching Scratch to Elementary and Middle School Kids

I signed up to teach Scratch to some kids at my son’s school for “project days”. Rather than make a video game, I wanted to introduce projects that could be useful to the everyday curriculum. Here are a few of the projects I came up 

Moves in Greater Boston

Moves in Greater Boston

I’ve been working with some visualization tools lately. This one uses Venngage and data from the Census (American Community Survey). You can scroll over the image to get detailed data. May marks the beginning of the peak rental and buying season. But people move more 

Fleece Wonders from MLK Day “Many Helping Hands” Event

Fleece Wonders from MLK Day “Many Helping Hands” Event

Look at the amazing fleece creations (blankets and scarves) that Many Helping Hands Volunteers came up with at the Cambridge YWCA today! I was astonished by the creativity and joy of these folks. Thanks, all!

For this year’s projects, we tried to have more of a focus on no-sew designs because we always have so much work left over for our sewers. I put out a few very basic examples but people really took it to the next level. I’m really in awe . . .

No-Sew Fleece Scarves and Blankets

No-Sew Fleece Scarves and Blankets

I’m looking forward to helping with the Many Helping Hands event in Cambridge again this year on MLK Day, January 19th. I’ll be helping make fleece blankets and scarves and despite the presence of many devoted sewers there’s always a lot of sewing left to 

Thanksgiving-Time Volunteer Opportunities with Children (Cambridge/Somerville)

Thanksgiving-Time Volunteer Opportunities with Children (Cambridge/Somerville)

Several of us have talked over time about finding volunteer opportunities that involve children. Here are a couple ideas for Thanksgiving time . . . Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services (SCES) organizes volunteers to deliver meals on Thanksgiving morning. You use your own car and go in 

How to Make Jam from Any Fruit

How to Make Jam from Any Fruit

A Universal Jam Recipe

On Friday, my 9-year-old and I made jam using strawberries and rhubarb (with a little mint thrown in) from the garden. We got seven pints of delicious jam! He took the lead, hulling strawberries, sterilizing the jars, cooking the jam and preparing the pot for the canning. I made green soup at the same time. It was fun and all came out great.

Here’s our basic jam recipe which seems to work pretty well with the different fruits we’ve picked (strawberries, rhubarb, plums, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, and tomatoes!).

Ingredients

2 c. fruit
1 c. sugar
1 t. Pomona’s Universal Pectin*
1 t. Pomona’s calcium water (comes with the Pomona’s packet and you mix it up)
Thai or Italian basil or mint to taste, finely chopped (we like basil in blueberries, mint in strawberries and rhubarb, ginger/clove/cinnamon in tomatoes). 
Some people also add a bit of fresh lemon or lime juice but I haven’t bothered with this as of late.

Directions

1) In a large pot, boil water and sterilize jars and lids (this is the same pot that you’ll boil the jam in after it’s ready). 

2) Heat fruit and calcium water at low heat until they get mushy and start to break down and bubble. (I normally do 6 – 8 c. of fruit in a 3-quart pan).

3) Add sugar (with pectin mixed in) to the fruit and cook at a medium boil for at least 3 minutes. (Stirring the pectin into the sugar keeps it from forming clumps). If you’re adding basil or other flavoring, add it to the fruit. Stir only as necessary so the jam doesn’t settle on the bottom.

4) Take a bit of your jam and stick it in the freezer for a few minutes to make sure it sets up. (It usually does, but it’s better to test it up front than to have to redo your jam later). If it has not set, boil longer and/or add pectin to your mixture. You can also sense whether your jam is setting by observing the extent to which the jam from your stirring spoon (once it’s sitting for a minute or two while you’re not stirring) firms up.**

5) Spoon the jam into jars (with a sterile implement and clean hands), leaving 1/4” of space at the top. If there’s jam on the rim, outside, or in that 1/4” space, wipe it off with a super-clean cloth in hot water or with a super-clean finger.

6) close the lids firmly and boil (with 1” of water at least over the tops) in your large pot for 10 minutes. (I use a vegetable strainer at the bottom of my large pot to support the jar and boil 4-5 jars at a time).

7)  remove your jars and let them cool — you’ll hear the tops pop. 

Comments

This method has worked quite well across a variety of fruits. I have never had spoilage. I have had batches that didn’t take (or didn’t take very well) but the testing in the freezer seems to eliminate this.

I tried making all sorts of jams without pectin (in this case, I usually add lemon or lime juice and have tried making natural pectin from citrus seeds, as I recall) and it worked sometimes and sometimes not. In any case, requires more boiling and I guess I like my fruit not to be overdone (though it is thoroughly cooked). You can always try a little less pectin for fruits that naturally have more pectin. Enjoy!

* I use Pomona’s pectin — it’s supposed to be a natural, low-sugar pectin, though my recipes are not really low-sugar. You can also use Ball pectin but I find I have to use more to get a batch to thicken.

** A note on setting: some fruits (rhubarb, raspberries, citrus) contain more natural pectin than others (peaches, blueberries, strawberries) so you can go lighter on the pectin for these high-pectin fruits. Additionally, very ripe fruit will have less pectin than less ripe fruit. Jam can get “too set”, hard in consistency and difficult to spread. On the other hand, jam that’s a little runny isn’t too bad.

First Harvest

First Harvest

Picked the first fruits of the garden this weekend and cooked them up into a vegetable sautée and a rhubarb crumble. Delicious! Above: bok choy, pea tendrils (both bought from Russos as plants about a month ago), asparagus, chives, and rhubarb (all perennials). This year, 

A Brainstorming Project

A Brainstorming Project

Can you think of jobs that combine the following interests, skills, and values? Interests Skills Values Housing Writing Working with GROUPS of People Community Research Time flexibility/goal orientation Financial Literacy/ Empowerment Analysis High Hourly Pay Sustainability Teaching Constant Learning/ Intellectual Expansion Entrepreneurship Designing/ Formulating/ Starting 

Pictures from the Cabot Street Cinema Theater Auction Preview

Pictures from the Cabot Street Cinema Theater Auction Preview

A Salad a Day

A Salad a Day

About November when temperatures drop, my mood seems to drop with them. A number of years back I tried an all-raw diet, but found it difficult to maintain and very high in oil and nuts. I found that a salad a day was enough to