My mother loves making delicate, amazing, and delicious cranberry relishes. I don’t like them. I like my cranberries jiggling, oversweetened, and strait from a can.

If you are not a barbarian, there are lots of places online to find amazing fresh cranberry relish recipies. I am not the person to judge, because I’m not making dozens of cranberry relishes that I would then have to EAT so I can tell you which is the easist to make and the tastiest, because… well, I’m a barbarian and I don’t like it.

So, today, if you have a cranberry jelly or relish to make, this is the day for it. Cranberries are nice and acidic and they’ll keep till Thanksgiving.

However, there IS a recipie that I tried that was delicious. You know me and my inability to follow directions creative spirit, and how I love to destroy fiddle with recipes, so I figure I will simply give you the original recipe I’ve been mauling making to try to find shortcuts that work with whatever crap is in my pantry or about to go bad perfect it. I’m going to include it here as well as a link, just in case the site it’s on ever goes down. If you get a chance check out the link, the comments are fantastic.

This is the “World’s Most Convenient Green Bean Casserole” from Kitchen Parade. You can make two- one to eat tonight, and one to freeze for the Big Day. It’s delicious, I like it because I don’t like canned green beans and these are fresh. Here you go, a real recipie with measures, temperatures, times and everything! Don’t get spoiled, now.

This is my Mom’s carrot recipe. It is amazing. Even the most vegetable hating child like my husband will gobble this up, because it tastes like candy and pure joy.

Take a bag of carrots and wash them carefully. Cut off the tops and any bits on the bottom that look strange.

You are going to want to julienne the carrots. I never cut the sides off for carrots, but other than that, this is a good video demonstrating the technique.

Toss the carrots into a zip lock bag. Cover them with a medium-nice sherry. Mix in brown sugar to taste-if you’re looking for a more desert style dish, add a lot (1 cup would be a lot), otherwise, add just a few tablespoons.

Toss the carrots into the fridge to marinade. When the day comes to cook them, throw a couple of tablespoons of butter in the bottom of a small crock pot (PERFECT, this is preferable, do it first thing in the morning) or in a frying pan (more work, put them in around noon and stir occasionally, if it boils down too much add some apple juice to keep the sauce from sticking or burning) and toss in the carrots and the liquid. If it’s in a crock pot, leave it alone even though it smells so good. The outside should be soft, and the inside just sliiighly crunchy.

If you want to be super fancy, you can remove the carrots and reduce the sauce, then pour it on the carrots again. You could also throw a few currants or dried cranberries in while the carrots were cooking to add a nice tart undertone. A little lemon juice or a few sections of an orange could also work nicely.

If you want, when you serve these you could add some orange zest on top. It’s a very elegant looking dish.

Reading is probably the best skill that a person can have, and one never gets too good at it. While I have only anecdotal evidence to support my assertion, I really believe that reading a lot improves one’s IQ. Furthermore, it isn’t just the accumulation of factual data that makes it a benefit, but rather the simple exercise of the mind. Consequently, it is not necessary to read about science, or history, or math in order to better oneself. Personally, I love to read fiction, especially science-fiction.

It costs nothing to read, but books often do cost money. With that in mind, there are numerous used book stores that have a wide variety of tomes at incredibly reasonable prices. Many of us have stacks of old books that can be traded in at these stores for books that, while not technically new, are new to us.

When I get really sucked into a book, or better still a series of books, cheap fun doesn’t go nearly far enough to describe my own enjoyment. I remember when I first picked up the novel Dune by Frank Herbert. I read the book cover to cover in a matter of days and went right out to get the sequels. It took me just two weeks to read all six novels because it was summertime and I was on break from college. That was the fastest I have ever read before. I read the Ann Rice vampire novels and Arthur C. Clark’s four ’space odyssey’ books extremely quickly as well. These I highly recommend.

So whether you want to stimulate you mind, or you just need some cheap fun, check at your local used book store. Make a habit of it. They are constantly getting new inventory from other people getting rid of their books. If you can’t find what you want today, it might just be there tomorrow.

With the economy in recession, and money being tight, gardening is both a way to have fun and a way to save money. Personally, I am fortunate enough to have a small backyard for my gardening, but apartment dwellers need not deprive themselves of the joy of growing things. Plants will grow just fine in pots on a balcony.

The first thing one should consider when deciding to start a garden is, obviously, what to grow. A flower garden is pretty to look at, but I much prefer to grow things to eat. I grow tomatoes because they are very useful in cooking. My garden also has cucumbers that I like to make pickles from. Additionally, I’m growing strawberries, cantaloupe, and watermelons in my garden and I have two peach trees and a plum tree (I love fruit).

After you pick some things you want to grow, consider such things as how much space will be required, which plants require more sunlight and which require more watering. You will also have to decide whether to buy the plants or just buy seeds. Buying seeds is more difficult to get plants from, but it is also much cheaper. This season I started my garden from seeds using a $10 florescent grow light I bought at Walmart. I filled a gardening tray with soil and planted seeds about a half inch deep. Then I left the tray under the grow light 24/7, watering everyday, until I had some strong, healthy plants that I could safely transplant into larger vessels. Many of the seeds that were sown did not develop, but by planting a large number of them, I was certain to get some plants.

Gardening requires some physical labor, but I find that it relieves stress and is genuinely fun. Furthermore, as I watch my babies get larger I look forward to when I get to harvest my crops and enjoy the fruits of my labor. It really is an interesting pastime and I heartily recommend it.

Baking cookies at home is relatively inexpensive and generally a lot of fun. Obviously, one is not limited to just cookies, you can make cupcakes, brownies, pastries, or anything else you are skillful enough or brave enough to bake. The activity can be made more sociable by giving out the baked goods to friends, family, or neighbors.

Ideas and recipes are available from many sources. Television shows, magazines, cookbooks (check one out at the library if you don’t have one), even the internet, can all yield interesting results. Perhaps you have your own secret recipe; don’t hesitate to show it off.

For you artists out there, pick a theme, perhaps a seasonal one, and go wild decorating. There’s always a holiday approaching at any particular time of year. Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, July 4^th, Halloween, and Thanksgiving are spread throughout the year enough to always have some kind of theme.

If you don’t really know who you would most like to give out the goodies to, let me suggest boxing them up and shipping them to a soldier serving in the military. People who have never served in the military often overlook a small gesture like this, but these things really are appreciated by our troops. In the HIGHLY unlikely event that you don’t personally know anyone serving in uniform, there are many organizations that bake things for the troops. Contact them for information of how you can help out.

I love costumes. I love Halloween, Renaissance fairs, costume parties, and any other excuse to dress up in wild outfits. There’s no reason not to have random costume events anytime of the year. They don’t have to be expensive either, hence they are included in the cheap fun ideas.

It’s up to you whether or not you want to do a general theme for your event, or just let everyone pick their own random costumes. Some themes that I can think of would include: pirates, medieval, the old west, fairies, sci-fi, ninjas, togas, movies, hippies, flappers, hobos, and rock stars.

Some of the best costumes I have ever seen were obviously homemade. I am amazed at the creativity that some people display in their outfits. Last Halloween, the person who won the costume contest at the club I was at was a drag queen who looked exactly like Sarah Palin. She really looked a lot like the governor so it was definitely a scary costume, and, because the election was only a few days away, it was also a very relevant costume.

The main thing is to be creative and have fun. Don’t spend a bunch of money. Use the items you have around your home and let your imagination run wild.

 Seannon loves to play D&D. That’s Dungeons and Dragons for those of you who don’t know. I believe her when she says that it’s fun, but I personally don’t have much experience with it at all. When we were kids, my little brother and I thought it would be fun to play, but we could never find anyone else who wanted to play. And it doesn’t seem much fun for just two people. One of these days I will probably take Seannon up on her offer to come play with her.

Something that I believe is similar to D&D, and that I have much experience with, are MMORPGs. This stands for massive multiplayer online role playing game. The most popular of these games is World of Warcraft, which I didn’t play. Instead, I wasted about four years stuck in front of my pc playing another MMO called Lineage 2.

The major advantages of playing D&D over MMOs are cost and social contact. Almost all MMO games require monthly subscriptions that can cost as much as $15 per month, in addition to the initial cost of the video game itself. Dungeons and Dragons really only requires a rulebook, some paper, and some dice. This is much cheaper. MMORPGs do allow one to play with other people all over the world, but most of the interaction is in the form of typed messages. Or if one joins a clan/guild/corporation/faction, then people usually pitch in for a voice-over-IP service. So at best, it’s like talking on the phone. D&D, on the other hand, actually gets people together face-to-face. Most people would prefer this greater social interaction.

So I would recommend giving D&D a try. I understand that I will have to take my own advice on this matter, but I look forward to it. No one can defeat my Wizard!

Checkmate!

Board games are a lot less popular these days due to the invention of video games. But video games are expensive, whereas board games are not. Certain card games have gained popularity. I refer mainly to various forms of poker like Texas Hold em. Dominoes are always an option as well.

So grab a friend or two and pull out the old board games. Monopoly, Scrabble, Trivia Pursuit, Life, Risk, or even Candyland if that’s your thing; these games remain fun to play and are not expensive. Have your friends each bring a game they have to add to the variety.

My personal favorite is Chess. I love the strategy involved in that particular game. And, I don’t mind teaching people how to play but I will never lose to them on purpose. My Dad taught me to play when I was about ten years old. He never let me win. Not ever. But I still played as hard as I could. Years later I read a book about the game and challenged him again. I was twenty at the time and I will never forget the satisfaction of the first time I ever beat my Dad in Chess. Now I can beat him about sixty percent of the time.

That’s my game, but you can choose any game you like as long as you have fun. Remember to be a good sport and play fair. I doubt anyone reading this will throw the board into the air like my little brother used to when we were kids. It’s just a game, have fun with it.

Eclipse

There is a particular myth or urban legend that says that Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” album will sync up with the movie The Wizard of Oz. It’s not a myth, it’s true! Have you ever tried it? Well, I have seen it many times and it never ceases to amaze me.

I suggest you try it out sometime when you are broke and bored. You can easily get The Wizard of Oz from the library if you don’t own a copy. “Dark Side of the Moon” has gone platinum fifteen times, so that shouldn’t be hard to borrow from someone you know (but you really should buy it since it rocks).

I’ve never tried it with MP3s, but I assume it would work just as well. So what you do is set your audio device to repeat the entire album. It will play more than twice. Press play to start the music and immediately pause it. This will prevent any lag between when you start the music and the movie. Now start the movie and wait for the MGM lion to appear. Press play again on the audio to start Dark Side precisely after the third lion’s roar.

If you do this this movie and the music will sync up and you can watch the movie in a way you may never have before. I think it’s really neat and it isn’t hard to do.

peek-a-boo

A few months ago I was at a get together at a friend’s house when I get a pull on my leg. It was my friend’s daughter, who wanted me to help her make a fort in her room. Apparently her mom had tried unsuccessfully, because when I got to her room I discovered the most paltry example of a pillow fort I had ever laid eyes on. It was no more than a blanket stretched between the bed and a desk forming a bit of roof.

A proper fort requires much more resources, so I began gathering all of the available sheets, blankets, and pillows. Within minutes I doubled the size of the fort and added a tunnel from the inside of the fort to the girl’s closet. I also added a flap that hung over the entrance, which the kids seemed very pleased with because they then announced that “Now YOU can’t come inside OUR fort.” How cute.

Building pillow forts is obviously cheap fun because it costs zero. Granted, it might not entertain a group of adults, but children love them. The grandest fort I ever constructed as a kid was so well constructed that it was almost pitch black on the inside, and it snaked its’ way up the staircase of our home, making the fort effectively two stories.

Even though I’m all grown up now, I still enjoyed building that pillow fort with (or rather for) those kids. It really gets one’s imagination and creativity going.