Weblog

Sunday, 01 November 2009

  • Sometimes it pours

     

    Vowed I’d try to post everyday in the month of November but will live to regret that vow.

    Had our Harvest Festival on October 25th. Sold 1240 burgers - down from 1248 but only because the packages were resized. If you are wondering 1248 burgers = 156 packages of buns exactly.

    The  next morning my Grandma died in circumstances that are keeping the gossip boards at topix buzzing & are usually found in the old movie of the week.  My dad and most of his siblings are shell shocked, never ever believing there was a remote possibility of these events happening.  Sorry to be so vague but lets just say that we just witnessed a version of those “Death Boards” waved about in health reform discussions.

    There won’t be formal services of any kind - due to some of those same circumstances but one aunt has a husband in ICU (Iowa) and another uncle has a wife in ICU (Ohio).  Looks like a memorial service this summer.

    Now its one week later and looks like my Ohio aunt will not be leaving ICU alive. She did go home & during the time it took my uncle to go get her meds she collapsed. Uncontrolled bleeding in her brain and several areas are already dead.  Uncle is living in the right now because the next second is too painful to contemplate.

    My Iowa uncle is still in his ICU but unhooked from the machinery. That Aunt has told him that her mother died but no circumstances - the elderly die & best to leave it at that. She has not told him about Ohio. They were very close friends with my Ohio aunt for 20+ years before they convinced my uncle to meet her. It would be too difficult & his health is not stable.

    It is said that bad news comes in threes.  Or that when it rains it pours. That sooner or later we all say good-bye.

    Sooner is quicker than we realize.

Thursday, 22 October 2009

  • Canning Apples

     

    This is for a friend & I thought maybe someone might also find it useful.

    For canning: the easiest vegetable is tomatoes and fruit is apples. Now let me type you through doing something with those apples - if you screw up & they go bad you WILL know it because there will be mold.

    1. Fill your canning kettle to the top line or just slightly below. It will be a heavy mother so be careful carrying it or use a pitcher. Put on the lid and turn on the fire. Use a back burner if possible - kids safety - but your stove & physical build might not make this possible. Do this first as it takes forever to get to a good boil and if it starts before you need it just add more water once in a while.

    2. Have a dish washer? put your clean jars in & the rings. Either turn on now (if you have heat dry wait if not) OR put clean jars & rings in a cake pan (sides).

    3. Put lids in a sauce pan with some water to cover them. Set on the other back burner.

    4. Peel & core your apples for your recipe - applesauce is my suggestion because it's smashed apples & some sugar (if you choose) Much easier than jelly and a bit easier than jam.

    5. Start cooking

    6. Now turn on dishwasher or put the jars in the oven at 200F for at least 15 minutes  AND turn on saucepan with lids. According to the newest recommendations a clean jar that will be waterbath canned for at least 10 minutes does not need to be sterilized. I recommend heating the jars so it isn't hot food into cold jar which might mean a break (they just crack weird not explosively shatter). There is a good discussion at this site. www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=323599

    7. Saucepan with lids boiling? Good turn off and leave until needed they are sterile and the hot water will keep the rubber soft.

    8. Applesauce bubbly? Good turn off the heat.

    9. Spread a tea towel on the counter to catch drips & as a pot holder for the jar bottoms. Set the jars on the towel and in one jar measure down a 1/2 inch. Look and see where that kinda is.

    10. Dip your funnel in the boiling canning kettle for a minute. Put it on the closest jar & fill your jar. The 1/4 or 1/2 is more for fair competitions than an extreme safety thing. You want to get as much in a jar as possible without the food boiling out and possible messing up the seal during the water bath. SO fill to your previously measured line. For us & the old people in the family we stop close to where the spirals begin (unless it is a fair entry)

    11. Jar full? Take the funnel out and set in next jar. Take that clear plastic thingy in the canning kit put it inside the jar next to the outside and go around the jar. This is to release air bubbles, I've used a metal butter knife but now have one of those thingies. Then with a damp rag wipe around the rim just in case any food got on the jar. Take the magnetic lid grabber and get a lid, set on top, get a ring and twist down but not muscle-guy tight, just on the jar.

    12. All your jars full? set them in the canning rack. Don't be surprised if only 6-8 pints fit - it depends on the way the rack is made. Just one jar per section & one for the middle that way nothing touches. Now set the rack in the boiling water. Some tip over? Use the jar grabber to set upright. ummm...the curved end goes around the jar but it will work either direction, just saying.

    13. Put the lid to the canner on - water about an inch over the top? Good, if not add some hot from the faucet and when everything is boiling like crazy again start the timer. If the lid makes the water boil over slide it over a bit as the lid really helps get that good boil going.

    14. Timer finished? Turn the water off & replace the tea towel with a bath towel - not the spa type but a regular cheapie. Set the jars on the towel and leave them until cool - several hours at least. Hear the pings? That means they are sealing. When cool feel the top - it should not bounce up & down. Take the rings off and store jars in pantry, rings with canning stuff and put it all away. Set any that bounced up & down in the refrigerator

    You can do this. See - it's even 14 steps - a good number any old day.

    Applesauce varies in thinness/thickness due to growing conditions of the apples. If it is too thin for the kids use it in applesauce bread or cake.  I

    If you decide to try a spread try a jam first as there is less hassle with straining juice. 

    Gird up your loins and try at least once.

    Your friend,
    Steph

Monday, 19 October 2009

  • Pears

     

    October 2009 043

    An old friend facebooked asking if I would be interested in some pears - she was busy with college work & had picked all she wanted. Well yes...

    We left home with three two gallon buckets - I've seen pears & none has ever produced much more than a few half pints of pear honey. But her's - this tree was loaded with big fist sized pears most still on the tree. WOW!

    We picked up good falls, we put Seventeen up a ladder to pick as high as he could reach & broke some OSHA rules doing so. Our three little buckets did not even begin to hold the bounty. Happily we drive a station wagon and used the buckets to fill the back end.

    Little Missey was a determined helper gathering falls & brother's drops. She was just as determined to carry her bucket to the car herself - a heavy 3/4s full bucket slowly carried with dragging tiny steps. Determination is a powerful thing.

    Big Sister took over the task of supervising Little Missey so I could hold the ladder. It took over an hour to harvest one tree. Once finished and after thanking my friend again we took our frozen selves home. (well after visiting the 4H stuff-a-box-for-$3 yard sale) I'm guessing we harvested over 3 bushels.

    These pears are large, crisp and wonderful tasting. My friend has no idea what variety they might be, her family bought the place 20+ years ago and the previous owners had planted a large family orchard: pears, apples, plums, cherries and grapes. Time and various weather have taken a harsh toll on the place with only this pear, some plums and grapes surviving. The tree has always produced large harvests though a late frost is an occasional problem.

    Our plan is to save seeds and try to grow our own. Internet searching makes me believe it is possible to grow a tree true to type. Hurray!  A good producing, good tasting, hardy tree for the family orchard for free - well costing nothing but time. Sounds like a deal to me.

    We'll get our own harvest...sooner or later.

     

Sunday, 11 October 2009

  • Picture Crafting

    Donna Jean

     

    Donna & DeeDee

    My mother in law was quite a determined lady and never so determined as when it came to having her picture taken. She had a few chosen gestures to capture forever her thoughts on the picture being taken. It leaves little for the grandchildren to look at & enjoy. From random blog hopping I found a link to a free photo tweaking site called Picnik. Using their tools I have been able to save pictures that would otherwise have been casualties of poor exposure - too dark to see anything. Better I have been able to crop & tweak to create some pictures of Grandma for the kids. Here are two of the results. Everyday Grandma...not a gesture in sight.

Thursday, 08 October 2009

  • Enchilada Sauce Recipe

     

    Not certain if I ever posted the wonderful recipe for a homemade enchilada sauce that is cheap, tasty and easy to make. It isn’t easy to find a recipe that succeeds at all three but thanks to the Headmistress at The Common Room we have a winner.

    AUTHENTIC ENCHILADA SAUCE

    3 T oil
    3 T flour
    6 T chili powder
    2 c water (or meat broth)
    1 t salt
    1/2 t garlic powder

    Dissolve chili powder in the water and set aside.
    (try putting the chili powder in warm water for ease of mixing)

    In medium skillet, heat oil.
    Add flour and heat until dissolved.
    Add chili powder/water mixture and mix well.
    Add salt and garlic powder and mix well.
    Bring to bubbly boil, stirring constantly.
    Simmer for 5 minutes.

    Use water or meat broth for the base.

    We’ve been using this recipe for about 4 months and no longer need to stock up on the canned stuff. I have made it in a sauce pan, a stockpot and a cast iron skillet and recommend the skillet handsdown. The skillet cooks quicker and gives a nice gloss that seems to be missing with other types of cookware.

    On cooking time - the hot water makes a difference. A double batch of this sauce can be finished in about 5 minutes this about the same amount of time it takes me to walk to the pantry, climb over the laundry & the secret fort, get the can, return to the kitchen, find the can opener, open the canned stuff and continue cooking. 

    Try it you’ll like it. Check out the blog too - but take a cup of coffee along.

     

Top Tags - Weblog

[no tags]

Stephanie_in_AR

  • Visit Stephanie_in_AR's Xanga Site
    • Name: Stephanie
    • Member Since: 10/19/2006

Weblog Archives

Don't worry - your calendar is here… to see it in action just click "Save" above and refresh the page.

About Me

  • I'm Stephanie in Arkansas living in a small town in a corner of the state. We have 8 children ranging in ages from 24 down to baby--5 boys and 3 girls. Add a boy and a girl by marriage and someone is always busy doing something. Its hard to be bored around here!

Blogrings

[no blogrings]

Pulse

Stephanie_in_AR has no pulse!...