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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Saturday, March 05, 2005 The end result of a big mess When the kids were little and I had a huge garden, I canned hundreds of jars of things every year, and froze an equal amount. Since then, I've done little more than make soup and stew for the freezer. My big pressure canning pot is buried somewhere in the barn, and I gave up looking for the water bath canner and bought another.Why? Partly because I'm on the way to having a huge garden again, but partly also because Walmart put all the rest of its Jonagold apples on sale for 25 cents a pound. I cleaned 'em out. The cashier was goggle-eyed. "Whatcha gonna do with all those apples?" he asked. When I told him I was going to make applesauce, he looked even more amazed. Another of our young people who thinks food comes from a factory, I suppose.Nick and I chopped enough apples to fill my two largest pots, ran them through the food mill I bought yesterday to replace the one which is buried somewhere near the canning pot, and only had enough to fill three and a half jars. I could have hauled out a box of pint jars, but that would have meant waiting while I washed and sterilized them, and I didn't feel like waiting. So this is the result of a morning of work: three and a half quarts of homemade applesauce, and an enormous heap of dirty pots and utensils. In the old days, in my big kitchen in Virginia Beach, I'd have put up a couple dozen jars of several different things in that amount of time. But this was a learning experience for Nick, and a test of how well this kitchen would work for canning.Which is "badly," I'm afraid. About four feet of counter space, in two small sections; a shallow under-sized mobile home sink, only one large burner on the stove. I had already planned to do most of the canning outside, so I'm not as distressed about this as I would otherwise be. The heat load in the house today just kept the heat pump from coming on as often as it would have done. That amount of heat in the height of summer would run the cost of air conditioning right through the roof.In the interest of outside cooking and cleaning-up, Nick and I will be going up the mountain in the Jeep tomorrow to pick up an old porcelain sink cabinet that an acquaintance is throwing out. I'll put a hose fitting on the cold water pipe and hook it up to the garden hose so we can wash produce, pots and utensils outside. A local fellow makes welded black iron cooking rings to which you attach a standard 25-pound propane tank, and that's what we'll use under the canning pot until I can find a wood-fired stove in my price range (free for hauling away is always good). My folding Workmate workbench and a piece of plywood on sawhorses will make a nice big work surface. More pictures anticipated. posted by Liz @ 2:04 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
When the kids were little and I had a huge garden, I canned hundreds of jars of things every year, and froze an equal amount. Since then, I've done little more than make soup and stew for the freezer. My big pressure canning pot is buried somewhere in the barn, and I gave up looking for the water bath canner and bought another.Why? Partly because I'm on the way to having a huge garden again, but partly also because Walmart put all the rest of its Jonagold apples on sale for 25 cents a pound. I cleaned 'em out. The cashier was goggle-eyed. "Whatcha gonna do with all those apples?" he asked. When I told him I was going to make applesauce, he looked even more amazed. Another of our young people who thinks food comes from a factory, I suppose.Nick and I chopped enough apples to fill my two largest pots, ran them through the food mill I bought yesterday to replace the one which is buried somewhere near the canning pot, and only had enough to fill three and a half jars. I could have hauled out a box of pint jars, but that would have meant waiting while I washed and sterilized them, and I didn't feel like waiting. So this is the result of a morning of work: three and a half quarts of homemade applesauce, and an enormous heap of dirty pots and utensils. In the old days, in my big kitchen in Virginia Beach, I'd have put up a couple dozen jars of several different things in that amount of time. But this was a learning experience for Nick, and a test of how well this kitchen would work for canning.Which is "badly," I'm afraid. About four feet of counter space, in two small sections; a shallow under-sized mobile home sink, only one large burner on the stove. I had already planned to do most of the canning outside, so I'm not as distressed about this as I would otherwise be. The heat load in the house today just kept the heat pump from coming on as often as it would have done. That amount of heat in the height of summer would run the cost of air conditioning right through the roof.In the interest of outside cooking and cleaning-up, Nick and I will be going up the mountain in the Jeep tomorrow to pick up an old porcelain sink cabinet that an acquaintance is throwing out. I'll put a hose fitting on the cold water pipe and hook it up to the garden hose so we can wash produce, pots and utensils outside. A local fellow makes welded black iron cooking rings to which you attach a standard 25-pound propane tank, and that's what we'll use under the canning pot until I can find a wood-fired stove in my price range (free for hauling away is always good). My folding Workmate workbench and a piece of plywood on sawhorses will make a nice big work surface. More pictures anticipated.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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