Summer is now Here!

Some might say the long warm evenings tell them summer is here. Or the sunny mornings, or the lack of college kids, or summer concerts. Or, you know, the freaking 100o heat. What ever.

In this house there is one thing, and one thing only that says summer has started.You know, those tube like popsicles that your mom only let you eat one of, even though you wanted 3 or 4.
Well, in this house we don't live by such rules. If you only eat one at a time it's because:
a) you're a newbie and trying to be polite
b) you didn't think there were any left because you didn't look in the secret (behind the green beans) hiding space
c) there aren't any more of your favorite color.

Almost everyone around here knows that we'll offer you the first, but the rest you'll have to get yourself.

You can tell a lot about someone by the color they pick. Notice I said color, not flavor. I'm not so sure what exactly the flavors are supposed to be.
Mr. Zimny is a blue, purple, really anything put pink man. He says pink makes him cough. Really he just wants all of them, so he's not picky. I'm a pink, red, orange gal. Never blue.
I think Meeshmellow is an orange/red girl, she doesn't like either purple or blue...
Auntie A is a red fan.
Everyone has their Fla-vor-ice personality.
This year we've kick started with a few small packs of Fla-vor-ices.

You can only imagine the excitement when I saw they make tropical fla-vor-ices. Had to get me some a' those.



I am slightly embarrassed to actually show our freezer here. It's a little crazy, but you can see we have made a commitment to popsicle space.



On a side note, something that happened the car: "Shout" comes on the radio.
Mr. Zimny says "Who's this, INXS? Depeche Mode?"
"No" I say
"Yeah! Depeche Mode! Oh, Tears for Fears! That's right, same thing."
"What?!" I laugh, but he is already cutting me off
"Blah, blah, blah, they're all the same band. The Smiths too."
Uh-huh. Right.

Oh, and as a side-side note:
More jelly. "Hey!" You might say. "Didn't you already make like a butt load of apricot jelly?"
Well, I say. That was apricot-pineapple jelly. This is just apricot jelly. Notice the difference?
Yeah, me neither. What ever.




Statistics:
Family: Good.
Baby: Teething? Sick? Who knows, but feeling better finally.
Work: Rev-ing up.
On the s#!t list: ....no one yet... but just you wait!
Dogs: Willing to let baby touch nose, but still won't let me.
When I grow up I want to be: Tanuki Tamer.
Secret Plan: To let Miss M get in the pool this week!
Random Equation: To much jelly= wonderful or Obsession = Canning
Total Fla-vor-ices Consumed this summer: 5

Weekly Canning Continues

So this weekend my mom let me borrow a pressure cooker. Let me rephrase that. She let me borrow my great-grandmother's pressure cooker.
See, I've wanted a pressure cooker for some time since it would broaden my horizon of canning life! The green beans! The fruit! The non-lemony tomatoes!
But really, the idea of having boiling water, glass, and food under pressure and on my stove kinda scared me. Ok, really scared me.
Did I mention it was my great-grandmother's pressure cooker? You want proof, don't you?















That's right 1947. It's a 60 year old Mirro-matic.

But it still works. Like a dream! You want proof again, don't you? Darn skeptics.

Nothing blew up! The directions say to turn the heat to low after the weight "jiggles". There was never really any jiggling, but there was a little liquid bubbling. We'll substitute that for jiggling. I let it cool and depressurize for 2 hours, and it still had a little pressure at the end. When I was pulling out the jars, they were still really hot. Much hotter than you would think for sitting for a couple of hours.
The only problem with pressure canning is that you never get to hear the victorious popping as the jars seal. Oh well, it's the price you pay for home canned veggies!

Statistics:
Family: Good.
Baby: Better every day.
Work: Rev-ing up
On the s#!t list: Still my adviser. What a shmuck.
Dogs: Wishing they already had their pool.
When I grow up I want to be: Mirro-matic sales lady
Secret Plan: sorry, it's still secret.
Random Equation: Mom= stay at home grandmother.

The Mayhem Continues

Who (besides maybe Dr. Meeshmellow) would attempt canning pickles while cooking a weekday dinner. That's right, me.
I've never done the mixed veggies, but I have high hopes for them.
For the record, it only takes a couple things to make pickles:

1) A big ass pot 2) lots of salt. 3) lots of vinegar

Oh, and I guess vegetables. What eva.

The finished product!


You're next Beets.











Miss M says "Beets?!"
Statistics:
Family: Good.
Baby: Eating once in a while. 6.5 Months, 10.6 lbs.
Work: Still Stalled, Boss still too busy to notice.
On the s#!t list: Cindy Crawford. One horrible actor.
Dogs: Waiting for Maddy to come visit again.

When I grow up I want to be: A Movie Critic
Secret Plan: To finish a ton of crafts this weekend.
Random Equation: Sleep = good

Puttin' up with Friends.

Haha! It's a pun!
You don't get it, do you?
You know, "putting up" meaning preserving food, like putting things in jars for storage.
Get it now? I was making jam with friends.
Yeah, it wasn't that funny. I know.
Sorry.

Today was the annual Jammy-Jam.
1 day, 4 Women, a 50 lb bag of sugar. Mmmmm....

I went to Impossible Acres and picked up super ripe blackberries and boysenberries, strawberries, and these neat little things called Apriums. They're a hybrid between a plum and a apricot, but mostly like an apricot.

We had a fun, albeit sticky time. Why do old-timey things appeal to me so? Auntie A and I think it's because you appreciate the product so much more, and the connection you have to what you've made. With canning, when you open the jar you get to remember the fruit or veggie when it was at it's prime. You get to remember where you picked it, who gave it to you or where you bought it. Plus there is the feeling of pride and completion when you see all the jars laid out.

For me it all started with my family. Preserving is a tradition. I can remember women peeling peaches for canning, and making pickles while growing up. I think my great grandmother was the driving force for food preservation, probably because she grew up in the Depression an' all. When she left to travel we stopped doing it, but I'm back in the game baby!




My mom carefully supervised all canning procedures!
This was Auntie A's (Alicia) first real canning experience.



After processing the jars we set them out on the counter top, and we started hearing the jars pop as they sealed! Ah! The sound of victory!

Debbie reports the successful production of 56 jam.



While we were working today, all I could think about was all the other fun stuff I want to put up this summer. I think I'm going to try my hand at mixed pickled veggies. I'll also retry the peppers from last summer. I can't get over the sliminess so I'll try to make them more crunchy this time.

Statistics:
Family: Good.
Baby: Still not eating. 6.5 Months, 10.5 lbs.
Practicing Motorboat sounds. A lot.
Work: Stalled, Boss too busy to notice.
On the s#!t list: No one yet. Stay tuned.
Dogs:Now bringing ball to baby.
When I grow up I want to be: Default-Professional Crafty Person.
Secret Plan: To buy less pre-processed food. I know. Stupid Plan.
Random Equation: Alex's new puppy = so cute!