Boondock Babble: Canning For Dummies

Monday, April 7, 2008

Canning For Dummies

Monday, October 03, 2005

Perhaps a better title would be how not to can! lol Another weekend adventure at our house...

I decided since, after 3 years of trying I finally managed to grow zucchini, that it would be a good time to make an old favorite of mine, zucchini relish!

Daniel and the kids went out and picked the zucchini,. I washed said zucchini and the kids watched as I cut it into smaller portions and fed them into the processor.That was oodles of fun! It was amazing seeing how quickly I could feed the chunks through the chute and, almost instantly they would emerge out the other end, neatly stacked shreds in the bowl. 1 very large zucchini yielded exactly 10 cups of shredded! The kids were rather disappointed once that was done and we had it and the onion salted and stored in the big bowl to rest til the next day. They wanted me to play with the processor some more!

The next day we got everything ready and started measuring and chopping the remaining ingredients. Again, the kids were disappointed that I wasn't going to use the processor. It seemed rather pointless for chopping two bell peppers.

Got everything cooked up and it was time to remove the jars from the hot water and fill them. That proved to be a bit tricky. Hmmm. Maybe I should've invested in a pair of tongs? Oh well. Somehow I managed. One jar at a time, removed from hot water, nestled in a hot pad and filled via a ladle. Hot relish spilling on my hand. Not a pleasant experience! Maybe a funnel would've been a handy thing to have? Rims wiped clean, lids and rims affixed. On to the next jar and the next. More burned fingers. Laughter from my children, Daniel shaking his head in disbelief...

Somehow managed to get all the filled jars back in the canner and processed for the required 10 minutes. Now what? How do I get them out of there? Daniel to the rescue! Good thing his hands handle heat better than mine do! Think I'll add a jar lifter to the list. :o)A few minutes later and we listened as the lids all popped one by one. What a satisfying sound!

Maybe next weekend will be less eventful. But then, what would be the fun in that?

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Ma's Babblin'

Like every good Boondock Ma, I cook, and on occasion, have been known to clean. I knit, crochet, and have some experience with a needle 'n thread.
We play in the garden. Pa tills it the old fashioned way, by hand, with a shovel and hoe. Come harvest time, we can and freeze the resulting bounty.
Don't use those newfangled electronic dishwashers. My dishes git done up by hand, then dry all natural like in the strainer. I make my own laundry detergent, and hang my clothes out to dry. I'll hang my head in shame and admit, I haven't gotten 'round to tryin' my hand at makin' my own bar soap. It's on the list...
We heat with wood, which comes in right handy durin' those wet, cold winter months for dryin' our clothes on the rack. We git our water from a well, although we do leave the pumpin' to an electrical gadget, simply known by most as a "well pump".
Our young-uns git their exercise the old fashioned way as well. They run 'n play outside in the fresh country air. They also pitch in and help with the wood splittin' and stackin'.
No cable tee-vee in our humble home, but lots o' readin', courtesy of the public library in town.
We're homeschoolin' folks, and have a grand time with that. Somewhere down the line we got it in our heads that learnin', like work outta be fun!
I have two young-uns at home, and two all grown up, the oldest of which is hitched and got two young-uns of her own! My second oldest is doin' a great job of forgin' ahead in the big city, and has even started her own bakin' and caterin' business. All four of my young-uns are doin' me right proud!