"Prepare Canner, Jars and Lids"

I realized recently that I've been writing "Prepare canner, jars and lids" on a lot of my posts, but I think I have yet to explain what that means, so in an effort to be helpful I'll make it easy (and then go back and link here from all my posts).  Basically this is a "Canning 101" type post, so I'll explain everything.

Preparing Canner:

The canner is the big pot that you get.  They're really cheap, likely because they're not made to put anything into but water (so please don't try cooking in one).  They come with a rack for jars that you lower into a hot water bath, and also a set of tongs to lift hot jars out of the water.

All you need to do to prepare the canner is put water into it (enough that you'll completely cover all the jars once you lower them in), and put it on the stove to come to a boil. 

I should also note...  the cheap canners you can buy at your local big box store can't be used on induction cooktops or any flat top surfaces.  I understand that for those types of cooktops you need to have a pot that has an entirely flat bottom, and a canner doesn't have that.  You can buy flat-bottomed canners, but they do cost more.  I knew there was some benefit to having a coil cooktop. 

Preparing Jars:

You need to sterilize and heat your jars.  Sterilize to kill bacteria, and heat them up so that when you pour hot stuff into them and stick them into boiling water that they won't break.  I do this in the dishwasher.  A regular cycle with a heated dry does the trick.  Just make sure you time it so you can use them hot (feel free to take them out before waiting for the dry cycle to finish, as long as they're reasonably dry.)

Preparing Lids:

I don't usually do anything with the rings, since they're on the outside of the seal, so other than making sure they are clean and not rusty, they just wait until they're needed.  The seals also need to be sterilized and warmed up (to soften the rubber part of the seal).  You can't do this in the dishwasher because it will degrade the rubber, so I do this in a small pot with water.  I bring it to a boil, and then turn off the heat, letting the seals sit in there to stay warm until they're needed.

A note on pressure canning. 

There is also a type of canning for "low acid foods" but I'm not really familiar with that personally (I have yet to need it, since I don't have a garden of veggies to store, or the cash to buy a pressure canner), but you can go here for more information on that.

Beauty products I stole from my baby.

I have a ton of baby products.  Well, not really, I can pretty much get by with a bottle of baby shampoo and occasionally some diaper cream.  I bought a lot of products with Girl because I thought that's what you were supposed to do, and most of them are still kicking around.  Discovering new uses for them is great!  Not to mention, baby products are significantly cheaper than the magic stuff in tiny bottles marketed to me.  Here are some of my favourites:

1. Zinc Oxide Cream:

Great for diaper rash, but even before I had kids I was using this stuff on my feet.  I have terribly rough feet, especially in the summer.  I think it's because, as a rule, I avoid socks like the plague as soon as I can get away with it.  As a result, my feet get chapped, skin peels off, and a few days ago I realized they were so bad they were acting like velcro on our carpets.  This cream works wonders.  Zinc is a healing agent, so it will also help with minor cuts and scrapes (though, I wouldn't use the same container you use for diaper rash...  too easy to cross-contaminate).  Just smear a heavy amount onto the soles of your feet, pull some socks on and go to bed.  By morning you'll see a noticable difference.  For even better results, get out the footfile first.  I've also done this with my hands with wonderful results.

2. Pure Lanolin

If you're like me, you likely bought a bottle of this before nursing...  and most of it is still in the container.  It's so thick and sticky, I pretty much abandoned it after a week or so with Girl, and I think I used it once with Boy.  Here's a great tip...  it's a wonderful lip protector/chapstick/gloss.  I'll admit, I'm kind of addicted to the tingly feeling chapsticks offer, but I'll be using my Lanolin this winter.  It's thick, has a nice subtle gloss, and softens your lips nicely.  (Like my feet, I have always been cursed with dry, chapped lips).

3. Baby Hairbrush

I've bought the microderm abrasion machines too.  Haven't used it in a long time... because now I have a baby hairbrush.  (I had two, so it's not like I was doing double duty between my face and Girl's cradle cap).  Use it gently in circular motions with your favourite cleanser as often as you would normally exfoliate for a soft, glowing face.  Added bonus, you can use it in the tub/shower without the nagging fear of electrocution.

4.  Baby oil

I know the commercials say to use this after you shower to "lock in moisture" and all that jazz...  but I use this as eye makeup remover.  SO much cheaper than any remover you can buy, and since I have a giant bottle with perhaps an inch used, I'll never need to buy makeup remover again.  Apparently baby wipes will do this too, but I can't confirm that one (they'll also take white anti-persirant marks off clothing).

There...  now you can be soft and dewy too (like your baby...  not me).  I have yet to find an anti-aging baby products, but as soon as I get all the ingredients together, I'll give you one of those too!

Curried Ketchup.

If you're like me, those two words sound about as weird together as "purple mustard".  I, however, am a convert.  I tried it once, and was blown away.  Not so blown away as to spend $5 on a small bottle of the stuff, but sufficiently blown away to spend the day attempting to make it myself.  (I have an odd way of looking at cost, I admit it). 

You need a stinking huge pot for this one,  just to warn you.  I borrowed my brother's giant 14L stock pot and let me tell you, I just squeaked it by. 

I found a recipe for Ketchup, and since I can't leave well enough alone, I modified it enough to call it my own.  I don't have a giant surplus of tomatoes (mainly because I really only grow enough to stuff my face with for a few weeks) and I wasn't about to buy fresh tomatoes to make this (the recipe called for 24lbs of them), so I opted for canned.  I'll give you a tip, when you use canned tomatoes instead of fresh...  watch the salt.  I completely forgot that canned tomatoes have salt in them, so when I added the requisite 1/4 cup while reducing the ketchup, I made a fatal error that resulted in me throwing away the whole first attempt.  It was a dismal failure.  I didn't add any salt the second time.

Curried Ketchup (makes about 6 pint jars)

3 Tbsp celery seeds

4 tsp whole cloves

2 cinnamon sticks, broken (each about 4 inches)

1 1/2 tsp whole allspice

3 cups cider vinegar

Make a spice bag with cheesecloth and the first four ingredients.  Put the vinegar in a pot with the spice bag, bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and let steep for 25 minutes.  Discard spice bag.

4 3.8L cans of diced tomatoes

3 large onions, chopped

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix tomatoes, onions and cayenne in a large stock pot.  Bring to a boil, stirring regularly, reduce heat and boil for about 15-20 minutes.  Add vinegar, and simmer for about 30 minutes.

(I took this picture during the first trial, I added more tomatoes for the second, so it barely fit in the pot)

Working in batches, either run tomatoes through a food mill, or put them in a strainer and push through with the back of a spoon (I've tried both methods, they are equally tedious) to extract all the liquid.  Return liquid to the pot.

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 Tbsp hot curry powder

2 5.5oz cans tomato paste

Add sugar and curry powder to the liquid and bring to a boil.  Boil until the volume reduces by about half and the liquid is close to the consistency of commercial ketchup (it will be a bit runnier).  Add tomato paste and simmer a few minutes longer.  Also, prepare your jars, lids and canner.

Ladle hot ketchup into jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Wipe rim, add seals and rings, finger-tight.  Place into hot water canner, process for 15 minutes.

It's got a strong flavour, so if you're expecting Heinz, don't bother.  It's got some heat, but really only enough to warm up your mouth a bit, you won't be sweating.  Also, it's best to do this one with your windows open.  The curry, vinegar and cooking tomatoes really stinks the place up.  I have an "odor eliminator candle"  going right now (thanks Marion!).

Smokin!

In my quest to find interesting things to make food taste better, I stumbled on these:

Basically, smoke in a can.  It's actually technically compressed wood in a can.  You buy a pack of 3 for under $9 (I bought mine from Golda's Kitchen...  I could spend some major coin there), take off the labels and plop one into your propane BBQ, under the grill, just sitting on the burner/coals.  Each one says its good for about 3 sessions on the barbeque, and boy, are they smokin!  Husband thought the grill was on fire...  the most delicious smelling fire ever!  We've made chicken, ribs, and hamburgers so far, but I can't think of anything to put on the BBQ that couldn't use a bit of smokey goodness.  I will warn you though...  don't get the smoke in your eyes.  It burns like campfire!

I have one of those smoker boxes already that do the same thing...  you just have to add your own chips.  But silly me, I left it outside on the BBQ all winter and it rusted to high heaven.  Oops.   This is more my speed. 

They come in Pecan, Alder, Cherry, Apple, Hickory and Mesquite (what is "mesquite" anyway?)

Try it, you'll like it.  Especially if your husband won't let you buy a $300 smoker. 

I have mixed thoughts about purple mustard.

I didn't think about it really.  Cranberry Mustard sounded intriguing, and there wasn't a picture of it to go with the recipe, so I really had no idea what it was going to look like, but lo and behold...  it's purple.

I mean really purple.  See?

I don't know.  Smells like mustard.  I'm not a huge mustard fan, but Husband said it smelled really good.  I'm just confused by looking at it.  I've never thought "you know what this sandwich needs?  a bit of PURPLE!"  That beet horseradish stuff confuses me too.

I digress.  In case you want purple mustard, here is the recipe:

Cranberry Mustard

1 cup red wine vinegar

2/3 cup yellow mustard seeds

Bring vinegar to a boil on high heat, remove from heat and add mustard seeds.  Let soak until they absorb most of the liquid (about an hour).  Prepare jars, lids and canner.

1 cup water

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 3/4 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)

In a blender or a food processor, combine soaked mustard seeds, water, and Worcestershire sauce, process until they are a desired consistency for mustard (basically, as smooth as you have patience for).  Add cranberries and blend up some more.

I warn you, by this point you might think you've made some sort of smoothie, since it looks like this:

Looks like a smoothie, smells like mustard.  Yummy!

Transfer the mixture to a pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.  (At this point, I added another half cup or so of water...  since it was already pretty thick, and the recipe wanted me to reduce it further.  If I boiled it from the consistency it was, it would have just burned to the bottom of the pan.) 

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup dry mustard powder

2 1/2 tsp ground allspice

Whisk in sugar, mustard powder and allspice, continute boiling until volume is reduced and thickened (anout 15 minutes)

Ladle mustard into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles, wipe rim and add lids, finger-tight. 

Process jars in hot water canner, ensuring they are completely covered in water.  Process for 10 minutes.

I made Husband try it, and the stuff is tasty, just purple.  I don't know about purple mustard. 

My pantry runneth over.

You should really invite me to dinner.

I love to entertain, so I don't get invited out all that much.  I like to cook, and people seem to like my cooking (since they come back time and again) and honestly, sometimes when I get invited somewhere else, I miss being able to spoil my friends and family.  I came up with a solution...  this is it:

The Host/Hostess Gift!

In my pantry is a shelf of delectables just waiting all Martha-Stewart-style, including (but not limited to) blueberry jam, blueberry sauce, strawberry sauce, strawberry syrup, black velvet apricot jam, raspberry jelly, praline syrup, spiced honey, curried ketchup, and cranberry mustard.  They're even labelled and decorated already!  (btw, I love the idea of using circles of scrapbook paper under the jar rings to add some pizazz)

I'm still planning on adding to this stash, since I have yet to make anything with the chokecherries and highbush cranberries growing on my property, or with my mom-in-law's apples, and I have plans for BBQ sauces and salsas.

I'm going to spoil you if you come to my house or not.  *evil cackle*

Condimentally speaking...

Making condiments is really weird.

I cook a lot, and one of the things you do as a cook is taste, taste, taste.  I've been trying my hand at inventing a recipe for curried ketchup (modifying a standard ketchup recipe and throwing in some curry), and also following a recipe for cranberry mustard (recipes to follow).  My last attempt at curried ketchup was a dismal failure (I'll save that story for later.), so I was diligently tasting my ketchup as it got close to being the right consistency.  I kept sticking in a spoon (a clean one of course), and tasting, and my immediate reaction was always the same "wow, that's a strong flavour"

Well, of course it is, you're not making soup, you're eating ketchup with a spoon.

Next time I'll have to cook up a sausage to try it with.

I have an opinion, and I'm ok with that. Is that ok with you?

*Sigh*

My mom always told me that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.  I agree wholeheartedly.  Problem is, "nice" has become "agreeable".  I get really tired of the internet sometimes, because it seems as though we have lost the ability to have opinions.  I've spent my fair share of time on Facebook, message boards, blogs, etc, and I've never been one to shy away from offering a contradictory opinion, but I'm starting to learn that everyone just wants everyone to agree with them.

I've been accused of being hostile, "worked up", angry, snide, mean, and my all-time favourite, having my posts deleted because I'm not actually allowed to express my opinion. (meaningful glance at a certain relative) I hate to break it to you people, I have yet to get "worked up" or angry about a Facebook status, and it's not "mean" to have a contrasting opinion.  There is a big difference between saying "you are dumb" and "I don't agree with you".

Maybe it's this culture we have created where praise and adoration is dolled out by the bucketful.  Kids are praised for everything they do, soccer teams don't have winners or losers anymore (so no one feels bad), and all anyone really wants to hear on their Facebook status is "WowAwesomeSuperCoolHigh-five". 

Insert eye roll.

I'm willing to praise and encourage where such things are due, but if you go onto the internet and post an outlandish opinion, you can't honestly expect that everyone is going to think you're amazing.  I found it really interesting that after our recent federal election, the vast number of posts were the same.  Apparently everyone was really upset by the outcome.  I found this strange since the Conservatives did win...  and someone besides myself must have voted for them.  Right, because Facebook can only hold one opinion, and the upset people got there first. 

I really hope to instill a proper sense of balance in my kids.  I don't want them growing up thinking everything they do is praise worthy and that the best course of action is to always just agree with everyone.  I want them to think for themselves and not be afraid to express their ideas.  The popular opinion is not always the right one.  I hope to teach them that a good debate will make them stronger, will allow them to understand different points of view and sharpen their minds.  An opinion is useless unless it has been challenged and has survived.  I'm not so vain as to think I'm always right, and I welcome challenges to my ideas. 

So please, I invite you to engage me, sharpen me, contradict me, take my opinions and try to crush them. 

I, on the other hand will remember to only post non-sensical ditties about how awesome everyone is.

Valuable life lessons.

I'd never have considered myself to be someone who was afraid of heights.  I don't actually think I am.  Husband has been working on painting the dormers of our house recently, since we're getting our roof replaced (hooray for hail and insurance!).  It's been a long process, so when Husband went to work yesterday, I decided to be helpful and give him a hand.  I've been pretty out of commission lately with the whole c-section recovery/gaping wound thing, so it felt good to be productive.  Maybe I was running off the endorphins created by last weeks basement clean-up, maybe I was just nuts, but there I was, up on the 2x8 board "scaffolding".  It took me a while to get up there, carrying my paint can and brush.  The roof is pretty steep and there is a good 4 feet from the edge of the roof to the board.  Once firmly placed, I looked around and immediately regretted my plan.  I didn't feel secure at all. 

I wasn't sure what to do.  Getting back to the ladder was impossible (the idea of crawling DOWN the steep roof right to the edge seemed a whole lot more daunting than climbing up).   I knew the window was open, since Husband had taken part of it down to fix, leaving only poly, a screen and a blanket (impromtu window covering in Girl's room while Husband also builds a "treehouse" in there, long story for another day) in my way.  So, I did what any good wife would do.  I painted my way to the window and let myself in.

Entertainingly, Girl was still in bed when I crawled through the window into her treehouse.  She thought it was fantastic. 

I felt like a failure, but at least I wasn't the kind of failure that ends up in the emergency room.  I took my disapproving looks from Husband gracefully, and now I know...  I'm not afraid of heights.  However I am afraid of falling.

The Millionaire Family

Babies tend to attract attention from strangers, and many people I know get all worked up about it.  "They thought my girl was a boy!  OH NO!", or "How dare they call my baby chubby!"  I really don't care much about what people think.  They always thought Girl was a boy, but who could blame them? I didn't make it easy for them, since I'm not much of a fan of pink.  I've noticed a new trend these days though.  I've been approached many times with the same line of thinking:

Stranger: So you have a boy and a girl?

Suzie:  Yes.

Stranger:  So, you're done then?

I didn't realize that the only possible reason to want more than two kids is to have one of each gender.

I think mentally I checked out of having more children somewhere in between the morning sickness, stomach flus and trying in vain to get an 11+lb baby out of me without surgical intervention.  After one more brief (and terrifying) pregnancy scare, I think I'm pretty done.  We have enough bedrooms for two kids, and we're never outnumbered, but my main reason for not wanting more children is far more vain than that.  I don't want a minivan.  I can't do it.  Husband is a bit of a car enthusiast, and this was my car before having kids:

I just can't give it up.  The idea that Husband would drive fun cars to work every day, and I would drive a minivan for the forseeable future would just be too horrifying to contemplate.  I've moved my fun cars to the side for the time being in favour of four doors and A/C, but they're still here, and once I have two kids in front-facing seats they will be back. 

Yes, I have a boy and a girl, but I think I'd be done regardless.  Neither Husband, nor I, ever expressed the desire to have equal gender representation.  In fact, I remember a conversation in which Husband can be quoted as saying "can we just have all girls?".  Even though it's the truth, I have trouble agreeing with presumtuous strangers.  Short of telling them all the reasons I'm done, I'm not sure what to say that won't reinforce their strange ideas and need to ask personal questions.  It would be bad to make them feel right.

I just smile and shrug instead.  I'll take one for the team.

Boy oh Boy

*Sigh*  Boy is darn cute. 

And, not surprisingly, freakishly advanced.  From the genes that brought you "potty trained at 16 months" and "writes her name at two-and-a-half" comes "I'm barely 2 months and can roll over."

He can, I made him do it three times to prove it.

I'm going to start selling my embyos. 

That was a joke, in case you were wondering.

Say WHA?!

I was at Costco a few days ago, buying some food, when I came across something interesting in the produce department.  Black Velvet Apricots.

I hailed my mom, and we had a conversation similar to this:

Suzie:  Hey mom, look at these!  Black Velvet Apricots!

Mom:  Those are plums.

Suzie:  No, they're apricots

Mom:  Apricots aren't purple.

Suzie:  Plums aren't fuzzy.  Plus, look...  it says "APRICOTS" on the package.

Needless to say, I bought them.  I can't say no to weird produce.  Plus, it said on the package that it is a "limited edition" so how could I leave them?  Next year they might make apricots pink and I would have missed out on the purple ones all together.

I was excited to try one.  Guess what, it tastes like fruit.  I don't really eat apricots normally, so I have no idea how they taste...  they were sweet and juicy, quite delicious.  Of course, I had about 40 of them (hooray for bulk buying) plus plums, nectarines, cherries and bananas...  so there was nothing else to do but make Black Velvet Apricot JAM!

Husband:  You know... you could just eat fruit and not make jam out of it.

Suzie:  (laughs)

He doesn't know me at ALL does he?  Not to mention, since these are a limited edition, my jam is going to be worth some coin when all people have are boring old orange apricots.

Black Velvet Apricot Jam

3 cups pureed, pitted apricots (leave the skin on)
1/4 cup lemon juice
7 cups sugar
1 pkg liquid pectin. 

Mix first three ingredients well in a large pot, bring to a boil. Once you can no longer stir down the bubbles, boil hard for one minute. Take off the heat, add the liquid pectin and stir well. Let stand for a few minutes to help prevent floating fruit, and skim off the foam. Fill jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, add seals and rings, tighten to finger-tight. Let cool. (as they cool, the seals will pop inwards, if they don't, you do not have a proper seal and jam should be kept in the fridge until eaten).

It turned out to be a really pretty jam...  I think the floating confetti of purple really makes it.

I really shouldn't give you all my big money-making idea, but hey, I'm benevolant like that!

When to say when.

Throughout my journey of being a housewife, I have learned things about myself.  I have been realizing something about myself recently that will result in a change. 

There is no point in freezing fruit in this house. 

We don't use it.  Year after year I diligently freeze berries, and ever single year I intend to use them for "something". I never do.  I just gave away a bag of last years frozen strawberries (to my SIL, who uses them often for smoothies), and I just dug a pail of frozen blueberries from the depths of my freezer (it's a small freezer, so it wasn't really that deep).  I understand the benefits of freezing fruit, and I know all the things that I could do with the stuff, but once it's in the freezer, it's gone.  I don't touch it. 

This isn't really a new realization...  I've thrown away plenty of frozen fruit I've forgotten about.  I don't totally get why I haven't given it up yet, but the insanity stops here.

So remember, don't do something just because you think you should, or someone else tells you it's a good idea (even if that wise person is me).   When you store up for winter, make only what you'll use (or like me, stockpile into a stash of hostess gifts, stocking stuffers and shareables).  If you hate jam, don't make jam...  if you drink a smoothie every morning, freeze a whackload of fruit.

Those blueberries?  They're going join their friends in the pantry as jam and blueberry pie filling. 

Say no to imitators.

A friend of mine recently lamented on Facebook about the amount of sugar in freezer jam.  When you've never made jam before it's a common surprise.  Cooked jams have close to a 2:1 ratio of sugar to fruit, while freezer jams can be even higher. 

I tend to avoid freezer jams as it is (I find them runny; inconvenient, since you have to thaw before using; they don't last in the fridge as long once thawed; and they're not really much easier to make than cooked jam.  Not to mention my freezer is very small, so freezer space comes at a premium), opting instead for cooked jams, but the idea is still the same.

Let's just put it out on the table.  JAM HAS A LOT OF SUGAR.  I don't think this is a giant surprise.  It's kind of like saying there is a lot of salt in soy sauce.  Duh.  I don't understand what the problem is.  You use about a tablespoon of the stuff at a time.  It's a condiment, not a beverage.

There were a lot of responses to this friend suggesting agave nectar, and light pectins that use less sugar...

Back away very slowly. 

I've never totally understood this idea.  Think of it this way.  If I loved a specific kind of wonderful wine (you can also substitute coffee, tea, cheese, chocolate...  really, whatever you like), and found out it wasn't really all that great for me...  but then realized some sub-par version was better for me would I say "hey,  the wonderful wine is bad for me, but I could drink BOATLOADS of wine if I drink this sub-par wine... it only tastes a BIT like vinegar". 
No.

It doesn't make any sense.  Eating or drinking an imitation is pointless, since you usually end up unsatisfied and eat what you were avoiding anyway.  I never buy low fat cheese either, I'd rather eat less of the good stuff than suffer through a pizza with cheese that melts funny and tastes a bit like plastic.  It's a waste. 

I think I've already explained my love of fresh, homemade strawberry jam, so the idea of making it less good just to be "healthier"  (I put that into quotes because I wonder if added chemicals are really any better for us than sugar) sounds ridiculous.   Things like that just kill your soul a little. 

Eat what you love, don't settle for imitations, and when you do...  for pete's sake...  enjoy it.

Label THIS!

This post is for everyone who has ever canned anything, or been given a jar of some wonderful bounty, and then has spent 20 minutes scraping the flipping label off the jar.  I've never understood why the needed to make those things stick so tenaciously.  They just need to remind you what's in the jar after all...  not stick around forever to remind you what has been in the jar for the last three years.

Voila!  The answer to my problems! 

Bernardin has come out with labels that dissolve! I have yet to try taking one off a jar, but I held one under water for a few seconds and it really just disappeared!  I'm pretty sure that if you stick your labeled jar in the dishwasher you'll be left with a clean jar rather than a clean jar with a faded label dried out and baked onto it. 

Gone are the days of soaking your jars!  Just watch out...  in a flood you might be left with a bunch of unlabeled jars in your pantry.  Luckily, I live on high ground.

Saucy!

I know I've been on a bit of a strawberry kick these days, but it is the season after all, and it's what I've been doing.  The last 3 days have been pretty much monopolized by the berries (cooking for 2 days, and today, just a straggler batch of jam and a whole lot of cleaning).  I decided this year to try ALL the strawberry recipes that interested me from the Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving, so that in future years I'd have an idea of what we liked and would want to make again.  Next on the list was Strawberry Sauce.

If I had to pick a sauce to put on ice cream, it would likely be chocolate, but Husband loves his fruit sauces, so this one was a natural to make. 

9 cups halved hulled strawberries

2/3 cup unsweetened apple juice

1 tbsp grated orange zest

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cups corn syrup

1/2 cup orange juice.

Prepare canner, jars and lids

in a large pot, combine strawberries, apple juice and orange zest, bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, crushing berries with a potato masher.  Gradually add sugar, stirring until completely dissolved.  Add corn syrup and orange juice.  Bring to a full rolling boil and boil for 15 minutes. 

Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, and close jars.

Process in a hot water canner for 10 minutes.  Yield 6-250ml jars

I ended up using lemon juice and zest, because I couldn't be bothered to run out and get an orange if I had lemons at home.  I'm sure no one will notice.   After letting Husband eat my photo sample, I don't think it's going to last too long around our house.

Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate.

I bought a book this year.  Well, first I took it out of the library, skimmed through it, and almost immediately went to amazon and bought it.  It arrived almost two weeks before the library book was due back.  It is:

Many of the recipes intrigued me, so I needed to try them out, and since my time copying recipes is worth more than the $15 the book cost, I figured it was a worthwhile investment.

One of the intriguing recipes was the Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate (to note, all the recipes in this book are canned, therefore shelf stable).  I don't have a lot of freezer space (and rapidly decreasing pantry space), I liked the idea of having a juice concentrate that would be happy living on the shelf.  Not to mention, there is nothing better than fresh-picked strawberries, and any way to enjoy that flavour during the year is fine by me!

Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate

6 cups finely pureed strawberries

6 cups sugar

4 cups lemon juice

Prepare jars by running them through a dishwasher with a heated dry, place seals in warm water to soften.

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and cook over medium-high heat until a thermometer reaches 88ºC (190ºF).  DO NOT BOIL.  Once temperature is reached, remove from heat, let stand for a minute, and skim off any foam.  Ladle into warm jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Seal jars and process in a hot-water canner for 15 minutes.  Yield 6-500ml (pint) jars.

Now, the recipe says that to use, mix 1:1 with water, lemon-lime soda, soda water, etc.  I did mine with water and found it very sweet, so try it out and figure out your own ratio.  I did at least 2 parts water/1 part concentrate and it's still pretty sweet.  (but yummy). 

Strawberry Jam

I think I can count the number of times I've purchased jam on one hand with five fingers left over.  I was a lucky child.  There was never a shortage of homemade jam.  My mom and oma ignored child-labour laws and put us to work in the fields from a young age.  For one morning a year, we'd toil under the hot sun, picking basket upon basket until we were rewarded with McDonalds for lunch, and an afternoon of popsicles while they made jam.  I had a rough childhood.  Even now, with the vast numbers of jams and jellies I have tried, I always gravitate back to strawberry.  It's the only one I'll eat with peanut butter and if you ever receive it as a gift from me, you know you're special, because I don't easily part with it.

Strawberry Jam  (I'm typing this in without looking at the recipe)

Prepare jars by running them through the dishwasher with a heated dry cycle.  Place seals in a pot of hot water to soften.

3.5 cups crushed strawberries
7 cups sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 pkg liquid pectin



Mix first three ingredients well in a large pot, bring to a boil.  Once you can no longer stir down the bubbles, boil hard for one minute.  Take off the heat, add the liquid pectin and stir well.  Let stand for a minute and skim off the foam.  Fill jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, add seals and rings, tighten to finger-tight.  Let cool. (as they cool, the seals will pop inwards, if they don't, you do not have a proper seal and jam should be kept in the fridge until eaten).

Homemade jam is like a drug.  You get hooked, and you can never go back.  Do it, you know you want to!

It's a good thing I like jam.

pan·de·mo·ni·um  (pnd-mn-m) n. :  Going strawberry picking and making jam when outnumbered 5:4 by 3-and-unders. 

This picture was the beginning of the day.  Please note the smiles, unstained clothing and empty basket.

By the end of the day we had: one missing child (only for a few minutes); two port-a-potty dramas; nine people covered in strawberry, sweat and dirt; one sunburn (mine); four adults with achy muscles (presumably from picking in a crouched position while children crawled on our backs); five children with no proper naps; 12 batches of strawberry jam; four slurpees; five overtired, overstimulated children; and four overworked adults in need of a stiff drink...  oh, and I almost forgot... one burnt potholder.

I didn't really think anything of it.  I've gone strawberry picking since I was a kid, and the idea of picking 16 baskets of berries wasn't daunting in the least.  When picking is good it can go as quickly as an hour and a half, so keeping five kids (two of whom are confined to strollers) busy for that long didn't seem too tough.  Picking wasn't good.  The berries were small, somewhat over-ripe and few and far between.  It took about 4 hours to fill our baskets.  Even a trip to the petting zoo for the three oldest children didn't seem to help much (especially since the two oldest, potty-trained ones were suffering from full bladders and chronic fear of the port-a-potty).  Luckily we had no accidents, though Girl still talks about how she went to the port-a-potty with "no fuss"  (The people outside listening to her blood-curdling screams might disagree. I wouldn't know, I'm deaf now).

I've made jam so many times I can do it without a recipe, but nothing could prepare me for jam-making while at least one of the five kids was screaming at all times.  Somehow we figured out a system, we woman-ed our stations in such a way that there was always a floater to take over for critical positions if the need arose.  Boy, did it ever.  Serenity now.

I think I'm going to need until next year to recover, and let the memories blur into pleasant, happy, fuzzy, strawberry-jam-filled clouds.  I think it's starting already.  Whiskey helps.

It's not dead!

This is my Hibiscus, about to bloom.  My mother-in-law gave it to me, but she doesn't believe me.  (Long story involving a certain person thinking another certain person gave away the hibiscus she was given and purchased another in an entirely different colour for herself...  didn't happen).

I tend to kill Hibiscuses (Hibisci?), so I thought I'd share that I've had it for 2 months and it's not dead.  In fact, it's going through another blooming spell...  there are 8 flower buds getting ready to go. 

Now that I think it might live, I think I'll name him Gustav.

HA!  I just realized that would make him GUS the HibisCUS!  Ok, I didn't get enough sleep last night.

Commenting on Blogger Blogs

I, as well as a number of people I know, have been having trouble commenting on Blogger Blogs, so I figured I'd post what I found to help...

I was able to type a comment, but then it would send me to sign in, and then do the letter authenticator, and then i'd be back at the sign-in page, thus starting a continuous loop.  Using my dear friend google, I found a few tips.  What worked for me was either deleting my cookies, or un-checking the "remember me" option when signing in.  For some reason it worked.  Who am I to wonder why?

You're so vain, you probably think this blog is about you.

I had a terrible night.  Boy needed to be fed, Girl had an accident, and I can't let things go. 

I have trouble sleeping when I feel hurt.  I tend to lie awake, composing my feelings into well-worded responses that will likely never be used.  Really, I just need to figure out how to let it go. 

I read once that being angry with someone is kind of like drinking poison and waiting for them to die.  I'm not angry (anymore) but I think that feeling hurt is very much the same.  It makes no sense to lie awake at night feeling bad if it's not going to do anything but make you tired in the morning (let me tell you, I'm beat).

Unfortunately I've been dealing with this inside my head for too long.  I am way past the point where I should have just washed my hands and moved on. 

I'm not the kind of person who has a lot of friends...  and they have changed over many times, but the changes that are the toughest to deal with are the ones you have no control over.   For me, they have always coincided with major life changes (and not the bad ones).  I had a group of friends when I was single and dating Husband (Boyfriend at the time), and when we chose to get married, suddenly, we had no friends.  It happened to fast, I didn't really get it right away, but almost instantly, their lives carried on without us.  We stopped being invited out, and rarely saw each other again.   The same thing happened when Husband and I got pregnant.  (Perhaps this is why most of the people I consider my closest friends are also my family.  Their unwavering love and support through all my life changes is a blessing)

I can try to understand, and justify it to myself.  I can give myself (and you) all sorts of reasons that make sense logically.  People need to relate to each other...  maybe in order to have a friend, you both must be in the same stage of life. 

I'd have to do a lot of lying to myself to make me believe it though.

It might take slightly more work to relate and continue a relationship, and I thought that it was worth the extra effort, but unfortunately, it was one-sided.  That hurts.  It's tough when you realize that you value a person and a relationship more than someone else.  It feels like the time and effort and love you invested was worthless, or at least, not worth enough. 

I need to remind myself of those who love me no matter what shape I'm in, how many kids I have, or where I am in life.  They are there.  I need to be happy in the decisions I made, and not let them be clouded by hurt feelings.

I don't want my sunshine to have a shadow.  I need to let it go.

I heart thunderstorms.

There is something about a good thunderstorm.  It rattles the house and makes you jump.  There is one happening outside right now.  It's not as crazy or loud as I'd prefer, (and it's coming on a somewhat inconvenient day... sorry Audrey) but it makes me happy.  We haven't had a good storm yet this year, and let me tell you, I've been waiting. 

I put Girl to bed for her nap around the time the dark clouds started rolling in, and I could still hear her awake when the rumbling started.  A tiny niggling fear in me thought "I should go tell her thunderstorms are not something to be afraid of".  I do that now and then.  I assume she'll be scared and then have to stop myself from telling her everything is ok. 

*Pause to run outside and put blankets on the one un-insured car on the driveway.  Husband called and said they were getting big hail where he was.  He has all the fun*

Before Girl was born, I knocked off some stuffed monsters for her (there was no way I was paying $40 for something I could make myself in an hour).  I have always told her they were monsters.  My mother-in-law heard me say that once and was shocked.  "Why do you tell her they are monsters?!  Children are AFRAID of monsters."

Ok lady.  Monsters don't exist.  If Girl wants to think a monster is a cuddly, colourful toy, why would I prevent that?

Same thing with storms.  I think kids develop some fears because of what we tell them.  Girl has no reason to think a thunderstorm is scary, nor does she have a reason to think a monster is, so why would I give her that idea?  If I tell her not to be scared, she'll get the idea that maybe, just maybe, there is something to be scared OF. 

I love thunderstorms and I hope Girl picks that up to, because for the most part, they're just fun.  There is nothing to be scared of.

And while I say that, I'll remind myself to be really brave around spiders.

Plug.

I added a link on my blog to Swagbucks...  if you haven't heard of it, it's totally worth it.  I use the swagbucks search engine instead of google (it gets me to 95% of the places I need) and "win" swagbucks which can be redeemed for stuff... 

There is a lot of garbage to "buy" on the site, like posters and computer wallpaper and stuff...  or you can save up insane amounts and buy yourself a TV (but do the math first). The best deal I've found is 450SBs for a $5 gift card to Amazon (like I said, do the math...  because the $25 Amazon gift card takes more points to buy than 5 @ $5each).  You can also get Paypal cash, but I think it's 1100 points for $10. 

Every month or so I get another $5 and save them up to buy my nieces and nephews their birthday presents (there is also a gift card for Amazon.ca if I want to use it on myself).  Try it, it's good, you'll like free things.

1+1=ACK!

I was told, before having children, that the biggest adjustment to having kids didn't come after the first...  it came when you hit 2 kids.  I understood.  When you have one child you pretty much just change your life to revolve around him or her.  Let's face it... newborns are easy.  As hard as we think they are at the time, they pretty much just eat, sleep, cry and poop (not listed in order of frequency).  Throw a two-year-old into the mix, and you've got yourself a party.  Not only do you need to re-adjust to a newborn, but you also need to help your older child adjust, which often can be the hardest part.  When there are 2 kids in need, one of them has to wait, and it's likely not going to be the one who is causing public lactation that looks like you fell boob-first into a puddle while waiting in line at McDonalds (totally hypothetical situation).

Let's have some fun with math.  Of my available time, Girl had a solid "1".  She has since moved to 1/2 (not taking into account the additional needs of a newborn).  Should Husband and I decide to have more children, Boy and Girl will each move from 1/2 to 1/3, a relatively small change of 1/6th compared with Girl's loss of 1/2.  See, math does come in handy now and then.  Now, for all of you who are shouting at the computer about how your heart expands to love all children the same blah blah blah, I'm not talking about love...  I'm talking about time.  As much as I would love my day to also increase by measure of the number of children I have, I don't get enough sleep as it is. 

I've been lucky so far, Girl has taken the addition of Boy in stride, having a much harder time with my c-section recovery.  Yes, sometimes she screams "He's making too much noise" much louder than he is crying, and has once or twice worried that there wasn't enough room on my ample lap for both of them (always proven wrong on that one), but she's been good. 

The last few nights however have been a little tougher.  For whatever reason, she hasn't wanted to sleep, preferring instead to not lose grip of me.  It has been a long time since Girl has wanted to cuddle, but lately she seems to always want to be on my lap, holding on to me, even to the point where she wants me to lie down in bed with her (something she was adamantly against since the moment she got her big-girl bed.)  I know she needs a bit more attention, and because she has been so good with the adjustment so far, I'm willing to give it to her, even if it means we're up a bit later for a little while. 

It's frustrating, and exhausting, but I remind myself it's not permanent.  This too will pass in a few days, and we'll be on to some new, equally tiring phase.  She'll go to sleep eventually, and when she does, the house will be quiet. 

Boy will then take the opportunity to spit up into my cleavage, just to remind me he is there too.

I love being a mom.