Into the Briny Deep

In the last couple of days I have been making pickles for the first time. I could not pass up the home grown cucumbers at the farmers market. My cucumbers did not grow this year because of bad seeds.

So armed with fresh cucumbers, spices, new/old jars and a lot of pots boiling, I got to canning.

I made dill pickle spears for my husband and bread and butter coins for me. I doctored my pickles with more cardamon seeds and Hoisin sauce for a more Asian flavor. I can hardly wait to try them out. What a fun way to use up cucumbers. The whole house smells wonderful with all the spices floating around in the air. "You just can't buy that smell in a can", to quote my husband.

Big Black Beetle

I happened to find this huge black beetle pondering across my neighbors basement floor. She almost weighed as much as a full spool of quilting thread and was the size of the palm of my hand. She is a black rain beetle and is a rare find indeed. They take 13 years to mature and both sexes emerge just before rain and fall to mate then burrow underground again. The female does not fly only the male, so that was why she was walking in the basement. She was the neatest bug I have found yet. I set her outside to find a mate in the woods.

Jar-Mageddon

What a busy day of jar hunting! A wonderful neighbor is restoring an old house and had some jars to find new homes for. So armed with boxes we went into the basement of this old house to salvage as many usable jars and possible. Most of the jars had foodstuffs from the 1990's and were on the verge of becoming open. The original owner had canned milk, corn, tea, chocolate, rose hips, spinach, beets, honey, herbs, jams and syrups. It was amazing the amount of time spent canning all this food. The sad part was that the lids had rusted in the damp basement and were unusable except for compost. I was able to salvage most of the unused jars large and small sizes. Next, I loaded my car with about 70 jars of various sizes and shapes. I think I am all set for jars with plenty to share with other caners, too.

Having canned for just the two of us, I realize how one can make too much food. Last year I made 2 bushels of apples into 18 quart jars of apple sauce, but we did eat all but 1 jar. And all 12 quart jars of peaches were eaten. So I think I have a grasp of not wasting canned foods. I had a great neighbor show me how to do this. So with this years harvest and new/old jars I am ready to expand my canning.

Even though that old basement pantry is now a bio hazard in that old house, it was a learning experience. To see how someone else made the most out of what they grew/raised in a their own pantry. And one day I am sure these jars will leave my hands for the next generation to pick up and try.

The next job will be to remove the filled jars and empty the contents with air masks on.

We are going to lend the owner a hand for this messy task in the basement jar-mageddon. Once the food and glass are removed the rest of the basement will be cleared out and the house ready for restoration work. We all just need a break with cooler weather out here in the Ozarks.

I am so grateful our neighbor wanted to salvage these old jars. It was worth the effort even in this summer heat.

A Talk about Alzheimer's

It has come into my life all at once the disease of Alzheimer's. I have neighbors, friends, mother in law and an uncle who are the stages of Alzheimer's. And nobody wants to talk about it. It is silently dealt with in quiet conversations in other rooms or avoided all together. Family members get enraged at people wanting only to help or lend a hand. Even the ill person can be violent and combative in the later stages of this disease. Families are scared, raw and emotional. Yes, when a loved one gets ill and loses mental function it is scary and you lash out of fear or denial. But after the bullfight and the dust settles; you have to deal with an ill human being needing care.

Nobody talks about it in public and that is wrong. As humans we need to communicate about how we are solving problems of our aged. Problems like parents out of state, home health care, doctor appointments, bills, property management, putting your loved one in a home, estate planning, pet/livestock care, paying for doctors and long term care and the lists go one. When you see a doctor you are handed a pamphlet and left to your own devices, great. You will have to battle with the health insurance company not wanting to pay the bills incurred in treatment, oh joy.

That is not working for the families going through this trauma. Your life gets turned upside down and you need help righting your life.

What does help is the phone, the Internet, social network of visitors, trusted neighbors, churches and people helping each other. Making time in your life to deal with the changes occurring in your loved ones life and helping them. We are all in this journey and we need to help each other along the way.

Because in 20 or 30 years from this point in time we might be the ones on the receiving end of what our society/government decides and not what our families want. Lets provide a soft nest for our loved ones together to fall into protected and safe. And lets feather our nests with knowledge and strength to carry on.

To learn more about Alzheimer's go here and read this: The 36 Hour Day by Nancy Mace, M.D.

Corn a Plenty

I love summer corn and now it the best time to buy local while it is fresh and cheap. I got this corn and it had small bugs on it, a great sign. Live bugs means no pesticides were used growing this veggie. I brought 10 ears home, washed them and quickly pressure cooked them in minutes. Then I cut the kernels off the cooked corn and put them in the dehydrator for the day. The result is sweet cooked summer corn saved for this winter soups. An easy thing to do when the season gives us a bountiful harvest.

Blackberry Me

We finally had a huge harvest of blackberries all around our farm. It was so worth putting on layers of jeans and long sleeves, gloves and boots to collect these sweet berries. I got all set up and spent the day in my kitchen with my harvest. I got a rolling boil, hot jars and lids all ready. I pulped and screened out the seeds and got the berries boiling in pectin and sugar. What a pretty purple color it made. After the rolling boil I poured in all my juice and capped the jars then a hot bath for 10 minutes. The results was 8 jars of Blackberry syrup. I did not boil long enough and shorted the sugar, ending in a syrup. But friends all were all happy to take home a jar of my home grown and handmade blackberry syrup. Next year I will jam better for my berries. Now on to corn!