'Hello. My name is Vicki and I am addicted to fondling fabrics.'
I wonder if there is a 12 step program for that. :)
I have spent the last few days pinning and sewing and marking and cutting fabric. One quilt top is nearly finished and two more are in the works. Photos will be posted when I have finished them. I hope to spend time working on them over the upcoming weekend.
But until then, it is time to get on with the food storage thing. I don't think I should put it off any longer, considering that the North Korean lunatic is threatening to nuke us either at our military bases in Guam or here at home. Might never happen, but with a loose cannon like that, you just don't know.
At any rate, there are 24 lbs. of butter melting on the stove in preparation for canning. There are about a gallon and a half of Great Northern beans (the ones the bugs didn't find) to can and two gallons of cranberries thawing to can whole.
So I am off to spend some quality time in my kitchen. If you don't hear from me in a couple of days, send in the Rescue Squad. I will be the chubby granny buried under a stack of canning jars. :)
Opus 2024-395: Built, Not Chosen
10 hours ago
Don't forget to have some water stocked and and a drywall bucket slop jar!
ReplyDeleteGot it covered, Gorges.
DeleteI am a serial fabric fondler. It is a rather harmless addiction. No one is hurt.
ReplyDeleteThat is a lot of butter! We will listen to make sure you are still alive and moving.
Linda...Nice to know I am in good company. I dislike shopping, the one exception being the fabric store.
DeleteMy son made a Sam's Club run and bought the butter there, where it is much cheaper than at the grocery. I was completely out of canned butter and needed to restock. Canned, it will keep on the shelf for years.
It will take another day or so to finish this round of canning. I am running low on jars, so I may just survive without being buried by them. :)
Vicki,
DeleteWill this be ghee when canned? I bought ghee and it was solid and sort of white and tasteless. The tasteless part may have just been me. I am allergic to mammal products, anaphylaxis allergic. I found out it is the protein that will kill me. And, I understand that all the protein is removed when making ghee. What do you think? I want some butter without taking my life in my hands or mouth.
Linda...This is regular butter - not ghee. I really don't know enough about ghee or how it is made to be able to voice an opinion. You are better off doing your own research. If someone asks me a question and I don't know the answer, I say so. Especially if the wrong answer could cause someone harm, like you with your protien issue.
DeleteVicki,
DeleteYou start with butter and take off the solids on top by skimming and you leave the solids in the bottom. What is left is called ghee. Do you take off the solids when you can butter? If so, you are making ghee, I think.
Linda...I don't skim the butter at all. I just melt it and slightly simmer for a few minutes to get rid of any moisture, then jar it up. When done it looks like butter and tastes like butter. It is a little bit grainy like any butter that has melted and cooled, but that doesn't bother me. I use it the same as butter that has not been canned.
DeleteVicki,
DeleteThanks. The grainy part turned me off. This is purchased to try before I canned it. I feel more confident now. I put a spoon and tasted it, so it was a little gross with the graininess.
Linda...I guess it amounts to what we can tolerate and what we can not. The canned butter melts on toast or on vegetables same as regular butter. The graininess is a little bit noticeable when spread on bread, but not enough to bother me. Bottom line - I would rather have plenty of butter on hand even if it is a bit grainy than to have none at all in an emergency situation where it would go rancid if we had no electricity for weeks at a time. Could happen. And I use a lot of butter so this is a good way for me to keep it on hand without having to depend on a freezer. Canning butter may not be a good choice for everybody, depending on personal tastes, but it works well for me.
DeleteI thought something was wrong with it because of the graininess. So, I suppose I know better now. thanks. It would be a sad world without butter for a long time.
DeleteJust back yesterday from an amazing weekend with friends who are really family. I've known him since he was in diapers and I was 5yo. I get the big sister - little brother relationship. That's him and me but we're chosen family, not blood relatives.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I was off all things electronic for 5 days!! And I survived.hahaha. SJ
Didn't know if you had seen my intials on this post or not.
DeletePicked up my dog from the kennel yesterday. Oh my gosh was he dirty and very happy. He got to swim in the duck ponds each of the 5 days he was there. And, boy could I tell. Phew. But that's ok, I'd rather have a happy dog.
Today I went to one garden and harvested some cherry tomatoes, three cucumbers and a winter squash. The squash could have used another week but I was worried something or somebody would get to it.
Other then that, just hanging in there and resting.
Take care and keep up that canning...
SJ
SJ...I am so glad you had such a good time!! They say you can pick your friends but not your relatives, but when we are lucky enough to have friends who are just like family, it is a good thing. Sounds like the dog had a great time, too. I would rather have a dirty, smelly dog who is happy than one who is pristine and didn't have any fun at all. :)
DeleteI can almost taste those cherry tomatoes. Youngest son doesn't have a garden this year, but when he did he would bring me a big bowl of them. I ate them like candy - they were so good.
Part of the canning is done, but I find I need a day in between canning sessions. It gets done - just takes longer. You know what that is all about, don't you.
I understand the need to work on projects as discreet 'packages'. Yes, I am living it. It took me most of Thursday to groom out my dog. I could only work on him in 10-15 increments. Slow and steady gets'er done. SJ
DeleteYep, SJ...work 10 minutes, go sit down - work 10 minutes, go sit down. We get the job done. It just takes awhile sometimes. By the way - My last job was bathing and brushing dogs at a groomer's shop. I don't envy your task of cleaning up the Golden!! (I think I remember you said he was a Golden Retriever - one of my favorite breeds.)
DeleteYes, good memory. He's a golden. And he's big -90#. He was the runt of the litter but then had a growth spurt and ended up biggest of his litter. When he's sitting, he's 32inches tall from the floor to the top of his head.
DeleteAnd, I'm still grooming him - two days later. But I'm almost done. Did a bit of hacking with my scissors. It's not about perfection, right?
Woke up to rain and amazing clean air! Tucked in for the day.
Take care, SJ
My gosh, SJ...that's a lot of dog! I remember I liked working with the Goldens at the grooming shop. They always seemed like such happy dogs. I get the part of hacking with scissors. When I had my two little Yorkies, it seemed like no matter how much I brushed them, they still got matted. I usually just shaved them down in the spring. They looked like a couple of Chihuahuas. But they seemed happy to be rid of the long hair. :)
DeleteI have been watching the weather radar, hoping that some of the rain would hit here, but it looks like it is mostly going north of us. Can't complain, though. Temps have been in the high 70s. I am taking the day off, too, with just a bit of puttering about - a little laundry, a bit of baking, etc. Tomorrow it is back to canning. Enjoy your tucked in day.
Well lets hope someone takes out Little Fat Man before he pushes the button. If he does our lives will change again like every other time in history
ReplyDeleteRob...Hard to know what will happen when dealing with a crazy person. All we can do is be as ready as we can be, just in case.
Delete