Puttering

The heat is still with us.  The humidity, too.  But the weather guy tells us that cooler temps will visit us by the end of the week.  They will be welcome!  But I suppose if we were having weather like Rev. Paul is seeing in Alaska, we would be complaining about that, too.  :)

I did manage last week to get some ham and bean soup canned.  I did a cannerful of quarts, being seven of them.  One jar didn't seal so I had lunches of bean soup for a couple of days.  Two jars broke in the canner.  I'm not sure why.  Sometimes jars just break.  Sometimes a scratch in the glass can turn into a break under pressure.  And sometimes jars will break if the canner is heated too quickly.  I'm thinking the latter operator error might have been the cause.  At any rate, I put four more quarts of ready-to-eat food on the shelf, so it wasn't a total loss.

Today is not a high energy day.  Even when I am indoors the humidity seems to bother my breathing some.  The nebulizer helps more than I ever thought it would.  My youngest son gave it to me so I didn't have to go buy one.  He had it for one of his kids when they were younger.  It is shaped like a penguin.  It makes me smile.  Takes about 20 minutes to use up the medicine that helps open my airway.  I keep my Kindle alongside my penguin and indulge in a bit of reading while I wait for the process to complete.  Right now I am in the middle of a mystery that has not one, but two murders to solve.  I just love a good who-done-it.  :)

So today I am just puttering around, doing little chores that require little energy output.  Fall is nearly upon us, so it is time to make a batch of hot chocolate mix.  I dearly love a cup of cocoa in the cool of an evening.  Usually I use that universal recipe calling for Nestle's Quick, but this time I am using the following recipe that tastes like the cocoa Mother used to make with milk, cocoa powder and sugar, heated on the stove. 

HOT COCOA MIX

5 cups nonfat dry powdered milk
3 cups powdered sugar (more or less according to your taste)
1 1/2 cups dry cocoa
1 cup nondairy coffee creamer
pinch of salt

Mix powdered milk, creamer, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Sift in cocoa and powdered sugar. Mix well. Store in a airtight container.
When ready to use, add approximately 1/3 cup to a mug of boiling water. Stir until cool enough to drink.

You might want to try some of these variations. The recipe is very flexible.
* crushed peppermint sticks
* cinnamon
* malted milk powder

I found this recipe at 'katz kradle' YouTube channel.  It has been several months since she posted anything, but she has a wealth of information on preparedness, recipes, etc.

Looks like there may be a thunderstorm or two headed my way.   The weather reporters always make it sound like the storm of the century is headed directly for us.  I will be happy if we get a little rain.  We need it.