Monday, February 6, 2017

Finishing Up

Saturday sort of wore me out, so I took Sunday off.  Turned into a  slug, I did.  Watched a couple of movies.  Did a bit of sewing on my quilt top.  Read several chapters of my latest murder mystery.  Drank coffee.  Took naps.  It was a lovely day.

Had a bit of a scare Saturday evening.  Oldest Son was cooking supper when he fainted dead away.  Scraped up his back some and hit his head on a chair on the way down.  Lori took him to the Emergency Room where they ran an EKG, a CT scan to make sure his brains weren't too badly scrambled and took X-Rays to make sure he hadn't done damage to his back.  The tests were all negative.  The doctors decided he was dehydrated and gave him some intravenous fluids.  A few hours later he was back home with a giant headache and very stiff back, but thankfully, all in one piece.  Lori promised me she would make him mind and not overdo, a difficult task considering he is at least as stubborn as his mother.  I don't care how old our children are, they are still our babies and we worry.  I am just thankful Lori was there to help.

This morning I pressure canned the ham cubes, winding up with 20 half pint jars.  The half pints are just the right size for one person to use for ham sandwiches or ham and scrambled eggs or in omelets.  The next time I can ham I will use pint jars.  That is a good amount of meat for scalloped potatoes and ham or in soup or casseroles.

I washed the jars of potatoes and carrots, wrote the contents and date on the lids and stocked them on the shelf.  I had filled 34 pint jars with half potato dices and half carrot dices.  My reasoning was that this would work well for smaller batches of soup or stew at times when I want a quick meal - just add broth, meat and seasonings.  There were more potatoes than carrots, so I canned 10 pints of potato dices to be used mostly for fried breakfast potatoes.  They are fully cooked after processing, so all I need to do is brown them in a frying pan and maybe toss in some onion or garlic.

The onions and cabbage went into the dehydrators late this afternoon.  They should be fully dried by morning.  I seem to go through a lot of onions, so that is something I order in quantity at least once every couple of months to dehydrate.  I keep a few fresh onions but drying them seems to be the best way for me to keep them on hand.

And that, I think, is enough for one day.  Time to fix a bit of supper, fire up the Kindle and read awhile.  It has been a good day.

14 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Gorges...Sometimes a person needs a do nothing day. It was nice. :)

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  2. Wow scary about your son....glad he is ok.
    Also I still need to get a dehydrator!!

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    1. Thanks, Jenn...He was still sore and still had a bit of a headache, but he went to work today. He is not a kid any more - he is 52 years old. But no matter the age, Mom's still worry. :)

      Some folks swear by the Excalibur dehydrators, but they are a bit too spendy for my purse. I have two Nesco dehydrators and they work just fine. Both have fans and temperature controls in the lid. I just rotate the trays about halfway through the drying process. They get a workout!

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  3. Does the Ham retain its flavor well when you can it? I don't like to freeze Ham because it doesn't seem to keep the flavor. Glad your son was okay. I have fainted once from dehydration, when recovering from a stomach bug.

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    1. Thanks, Lisa...This has happened only one other time several years ago, so I think it might have been partly due to the fact he was getting over a cold plus the dehydration.
      The ham isn't going to taste exactly like one that has been roasted in the oven, but I think it still has good flavor. If you are canning another kind of meat, it might be a good idea to run through a couple of jars of ham to see how you like it. Some hams retain their original color and some turn dark. The color doesn't seem to affect flavor.

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  4. Glad your son is ok! I think we worry more the older our kids get. They still thing they are indestructible!

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    1. Thanks, CM...Scared me some, mostly because being diabetic, he has learned to take pretty good care of himself. So something like this is highly unusual for him. You're right - we worry about them no matter how old they are. That's what moms do. That's our job. :)

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  5. Glad to hear your son is alright. It's always a scary thing when one of your children get's hurt.

    You always amaze me with all the canning you do. I'm totally burnt out on it come the fall of each year and don't want to see the pressure canner until at least spring.

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    1. Thanks, Jim...It is scary when one of your kids is hurt. As a parent you just want to take away the pain - and you can't.
      I get a little bit burned out on the canning, too, but it is likely easier for me because I don't have a garden to keep up with. Most folks have a ton of produce ready to can in a short period of time, while I spread it out over the entire year depending when the grocery has sales. The only time I get bogged down is when our Farmer's Market is in full swing and even then I buy only as much as I know I can preserve in any given week. As much as I hate to admit it, with each passing year the amounts of food I can handle are becoming less and less. :)
      I think the one thing that keeps me going is that I never, ever want to look into the face of a hungry grandchild and tell them I have nothing for them to eat. As the insanity around us continues to increase, anything could happen and I intend to make sure my family will at least be fed.

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  6. So sorry to hear about your son but glad he is ok. I'm a big time fainter - always have been. It is very scary though. Especially living alone.
    Nice job on the canning. Slow and steady is my mantra these days. I got out to the stores this week for their 10% off days. I love the price matching on these days - it really stretches the budget.
    Cheers, SJ

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    1. Thanks, SJ...It was scary, but at least he found out the cause and is doing what he can to see it doesn't happen again. That's got to be worrisome for you. I guess I don't know what it is like as I have never fainted. Be careful, my friend.
      Slow and steady works for me, too - emphasis on the "slow." I wish my local store had price matching but they just have their weekly sales. I'm for anything that makes a dollar go little further.

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  7. Glad he is ok. If he hit his head then he will be fine.. Hard headed, his back well, this is a family blog

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    1. Rob...Thanks. He is doing fine. Went back to work with only one day off. We worry about our kids no matter their age, don't we. :)

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