Do I Dare??

   One of the banes of living on this property is the overgrowth of Smilax.  Those thorny vines are everywhere and can grow about a foot every day if left to their own doings.  Son has dug out so many of the large root balls that it has become a sort of standing joke when I find yet another vine engulfing a tree, building or garden.  The things are relentless!  They seem to have an undying desire to take over the whole place no matter how hard we try to keep them in check.

  This morning, I found that the goofy vines have taken root in the marsh and have made their way up into the live oak trees that line the property where yard meets marsh.  Just a mere five years ago, I had cleared this area after Hurricane Zeta ruined the tree line.  I carefully cleared everything down to the marsh edge and was a happy camper with my work.  Then one thing or another got in the way of my keeping it nice and tidy.  This morning's discovery also gave sight to the billion or so berries that are soon to drop as seeds.  More smilax.  More aggravation.  So...there was nothing to do but research these plants a bit more.

  While I knew that the roots and new shoots of the vines were edible, I had no idea the extent of uses of its parts.  Supposedly, the new shoots taste a lot like asparagus and the roots can be boiled, roasted or used to make a flour.  Those roots are also the base of Sarsaparilla.  Come to find out those lovely berries are also edible and are used to make jelly.  Who knew??? I sure did not!  

  Now the question...do I dare?  With close to a thousand jars of home-canned goodies (including jams and jellies) on the shelves, it seems pointless to add yet another batch of jelly...but I am curious.  Will this taste good?  Have I been missing out on a delight that has literally been handed to me time and time again?  Perhaps I should stop looking at the Smilax as a curse and see the gift that Mother Nature has been trying to give to me.  Smilax jelly may be in the works this week!  Now to figure out how to pick the berries while avoiding the wicked thorns.  Wish me luck!

*Update:  It appears that I got this wild hair of Smilax jelly a bit too late as the "berries" are already past their prime.  Obviously, I needed to pick them in the late fall. I shall try again in 6 to 8 months...if the hurricane season plays nicely and I do not get sidetracked by cleanup.  I shall post again then about the adventures in Smilax as a foodstuff!

Sort of Like Grandma!

   Following my paternal grandmother's lead, I do a lot of home canning of fruits and vegetables...a LOT of home canning.  Grandma's was out of necessity as she had Grandpa, six strapping sons and a lovely daughter to feed and "running" to a grocery store was out of the question back in those days.  Mom, on the other hand, had no idea how to do these things when she and Pop got married.  She was never taught since she had not grown up as a "farm girl".  That soon became a problem as just a mere week after their marriage, Pop brought several bushels of green beans from the fields and then proudly presented her with a brand new pressure canner!  She sat down and wept because she knew the task had to be done but had no idea how to begin.  Pop tried to explain and but to no avail.  Thankfully, his sister came to the rescue and taught Mom the fine art of home canning that summer.  Mom passed that along to me as a teenager and I have been doing it since. 

  The Saturday before Mother's Day, Mark and I came up with a plan to bring four of our elderly lady friends some fresh vegetables as gifts.  Even though these ladies are in their late 80s, they still appreciate good foods and still do their own cooking.  Mark went to a local farm and stocked up on a variety of veggies and berries, we made lovely boxes and then he headed out to visit each of the ladies.  They were thrilled.  I stayed behind and started prepping the remaining fruit and vegetables to be canned.  He had scored a great deal on a bushel of green beans and half bushels each of strawberries and blueberries.  My work was cut out for me! For the next few days, we canned the green beans and made jams and jellies from the berries.

  The only troubling part of this whole venture is the quality of mason jars that are sold today.  I refuse to put any jar with even a tiny, hairline crack in my canner and some of the new jars have plenty of those.  Plus, several of the lids were messed up coming straight from a new box!  Then!  Then, imagine my surprise when one of the canning rings from a new jar had a lovely cut in the metal.  Wow!  Workmanship has gone down the tubes, it seems.  That should have never, ever left the factory!  Who inspects these things?  Anyone?  Doubtful.  I am so thankful that Mark did not cut his hand as he was removing the rings from the new jars.

  That aside, I now need to find shelf space for the nigh on eighty more jars of goodies.  This brings the total back to over nine hundred jars on the pantry shelves...which, by the way, are my dining room shelves that span the entirety of one wall.  Grandma would be proud, I think!

A New Snack!

  On my hikes about the hillside and down to the creek bed, I can usually find a ready snack on the trail.  Blackberries, huckleberries, wild blueberries, wild persimmons all grow along the marsh edge and in the woods.  I have no qualms about grabbing a handful of these as a handy snack but I admit to being leery of just trying any fruit I see.  That old saying of better safe than sorry rings true.  Today, however, I was happy to find a new snack albeit a sour one to add to my hiking pleasure.  Sparkle berries!  I had never heard of such until a friend (who I have never met!) mentioned finding them on a hike.  Well, if there is a berry that grows here and is edible, I needed to find it, right?  So...I searched.  In fact, I have been searching for weeks and was in hopes that I would find some before they all dried up and fell from the bush or were all eaten by critters.

  This afternoon, my quest was accomplished!  I found my sparkle berries!  Sure, they looked a bit dry and there were only a few left on the bush but, hey, they were there!  But...as I said earlier, I am leery of trying things without a positive identification.  So, I sent a photograph to my friend and the berries were confirmed to be sparkle berries.  The confirmation came with a lot of pointers on how to identify the berries so I feel quite confident in tasting them.  Tomorrow, the berries will be put to a taste test despite warnings from my friend.  "They are tart!"  My whole thought is that if the berries are there next year, a batch of sparkle berry jelly should be attempted! 

  Still, regardless of the fact that the sparkle berries may not be as tasty as the huckleberries, I think it is a wise move to learn what is edible and what is not.  Ha!  If I ever get lost on a hike around the Bayou, I will survive!  Snacks abound!  Free food for the taking!


 

'Possum or Fox?

Down near the marsh edge right on the Bayou, there is a massive bunch of grapevines. These vines are wild and are just sort of haphazardly growing wherever they please. They are strung across every small shrubby tree, soaring up the sides of pine trees and intertwining with the wisteria that is also wild and free. These vines are blooming and are covered with tiny green grapes. I am sure that most will be eaten by wildlife and not reach my jelly pot, but still the vine brings a smile to my face. The question is.."Are these 'possum grapes or are these fox grapes?" Or perhaps there is another question..."Is there a difference between 'possum grapes and fox grapes?" Or maybe even.."Does either one really exist?" I am not sure as to the answer of any of these. I do know that growing up, we used to pick a lot of 'possum grapes or fox grapes. The name just depended upon whoever was on the receiving end of the large bushel of grapes.

I recall one time where my brother and I went across the road to a large pecan orchard that was owned by a neighbor. Our father was allowed to plant corn in this field in return for keeping the pecan orchard free of weeds. Almost at the far end of this field, there was one huge pecan tree that had a grape vine that had totally covered the tree. No one ever tried to remove the vine simply because the pecan tree had never made any nuts and was therefore not important. On this particular hike, we noticed that the vine was covered with ripe grapes! We hurried back to the house to ask Mom if she wanted some grapes. Once she agreed to our mission, we gathered several bushels and proceeded back to the tree. He, being the better climber, scurried to the top of the tree and started picking the bunches of grapes. He would then toss them down to me and I filled basket after basket. It took us several hours to fill all of the baskets. Then a realization hit us...we had forgotten that he and I would have to tote these bushels of grapes home! The tree was at least a good third of a mile from the house and well..bushels of grapes are quite heavy for two youngsters to tote! Not to mention that we had three bushels filled! Boy..was Mom thrilled to see all of those lovely grapes..those lovely, little, seedy grapes! She made so much grape jelly! And made grape jelly...and made grape jelly..lots and lots of grape jelly. Hmmm..I wonder why Dad cut that vine out of the pecan tree the very next week? Fox grapes or 'possum grapes..Mom sure did not want any more lovely grapes...lovely, little, very seedy grapes! (But boy..was that ever the most tasty jelly!)