When Things Go Wrong

   My days are filled with chores that come with living on the Bayou.  This time of year often finds me in the kitchen doing a lot of home-canning.  Vegetables and fruits from the garden, backyard fruit trees and a local "pick-your-own" market are all safely canned and the shelves restocked for the coming year.  This is not only as a method of having a ready resource of food in case of a hurricane but, also, because I am one that absolutely hates shopping.  I would much rather do a bit of work here than spend any time at all in a store.

  That home-canning was in full swing for the past few days.  Not only did I "put up" a bunch of stuff for us, I canned green beans for my daughter and son-in-law.  They do not have the time nor a pressure canner so I volunteered to do the bushel of beans for them.  Mark had gone to the farmers' market and came home with a truckload of goodies...beans included.  The process was going well with the first two canner's full.  Then...the mishap.  Even though Son carefully checked each jar, one must have had a tiny, hairline crack.  When the pressure canner was doing its thing, that hairline crack became a bottomless jar.  Once the processing and decompressing time was complete, I opened the canner to find beans floating around the other jars!  It was saddening to see those lovely beans ruined.  At least, the other jars in the canner were intact!  All in all, the kids now have twenty quarts of beans to stock their pantry.

  This is the second time a mishap of this sort has happened recently.  A couple of years ago, a jar exploded in the canner.  That jar was an older one that had been given (full) to friends.  When they returned it, the jar had apparently been treated a bit rough.  The breakage was a given. The one yesterday, however, was a brand new jar.  I have noticed that the jars nowadays are thinner walled and are much easier cracked.  Many come from the store in bad condition.  The canning lids are the same way.  Folks, if you do home-canning, check the jars carefully (even new ones) and inspect the lids for dents and scratches.  It is a shame but that is how it is.  Just be careful!  

  Still, the beans are canned, jams and jellies are made, peas and butterbeans are all frozen and I am a happy camper!  Now that the pantry shelves are all filled again, I can breathe easy!

The Right Tools!

  When you have a bushel of green beans on the kitchen table just waiting to be snapped and canned, you sure need the right tools for the job.  Canning green beans is not as simple as making jelly or pickles or even ketchup.   Since the beans are low-acidic, you need a pressure canner to get the job done correctly.  I have three.  Yep, I have three pressure canners and do not plan on parting with a one of them any time soon.  Eventually, one will probably go to each of my kids since they have all learned to do home-canning.  Once the kids are ready for a canner, each can pick a favorite but, for the time being, the pressure canners can stay where they are.  They are being used quite often. This week alone, over two hundred jars of goodies have been canned and are lining the shelves nicely.  Of course, a good many filled jars will find their way to my daughter's house.  She is in the healthcare profession and, right now, has no time to even think of doing domestic things.  I shall do them for her.  Canning for two households is not a big deal especially with Son's help!  He can do this with the best of them!  Those green beans are in the jars and ready to eat whenever needed.  

  The pressure canner that I used was given to me by my cousin.  When my aunt passed away, Michelle had no use for the thing but knew that I did.  She generously offered the equipment to me and I readily accepted.  I was excited about this particular canner simply because it is a lot larger than my others.  Both of the other canners are from the 1940s making it hard to find replacement parts.  I had just found a place to order new gaskets and pressure valves when my cousin made me the gift of the gold canner.  My new "pride and joy" is a "newer" model being made in the 1970s!  (See, I am not so far behind the times as folks think!  Well, yeah, I am but as long as the equipment works, it shall be used.)  

  With all the work happening in the kitchen, as of late, I have to make mention that it sure looks fine to have the pantry shelves filled.  The garden is producing crazily so the "happy canners" will be in use for a while yet this season.  (Note...even though the canner is the correct color, my kitchen is not pink as it appears in the photo.  I am not a "pink" person!)

From This....To That

    It was a busy day for me.  In fact, it was far too busy.  The day started at 5am with me bounding out of bed and into the kitchen.  Mark had carried home a lot green beans that needed canning and I still had plums to jam.  First things first, however, and that meant coffee.  I needed lots of coffee to help me through this mess!  That done, I started snapping those beans.  This was a longer job than I anticipated.  Even with Mark's help, the beans seemed to be a never-ending pile.  He helped for an hour or so then had places to go and things to do.  I sat snapping beans.  After getting about two gallons snapped, I turned my attention to the jars and pressure canner.  A good cleaning was needed before I could begin processing the beans.  Jars washed, jars sterilized, canner washed, canner started heating, water put on to boil, lids soaking to soften and I was ready to go!

  By this time, Son had entered the picture and promptly started lending a hand.  This young man can preserve food with the best so was a big help.  He just steps in where needed and does a good job.  By the middle of the day, we had all of the beans snapped and half already canned.  Things were going smoothly.  

  By late afternoon, using the pressure canner had come to a halt and the jam making began.  Back home again, Mark helped me chop what amounted to 18 cups of diced plums.  The jam making would not take nearly as long as the green beans so I was a happy camper about this time.  The chore of home canning was nearly finished for the day and I was so ready.  It took nearly 12 hrs of kitchen time to do all I had to do from snapping the beans to getting everything cleaned up afterward.  Once the job was completed, however, it felt mighty fine to stand back and look at all of those pretty jars lined up on the table.  All three chest type freezers are filled and the pantry shelves have little space left.  We will eat good this winter!

  This whole scenario reminded me of a story that was told about Mom. When they married, Pop was a farm boy and Mom was a city girl. She had no idea what she was getting into!  The first week after they were married, Pop toted home bushels of beans from the fields.  He was so proud to give her a brand new pressure canner but Mom had no idea  how to use it.  She promptly sat down and wept.  This farm life was going to be hard!  Luckily, Dad's sister came to the rescue.  Marie came over and taught her how to use the canner and many other "tricks of the trade".  Mom told the story often of how (Aunt) Marie was so patient in teaching the city girl how to become a farm wife.