Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Compulsive Nana!

Well, last posting told you about the dewberry jelly that I made. I made a LOT of dewberry jelly! Then, I got the notion to make strawberry jam and cherry jam. My sweet sister in law had given me a large plastic tub of used mason jars, and I wanted to fill them up. Martin took me to the farmer's market to get the fruit and a funny thing happened along the way. Martin likes to play the lottery. I try not to. That particular day, Martin went into a store and came out with a lottery ticket for me to scratch off. I wanted to tell him that we didn't need to waste our money on such things, but I hate to be confrontational if I don't have to and so, good wife that I am, I just took the ticket and scratched it off, all the while thanking him for thinking of me. Well, guess what! I won 50.00. I am sure that 50.00 is minescule in comparison to the money dropped over the years, but it was fun to have won it anyway. I am not condoning playing the lottery, I just don't want to be a shrew, and anyway, ultimately it is Martin's decision, right? I took the money and went to the market. I was feeling so tickled, because I could get the cherries and strawberries and not feel guilty for taking the cost out of our very tight household budget. To make a long story short, I came home (after a confrontation with a fruit stall vendor who was incredibly crabby- I am never going back to her!) and unloaded my fruit. I made 24 jars of strawberry, and 36 jars of cherry jam. You would think I would be done, but the next day, I got the idea to make pickled green tomatoes, which I dearly love. So, the day after that, we went back to the market and bought some green tomatoes and onions. While I was there, I remembered that I was going to see Aaron and his family in El Paso and also remembered that he used to like my bread and butter pickles when he was little. So, I bought some more onions, and a half bushel of cucumbers. Because I cannot do anything halfway, I went to Walmart and bought some more jars, pickling salt, pickling spice and saw the wonders of wonders. A food processer that would slice those cukes, tomatoes and onions in no time! I am sure glad I splurged, because it only took me about a half hour to slice up the cucumbers, all the onions and the green tomatoes. Everyone had to get in on torturing the vegetables and commenting on how fast the machine worked. I was just glad that my lazy self did not have to do it all by hand. I ended up making 7 jars of tomato pickles and 12 jars of bread and butter pickles. That day, we were at Kroger, and I saw a couple of bags of peaches that were on the clearance rack. They were only a dollar a bag so I bought them and brought them home to make 20 jars of peach jam.Then, my sweet sister in law came over with a large bag of tomatoes, onions, green peppers and other goodies. I thought how much fun it would be to make some salsa! Out came the food processer again, and bang! LOTS of salsa. Probably 14 quarts. Am I done? Not likely! I got into the freezer, and took out the apple slices that were given to me by a dear friend. I made apple butter with them, about 9 pints. When I went to the local feed store (that also sells fresh produce) to get a cantaloupe, the owner and I began to talk and I admired a little basket of fresh plums. She said that they were just off her tree, and I told her that I loved making plum jelly. In fact, that was the first jelly I ever made, when I was but 7 years old in Missouri with my dear Aunt Eva. That experience set me up for loving home canning for the rest of my life. The feed store lady asked me if I wanted to make some jelly for her. I said sure, and she gave me a bushel of plums, some boxes of jars and told me that I could keep half of everything for doing the work! I made 24 jars of plum jelly and she was very happy that I had done so in a very short time. Then, when I delivered my jelly to her, I noticed that there was some fresh squash in the cooler. I love pickled vegetables, and have made all kinds. I thought pickled squash would be so good. I needed one red pepper to add to the yellow squash to give lovely color to the contents, and went to Kroger to get one. The red bell peppers were 2.00 each! 2.00! Well, I almost gave in a bought one, but then, remembering the peaches, I asked the produce clerk if they had any bell peppers ready for the mark down shelf. She came back with 2 bags of red, yellow and green bell peppers, and they were only a dollar a bag! I squealed with delight! I ran to the car with my treasures, but then realized that I only had a couple of pounds of squash- and lots of peppers. So---- I went home and began to slice up vegetables. I cut up all the peppers, the squash, and the onions. The colors together were fabulous! I ended up making 5 large jars of what I have christened, "Garden Pickles"! Oh, I forgot. When I delivered the jelly to the feedstore, the owner gave me some small cucumbers, some onions and a box of peaches that were getting too ripe. She wouldn't take a dime for them, and so, I also have more canning to do. Jaybird and I made 12 pints of sweet gherkin pickles and I made 38 half-pints of peach jam. Now, this has been going on for over a week, and since I am leaving for El Paso tomorrow, I am finished for now. My friend Ashley has a lovely shop in Kemah Tx, near my home, named Scribblin' Sisters and she offered to give me a small space in the store if I wanted to sell a few jars of jelly. That is so sweet of her, and so I have 20 jars of peach jam to start with, to see how it goes. The feed store lady also offered to sell my jams and jellies, so when I get back, I will see how that goes too! If it works out, I will continue to endulge myself through making jelly, jams, preserves, pickles, salsa and whatever else I can think of.
During the making of the apple butter, I asked Peanut if she had time to help me. She told me that she was really tired, (I guess so, she goes all the time) and so I told her to go and rest and I would be okay. Later, she went back into the kitchen and sampled the apple butter just before I bottled it. She told me it was really good, and asked if she could take a bottle to her boss. I replied, "do I look like the little red hen?" But, I will share, after all, Heavenly Father has given me a bounty of produce, and if I don't share, He would be dissapointed! Besides, as my Grandmother Carter taught me, "If you share, you get more!" Love, me

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Jelly

Today I finished making the last of just about 5 gallons of homemade wild dewberry jelly. I didn't make a 5 gallon container, but lots and lots of jelly jars. This means so much to me because, I have been making jelly for a long time, and it brings back so many wonderful memories.
I first started making jelly just to learn how. It is not hard, and in my youth, (20's) I was in an "Earth Mother" mentality. This means that I learned lots of homemaking skills such as canning, soap making, candle making, and all sorts of other stuff. We lived near the farmer's market in Houston, and every day the vendors would throw out entire bushel of produce if only a few items had blemishes. I was not too proud to go and sort through the boxes and usually came home with several bags or boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables. I would hurry and cook and can the produce for my family, or freeze it or can it. It was almost free, and I loved doing it. Martin would also go by the market and bring stuff home for me. I had Sissy and Bobbie Jo then, (they were very small) and they would sit on the porch with me while I peeled carrots, shucked corn, shelled peas and other stuff. I would prepare strawberries, apples, grapes, peaches and cherries to make jellies and preserves. I even learned to can meat, and when chicken or other meat would go on sale, I would spend hours in the kitchen cooking and packing meat in bottles to go into the pressure canner. I don't know where I got the energy, but I did it and loved it the whole time.
In July, 1977 Martin and I had an appointment to go to Salt Lake City Utah to be sealed in the temple there. We had no money, but had been planning the trip for about 6 months and that gave me time to think of ways to help pay for the trip. I had learned that Aaron was on the way, but in my "Earth Mother" mentality, I felt I could do anything- and was determined to earn some money. I planted a garden. In the spring of that year, I worked the little garden, mentally congratulating myself on my efforts. I thought that maybe I could bottle some tomatoes, and sell some of the tomatoes and some fresh squash. Then, it rained and flooded everything and my garden died. By then, it was the month of May, and the time was getting short. One day, I noticed some wild berries in the park. I got a brainstorm. I would pick berries and make jelly to sell! Martin thought that was a good idea and so together with the little girls, we would pick any berries we could find and put them in the freezer. It was hot, and I was pregnant, but all I could think of was the money for the trip. In the heat of the day, I would walk through brambles and stickers to pick berries, and sometimes I would have to bend over to get them. I didn't care. Somehow, I was able to get mason jars, mayonaise jars, baby food jars and any other kind of jar to hold jelly. My only real expense was sugar, so we were able to cover that. The fruit was free, and so, my vacation jelly took off. Then, my neighbor told me that her grandmother used to make jelly from mulberries. She said it was very good- but I didn't hear that because my mind was rushing ahead to the locations of several mulberry trees and their bounteous produce. I ran home and told Martin, and he went right out and started picking mulberries. Once again, we had plenty and they joined the jelly making. I went to the market and got strawberries that had been culled, and they were wonderful and made the best jam. Soon, my whole kitchen, dining room and living room were full of lovely jars of jams and jellies. The rainbow of colors greeted me each morning like the jewels in the crown of a queen. I told my friends in the neighborhood and at church why I was selling my jelly. Everyone was so supportive and soon, I had earned over 150.00 for the trip. That was a lot of money in those days, and it really helped us.
After we moved to the country, there were hundreds of berry bushes in the field behind the house. Each spring, I would wait for the berries to ripen, and get my bucket ready to go. I would take the children, but they griped that they didn't want to pick berries. They would try to wander off, but I told them to stay close by or the bears would get them. "Aw Mama, there ain't no bears around here!" declared Sissy. The other little ones agreed with her, but then I said, "what makes you think there are no bears around here? Bears love berries, why, I guess that's why they call them, bear-ries!" This made perfect sense to the little ones, and they stayed right next to me after that!
I also made wild fig preserves. Texas grows figs everywhere, and no one knows what to do with them, (unless you have been raised eating figs, and then you really know how wonderful they are). If you can find someone with a fig tree, chances are they will be glad to let you have all you want. I make mine with strawberry jello, and it tastes just like strawberry preserves. My kids ate fig preserves all of their lives and never realized they were eating figs.
Which brings me to my thoughts while I was making jelly. When we were young, Martin picked berries and figs for me. He never complained, indeed he took pride in getting as many as he could for me. The scratches from the berry briars on his arms and hands were stripes of honor that he had earned trying to make me happy. Recently this spring, the berries came in with an abundance that I have not seen in years. Martin took me everyday to pick them. Some days, our grandkids would go with us, and once my sweet little nieces went to pick berries to make Father's Day jelly for thier daddy. We each had our buckets, mosquito spray, bottles of water and hats setting by the back door for the next mornings trip. I could not go into the thicket for a couple of reasons, the stickers, my terrible balance and a severe allergy to poison ivy. Martin would insist that I stay on the edge of the woods where the berries were plentiful, and he would take a machete, a stick and his bucket and plunge into the bushes. If the children went he would patiently show them how to take a stick and push back the stickers to reach the berries. How they loved going with us to the woods. Martin found berries that no one else could get to. I could see his head over the tops of the bushes and thicket, bobbing up and down as he picked and picked. While I stayed on the outside of the thicket, I would talk to him so he would know I was still there. Sometimes I gave up and flopped onto the soft grass in the shade of a tree, waiting for him to fill his bucket. While sitting there, I saw rabbits peeking out through the brambles, bees buzzing back and forth from a hive and a myriad of colors as wild birds flew in all directions. The air was so sweet, and while sitting there, I took the time to pray. Sometime the tears would flow as I realized all of the blessings I have in my life. One day, just when I thought my heart would burst with joy at the realization of all that I have been blessed with, I looked up and saw my sweetheart walking towards me, waving his bucket that I could clearly tell was filled to the top with fat, sweet dewberries. For an instant, he was once again the young man out in the fields with me, picking berries so that I could make jelly for our vacation money. His expression was the same, a happy little boy that had something wonderful just for me. If I thought my heart was full of joy before, I realized that it was nothing compared to the love I felt as Martin walked across that field toward me. I never did tell him of my thoughts, but I did thank him once again for his efforts to make me happy. And, once again, he had his stripes of honor, as his arms were crisscrossed with scratches.
I took the berries we picked this spring and put them into the freezer. I gathered jars, sugar and pectin and prepared to once again make jelly. Today, I finished making all that jelly, and the jars are lined up on the cutting board like trophies of love. I have shared some of it, and will put some up for the year ahead, and give some for christmas gifts, but I know that each time I open a jar and spread that jelly, I am spreading joy, love and memories.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Fritos

Gosh, I wonder why fritos taste so good? Not just good, but addictive. And what about Cheetos? Same thing, both just little corn wonders that can take over your life. It is funny too, that it has to be Cheetos or Fritos, and not the off brand. The off brand just does not deliver the taste and Frito experience. I should know, when the kids were small, Fritos were not purchased, because I could get a semblance of a corn chip for about half the price. But now, in the twilight years of my life, it is Fritos or nothing! Now, I have been doing very well at Weight Watchers for the last 5 weeks. I am really happy about that, and if I stay on the course I am on, in October, 2011, I am going to have reached my goal. At that time, I am going to have a "look at me, I am no longer a porky" party. You are all invited. Back to the fritos. I am very good each day, and at night, when I am at the keyboard, or whatever, it suddenly occurs to me that perhaps I might have a few points left for the day. Points are measures of food you can have each day. Okay, honestly, I know exactly how many points are left at any given moment of the day! Anyway, if I am lucky enough to have at least 4 points left, I can have 32 frito chips. Not the scoops, just the little chips. Let me put this into perspective. 4 points will get you half of a gooey brownie, or 2 cups of unsweetened applesauce. For 4 points, you can have almost 2 cups of watermelon cubes. You can also have a cup of rice, a cup of mashed potatoes, a sandwich with veggies and one slice of lunch meat, or a tuna sandwich with light mayonnaise, also using light bread. You can load those sandwiches with fresh vegetables too, without adding extra points.You can have a lovely cup and a half of oatmeal with a few raisins, or even a bowl of special K with skim milk. You can actually consume several cups of sugar free jello, and not reach 4 points. Okay, I am sure you have the picture. So, calculating points with a mental points calculating gift, I make sure that there are 4 points left at the end of the day, so that me and one of my best friends forever, Fritos, can be together. That's right, salty, greasy non-nutritional Fritos. But hey, I never thought the day would come when I would methodically count out 32 fritos, making sure they are 32 complete Fritos, and not ones that are broken off. Upon hearing the rustle of the bag, Martin, even with the tv on at it's loudest shouts, "are you counting Fritos? Remember you only get 32!" ( I usually remark to myself that it is a miracle that he can even hear the damn things, you could shoot off a cannon any other time and he would not even flinch). So, with all the wonders at my reach that equal 4 points and are very nutritional and filling why would I waste the points on Fritos? I think it is because it makes me feel wicked! In spite of the almost nightly Frito fest, I am still losing at the rate of 2 pounds a week- so I am very good all day, and at night, I pull out the stops and count out my fritos. I hope I do not sound obsessed- it is just that it is so much fun to have a naughty snack and still know that I am on the right track. Sometimes I deviate from the plan, and count out CHEETOS! (I can only have 21 pieces of Cheetos though.) On Cheetos nights, I take the time to try to get the chubby cheetos instead of the skinny ones. For one thing, chubby cheetos seem to taste better, and get more cheese powder on your fingers. (better for slurping it off later). Skinny cheetos are no fun. When you first open the bag, the chubby Cheetos call out, enticing you to grab them first. Martin always wants the big, chubby Cheetos because he agrees that they taste better. You know that when you get to the bottom of a bag of Cheetos, there are only little, hard, skinny cheetos left- and probably well on the way to staleville because someone hogged the chubby ones first. I think Frito-lay should only put chubby Cheetos in a bag- but I digress. Going back to the original question- why do Fritos taste go good? I don't know, and I don't care. I am just thankful that in the larger scheme of things, Heavenly Father allows us to have Fritos on the earth. Even at servings of only 34 pieces, it is still heaven!

Monday, June 14, 2010

I am starting a new blog!

I have had numerous requests to publish parts of Bobbie Jo's Miracle, and will in the near future begin that process. At this time, I am mailing off the cookbook I wrote in her memory, and that will come back around the first of August.
The cookbooks are a compilation of all of Bobbie's recipes, both the ones she learned from me and the ones she taught me. There are 185 recipes in the book, and some of them are vintage, while other's are just plain unique. Of course there are the ones with country cookin', and some really great party dishes.
The cookbooks are entitled, "With Love, Bobbie Jo". They will sell for 10.00 and the funds raised from the sale will go into an account that will go towards college tuition or missionary funds for both Jared and his cousins. If Bobbie Jo's Miracle sells well, that too will be added to the account. In this way, Bobbie Jo will be able to assist her family in the future, as she would have done had she been here.
I am not sure what shipping will be for the cookbooks when I mail them out to you, but you can be sure that not one penny over the acutal shipping costs will be charged.
The first printing will be for only 200 books, and I have had many requests already, so if you are interested, let me know right away. I will re-print the cookbooks if the demand is there, but I don't know if the second printing will make it before the Christmas season. I will let you know.
Now, the new address for my blog is: nanasee1a.blogspot.com. Please come and visit me there. I love knowing that you are reading me, and I have such fun writing too. On this blog, I will finish the "children's Home Experience". Keep coming back to see how that turned out.
So, to the launch of many wonderful experiences! I will see you on both blogs for now, but soon, only on "Nana in Wonderland!" Love, Nana

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

I'm still here

I have not been posting as I have been busy with another project. I feel that I must finish the Children's Home Experience, and so I will, but for now, I am trying to complete a cookbook of all the recipes that Bobbie Jo loved and was well known for. It shouldn't take long, and when I am done, I hope to sell them for a modest price in order to put the profits back to give Jared something from his mom for the future. So, don't give up on me! By the way, I am racking my brain for a good title- if you have any suggestions, send them on. The recipes are great, I think anyone would love them. So, till later, Love, me