Category Archive: Foods

2 month old Will, named for this grandpa, arrived by plane and this photo was taken a few hours before the end of my husbands earthly chapter.  We were blessed that each family member had some time with their dad the last day.  His mind was clear, but his heart just wasn’t strong enough to carry on.  The good news is we WILL meet again.   I am looking forward to that chapter of our lives.

I have been keeping very busy, using what energy I have.  There is so much to take care of: paper work, finances, and cleaning things out.   Each of the children was able to take some memories that are important to them.  The clothes have gone to meet other peoples needs.

When Bill retired, he decided to try some of the hobbies I enjoy. This is the only pair of socks he ever made. They will go to his namesake.   Before he broke his arm in March, Bill  made some of these Aunt Matilda slippers.  I just finished sewing them up. They still need little pompoms.  Crochet was much easier for him; so there are a number of these infant caps.  I will take them to the hospital.

Today I canned 21 quarts of potatoes.  The winter has been so mild, they are already sprouting.  I use the french fry cutter and when ready to use them, they are so easy to heat up for mashed potatoes or for soup.  Another way I like to use them is to add seasoning and blend them with a cooked carrot (for color) and use them as a gravy for my baked potato – no added calories.

Next on my list is to start working on taxes and try to put some fun activities in my week.

 Before making the applesauce, clean your jars and have them ready.   I ran mine through the dishwasher.

You can use your old jar rings.   Put the new lids in water and let them soak while you prepare the apples

Wash the apples, but don’t  peel them.

Cut the apples in quarters, remove the core and cut each piece across the middle.  With about 1/4 cup of water in your hi-power (Vitamix) blender, add one quarter blender jar of raw apples.   Turn speed up and as soon as these are blended, keep adding more until the blender is full.   After the first blender of apples, you won’t need to add more water as there will be enough fluid left from the previous load.   These apples were from the neighbors trees which had not been cared for, so there were lots of spots to cut out.  And yes, this way does lose a bit more apple, but I don’t mind because it is quick, easy, and the chickens or compost can have the discards.

Using a canning funnel, pour just up to the bottom of the first ring.

Even if the rim looks clean, put your clean finger in water and run it around the rim to make sure the rim is clean,

Now put on the lid, then the ring.

When you have 7 jars, (pints or quarts) put them in the water bath canning kettle and bring to a rolling boil.   Turn down and keep boiling.   See there are bubbles in the water, not just on the lids.  Boil 15 minutes for pints and 20 for quarts.   If you are at a higher elevation, check with your extension agent.   OR you can make fewer jars and keep it in the refrigerator for up to a week.

At the end of this time, remove from the kettle and set on a towel until cool enough to loosen the lid and rinse the outside of the jar.   Then use a sharpie to write on the lid.  I put 10/16, because it is so close to the end of the month.    TERRIFIC!.  You are done without peeling a single apple or losing the nutrition in the skin.  Your applesauce will vary in color with the color of the apple skin.   If you desire, you could add cinnamon and/or sugar.

Below, I saved some of the applesauce and added honey and spices to it to make apple butter.  This I placed in my slow cooker.   It is a new recipe, so I will let you know how we like it.

We’re nearly out of strawberry jam and with my DH, that isn’t acceptable.   So  now with 6 more pints, we may make it until strawberry season.   I just did not make enough last year for gifts and us, but fortunately, I still had frozen berries in the freezer.  I believe I have almost enough to make it to next season

So with some catch up housework and babying this cough, and some spinning,  I had enough energy to go check the bees since the temperature got up over 60 degrees.   The poor bees did not make it through the winter.  So I want to rototill that area and plant a bee friendly area, then next year, we’ll get bees again.