Dull Stuff About Canning

I haven't posted in months, and apparently some people missed me, so I thought I would pull something off before having to drag myself back to school at the beginning of the semester.

I recently took up canning (in the past two years). For Christmas I got a load of canning books from my mother, some with up to date information, others that were maybe not so much. Oddly enough the book I like the most is the 2009 revision of the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving. This book is the Bible of home food preserving. This book is the least cuddly of the canning books I was given. It is strictly practical, there are very few, if any references to the wonderful times the authors had children canning with Granny, of the delights of going to a pick your own orchard, etc. There aren't any pretty pictures (except on the cover) of home canned goodies, or anecdotes about eating with your spouse. What you do get is very sound information about what to, and what you can and can't do.

Once you get over the fact that the page numbers of the book are a little tricky (the book is divided into guides, with each page numbered by which guide it is in, for example the third page in guide 2 is numbered 2-3) it is very easy follow this book. The recipes are written in plain English and are very easy to follow, you would really have to try to screw most of them up. And if you follow the directions, you won't. All of the major methods of canning are discussed, jams, jellies, pickles, preserves, etc. There are also detailed instructions on how to both boiling water can and pressure can, where to use what method, and the difference between a dial gauge and weighted gauge pressure canner, including the pros and cons of each.

Food safety is held at a premium. The first guide of the book is devoted strictly to the principles of home canning, including how to sterilize jars, keep food in pristine condition until you can it, and how to tell if things didn't go right and what to do if you have to dispose of spoiled food.

This book actually solved a lot of my problems, from the mundane (I only have a three gallon crock, can I make pickles in it [answer, yes, their recipe can be adjusted by the volume of your crock]) to the relatively serious (How long do I have to process sauerkraut for?). I even know the latest ways to can for people with special dietary needs; for example I now know where and how I can reduce the salt and sugar content of some recipes without compromising safety (important, because high blood pressure and diabetes run in my family). The same page also gives information on how to make home canned baby food (not something I need to know just this minute but it's nice to know where to find this information if I ever need it). They even provide a table telling the reader how to determine how much to can.

The Federal Government doesn't always gets everything right, but this book is undeniably a treasure. I look forward to finally making dill pickles this summer. I should also note that this book doesn't ask for a lot of fancy ingredients or equipment beyond the things you'll need to can properly, things that aren't all that hard to find at places like the hardware store or the farmers market. It seems that the authors decided to focus on giving us information we actually need. Don't expect any wildly innovative taste sensations though, most of this is for more conservative taste buds.

If you want to get wild with your taste buds, I recommend Put 'Em Up: A Comprehensive Guide to Home Canning, by Sherri Brooks Vinton. This is another easy to follow book, but the recipes are a little more exotic, for example Orange Marmalade, Pickle Relish, Watermelon Rind Pickle, and others. This is also a very easy to follow, hard to screw up book. There are a bunch of recipes for non canned preserves as well, for example dried corn, frozen berries, and several kinds of booze that I will likely never try because I don't drink. She even threw in a bunch of refrigerator pickles, which are great for preparing on Sunday then eating down during the week.

I have yet to read the Blue Ball Book, I plan on asking for it for my birthday. Until then I'm just going to have to be satisfied with wading through the other three canning books I got but decided I don't want to post about just yet.

I have to go back to school Wednesday, I am seriously hoping for a snow day. I bet don't get one.

Anyway, I've been busy, but I just wanted to take the time to say that Theo Epstein should be sent to go live on a desert island. Seriously, he should have been the one to get fired, not Terry Francona. Needless to say it has been very hard to walk around campus, given that it is full of Yankees fans. I'm pissed off with the players too, let me tell you...

Just got done watching the Space Shuttle launch, but I don't think I'll be over it for a long time. I'm really sad that the shuttle is being retired, especially now that we don't have a replacement vehicle. Never mind the government is dithering around on making a replacement (why did they have to cancel Constellation?). I'd secretly hoped to go up in the shuttle someday, just like millions of other children.

Actually, the shuttle program ended for me the day they took Endeavour out of service, it was the subject of many childhood adventure fantasies after my mother read me a book about it being sent to repair the Hubble as a bedtime story. It dosen't help that the Daily Telegraph has taken a gloom and doom attitude towards all of this, predicting the end of manned spaceflight, that the Indians and Chinese now own space, people leaving comments that say NASA is a waste of time and that we should be happy it's all being turned into museum exhibits and scrap metal, it makes me so very sad.

The Paw Sox game on Sunday was a dream. The whole neighborhood it was in seemed to have been celebrating the fourth a day early, with a whole bunch of people setting off fireworks at random. Every so often there would bean explosion, they started before it was dark, while the sky was still blue. Either the fireworks laws there are much more enlightened or the cops just don't care. Whatever it was it was magical. they won, and Lars Anderson was even better than last time. I see great things for him. They also won by the way. and on the way out we managed to pick up a bunch of free cheese samples from Cabot (the lady actually forgot she had already given me one and gave me too, then they just left the box unattended. Everyone was doing it). I wish I remembered more of the game so that I could tell you about it. Maybe I will later.

Seeing the paw Sox soon. I'll keep you posted.

Bruins at Fenway

I had a once in a lifetime experience yesterday! Seriously! I was lucky enough to just happen to have tickets to the game where the Bruins came with the Stanley Cup! What a sight!

I honestly thought I was going to miss it. When we got to the T station there was a line a quarter of a mile long to get in. Then we had to wait for the T to arrive (another 5 minutes). The T was crowded, and I spent the whole time worried that my mother was going to find a reason to snap at me. Then there was the matter of sneaking food into Fenway( I refused to do all of it, which pissed my mother off even though she ate more of it than I did). Fortunately they didn't look inside of the sweatshirt rolled under my arm. My mother made it impossible for me to eat any of the strawberries 10 minutes later by taking a bite of one and then putting the stem (which had been in her mouth) back in the bag immediately afterwards. Them she ate half the nuts as well.

We got there just in time to see them come in on the duck boats. We hadn't even found out seats, we just stood near right field and watched them come in. I swear, I never thought I would be so close to the Stanley Cup in my life. It was absolutely cool when they circled the park then all got off the duck boats at home plate and were greeted by the Sox. The way the two teams mixed together, with Boston being primarily a baseball and a hockey town, was...was...I just can't describe it. Oh, and during the circut they were throwing baseballs to the crowd. That was gilding the lily right there. And they all simultaniously threw balls for the first pitch. Cool!

I have a load of pictures, but I can't figure out how to get them up just yet.

The game went extremely well. First, we either missed or they forgot the national anthem. There was a jingoist rendition of God Bless America during the seventh inning, but thankfully it wasn't drawn out. Wakefield was pitching, and all of my favorite position players were there (with the exception of Lowrie). They started out strong, and the whole of the Sox rotation went up at least once (and in some cases more than once) before the second inning. The game was more or less a disgrace for the Brewers, their supposedly hot pitcher wasn't so hot and they were outscored by the Sox 4-1, that is to say the final score was 12-3 Red Sox.

Alas, we were sitting in Right field, which had a good view of Pesky's pole but but not such a good view of the batter thanks to this woman who was blocking my view. Also, it was Father's Day, and I felt as if I were being accused of neglecting my filial duties because I no longer have anyone who could justifiably be called a father figure to sit with and buy power tools for. During the whole game the goal music for the Bruins, as well as their foghorn, were played after every home run (and I already told you there were a lot of them).

I learned an exciting new game there. Yell Marco at Fenway and hear everyone respond "Scutaro".

Yep, fantastic game. Truly a once in a lifetime experience. After they won I went home and had pasta for dinner.

If I can think of anything more to say I'll post again (probably I will).

Life in Hell

I'm suffering from both unrequited love and having to turn down what might have been my first relationship (because the guy turned out to be a creep), so I thought I would post on a book instead. I've been ignoring this blog for no good reason, so I might as well put up a post instead of feeling sorry for myself.

Well actually I am feeling sorry for myself.

Anyway, I went a took a book out of my brothers room while he was out walking the dog (and quickly replaced it before he noticed). It's really a coffee table book, but who cares, I'm not in the mood for much more than doing studies in oil paint and working on my own writing, so why one earth would I be doing heavy reading?

Akbar and Jeff's Guide to Life, is one of the only "Life in Hell" (Matt Groening's comic strip) books that dosen't have the word hell in the title. As a long time fan of this strip I was more than satisfied with this book. Akbar and Jeff (who are, according to the author "brothers or lovers, possibly both) are two mainstays of the strip. They are impossible to tell apart and both wear striped shirts and fezzes (in fact one of the cartoons features them giving each other fezzes for Christmas. Once again, you shouldn't have!).

I love this strip when I'm in a bad mood. When you need something nice and angry to read, this hits the spot. I will say that this might not be something for you seven year old (although I was reading it when I was ten and I turned out all right, I had a 3.4 GPA this year) on account of the fact that it is very racy. It's also a good treatment for the "I'm only 22 and it's already just another birthday" feeling of disappointment I'm suddenly suffering from (I turned 22 quite unceremoniously earlier this week).

Anyway, I'll soon be forgetting about the whole romance thing. I'm going to Fenway for the second time this year on Sunday (and there could be a third in the works, Mom said so). Who on Earth could be sad at Fenway? I think they'll be playing the Brewers. I'll let you know.

I've been late with this one, I'm sorry. I actually skipped an exam to go to this one, so I was nervous about putting this up. Then I realized that no one has any idea I have this, so any and all worries were more or less baseless. It didn't matter, I would have failed the course no matter what.

Anyway, it was raining on and off all day. When we got to the T I realized I was the only one who was wearing shorts. Feeling like a loser I got on the T and rode to the park. It was still clouded over and the sky was a forbidding shade of grayish white. If I hadn't been at a Red Sox fame I would have been depressed. They had the usual embarrassment for the pre game ceremonies. Then I found out Matsuzaka was pitching. Total washout, he only lasted four or so innings before he disappeared into the dugout for reasons that escape me (oh right, all those runs he allowed). To make matters worse all of those balls were coming just short of being hit out of the park. They would make it to within a few feet of the wall and just fall. I think that this had to do with the wind that was blowing into the park more than anything. It was looking grim, and I left to get some overpriced peanuts.

Then, about an inning after I got the peanuts things began looking up. Suddenly they started scoring runs. Right after we stopped yelling Yah Tay (Navajo for hello) at Jacoby Ellsbury he not only got on base but managed to steal one- and oh what a spectacular steal, I saw him finish it but I didn't see him start, I don't think anyone else did either, it must be his special secret for successful steals. Then, finally, in the last inning, Adrian Gonzalez finally managed to hit one out of the park and win the game. I don;t know what happened to the ball, I think the sky ate it.