Thursday, June 9, 2011

berries and berries and berries and cherries

I have always loved the feeling of a row of freshly canned something. It feels a bit like a squirrel hiding away nuts for winter. This year, as I am tending my mother in law's house and garden, there are oh so very many berries. I picked a gallon just this morning.

In the past, I just canned it without much thought. This year, however, Not Everything Is Going Very Well.

Canning berries and cherries. I got the first batch of berries done, then a batch of cherries. Then, halfway through the second batch of berries, the stove burner died. I Muscled the canning kettle full of water and berry jars to the other burner, thanks to the weight lifting I have been doing!! The small burner would NOT get it hot enough so I had to settle for 200 degrees. So, have to do something else with the berries-- package them and freeze them. It's a shame, they are beautiful...at least I got a couple batches done before the burner died.

But before that, must get the berry cobbler done. No cornstarch. She said, "I quit buying that because of you, you can't eat it!" True, but I can't eat the berries either so why care if it's in there? oh well, I'll use flour instead. No lemon juice. Well maybe there's a lemon still out there on the tree I can use. Whew! No baking powder. oh my, off to the store. Better see what else I am missing. That's what happens when you bake in someone else's kitchen and you depend on what you have in YOUR kitchen.

Next time I am checking things out FIRST instead of running to the store in the middle of the project.

About the cobbler. After all the fuss with having to go get a lemon, I forgot to add it. And now it's baking, and even though I used the correct pan size, it is going over the sides and dripping on to the floor of the oven. Sometimes it is as if there's really a Murphy after all. She wonders why I don't do much baking? Well then. Here's the reason.

And even though I repeatedly have said I do NOT do pies, my dear mother in law is still going through her recipe file with her magnifying glass, looking for "that good pie recipe, did you know it was Fran's?"

Well she found the recipe. Macular degeneration didn't stop her. Phooey. I must be strong and resist her!

I think I'll call Fran, and tell HER to make a pie. :)

3 comments:

Karen said...

Oh my that made me smile. I think it probably did you too while you were writing it, probably wasnt smiling in the middle of experiencing it though!

Lindy said...

well when I look at myself I laugh as much as I can, otherwise I would cry. When I saw it dripping all over, it just made me roll my eyes and laugh, it's typical for me to have cooking/baking disasters. There was the time I spent all day making bread and when I put it in the oven I forgot all about it and went somewhere. It was lovely, had a beautiful crust all the way through. My husband laughed at me and told me to shellac it and make a door stop.I must admit it took awhile to laugh about it. The older I get the more I accept me as I am and know I have to FOCUS in order to prevent such things. Better yet, have someone around to help me remember. ;) Makes me wonder about Alzheimer's though. We will see.

Lindy said...

and now, reading this again a few years later, both my mother in law and Fran are now gone, but memories are sweet in my heart.

About Me

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just a crafty grandma experimenting with all sorts of things. My main interests are paper craft of any kind and quilting/sewing. But I've done leatherwork, polymer clay, on-the-wheel pottery, painted molded ceramics, papier mache, stained glass, plaster casting, linoleum printing, paper making... you name it, I've probably tried it. A few I actually stuck with. :)