My Weblog

Fresher air and a "haul"

I have finished the dehydrating and grinding of all the garlic. I've packaged it up double packed in a vacuum sealed bag. I've washed the trays of the dehydrator. I still need to wipe down all the surfaces on that side of the kitchen due to a few tiny spills and fine powder floating through the air. But, for the most part, that project is finished. And my "haul" from it--somewhere between 2 to 2.5 pounds of finely ground, excellent garlic powder. (Yes, I weighed it, LOL.)

I may decide tomorrow to haul off and can some potatoes. I am the proud owner of 32 empty canning jars and 10 pounds of potatoes. I need to fill those empty jars up, LOL.

I forgot to update you on my chicken canning. I successfully added 1 pint of broth and 6 pints of chicken breast to my stash. One pint of chicken did not seal properly so it's in the fridge. I'll probably make some sort of stirfry from it. The canned chicken is a double blessing. I did not add water to the jars. However, they contain a good bit of liquid, rendered from the meat itself. So, when I use the meat, I'll end up with some additional broth as well.

I enjoy a good mystery show. I also enjoy a good British mystery show. They tend to be less bloody, less violent, and rarely involve the detective having to go into a strip club! I ran across an advertisement for Britbox the other day. Britbox is a collection of British TV movies and TV shows. It's a subscription service, like Netflix but costs only about $7 a month. So, I joined and have been enjoying episode after episode of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot mysteries. Just thought I'd mention it in case you're having a difficult time finding relatively "clean" entertainment.

And with that, I'm off to wipe down surfaces in the kitchen.

When I was a little kid...........

about 5 years old, we went to Hershey, PA. We toured the Hershey chocolate factory and there was also an amusement park there at the time. (It may still be there--I just don't have any recent knowledge.) I remember when we drove into town, the very air smelled of chocolate.

At the time, you could walk right through the factory. Since then, they've put up plexiglass to separate the folks touring from the product, but that wasn't there at that time. So, you smelled chocolate the entire time you were in their factory. I honestly don't remember whether the chocolate smell permeated the atmosphere in the amusement park, but I also have no reason to doubt it. I DO remember that by the time we were getting back into the car to leave, I was rather sickened by the smell of chocolate. You know this had to be pretty significant in that I've remembered the whole experience all these years.

I DO love garlic. It has many health benefits and it sure does taste good in many, many foods. I don't use as much of it in any one dish as some of the cooks I see on youtube. But I do use it in a LOT of dishes. And I enjoy it!

However, I'm getting that Hershey, PA thing going here about now. The whole world smells of garlic and has for several days now. I've opened the back doors for several hours each day for about 3 days now. But, the whole world still smells of garlic. I use my hands to scoop up the dried garlic and get it into the grinder, so my hands smell of garlic. But, I'm thinking my hair, my clothes, even my skin probably also smell like garlic. The garlic powder I'm making is ground REALLY fine. It's like talcum powder. It is floating through the air and on a lot of surfaces in the kitchen. And, I'm getting tired of smelling the aroma of garlic..........

Fortunately, I am now grinding the very last tray of dehydrated garlic. 7 of 7 trays............ I have a huge quantity of garlic powder. So much, in fact, that I'm having to scoop it out of the bowl into which I've been putting the freshly ground powder. And I'm having to scoop it out very carefully because the bowl is THAT full. (If the powder moves around too much in the bowl while I'm scooping, there's no question it will overflow the bowl.) I've pulled out an entire cup of powder and I've barely made a dent in the bowl. Something tells me I will end up with 5-6 cups of garlic powder. It may last me til I die!

Speaking of dying, I've been hacking and coughing up phlegm. I can feel drainage down the back of my throat. Yes, that's right--I still have not found the lost inhaler or solved the problem of getting a substitute. So, I've resorted to Benedryl and the coughing has died down. I hate to think I'm gonna live on multiple doses of Benedryl for the next several weeks but it's starting to look that way. And, now, I'm getting drowsy from the Benedryl, LOL.

Yesterday something unique happened. The Assistant Store Manager who presides over the front end (the cashiers), stopped by my register. Among other things, he said "I'm glad you're here". The Lord gave me the right words: "Where else would I be? I love my job, I love working with folks like you, and, generally, I love our customers". I saw him again later in the day and thanked him for taking that moment of his time with me. I told him it had given me a real boost and I appreciated it. That was the truth. I am the kind of employee who will respond to a positive comment WAY better than a critique or, God forbid, criticism. I like this man very much. He looks like an overgrown teddy bear and he has such a steady even personality.

So, I've got to get back to grinding garlic. The sooner I get it all ground and put away, the sooner the Hershey, PA syndrome will fade.

It still smells in here!

Well, the garlic has dried. It took about 14 hours. I started grinding the little chunks up and realized they really weren't dry enough. If there's still even the tiniest bit of moisture in that stuff, the powder will clump up. So, I turned the Excalibur on again and let it go for a few more hours. I have processed one of the 7 trays with which I started. And, the garlic powder from that one tray just about filled my container. I'd say it's close to 1.5 cups. I can make a lot of different dishes with that much garlic powder. BUT, I have 6 more trays. Oh, and by the way, the already peeled garlic cloves were marked down 20% when I bought them. That's part of the reason we are working on garlic at this particular moment. I couldn't pass up the savings.

I intend to go ahead and process those 6 trays down to powder. I will pour the powder into a ziploc bag and push out as much air as I can. Then I will put the ziploc bag into a foodsaver bag and vacuum pack. So, it'll be double bagged which will keep it extra fresh. And, it will be vacuum packed which will hold that powder for a very long time. Finally, when you try to vacuum pack a powder, it can easily suck the powder into the inner workings of the machine which will eventually ruin the machine. However, having it in another closed up bag will help prevent that from happening.

I have to tell you that garlic powder is STRONG. I made some pasta last night, so I know it's strong! Just a little bit made the pasta almost too garlic-y. Today, when I came home from work, before I even got the front door unlocked, while I was standing on the front porch, I could smell garlic, LOL. And that is after I've had the doors open to air the place out in the early morning!

One thing I have to do tonight is check the seals on my canned chicken. If all is well, I'll have another 7 jars of chicken breast to add to my stock. I have to tell you, this was not Zaycon chicken and NOT Zaycon quality. Primarily, it was not well trimmed. I do not enjoy trying to rid a chicken breast of a big glob of fat! There were also some bits that had a lot of gristle. However, all that cooked up into two pints of rich chicken broth, so not everything was lost. Beyond that, this chicken had liquid added so it made a lot of "broth" right in the caning jar. I don't like that it had the liquid added, but I'll adapt in that I will get broth from that stuff.

So, I have another 4 day weekend starting tomorrow. I also own 10 pounds of yellow/gold potatoes. I'm going to be canning potatoes. I picked the yellow/gold potatoes because they are not as starchy as, for example, russet potatoes. The russets leave a nasty layer of cloudy white starchy stuff all over the potatoes and all over the bottom of the jar. I will not have nearly as much problem with that with the yellow/gold potatoes. I'm curious to see how many pints of potatoes I get from 10 pounds..........

I did not tell you that I went to Smart & Final this past weekend in search of whole chickens for $.79 a pound. When I got there, there was a "manager's special"--whole chickens for $.49 a pound. How many years has it been since we've seen a price like that on whole chicken? I think, probably, a long time.......... I bought 4 and they're double wrapped and vacuum sealed and in my freezer.

Over the weekend I created some "Greek Seasoning". It's just a blend of about 8-10 different spices but I think it's going to be MIGHTY tasty. I plan on testing it on one of those whole chickens before too long..........

Well, that's it for now. It's starting to get dark earlier and If I want to get my watering done before it gets dark, I have to start earlier. But, I still need my daily after work nap. So, I'm gonna go see if I can get some sleep.

I think the whole world stinks...........

of garlic! I bought a 5 # bag of garlic at the grocery store. I have been using the Vidalia Chopper to chop it a handful at a time. And, I'm dehydrating it. I am just about out of garlic powder and I have to replenish my supply. Once the stuff in the dehydrator is perfectly dry, I will grind it up in my coffee grinder (the one reserved for this sort of thing) and I will have lots of garlic powder. And at a much lower price than what an equivalent amount would have cost from the store. It will also be much fresher than what can be bought at the store, so it will be much stronger so a little will go a long way.

But, in the meantime, my hand smells of garlic. I can smell it out here at my desk. And the smell in the kitchen is overwhelming.

Eventually, the smell will dissipate, but it will take several days, I fear.

I have to brag again on the Vidalia Chopper. I was standing in the kitchen, slicing up garlic. It seemed to me I would be at it forever. Then I remembered that the Chopper comes with two cutting inserts. I've always used the larger one, but I wondered if the smaller one would work. After all, I don't care what it looks like when it comes out of the dehydrator. Sure enough, I can chop 8-10 cloves at a time, simply by laying them on the grid and putting the top down and pushing on it. That pushes the garlic against the cutting surface and seconds later I've chopped 8-10 cloves of garlic. What a blessing that thing is in my life.

Meanwhile I have 7 jars of chicken breast in the canner. It's taking forever. I got the jars all ready to go last night, but it was too late to begin to process it. In pint jars, it takes an hour and fifteen minutes. I put the jars in the fridge. When I got home from work I sat them out to begin warming to room temperature. Two hours later, the jars were still not up to room temp. So, I'm having to start the canner with cold water. If I started with warm water, I could very easily crack the jars. I hate it, but it will be at least after 10 before it's ready to turn off and around 11 before I can take the jars out of the canner.

There is something of a disaster here: I have lost my maintenance inhaler. Believe me I have searched high and low. WITH insurance, it costs me $47 a month. However, The inhaler lost was just picked up from the pharmacy 6 days ago. There is no way the insurance co is going to agree to giving me another on their ticket for several weeks. If I try to just get one from the pharmacy WITHOUT insurance, it's $335! I am very unhappy, as you can imagine. I've rifled through the desk area repeatedly. I use the inhaler here exclusively. I suppose it's possible I carried it somewhere else, but I've looked in every location I consider remotely possible and I can't find it. And, yes, I've even crawled around on the floor in case it fell at some point. I've called the doctor's office and I'm trying to get a different prescription. I've also inquired about samples. No such luck. I will call tomorrow and see if the doc's office has sent the pharmacy a different prescription and cross my fingers the insurance company will approve that as though the usual one was being replaced. Otherwise, I see two choices. 1) I am told, by the doc's office, that most insurance companies will give one prescription refill a year as a "vacation refill". That, however, would mean I'd have to lie. I'm pretty sure Dad wouldn't like that. OR, 2) I could call the insurance company and beg for mercy. I don't know how that would work out............Prayer aforehand seems important!

That's it for now. More garlic to chop. The sooner I get it all into the dehydrator, the sooner the smell will begin to die down...........

My good fairy............

Musta snuck into my house somewhere along the way. She dehydrated some leeks. Can you imagine? So, I had delicious, nutritious butternut harvest soup for dinner last night. It really IS delicious and was quite a treat. I have multiple servings for the freezer.

I had totally forgotten there were some dehydrated leeks in the house. They sure came in handy. They re-hydrated beautifully.

I am still amazingly happy with my Vidalia Chopper. That thing really makes short work of chopping veggies. Yesterday I chopped onion, carrots, and potatoes with it for the soup and it performed beautifully and saved me lots of time in the process. One of the fun things about it is that it has measuring capabilities. Just turn the chopper on end, the contents settle to the bottom and there are 1 and 2 cup measurements pre-marked on the container. That made it easy to figure out when I had actually chopped 1 cup of carrots, for example.

I chopped 1 large sweet onion. I pre-soaked some dried leeks (a couple of handsful), hoping that was equivalent to 2 large leeks. Once the leeks were soft, I added a couple of tablespoons of butter to a dutch oven and added the drained leeks and the onions. I actually added a bit more olive oil to the pan because it seemed rather dry. I cooked til the onions were translucent. Then I added to the pot 1 cup of chopped carrots, 2 chopped small-medium potatoes, 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced thin. (I actually didn't peel it and I used the Vidalia chopper on it. The immersion blender completely took care of the peels. The recipe called for 2 cups of cubed butternut squash (I used one whole small butternut. I'd say that was actually more like 2.5 cups, but what was I gonna do with 1/2 cup of butternut if I didn't put it in the soup?) I also added 2 quarts of water. (The recipe called for chicken broth but I didn't have any so I added some Knorr chicken bouillon.) Also, the recipe called for only 1 quart of liquid. No problem, I just cooked mine longer. I also had the extra butternut in there........... The recipe instructs to bring everything to a boil, turn down the heat, and let it simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Then add salt and pepper to taste as well as 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Finally, use the immersion blender on it if you so choose and then stir in 1/2 cup of light cream. (I substituted half 'n' half.) Anyway, it all worked out and tasted delish and just look at all the vitamins I consumed with very little fat (if that matters to you). I would say it made about 6 healthy servings. I ate two servings and would have eaten more if my stomach had been able to hold it! My tastebuds were certainly clamoring for more...........

I've been thinking about wanting to can a batch of butternut squash soup. I realized that I'd have to omit the half 'n' half til after a jar was opened. You can't can dairy products........... I would also need to pressure can the soup since it is non-acidic. Well, I do have a pressure canner so that's no problem. I would probably want to vastly undercook the veggies. In pressure canning, they would be cooking for 40-50 minutes or more at extreme high temperatures. Everything would be pure mush if I cooked the veggies as usual. Other than these two things, I still have not figured out a reason NOT to can butternut soup.

Here's an unhappy discovery: I've been wanting a fig tree to plant in the backyard. I've been watching the weekly ad from the local nursery, thinking they'd advertise them when it was a good time to plant. Well, still no figs in the weekly ad (and I know they DO sell them locally and I know that figs DO grow locally). So I started researching online. Whoa! Seems figs can have a very invasive root system. At least, according to some sources. Given how dry it is here, I think I will go with the recommendation to grow a fig tree in a pot! I can just envision a fig tree spreading its roots all over the backyard, looking for water. No thanks. So, I will probably order a fig tree online and plant it in a pot.

I've been prowling the garage, looking for empty pint canning jars. So far, I've found 16, half of which are in the dishwasher. The others are already washed and stored in such a way they're ready to go. With that many jars, I should be able to can half the chicken and one big #10 can of tomatoes. We're on a roll, pushing forward.........

That's it for now, maybe more later.

Looking at today.............

I have a list. I have found that if I don't make a list, I forget what needs to be done. Then, later, as I walk through the house, I kick myself because I should have done this or I should have done that. So, I'm starting a running list. As I spot things that need done, I'm going to add them to the list and, of course, cross them off when I get to them. Hoping this will help keep me on track. There is much to be done and I don't want to waste time.

I spoke about canning. Well, I will need more jars, but I think I have enough jars to do a canner load of tomatoes. I buy the big #10 cans of tomatoes (they're so much cheaper that way!). Then I deal with the tomatoes as I think I should. I can do diced tomatoes, pureed tomatoes, tomato sauce, marinara sauce, meat sauce, salsa, etc. and can the product I've created. Or I can just re-can the tomatoes in a much more useful size, like a pint or half pint jar. So, there's that to be done (I currently own 2 #10 cans of tomatoes). I also have chicken breasts to can. And I can always work on ground beef. I think I still have about 18 pounds of that in the freezer.

Sprouts has various types of apples on sale for 88 cents a pound. I'd love to get apples cheaper than that, but it's so hot in the desert there aren't many varieties that will grow here. In fact, I think there are only two varieties of apple that are heat tolerant enough to grow in this area. So, it's not like I can stop at a farmer's roadside stand and pick up apples...........

There are two types of soups I make that I REALLY like--black bean and butternut. Both of these are pureed at the end and I've been a little afraid of trying to can them. I know, for example, that you are not to can pureed pumpkin. The prevailing theory is that the product is too dense and during the canning process, may not heat properly the whole way through. Pumpkin CAN be homecanned if it's in chunks, just not pureed. Well, I've had my thinking cap on (or the Lord is whispering in my ear and I don't recognize His voice when I hear it). Nothing is stopping me from putting those soups together and canning them without pureeing them. I can puree them when I'm ready to eat them! So, yeah............ I need some leeks to make the butternut soup but I have everything else. I just made the black bean soup and froze it so I won't mess with that for now.

So, a large part of my grocery budget will go to canning jars this week. I might go for a bunch of apples too. I get the canning jars at Smart & Final and they happen to have whole chickens for $.79 a pound this week, so I might pick up a couple of those to stash temporarily in the freezer.

Anyway, I have my list and I'm going to be working on those items throughout the day. Hopefully as I see additional things that need done, I'll have enough sense to add them to the list. I also want to make a list of all the closets and drawers and storage areas I haven't gone through at least once to declutter. Time to work systematically on those. So, yes, I plan to accomplish something today. Talk more later..................

So this is what happened 8/22/18

Lordy, it's hot. Or at least I'm hot! I do have a lot of "personal summers" which I'm pretty well convinced have very little to do with hormones.

Did my shift today. I ended up spending all but about 20 minutes "in the refrigerator" (at the register that is in the direct line of fire for a very large a/c vent). We were steady busy all day. No long lines, just customers one right after another. My thought is that as it begins to cool down, folks may decide to do more work around their properties. Only the bravest of the brave and the healthiest of the healthy can work outside when it's 110 degrees.

I went out at around 12:30 and the thermometer on the van read 97 degrees. That was a cheery sight. MUCH nicer to look at than 105 or 108 or hotter.

It IS cooling down, though it's a slow process. Through the 5th of September we're still looking at high temps edging over 100. I am SO DONE with summer. I got my power bill today and almost choked. Last year I got myself signed up to pay an even amount each month. I did that to minimize the shock of summer bills, but even paying ahead has not worked out that well. This month, according to the power company, I owe them $80 more than the even amount! Ugh! I'm going to be going through the house pulling plugs out of walls as I go! No more phantom usage in this house. In that I religiously reset the thermostat on the A/C when I'm gone and turn off other things I can turn off, there's not much more I can do.........

I have pretty well made up my mind that it's time to begin canning again. Having my stash remain even is not sufficient. I want it to increase in volume and in variety. To that end, I will be shopping the sales to try to get some decent deals on things I can can. I figure if I could manage to can just 6 or 7 pints each week through the end of the year, I'd have more than 200 additional pints of food put away for future use. Right now I'm looking at apples and potatoes. The potatoes I want mostly for convenience. Canning potatoes "pre-cooks" them. I love the idea of being able to open a jar of potatoes, drain the liquid off, and fry them up or make mashed potatoes in a matter of minutes. I am also eyeballing making some applesauce. I disliked applesauce a lot as a kid but it appeals to me a lot more now. And, of course, I have some chicken breasts in the freezer that I need to can.

I just spent some time in my closet. It's hotter than Hades in there, but I managed to dig out a few more things for donation and I also trashed a few things. I do not work for the next 4 days, so I will spend a good bit more time in there this weekend.

Watered outside and ate some leftovers for dinner. Next up is cleaning the bathrooms, not a big deal since I just did it a couple of days ago. Also put away some laundry that was dry and waiting for me on the indoor drying rack.

That was it for my big day.............

 

 

So this is what happened............

Worked both yesterday and today. Tomorrow I work again and then I have 4 days off in a row. I celebrate the time off, but I mourn the paycheck loss........... But, "my God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus".

Both yesterday and today I have spent the last hour of the day in Lumber. As you know, that's okay by me. Means I get the chance to sit, if only for a minute or two here and there.

Yesterday, I was working away when I heard someone say my name. It was one of the new cashiers, Beth. Later, I asked her what was up. She says her customer wants to meet me but he had just been to the dentist and wanted to wait til his mouth was feeling better.......... No. Not desirable! I really don't want any sort of "relationship" with anything male; and women are not my type. I just want to be left alone.......

There is another guy. I think he's workin' on something also. He seems to come into the store pretty often and I'm guessing he looks for me. Yesterday he came through my line in Lumber with nothing but marked down plants from the clearance rack. (He's bought a lot of these--his yard/house must look like a jungle by now if he's managed to salvage most of them.) Now, the garden area is on the far side of the store. He passed 12 registers on his way to check out at my register. He was back again today. And I've waited on him numerous times before. So far, no problem. I don't want a problem either.........

After the meeting on Sunday, I started working on the other desk in here. I managed to get a good half of it cleaned off. Tonight, before I cash in my chips, I'm going to try to spend 20 minutes or so culling things from my closet. And so, bit by bit, the decluttering proceeds. I discovered a hole in a favorite tee-shirt yesterday. Even though it was a favorite, I was a little bit pleased about the hole--another thing gone from this house. It's in the trash now.

I did some filing tonight. Ugh, I do NOT enjoy that. It has to be done--I know, but I really don't like it.

i also watered outside and watered the inside plants and carried out some trash. Today was trash day but I really didn't have enough to justify tugging those heavy new trash cans to the curb. I have also done a good bit of kitchen clean up. Not so much day to day stuff but rather sorting through stuff, consolidating things, etc. Oh, and I took a load of laundry from the washer and hung it up to dry. Not overwhelmingly productive, but better than just sitting around.

And, finally, wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, by now the SSI check has landed in my checking account. Glory be! And September's bills which will chew through it and more are coming in. And, so it goes.............

When you're decluttering.........

one of the guidelines you read everywhere is "pretend you are moving". Then ask yourself if you'd take whatever it is with you. I'm not great at pretending. Apparently, I was good at it as a child, but my father was rather harsh in his disapproval of that. So, not good at it now.

However, recently the possibility of moving to some other location has raised its head. Of course, such a thing is several years in the future, but............ It sure makes decluttering easier. Would I take this thing with me (whatever it might be)? If I had to pay someone to truck it across country, would I? If I had to try to fit it into a truck and drive it across country, paying rent for the truck and driving something 2000 or 3000 miles at 8 miles to a gallon of gas, would I pay for that? Most often, I'm finding, the answer is no.

Today I've been working on the desk that was Joe's. I've tried to go through it before and I got rid of a lot of things. However, but today I unearthed some things I did not know about. Like tax liens filed before his death......... He never told me. Well, I guess there are worse things to find, but it is disconcerting.

I have determined.......

that it's not that I'm going deaf. No one at my table today could hear what was being said. No one! Phew! I was about to try to borrow money to buy hearing aids...........

And, again, it was impossible to see the screen on the TV. Since the Store Manager was reading her points from the screen and then talking about them, not being able to hear OR see made the whole thing pointless. But, I did get paid for an "extra" hour and 15 minutes.

This makes me sad. I go to these meetings each time with a little bit of hope that they will be more meaningful than they were the last time. Today was the 5th meeting of this kind that I've attended. They are not improving. It shouldn't be this way...........

So, I went back to bed when I got home. (I had to get up at a very early hour to make the meeting.) Now, I will see what I can accomplish that might be worthwhile for the rest of the day. I work the next 3 days and then have 4 days off in a row. The following week, so far, I am scheduled for only 3 days. I'm thinking the Lord is giving me time to clean more junk out of this place.