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Fake it when you make it

Today is the day--the day to open the first jar of apple butter. One thing you may not know is that spices can get really strong during the canning process. Some spices actually change their flavor when canned. Notorious for going bitter in canned products is sage. But, with apple butter, it's all about the spices. So, I've been a little concerned about tasting this stuff now that it's canned.

It really tastes yummy. The only thing I notice is that it's a little watery. That amazes me in that it cooked for a good 36 hours in the crockpot on high, hours of that time with the lid cocked to the side to allow the juices to boil off. The good thing is that when I opened the jar, i noticed a bit of liquid on the top. I stirred that liquid in on the first jar. In the future 8 pints, I'll drain that bit off which will help the "watery" problem. 

The good news is that it tastes just as good canned as it did while it was cooking.

Now, here comes my "true confession". I made this from applesauce. Yes, I did. If you remember, I made this after making the sweet pickle relish. I did have to do some knife work on that, but my mind told me it was minimal knife work. I made a vertical cut in each of 5 cukes. I then cut each half cucumber into 3 pieces. I also cut the "cheeks" off of 2 red peppers and then cut them up just enough to use the vidalia chopper. Same with an onion. When the chopper needed some muscle behind it, I used my forearm and maybe even some of my body weight. My point is that I did not use my wrist a whole lot. But, even being careful, my wrist ached a lot the next day or so.

I do not own one of those magical machines that cores and slices apples simultaneously. So, if I had used apples, I would probably have really crippled myself up for days and days. I ordered 4 large jars of applesauce totaling 6 quarts of applesauce, from Kroger. Why 6 quarts? Well, because that is the capacity of my slow cooker. I got the cheap stuff, knowing I was really going to spice it up to make it taste like apple butter, so I wasn't fussy about the brand. So, if you had visions of me standing for hours, peeling, cutting, and coring apples, I just popped your bubble. Sorry about that...........

One other blow to that bubble--I used apple pie spice for the bulk of the flavoring. However, apple pie spice contains 3 of the 5 apple butter traditional spices. It does not contain ginger or ground cloves. So I used 2 Tablespoons of apple pie spice and 1/2 teaspoons of the ginger and ground cloves. It worked out pretty well. Maybe, I could have used another couple of teaspoons of the apple pie spice. I don't think I would have wanted more of the ginger or cloves.

Anyway, I could not find a recipe to make apple butter with apple sauce anywhere on the interwebs, though there are many many recipes for traditional ingredients. In that it tastes really good, I'm gonna pat myself on the back, say "well done" and move on.

I am concerned

I am thinking there's a possibility I'm sprouting a UTI. Without exageration: I used the restroom, and to minimize trips, I made as sure as I could that my bladder was empty. I walked to the kitchen, made a cup of coffee in the Keurig, added a quart of water to the Berkey, walked to the office, sat down and reached for my coffee cup. And I was off to the restroom again to answer an urgent call. Literally, no more that 10 minutes between trips. Does NOT bode well.

Last night's dinner was some home canned sauerkraut mixed with some storebought Polish Sausage, and some drop dumplings. It was okay but not outstanding. I felt like there was some sort of odd aftertaste in the sausage. And the sauerkraut was VERY mild. You could almost mistake it for cooked cabbage. 

I have never had much luck with the regular method of making sauerkraut. I am worn to a frazzle before I am able to generate enough liquid from the cabbage to form a brine. And, if you don't have enough brine, the cabbage will mold rather than just fermenting. The cabbage has to be covered to keep from molding. In essence, it molds if it becomes accessible to oxygen, so the amount of brine as well as something to weight the cabbage down during the process--both of these things are essential. I haven't been able to master either of these things. Sadly, the nutritional benefits far outweigh what I am getting from my home canned mild "kraut". But, I will probably try again. I don't know if you've bought sauerkraut at the grocery store, but it's pricey--particularly given the relatively low price of cabbage if you can make your own.........

I can't use this as an excuse for mucking up previous batches of sauerkraut, but I can tell you that the pain in my wrist tells me I am not ready to attempt "normal" sauerkraut anytime soon. I told you that I made some sweet pickle relish. That required that I cut 5 cucumbers and 2 peppers into chunks to put them through the Vidalia Chopper. Now, neither cucumbers nor peppers are hard to cut up (I mean, it's not like trying to hack into a winter squash like butternut or acorn) but just the little bit of cutting I had to do really made my wrists hurt. Still lots of pain the next day, though the relish was probably worth it. Yes, it's really that good..........

Well, the roommate has finally gone off to work. That means I need to vacuum. I have to vacuum frequently, but I refuse to do it while she sits on her behind, watching. 

 

Cooking

Cooking has become a luxury for me, even in my own kitchen. i'm very glad I have home canned food to call on for a quick supper and lunchtime leftovers. A couple of nights ago I opened a jar of my canned pork. I drained off most of the broth and threw some barbecue sauce into a small saucepan. Just as I suspected might happen, I had to use a fork to get the meat out of the jar. And, just as I suspected might happen, just using the fork that way, I had "pulled pork" to add to the barbecue sauce. "Dinner" consisted of that pulled pork open-faced on a slice of bread.

That was quite tasty. However, yesterday I found a recipe on the interwebs for KFC Copycat Cole Slaw. I whipped that up and yesterday's dinner included another open-faced pulled pork entree, however, I was able to add a delish helping of cole slaw on top of the meat. That cole slaw is spot on and so yummy. And I get to eat vegetables--chopped cabbage and lots of shredded carrot. My system is probably in shock, LOL. Most of the time, my allergy symptoms have been so bad in the kitchen, I do not want to be out there long enough to organize a whole meal. However yesterday she was gone to work so the dog wasn't in the kitchen and I had freedom to walk in there and using a disposable mask helped with the breathing, sneezing, and runny nose. Voila'!

Last year I canned some sauerkraut. It's a very mild version, but it's good. I bought some polish sausage on sale at Kroger this week. I am seeing several meals of sausage and kraut in my future. If I plan it right, maybe I can even have some drop dumplings with it. 

Once again the roommate has meddled where she didn't belong. I used my water bath canner to make that most excellent Sweet Pickle Relish a couple of weeks ago. She wanted to know if she could put the pot back out in the garage. (Apparently it was in her way on the stove). I asked her not to do that--it could easily have just been moved aside. I store my canning tools in the pot and they were in the dishwasher awaiting a full load. When I went to bed, she put the canner in the garage anyway. Of course, she went to bed leaving TWO pans on the stovetop instead. More recently, I've canned that apple butter. I can't quite believe it, but she's pulled the same trick again. Why ask if you're going to do the exact opposite? 

That sounds like such a petty thing, right? Except that I have to negotiate a step to go from the kitchen to the garage and then I have to thread my way around the considerable collection of processed foof she has stashed out there. Neither of those things--the step or the collection--is easy for me with my wobbly legs and freaky sense of balance. Oh well, only another 30 days...........

Update on the update

Tonight after she came home from work, I told her she has 30 days to get out of here. She claims she cannot find an apartment she can afford. She's had 7 months of free/very low cost rent from me. I believe I have done my part. I have prayed and prayed about this, wanting to behave as a Christian should. At this point, if she hasn't saved enough money for at least a studio apartment, I don't think that's my responsibility. It was not my problem that she chose to pay up to $400 a month so she could watch movies, etc., on her phone. Choices have consequences.

What IS my problem is the necessity I am facing to live 24/7 in a house, which, thanks to her, is making me sick. It IS my problem that I have to wear a face mask in my own home day and night if I have any hope of minimizing the symptoms I am experiencing. 

I found an article from the American Lung Association describing the symptoms of an allergy to dog dander. They are exactly the symptoms I am experiencing. The bad news is that according to that article, it is likely to be months and months til I beat the bulk of the microscopic dog dander into submission. According to them, it's in the HVAC system, the carpet, the drapes, the soft furniture, sheets, blankets, towels, clothing, etc. 

Her comment was that "I thought that you had dogs before". Yes, of course I did. However, I was working and thus out of the house up to 10 hours a day. Further, I took the dogs to the back yard and brushed them daily, leaving dog hair and dog dander away from my living environment. 

So, anyway, I have prepared a 30-day written notice of the requirement that she be out of here in 30 days. That puts me in position to call the cops to have her evicted if necessary. I truly hope I don't have to do that, but I am sick of being sick in spite of a daily allergy pill, sometimes supplemented by additional benedryl, with massive symptoms and strain on my system anyway.  

TIME FOR AN UPDATE?

It's been a while. I don't text and I rarely phone anyone. I figured, as a loyal American, I could save the NSA the trouble of trying to figure out what I'm doing from these rarely used sources by simply updating my blog. I will try to do better with my patriotic duties by posting here more often.

The "roommate" or "gate crasher" as I think of her is still here. She continues to make me nutty. She has finally started brushing her dog, though not nearly often enough or thoroughly enough. One of the great dangers of shedding is the release of dog dander. For this reason, my own shedding dogs were brushed daily outside. She brushes her dog in the kitchen. No wonder my nose runs and my eyes water whenever I go out there. However, God forbid she would pick up the vacuum cleaner. I continue to vacuum one area of the house daily and to deposit huge piles of dog hair and dander in the trash can she sits close to in the kitchen. Office on day one, living room/dining room on day two, hall and entryway on day three, and so on. That's about all I can manage and even then, just the main pathways and areas where I see the dog lounging.

So, yes, I sneeze 3-5 times more often than normal. I blow my nose at least 12 times a day and my eyes water all day long. I also wake up with a chestful of congestion every morning. I am now trying to learn to live with a mask over my face in my own home 24/7.

She seems to have decided against a housefire--she is now pretty consistently cleaning the lint filter on the dryer. For this, I thank God. I found, no exaggeration, a ball of lint at least the size of a softball or a grapefruit when first it occurred to me that I would have to check up on this. And that ball of lint was compressed, not just loose stuff lying in the palm of my hand!

i have doubled the blood pressure meds I am taking (with the doctor's blessing) and my blood pressure is still elevated.

She is not at all careful with the utilities. The other day I walked out into the kitchen and found the hot water running at full blast with her standing on the far side of the kitchen by the table. I wash in cold water, she washes in hot. I dry my clothes on a hanging rack, she uses the dryer. And don't get me started on the lights.............

There are spills on the carpet that weren't there when she came here. The back of the hall, by the washer/dryer is particularly bad. My theory is that she has dripped liquid laundry detergent on the carpet and just left it there to gather dirt and grime, which soap is prone to do. I have already purchased carpet cleaner to use in my carpet cleaning machine when she leaves.

She does not use handles or knobs. I learned that this was a good habit long ago. One then only has to clean the handles and knobs frequently instead of the whole door. Recently, it took me 3 tries, with a scrub brush, spread over 3 days because of my wrist, to clean the refrigerator door.

I have one set of dishes. I bought them off of e-bay, just after Pfalzgraf discontinued the pattern. It took me months and lots of $$ to accumulate a service for 12. For this reason, I am VERY careful with them--I cannot afford to replace them, even IF I could find replacements. Though I have asked her 7 times to put her dishes away, she insists on leaving them on the kitchen table. They DO have homes in a cupboard. They CAN be placed in the dishwasher or the sink where they won't be broken if someone bumps them or bumps the slightly wobbly table. But noooooooooo, she refuses to do that. I am now confiscating them and hiding them and replacing them with paper plates one by one. She leaves a plate, bowl, or cup out, I hide it. I still have 2 cups at risk, but I have 10 stashed. I started with 12 bread and butter plates in the cupboard, now there are none. I started with 12 dinner plates, now there are 6. 

I could go on, but this enough for you to wade through for now.

I have been doing some canning again. I decided that having canned food on the shelf is a habit I cannot forego for her convenience. I made 3.75 pints of sweet pickle relish the other day. It's outrageously good. Last night, I finished up 9 pints of apple butter. Breakfast is looking up, if I can remember to reset the toaster from burn down to toast after she's used it. The apple butter is delish.

I originally planned to can a lot of meat this summer to bring down the level of "stuff" in the freezer. I kind of gave up on that because I have limited access to the kitchen unless I want to use it while she is nesting there (which goes against my grain). However, with the expectation of ever increasing prices for food, I do not feel I can continue to avoid canning. My new plan is to have my ingredients prep-ready for whatever my next project might be. Then, the moment I see her leave for work, to work like a demon to get that stuff in the canner before she comes home. I think that will work................

So, this is a summary of some of the nonsense that is going on around here. I'll try to post again soon.