Fruit and canning,,,,,

Greetings!!

I had bought a lot of fruit at the market recently and yesterday I made some blueberry and strawberry syrups.  After that I cut up melons and added other fruit to make a couple of huge fruit bowls to much on this week.  I was really surprised at how good and ripe the fruit was.  Nice and sweet tasting!!

I got 3 1/2 pints of each flavor out of the berries I had.  So tomorrow we are going to have pancakes and open up the half pints and try the syrup.  I wish I had bought more berries and made a lot more syrup, but this will do for now.  I have some pictures below.

Today I am going to start a small batch of sauerkraut.  This is my first time making sauerkraut so I did not want to make too big of a batch in case I mess it up some how, LOL.  I have about 10 lbs of cabbage which I will slice into thin shreds, then mix with canning or pickling salt.  That then gets pressed into a crock and brine added if necessary.  Enough to make sure the cabbage is covered.  The brine is salt and water, boiled then cooled.  The cabbage might make enough of its own brine and I might not need to add more.  We shall see.

The crock is then covered with a cheese-cloth and a plate and weighted down to keep the cabbage compressed.  It takes 3 to 6 weeks to ferment.  I need to skim the bubbles off every day and press the cabbage down some more.  Once the fermenting is complete it will be time to can it.  I'll try to remember to take pictures as I go along and post about my first attempt at making sauerkraut.  If all goes well I will be making a lot more in the future.

Next week I plan on canning sweet corn and carrots if I can get a good bargain on them.  I really want to stock up on the canned goods in my pantry so each week I hope to be doing at least one batch of something.  There is nothing like having a good supply of delicious home-canned food on hand.

This morning I was reading about canning breakfast sausage patties.  I have canned a lot of meat over the years but never breakfast sausage.  So needless to say I will try a small batch of that as well.  If it comes out as good as it sounds, I will make more.  I'll keep you posted on when I do that as well.

Do you have any favorite foods you can?  I would love to hear from you.  I always like trying new recipes.

Until next time,,,,,,,  Blessings!!

Sorry folks, I have been trying to upload the pictures for a few days now and every time I do it shuts Windows down for some reason.  Not sure what is going on but I guess I will have to post pictures another time.

Busy, busy,,,,,

Greetings!!

I have been very busy lately.  Lots of paperwork for the new job and getting ready for it.  Plus I am trying to get as many things done around here as I can so when I start training I won't have to worry about much else.

I'm trying to get some meals lined up in advance.  I have made a tray of meatballs and put them in the freezer.  I made up several hamburgers and froze them as well.  I have chicken breasts and other quick fix meals ready to go. 

Tomorrow I am going to make the blueberry pancake syrup and can it along with strawberry syrup and raspberry syrup.  I also got a nice watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew melon.  I'll cut those up and make a big fruit salad with the melons and some of the extra berries I bought.

I've also been working on my own genealogy some more.  I added over 600 pieces of information to my family tree.  About half were new names in the family and the other half was things like censuses, deeds, wills, newspaper articles etc.  It sure does keep me busy but I love it!!

In the midst of all this, when I went to check on my camper I discovered some yahoo had stolen the spare tire for the camper.  Needless to say I moved the camper to a more secure location which of course I am not telling anyone, LOL.  It appears they also tried to get into the under-storage areas but did not succeed in that, Thank you Jesus!!  That reminds me, I do need to call the storage place tomorrow to see how it is going reviewing all the surveillance camera footage.  Hopefully, they will be able to catch the creep who did this!

Saturday, I am starting to make sauerkraut the old fashioned way.  I have never made sauerkraut before and always wanted to try it, so now is the time.  I have a couple of old crocks which should be big enough to hold all the cabbage I bought.  This is going to be fun!!

One more goody before the weekend is over, I plan on making an old fashioned lemon meringue pie!!  It has been a very long time since I have made one and I have been craving a good one for a while now.

Well, I need to head to the kitchen and wash my jars for tomorrow and get the crocks ready as well.  I keep things stored in the basement so always wash them good before using.

I hope this finds you all well and happy!!

Until next time,,,,,,Blessings!!

I got the job!!

Greetings!!

Happy 4th of July!!  I have been so busy I forgot to post earlier today.  The interview went well yesterday.  I was so nervous, but didn't really need to be.  I have been offered a position and have been busy doing all the necessary new hire paperwork.

I start training on July 30th.  The company has an extensive training program that will last about a month.  I am really looking forward to it.

It will be awesome to work from home.  No more commutes in bad weather.  No more worrying about having the right type of clothes for this job or that.  Great savings of gas money, wear and tear on my vehicle, etc.  This is awesome!!

I am not sure how much I will be able to blog, especially once I start work.  I guess for now I will play it by ear and see how things go.  After all, the job needs to take priority.

Well, I am going to keep this short.  It is a holiday and I have been celebrating since yesterday, LOL.  No, not that kind of celebrating, I don't drink!!  LOL

Until next time,,,,,Blessings!!

I'm so excited!!!

Greetings!!

I am so excited!!  I have a job interview online on Wednesday for that genealogy web site job I was telling you about.  You know, the work from home job.  I am so stoked and a bit nervous.  It has been a long time since I had to do a job interview and this one is a bit different.  It is online and in a group.  There will be others interviewing at the same time for the same job.

I got through the application process and all the tests.  Let me tell you, that was not easy.  Now, I have to get through the interview and if I do OK I should start online training by the end of the month.  There will be 4 weeks of training.  Right now I am wishing I was about 20 years younger, LOL.

So today I am finishing getting my office ready.  Clean off the desk, put my genealogy papers in their binders out of the way.  Make sure I have my resume at hand.  A notebook and pens to write with and take notes.  And lots of misc. stuff just to make sure I am at ease and as comfortable as can be.

The rent is due on the camper storage so I need to run out tomorrow and check on the camper and pay the rent.  It will probably do me some good to get out for a while and get my mind off this interview for a bit.  Did I say I was nervous?  LOL  I am, but I am also looking forward to it.  The worse that could happen is that don't feel I can handle this particular job.  They have offered me a total of 5 positions to try out for, so hopefully, one of them will be a good fit if not this one.  But I sure would love to get the genealogy one because I love doing it and am sure I could help others.  I guess time will tell.

Well, I need to keep this short today because I have a ton of things I want to get done.  Please say a prayer and keep your fingers crossed for me!!  Thanks!!

Until next time,,,,,,,Blessings!!