Bill_G, retired, affluence of effluent, and errata

[bill_g]

We have a big farm just a couple miles down the road from us that has the sweetest sweet corn you’ve ever had. I’ve canned lots of stuff in my life but never corn. I read that corn is canned best in a pressure canner and I do pressure can some stuff but I’ve never canned corn at all. I guess I always thought of that summer sweet corn as something that you just had to wait for, deferred gratification and all that but I think I am going to give it a go this year.

My mom grew up a country girl and canned loads of stuff every year but she never to my recollection used a pressure canner. I do remember one year she canned a bunch of applesauce. We had a finished basement with a big cupboard under the stairs where she had her pantry with lots of shelves and put all her canned goods including the apple sauce. I don’t know what she did wrong (I was probably about 11 at the time) but every damn jar of that apple sauce exploded and made one hell of a mess. My dad and I helped her clean it all up but we both had a hell of a hard time not laughing as she cussed a bloody blue streak about it. She never canned applesauce again after that.

She made apple wine and didn't know it. You have to be like the Daleks - sterilize sterilize STERILIZE. Who knows for sure what happened, but if she had a whole batch blow up, an unwanted visitor crept in and never got cooked out. Back in Michigan we made fresh squeezed apple juice that easily turned to cider, or something awful right in the jug. Those plastic gallon milk cartons were perfect for the purpose. If they bloated up, you knew to crack the lid very carefully, and smell it before tasting it.

ETA: Canning corn. We never grew corn. There's plenty growing all around us. And we never canned it either. Again, plenty of it around. OTOH, corn was The Only Vegetable our boys would eat for the longest time. So, we considered canning it ... ONCE. We helped someone else can a bunch of corn down at their stand by the road next to their farm. The process of cutting the kernals from the fresh cob sent corn spit everywhere. If it were blood, it would look like a massacre happened. It was in our hair. The floor was a mess. Thank God their kitchen was tile and stainless steel. We took a hose and squeegie to place when we were done. Never again. Do it outdoors, or get your kitchen Dexter style before starting.

[RTH10260]

We have a big farm just a couple miles down the road from us that has the sweetest sweet corn you’ve ever had. I’ve canned lots of stuff in my life but never corn. I read that corn is canned best in a pressure canner and I do pressure can some stuff but I’ve never canned corn at all. I guess I always thought of that summer sweet corn as something that you just had to wait for, deferred gratification and all that but I think I am going to give it a go this year.

A pressure canner is needed when one intends to preserve vegetables and meat. The reason is that the temperature to kill the nasty critters like botulinus require a temerature of at least 250F (120C) and cooking times between 1 and two hours. That is only achievable in a specialized pressure cooker, different from a regular household pressure cooker (does not reach quite the required minimal temperature).

Preserving meat - had never heard of that on the Old Continent until I atarted following a couple living in Alaska. They have their hunt on moose and caribou, but also fish for salmon. Part of their catch is deep frozen, but certain parts they can in jars. Veggies from their own garden go in to jars for winter time.

[keith]

Ms Daisy said...

I don’t know what she did wrong (I was probably about 11 at the time) but every damn jar of that apple sauce exploded and made one hell of a mess.

My dad used to make dill pickles out his home grown cucumbers.

Until the time his crock blew up. I dont know what happened but I do know it was near the furnace in the basement and must have been incorrectly sealed tightly or had a blocked escape valve or something?

[bill_g]

Ms Daisy said...

I don’t know what she did wrong (I was probably about 11 at the time) but every damn jar of that apple sauce exploded and made one hell of a mess.

My dad used to make dill pickles out his home grown cucumbers.

Until the time his crock blew up. I dont know what happened but I do know it was near the furnace in the basement and must have been incorrectly sealed tightly or had a blocked escape valve or something?

Making good pickles is a skill all it's own, and it's well known for making wonderful messes. I have three ceramic crocks intended for pickle making at home, but all of them have a crack some place that prevents them from holding water anymore. So, they are planters now. When used as pickle crocks, they require a loose lid and a tall enough neck to accept a big head of foam from the batch. They can smell really bad during the fermenting process. Mrs had some good Eastern Euro blood in her, and strong memories through the years of her step fathers (plural) making pickles in their respective sheds. We earnestly tried dill pickle making at home in gallon glass jars. The first attempt succeeded, but later years failed awfully. The best thing to come from the experience is learning that BBQ salmon cooked in dill is delicious.

PS: thank you for the bread pudding suggestions. Soggy bread. (cough) I'm not warming to the possibilities. OTOH, a neighbor did something very similar. She made a poke cake. She baked a standard white sheet cake, poked the cooled cake with a kabob skewer (a lot), and then poured some thickened blueberry cordial over the top. It soaked in through the holes as well as some of the top centimeter (or so). Pretty good.

We had some of the cake with the blueberry bourbon libation I brought over. I liked two parts berry to one part bourbon, but the neighbors preferred two bourbon to one berry.

[northland10]

Back in Michigan we made fresh squeezed apple juice that easily turned to cider...

Apples and cherries. Apples and cherries.

I do miss the local cider in the fall. I also miss cherries in everything, including ground beef (it works).

[sugar magnolia]

PS: thank you for the bread pudding suggestions. Soggy bread. (cough) I'm not warming to the possibilities. OTOH, a neighbor did something very similar. She made a poke cake. She baked a standard white sheet cake, poked the cooled cake with a kabob skewer (a lot), and then poured some thickened blueberry cordial over the top. It soaked in through the holes as well as some of the top centimeter (or so). Pretty good.

We had some of the cake with the blueberry bourbon libation I brought over. I liked two parts berry to one part bourbon, but the neighbors preferred two bourbon to one berry.

A skewer? You'd be out of the mood for cake by the time you poked enough holes with a skewer. We've always used the handle of a wooden spoon. Using the cordial sounds easier than the original jello though, since it doesn't sound like it has to spend the night in the fridge after you pour it. And don't forget the Dream Whip!

[bill_g]

Back in Michigan we made fresh squeezed apple juice that easily turned to cider...

Apples and cherries. Apples and cherries.

I do miss the local cider in the fall. I also miss cherries in everything, including ground beef (it works).

Me too. They have craft beer festivals around here, but nobody celebrates apples and cherries. But, one county over in Hood River they have a whole valley of apple and pears. They have a fresh cider plant too. You can get cider as it squeezes out. It's about 90 minutes away, but worth the trip. Take the long way home through Apple Valley up to Mt Hood. Lots of roadside stands with fresh something.

[bill_g]

A skewer? You'd be out of the mood for cake by the time you poked enough holes with a skewer. We've always used the handle of a wooden spoon. Using the cordial sounds easier than the original jello though, since it doesn't sound like it has to spend the night in the fridge after you pour it. And don't forget the Dream Whip!

She said skewer and made poking gestures while presenting the cake. But, she edges her lawn by hand with scissors and a paring knife too. Patience and Precision are part of her. Pedantic and Pain in the Ass sometimes as well.

[Maybenaut]

You can can sweet corn in a pressure canner. Here’s a link to some handy instructions from Kansas State University.

https://www.pratt.k-state.edu/health-nu ... 20Corn.pdf

If you’re in the market for a pressure canner, I recommend All-American. They’re expensive, but there’s no gasket to fail during your canning operation.

[bill_g]

I am in a pressure cooker rich environment. But! Except for the big canning water bath and cleaning cookers after use, I was never allowed to touch them. Pretty much these same rules applied to her car. Odd.

Anyway, I don't know what I'll do with them. I do have all her cookbooks. They take up two 4ft shelves. She even has a dog-earred Betty Crocker from the Forties. She did all the big roasts (except Thanksgiving turkey) in a pressure cooker. So, these pots have some miles on them. I'll ge sure to check the rubber gaskets.

And thanks for the KSU link. Saved, printed, and tucked into the Crocker book.

[Maybenaut]

DO NOT pressure can in a pressure cooker!!!! They’re not the same!

[sugar magnolia]

And thanks for the KSU link. Saved, printed, and tucked into the Crocker book.

And you talk about HER mountain of "stuff" for you to go through?

[bill_g]

And thanks for the KSU link. Saved, printed, and tucked into the Crocker book.

And you talk about HER mountain of "stuff" for you to go through?

I know. Slippery slope and all ...

[RTH10260]

thinking of you

Climbing a tower that is not meant to be climbed, and putting a new light on it!

Shephene 44
23 Mar 2024

I climb my first-ever “monopine” and replace an Obsta LED beacon with a Drake one. This tower put me to the test and I have to say I enjoyed the challenge. This site is located in Madison Mississippi in a very nice neighborhood.

[bill_g]

Thanks Ruth. Oh yeah, monopoles are super-duper. And when you add fiberglass tree limbs, they blend right in. Nobody will notice especially if they aren't much taller than the prevailing tree canopy, and a similar species.

[bill_g]

One of the things that has always galled me is if the bottle washer factory constructed a 100m model of their product, everyone would be up in arms. Is this really better than a narrow pole with an array at the top?

[sugar magnolia]

And then we have the weird, truncated looking obelisk thing right on the highway just a couple of miles south of the "pine tree."

[bill_g]

And then we have the weird, truncated looking obelisk thing right on the highway just a couple of miles south of the "pine tree."

Ridgeland MS, home of the Washington Monument cellphone tower. It's not bad looking. A lot better than being disguised as a bottle brush.

[sugar magnolia]

And then we have the weird, truncated looking obelisk thing right on the highway just a couple of miles south of the "pine tree."

Ridgeland MS, home of the Washington Monument cellphone tower. It's not bad looking. A lot better than being disguised as a bottle brush.

It's pretty sad in person. It looks like plastic, and desperately needs a bath. At least they replaced the panel that blew off a while back.

[keith]

Thanks Ruth. Oh yeah, monopoles are super-duper. And when you add fiberglass tree limbs, they blend right in. Nobody will notice especially if they aren't much taller than the prevailing tree canopy, and a similar species.

https:// twitter.com/MarshallRamsey/status/1287452482109681670

So they have a Washington monument nearby, right?

I reckon its down right neighbourly to have a Battle Of Lone Pine Monument for the ANZACs too.

The anniversary is only a month away, plan ahead and get your Aussie and Kiwi flags before they are all sold out.

[bill_g]

So they have a Washington monument nearby, right?

I reckon its down right neighbourly to have a Battle Of Lone Pine Monument for the ANZACs too.

The anniversary is only a month away, plan ahead and get your Aussie and Kiwi flags before they are all sold out.

I'm afraid that would require a fully staffed interpretive center. There's no ROI with interpretive centers.

[bill_g]

It's pretty sad in person. It looks like plastic, and desperately needs a bath. At least they replaced the panel that blew off a while back.

Oh. Okay. One of those pathetic things. You can tell someone put in some earnest effort, but their implementation lacked skill, money, and talent. The World's Largest Cowpie exhibit is much more compelling. (sigh)

[bill_g]

Wow! 40hr week in four days. I haven't done that in a while. Out the door by 7am, and home after 7pm. Two of those days were calls to the coast to resolve a 911 center problem. Two hours driving there in the morning before tourists get on the road, and more than three back because of Summer traffic.

The other two days were manning the phones and helping the counter customers because our crews are out to the four corners of The World while mgmt held an annual meeting. I had two brand new employees to direct. So, I made sure we all had proper lunches and got some things accomplished in an otherwise undirected workweek.

I don't know our new billing system, and was never given credentials. So, I didn't have to train them on that! Instead, I introduced them to the fine art of redirecting calls to people in AP, taking messages, and/or sending out emails and texts with notifications and updates. One minute it's quiet. Then it's full gallop for a couple minutes. It quiets down and we're back to the chair waiting for the next thing. Rinse, repeat.

We're bringing a new engineer on board soon, and need an office for him. I told them he can have mine. We'll share it. Since I had two sherpas, we spent some time boxing things and putting them in the attic. We brought in a small shelf and desk for me, and cleaned my old desk out for him. He'll get a new laptop. I've already got mine at home.

We also spent some time cleaning up our previous sales director's office. He collapsed at home a couple weeks ago from a heart condition, and probably won't be returning. We left most of his personal items alone, but his coffee cup with a biology experiment got washed, and his desk neatened. We'll let whomever comes in worry about the files, and how to arrange the room. We gave it the apple spice Febreze treatment before we closed the door.

Today I'm unlaxing. Garbage day. Gotta get busy.

[MN-Skeptic]

I'm late to this thread, so my comment goes back to a post from a couple of weeks ago.

My folks didn't can corn, but they did freeze it. Dad was hardly ever in the kitchen, but I remember both he and Mom working together. Mom would blanche the ears of corn, then Dad would cut the corn from the cobs (or maybe both were doing that?), and Mom would put the corn into freezer containers. By the way, since there were six of us children back in those days, we had two large chest freezers, so plenty of space for freezer containers.

[bill_g]

I'm late to this thread, so my comment goes back to a post from a couple of weeks ago.

My folks didn't can corn, but they did freeze it. Dad was hardly ever in the kitchen, but I remember both he and Mom working together. Mom would blanche the ears of corn, then Dad would cut the corn from the cobs (or maybe both were doing that?), and Mom would put the corn into freezer containers. By the way, since there were six of us children back in those days, we had two large chest freezers, so plenty of space for freezer containers.

Yeah. A lot of people freeze their crops. We freeze some tomatoes for cooking. Whole. On a tray for a couple days, and then bag them as solid red rocks. They cut kinda easy. The knife wants to bounce out. But, if you keep your fingers out of the way, set them stem down - flower up, put the knife edge in the flower, give it a tap to start the cut, and then use both hands to push it down. Or you can give the mater time to thaw a bit. They cook right up. Make great sauce. You can fish the skin and core out later.