Mrs. K At Home
This and that, and all the things I love!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
So long, Andy
How sad, I read, earlier today, that singer Andy Williams passed away. He was 84 years old. I've always loved his music. As I mentioned in other posts, my mom played a lot of music, all kinds, so I tend to have very eclectic taste in music. There's something about listening to Andy that just brings memories of good times. His wonderful voice relaxes me too.
Moonriver, Canadian Sunset, Days of Wine and Roses, Autumn Leaves, Born Free, Three Coins in the Fountain - all favorites. I'm listening to his wonderful voice right now.
Well, I hope he's meeting up with all the terrific crooners that have gone before, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin. So long, Andy, we'll miss you.
Tangled in memories,
Mrs. K.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Apples, Memories, and Johnny Appleseed
Well. I'm about to get on with making apple butter, and there's also my favorite apple cake, which I am baking for Mr. K. this afternoon. He's fasting for Yom Kippur today. That cake will make a lovely dessert for breaking his fast, while making my home smell wonderful!
Anywho ... I was buzzing around the internet and found an interesting tidbit about Johnny Appleseed. It just so happens that today is his birthday.
In 1948 The Walt Disney company released a series of shorts as the movie Melody Time. The most well known of those shorts tells the tale of Johnny Appleseed, assuring his place in the pantheon of North American Folklore. I have mixed feelings about the Disney short. In some ways it captures Johnny’s love of the natural world, and in most other ways it, predictably, paints a completely romanticized and cleaned up picture of the man John Chapman.
Chapman was born in Massachusetts in 1774, and by the time he was twenty had already moved “West.” West in 1794 meant Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, where he began his carrer as a somewhat successful nurseryman and unsuccessful land speculator. Disney portrayed Chapman as someone who picks apples, but what Chapman really did was grow apple trees. Chapman’s business model was simple: go where you think the next wave of settlers will be, and set up a small apple orchard near by, usually just a few acres surrounded by a fence to keep livestock out. As the Frontier moved westward, Appleseed moved with it, living most of his long life (he died at age 70) in Ohio, before making it as far as Illinois.
Apple trees were not quite currency in the frontier lands of Ohio, but they were necessary for most homesteaders. The U.S Government required settlers to plant (apple and pear) trees on their property to prove they weren’t land speculators. That requirement is how Chapman made his living. While most of us think of apples as edible, Johnny Appleseed’s apples were often just the opposite.
All of Chapman’s trees were grown from seeds, making the fruit they produced more like crab apples than the Golden Delicious and Macintosh varieties we eat today.
If the fruit from Chapman’s trees was inedible, what were they good for? The easy answer is booze, most specifically hard cider and apple jack (which is a super concentrated cider).
You can read the entire blog post, which is very interesting, by clicking the link above It is worth reading. It seems old Johnny was rather what we might call a mountain man today - unkempt, barefoot, and homeless. I thought this was pretty interesting, because I grew up in upstate New York and we went to a nearby orchard every year to pick apples - bushels of them. They were kept in our cellar through the winter. My mom spent days preparing many apple pies, only one or two went into the oven, then she froze the rest so she could just pull one out and bake it up fresh whenever we wanted one. She also made plenty of apple sauce. We, my brother and sisters, ate our way through those bushels, we just loved apples. I am still overly fond of them and will choose apple desserts over chocolate every time. Of course, there's nothing like a fresh, crisp apple, and sometimes I'm lucky enough to receive a box of fresh apples from home.
Even those apples I grew up on were unlike what I find in the grocery store today. They weren't perfectly shaped, but they sure weren't crab apples either. We had plenty of crab apple trees around our neighborhood, but the apple trees were wonderfully gnarly and great for climbing. We ate as many apples as we picked - no nasty pesticides, thank goodness. I have really fond memories of those times and the apple scent that filled our basement. Nothing makes me feel more homesick and nostalgic than the scent of fresh apples; add the scent of cinnamon and clove and I just want to go home. I must be honest here and say that I've lived longer in South Florida than I did in New York, but once a New Yorker, always a New Yorker. I have discovered, in my visits to North Carolina, that they have some pretty good apples too, so I like to bring home a bushel when we get up there each autumn.
Oh well, it seems to be a day of memories. I better get that cake into the oven, but first I'll have a nice cup of apple spice tea! Have a lovely day!
Deliciously yours,
Mrs. K.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Plum Butter, Yum!
Yesterday was a busy day as I finally got my plum butter made; I had planned to do it Sunday, but got sidetracked with other things... reading a couple of good mysteries and stitching. I just needed a lazy day, so I gave myself one. However, those plums were ready to go and so I had to get busy.
This jam is such a gorgeous color in addition to being SO delicious! I used a mixture of dark purple and red plums, sugar, cinnamon, and just a touch of cloves. Perfection, if I do say so myself. ; )
I always begin by selecting the most luscious looking plums I can find. I needed about six pounds. I wash them and let the soak a bit in a tub of water to which I've added some vinegar; this is to clean them really well. I then rinse and quarter them, removing the pit. I add a bit of water, just enough to keep them from sticking, cover and cook until soft. Plenty of checking and stirring is needed. Sometimes a bit more water needs to be added, but these were very juicy so I didn't have to. When softened, I put the cooked plums through a food mill, measure, so I know how much sugar to start with, and put back into the pot. Peels were disposed of and I was ready to make the fruit butter.
Sugar, I started this batch with half a cup of sugar per cup of fruit puree, then the spices, a tablespoon of cinnamon and a half teaspoon of cloves, were stirred in. I slowly brought to a boil, then reduced the heat a bit. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, I taste and make any adjustments in sugar and spice. This batch needed a half cup more sugar, but the spices were perfect.
Bubble, bubble, simmering away, stirring with my lovely, handmade, heart-shapred wooden spoon. I bought it last year at the Southern Highlands Craft Fair in Asheville, NC. Puts a bit of extra love into all this goodness. When I think the consistency is just right, I check my fruit butters by placing a bit on a chilled saucer that has been waiting in the freezer. I put the saucer back in the freezer for a moment or so, then check. Perfect timing yesterday!
This jam is such a gorgeous color in addition to being SO delicious! I used a mixture of dark purple and red plums, sugar, cinnamon, and just a touch of cloves. Perfection, if I do say so myself. ; )
I always begin by selecting the most luscious looking plums I can find. I needed about six pounds. I wash them and let the soak a bit in a tub of water to which I've added some vinegar; this is to clean them really well. I then rinse and quarter them, removing the pit. I add a bit of water, just enough to keep them from sticking, cover and cook until soft. Plenty of checking and stirring is needed. Sometimes a bit more water needs to be added, but these were very juicy so I didn't have to. When softened, I put the cooked plums through a food mill, measure, so I know how much sugar to start with, and put back into the pot. Peels were disposed of and I was ready to make the fruit butter.
Sugar, I started this batch with half a cup of sugar per cup of fruit puree, then the spices, a tablespoon of cinnamon and a half teaspoon of cloves, were stirred in. I slowly brought to a boil, then reduced the heat a bit. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, I taste and make any adjustments in sugar and spice. This batch needed a half cup more sugar, but the spices were perfect.
Bubble, bubble, simmering away, stirring with my lovely, handmade, heart-shapred wooden spoon. I bought it last year at the Southern Highlands Craft Fair in Asheville, NC. Puts a bit of extra love into all this goodness. When I think the consistency is just right, I check my fruit butters by placing a bit on a chilled saucer that has been waiting in the freezer. I put the saucer back in the freezer for a moment or so, then check. Perfect timing yesterday!
Into the jars, edges wiped, lids and screwbands placed, I try not to burn my fingers on the hot, sterilized jars, but, ouch, they are hot!
I use the water bath canning method for 15 minutes. Boiling away!
The end result... ooh deliciousness! The color is so pretty too. As the jars are removed from the canner, I wait for that "ping" as they seal - love that little sound! Naturally, Mr. K. couldn't wait to sample some, and since there was one jar that was only about two thirds filled and didn't go into the canner, he helped himself. There's always one of these left that goes right into the fridge, after the taste tester has done his job, of course!
Today... pear butter, which I've not made before. I found some lovely pears so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm rather partial to pears. I checked through my cookbooks, but couldn't find a recipe, so I checked on line and found one. I was concerned about the canning method, wanted to be sure there wasn't any issue. The recipe I found adds a little orange juice. Sounds good! I'm also going to get my pomanders done tonight and get them to curing. You can imagine how wonderful my home smells with all this going on.
Next week is apple butter time. Apple butter is my favorite. There is just something about that taste, the apples, my favorite fruit, and all those spices. I love the scent of cinnamon, cloves, allspice, along with apple and orange. I make a simmering pot pourri that keeps our little place smelling lovely with these ingredients for when I'm not making fruit butters!
Oh well, off to the kitchen!
Deliciously yours,
Mrs. K
Labels:
canning,
cooking,
homemaking,
jam making,
seasonal
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