Saturday, August 14, 2021

The Deep Satisfaction Of List-Making


This is how crazy I am these days. I made a list of things I needed to do today which consisted of six entire items and I took immense pleasure as I crossed things off. You may notice that two have still not been completed. 
The laundry is mostly done. There's a load of whites in the dryer that I still need to fold and put away. 
And the apple butter? Well. That has turned out to be a multi-part process. 

It's been a decent day. I got the hen house cleaned first because that's the nastiest job although I'd far rather clean out a hen house than scoop cat litter daily. After that was finished, I watered all the plants in the house and on the back porch and then I turned on the hose and drug it up to the front porch as I do to water all the plants there. 
So far, no problem. 
However. 
There are two palms that I have planted on either side of the steps leading up to the porch and they are still fairly small and their fronds cross over and sometimes block entrance to those steps which isn't usually a problem. Mr. Moon complains about that but I tell him that when they get some height on them, the fronds will be way up in the air and it'll be fine. So I brushed one of the fronds on my way up the steps and damn if I didn't feel like something had shot me in the arm and before I realized what was going on, I had taken another step forward and found myself walking through a spider web. 
Well, if you've been here any time at all you know what thought raced through my mind. 
TOO MUCH NATURE!! 
Indeed. 
I had not been shot but merely stung by a very large wasp who was part of a family, or community, or whatever wasps have, who were building a nest on the underside of one of the fronds. I had to check because I really did not know what it had been and if it had been one of those caterpillars that look like Donald Trump's hair, I was going to take a Benadryl and immerse myself in an ice bath and perhaps update my will. 


Luckily, it was only a wasp and after about two minutes of excruciating pain, the site quit hurting. It is still quite red and swollen and hot but it doesn't hurt. 
Lucky me. 

Watered the porch plants and noted all the ones that the chickens have eaten, leaving forlorn and empty terra cotta pots. I just can't get worked up about things like that these days. 

I got the peas that Mr. Moon has shelled out of the refrigerator and put a pot of water on to blanch them in. I rinsed them and when the water was boiling, I slid them in there and after a few minutes I drained them, put them in an ice bath, and then drained them again and bagged them up for the freezer. Took those out to the garage and picked a few green beans that are still hanging on. Well, they were hanging on until I picked them. Now they're hanging out in the refrigerator. 

On to the apple butter. Yesterday Jessie gave me a bunch of apples that Vergil's mother grew and had sent home with them to process into applesauce or something but Jessie and Vergil have been quite busy what with getting resettled into their house and school starting, etc. I'd made apple butter once before and I wanted to try it again. I love apple butter. So I sat down on the kitchen stool and began to peel apples and I think in all I probably peeled and cored about seven or eight pounds of them. They peeled easily and they were quite ready to be cooked and by the time I'd finished with the peeling and coring, I had my big giant Le Crueset-like pot filled with with them. 


I boiled down some of the apple peels and cores because I know that the most pectin resides within those and then I slowly cooked the apples in that liquid after I strained it, some apple juice and some apple vinegar. It looks like this now. 


Yes. Like applesauce. And I could add a little sugar and cinnamon and call it done and can it now but I want apple butter, not sauce. So I'll keep that mush in the refrigerator tonight and tomorrow I'll smash it up good and cook it some more with sugar and spices and then I'll can it in sterilized jars. I am somewhat surprised at how little it all cooked down. I am thinking there will be more shrinkage tomorrow and we'll see how many pints I get. 

And besides all of that I baked a loaf of sourdough that I started last night and it's gorgeous. 


I have to tell you that after I started disregarding all of the "rules" of sourdough, my bread has improved tremendously. And as of this writing, there have been no Sourdough Enforcement Officers knocking on my door to issue me a citation. 

I guess that's all I have to report for this evening. Mr. Moon is starting a fire to cook us some meat and I'm going to make some lovely potatoes and also more "fried" okra because it's going to go bad if we don't eat it and I can't bear for that to happen. Besides, it's delicious. 

To add an element of mystery here, I will not tell you what "put up dresses" meant on my list. I will only say that dresses were put up. Not in the same sense that produce is put up just in case you were wondering. 

Love...Ms. Moon, Woman of Mystery 


23 comments:

  1. I've never made apple butter but it sounds delicious. I had to look up what a chinois was, my mum used to have one. I wonder where it went to?

    Sounds like a busy day. I love making lists and checking things off, very satisfying.

    I'm beat. We took Jack to the dog park this morning before it got too hot and walked in the woods. Then we went on a farm tour and then after supper, we ate at 5:15 (hang my head in shame), and still had time to go to the spray park. We're all tired tonight and it's still hot as hell.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good Lord, but I hope it gets cooler there for you soon. You guys need a break.
      I don't have nor do I use a chinois. I just cooked the apples until very soft and then, in batches, ran them through the food processor. Super easy.

      Delete
    2. Where was the ref to a chinois? I have to look it up, too!

      Delete
  2. Not a whole lot of water in those apples, apparently. It may not cook down a lot more. I'm trying to remember what all goes in apple butter, and all I can think of is cinnamon. Mom loved apple butter and made a lot. I met two of my neighbors here because one was making apple butter and needed nutmeg, and she and the other neighbor drove all over town looking for it. No luck. Then Larry said Let's ask Joanne, and they got lucky. I didn't tell them, but I never put nutmeg in apple butter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah. They were a little past their prime and cooking apples, anyway, I think. They cooked down some but not much. In my apple butter there were apples, a little apple juice, a little apple cider, brown and white sugar, cinnamon, ground cloves, and nutmeg. I think the cloves really make it nice.

      Delete
  3. Apple butter and sour dough bread, you accomplished a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have a permanent list of things to do in my kitchen. Yesterday I did a job that wasn't on the list ( cleaning the inside of my car) so I wrote it on and promptly crossed it off ! Daft, I know!
    So, what will you actually do with all that apple butter? Do you have it on toast or what? Not something we make here...well I never have! Apple sauce with pork is nice. Do you have apple butter with meat?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have done that before- write a thing on a list that I've already done, just to cross it off, but not lately. I was inspired by Jessie's lists that she keeps in her kitchen. There are many things on that list!
      We eat apple butter on toast, yes, and biscuits. Well, what we call biscuits. Like your scones, sort of. We don't eat it with meat but I do sometimes make applesauce to go with pork.

      Delete
  5. i made a list of the things i needed to get done over the break plus the classes i had to take for changing subjects.

    your apple butter will be delicious!

    xxalainaxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's pretty good.
      Lists are helpful, aren't they? At least they can make us feel organized.

      Delete
  6. I'm a list maker too and I find it really helps - UNLESS things keep getting carried over to the next list! But you were very productive. I've been looking after my younger son's obnoxious cat this week and I agree with you on the cat litter. While some cats are cute, this one isn't and having to pick up cat shit and clean out the litter for a cat I don't even particularly like - well I don't think we'll ever get along!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now that IS a thankless task. Cleaning up the litter of a cat you don't like. Ugh.

      Delete
  7. Apple butter! Yum yum. I just bought some at the grocery store yesterday because I haven't had it in years. After I got it home and read the label I realized it's full of corn syrup. Sigh. Maybe I'll try making some when the mountain apples start hitting the farmer's market.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not hard to make at all but it can be a lengthy process.

      Delete
  8. the only list we make around here is the grocery list. or when Rocky was putting the various rooms of my house back together I'd make lists of the things he still needed to do. I have made chore lists in the past but not so much now. if I can't think of it or see it needs to be done I figure it doesn't matter.

    I remember when I was growing up the grocery store would have fresh black eyed peas or cream peas. my mother would get a grocery paper bag full and we'd sit around shelling them. haven't seen black eyed peas or cream peas in the grocery store in decades. I guess people are lazy and just buy them canned though I'd love to have some fresh ones.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Punch lists? They're important.
      I make grocery lists too. Religiously. I didn't use to. Now I have to.
      I find that making lists of things I need to do settles my mind a little as to feeling a bit more organized. But I don't do it regularly.
      If you ever start growing food again, you could easily plant some of those peas. They are easy to grow. I bet they'd do well in Texas.

      Delete
  9. I haven't had apple butter in ages. For some reason I always thought there might be actual butter in it, but I see that's not the case!

    I do keep lists of a sort, but only mentally. I usually don't write them down.

    You are being far more sanguine about that wasp sting than I would be! I'd be freaking out! I love the Trump-hair caterpillar -- I think I have read about those things before, but the resemblance to Trump's hair wasn't something I'd ever considered! LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nope. No butter in apple butter. There are various fruit butters but I have only had apple butter as far as I know. It's somewhere between a jelly and a jam. All of the fruit is in there but more pureed.
      Perhaps when you are my age you'll be making lists. Or perhaps you won't need to.
      Once the wasp sting quit hurting so bad, I didn't have much to complain about except the swelling. I HAVE actually seen some of those Trump-Hair caterpillars around here. They scare me to pieces.

      Delete
  10. I only make a list when I need to be cheered up that I got stuff done. A list of accomplishments! I do make a little grocery list, usually about five items.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! A list of accomplishments can make us feel a little more cheerful. How do you get away with such short grocery lists? Mine are epic.

      Delete
    2. Most of my food comes from Misfits and I select from the lists they present. Just the odd item comes from a local store. And I'm a household of one person, no pets! Pretty simple.

      Delete
  11. Put up dresses is the only thing I was wondering about dang it! Also I don't think I've ever had apple butter- I need to rectify that.

    ReplyDelete

Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.