Blueberries and Datils?

Made Blueberry Jam during the last hour or so, Didn’t and never have timed how long it takes to make Jams/Jellies, One more piece of potentially useful information. Checked this morning and there’s one more 4+Cups bag of frozen Blueberries in the garage freezer annnnd maybe six bags of Cranberries. Don’t have enough jars to do all of them there berries.

SigO prepared the Blueberries for freezing in her usual careful way. She sorted, washed, sorted and dried the Berries on a single layer on a large sheet pan, froze them in-place on the sheet pan and finally put them in zip closure freezer bags x 3 or 4. Each bag holds 4+ Cups of perfect Berries.

Our affection for Old Tools applies to Kitchen Utensils, also for many of the same reasons; durable, functional and when acquired as we do they’re much less expensive than the high priced spread, if you catch my meaning . . . if you get my drift.

Blueberries and Cranberries have to be mashed and the best tool for that is any of the several spatula-like tools, one of which was called by Ekco “Kitch-A-Ma-Jig”. Unlike the Ekco Tool, some have a wavy edge. I favor the Stanley design; smooth, curved edge, stiff blade and shaft and durable, secure handle.

I have accepted Glass Top stoves. It’s a tool that I do not like but have to use so I might as well learn how to use it efficiently. My large fear is that we’ll crack it. Cast iron is a tool I choose to use and even our 19th Century Skillets that tend to be lighter than more modern one are potential fatal weapons if misused on the Glass Top.

SigO found the large, skillet that’s become our Jam and jelly maker. I think the phrase used was, “I think this might be useful.” and it became so. It’s 12 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep. Thick bottom. Heats evenly. Handles are stuck on rather than bolted, but that means inside wall can be scraped down more cleanly.

Usually I’ve used bottled Lemon Juice, but we usually have Limes on hand because we like Avocados as Guacamole. I doubt Lemons or Limes do much balancing of sweetness or adding flavor, but they might. What their acid does is to compromise the natural electrical charge on Pectin when it’s released and allows gelling to happen more efficiently. A little science for the kitchen.

SigO filled a large measuring cup to its rim so rather than 4 Cups it was closer to 5. I add only half a cup of water to the Berries and a large cup and a half of sugar, about 4 T of Pectin because Blueberries have no natural Pectin, unlike Cranberries. I figured 2 Datils would contribute significant heat, but they didn’t. A third one added an obvious bump.

Produced four pints in five jars. One became my sampling jar. My opinion is that the Jam is pleasantly spicy and probably suitable for anyone except those who have NO interest in Peppered stuff.

Cranberry Sauce with an Attitude

ade Cranberry Jam/Sauce with Red Pears, Dried Sour Cherries, Lime Juice and Pulp, Water, Sugar . . . and Datil Peppers.

One motivation for buying a small, non-selfdefrosting chest freezer was the desire to freeze Turkeys and Cranberries purchased at their lowest prices in the Holiday Season. Turkeys so we can have a Thanksgiving type meal when sibling visits and because I need to practice my Frogging Technique. Cranberries because we made a batch of straight no high octane Cranberry Sauce for an annual end of November gathering along the Suwanee River then discovered intentionally with the later, personal consumption batch that Capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) and Sugar enhance each other nicely . . . in our opinions.

Sooo . . . we generally have several bags of properly frozen Cranberries ready to be put to popping in a broad, shallow skillet. Usually, we use Satsuma Juice from the tree out back, but it is not interested in producing much anymore. Added a Cup of Filtered Water instead. A Lime and a half on hand produced 1/3 Cup Juice and Pulp.

For substance, texture, we use Red Pears because they’re firm enough to handle high heat and Dried Sour Cherries because why not? One or the other can be eliminated, but the result will not be nearly as interesting.

Four of our Datil Pepper Plants were acquired in St. Augustine where they were kept as a local secret for decades. Plants are available in local plant places and seeds can be gotten online. Does it matter? The Plants from St. Augustine have produced very large Pods and that means “Is 3 enough or 6 too many?”

Cranberries are pectin rich so the process is mostly one of bringing the mass of stuff to a boil that doesn’t “stir down”. After the Cranberries pop with medium heat adding their juice it’s time to added the Pears and Cherries to join the high simmer. Pepper slices, too.

There are people who will not appreciate the tartness. Some will not like the heat. We gave slightly different first taste reviews; One,” I like it. Could be hotter.” and the other, “Initially almost sweet then very tart followed by cheek and tongue heat. Mid-range heat.” Datils last awhile. Gets to the pleasant reminder stage and hangs on.

Getting Pickled

Was motivated today to do something with the Peppers, Bottles and Jars that needed to be merged into something so I picked enough Tabasco Peppers to fill a 5 Ounces Shaker Top Bottle; 74 Peppers, some Caribbean Reds, Datils and Okra. Added them to yesterday’s picking. The result was a Shaker Top of Tabascos, 2 Jars of Quick Pickled Okra with Datil Peppers and one jar of Quick Pickle Caribbean Reds.

A few days ago I filled 2 Shaker Bottles with Datils and Lemon Drops. Had to sort out Peppers that’d fit the Neck of the Bottle. The resulting “Pepper Sauce” is damn good stuff if you like Heat and Vinegar on Greens and Beans as is common in the South.

It wasn’t until moving South that I paid attention to Peppers when I tried the condiment that appears on many if not most sit-down Southern-Style cookeries, specifically “Sport Pepper Sauce”. You discover quickly that consuming, preserving and giving away does not prevent you from having lots more Peppers needing to be consumed, preserved and given away. Peppers in Jam. Peppers in Mac and Cheese, Spaghetti, Turkey Noodle Soup, almost anything you can sauté and so on.

How’d it start? Making a tall bottle of Datils in White Vinegar that’s still in use years later with regular additions of Vinegar until Pepper change then starting all over again OR it might have been a decision to add Peppers to the soon to be a traditional Cranberry Sauce we’d made a year earlier. Worked for us.

Quick Pickling is a bit more involved; Vinegar, Water and Salt brought to a boil than poured over the vegetable in a jar. We add, Garlic, Pickling Spice or Peppers or some of each or not.

Front Row, Left to Right:
- Quick Pickled Cucumbers with Garlic and Pickling Spice
- Quick Pickled Caribbean Red Pepper with Pickling Spice
- Quick Pickled Okra with Datil Pepper, Garlic and Pickling Spice
- Quick Pickled Okra with Datil Pepper and Pickling Spice
Back Row, Left to Right:
- Quick Pickled Cucumbers with Datil Pepper, Garlic and Pickling Spice in two small jars
- Multi-Color Tabasco Pepper Sauce (Distilled White Vinegar)
- Lemon Drop Pepper Sauce (Red Wine Vinegar)
- Datil Pepper Sauce (Red Wine Vinegar)
- Tabasco Pepper Sauce (Distilled White Vinegar)
- Quick Pickled Okra with Datil Pepper and Pickling Spice

"Edible Garbage"?

I have too much to say and I run on and on. If i want to convey useful information I need to do it in a better way or reduce how much I say at one time. Basically, more organized with fewer and shorter tangents.

I tried to write about Gardening and its many parts in April of 2018. I started with Composting and intended to say things about all the parts; composting, cultivating, tools, fertilizing and so on. Didn’t follow through. Got lazy maybe. Or too involved. Or forgot?

I’ll provide a link to that way unfinished effort and you can make whatever comparisons and contrasts you find. Growing stuff has become an essential part of keeping aging from winning and a significant part of growing things is creating Compost. What we do now works as efficiently as I am able and choose to make it.

Our Composting is done in a Concrete Block structure that’s 5 1/2 Blocks wide, 2 1/2 deep and 4 High. The front is open and secured with a 2 x 4 frame fitted with 1 Inch Wire that slides on a couple of 2 x 4 and is held in place with 3 Block high “Ls” on each side. The inside is divided by a 3 Block high partition that’s 1 1/2 deep. The top is another 2 x 4 frame. It has worked well for seven years even after relocating it.

Initially our Composting was done in the open on the Eastern edge of the Garden. Flat and potential planting space, it had to be moved after five years, more or less. Being a sunny space was good for planting more so than doing the physical stuff associated with Composting. Moving the Concrete Blocks was aided by an industrial stength Hand Truck, but, do the math . . . 60+ blocks, of 30 pounds, plus or minus, 3 blocks at a time . . . fifty feet . . . over grass . . .thirty feet . . . I was younger then.

The Composter is now in a minimally “developed” space that’s shaded on the East side by a large, tall Bamboo. There’s been no obvious change in how quickly and how efficiently it produces usable Compost while making it less burdensome to to the necessary physical stuff.

The process we use does not involve any “turning” as described in many discussions about the “correct” way to control the rotting of “edible garbage”, the term used for stuff in the dump we used to guard in Vietnam. That’s a story for another time.

Our method is simple; fill one side to some subjective level (“That’s about high enough.”) then start using the other side until it’s subjectively “full”. When that day arrives the old stuff is sifted to separate compost from vegetable matter. Compost is added to a pile and the still vegetation-like stuff is added to a nearby Fencing Cylinder. When that Cylinder reaches the same kind of subjective level it’s sifted and the still-not-compost is added to a second, similar Cylinder.

Obviously, having more than 60 Concrete Blocks contributed greatly to the kind of structure we would and would create. Accumulated lengths of wire fencing stimulated the Cylinder idea. It’s as efficient and handles our “edible garbage” disposal.

The images give a general idea of what the major, stationary items are. Of equal importance, of course, are the tools and a source of mulch that must be used to cover fresh additions to the Composter. More about the tools will follow, eventually.

A last observation about Composting animal “edible garbage” is this; IF you construct a Composter properly neither the smell nor vermin invasion will happen. Raccoon, possums and rats have not yet gotten into the Composter where we have routinely disposed of fowl bones and bits and pieces of beef, pork and fish. We do not have bears or alligators nearby. Coyotes live here and around. When there was evidence of something digging along the bottom of our sliding closure, a two pieces of 2 x 4s on which the closure could slide serves as sufficient prevention.

Smell has never been an issue. We cover fresh additions with a serious cover of mulch and are careful to cover all the new stuff.

The actual amount of animal matter that we add to compost is quite small so the chances of salmonella or other nasty biological issues is essentially zero.

The final “issue” discussed elsewhere about composting animal “edible garbage” is that it takes a long time for it to decompose. Our method is length. More than a year can pass before we do anything with the Fence Cylinders. Patience happens because the entire method take a long time.

Soon, I’ll say things about Tools and the Method we use.

A Project Needing to be Done

We’d been living with a decaying front entry for a long time. It wasn’t gonna repair itself and I wasn’t certain that we were going to be able to do it. Hiring someone might’ve been expedient, but it also would have require money that we don’t have even though the cost of groceries has gone down . . . oh . . . wait . . . the cost of groceries has not gone down!

The deck was rebuilt about ten years ago and over the past five or six years had become less and less usable until it looked pretty damn bad and dangerous. Builder error? Or F L A high humidity and baking sun climate?

We’d talked about removing most of the deck and creating a kind of grotto, but such plans didn’t deal with the obvious problem; entering the house was dangerous. I finally resolved to make some changes when SigO came home after her ACL surgery and had to navigate the the steps and decaying plywood.

One obvious obstacle was getting wood, but eight feet of wood fit in the Corolla and that made it possible to repair the first two steps. Ten feet might also fit and we’d need boards of at least the length to do meaningful repairs. Twelve feet was preferable. A brief impasse.

Did we have “appropriate tools”, as the Clymer Manual often called for when working on the 1967 MG-B in 1968, 69 and ’70, to do the job? Basic stuff? Mostly “Yes”. Big Ol’ Craftsman Circular Saw. Black & Decker corded Drill. Phillips and Torx Head Bits. I figured I’d have to drill pilot holes then change to a screw bit.

But wait!

A few months ago I bought a Ridgid Hammer Drill, Battery and Charger, an old one, an 18 Volt. Like $10. And I left without the Charger! Went back next day an’ the Charger was not there. Argh! The Battery had a bit of a charge so I knew the Drill worked, but . . . The Drill and Battery sat around as a reminder or my mistake. Considered selling them and found that it’d found that they didn’t sell for much and cost a lot to ship because of the weight and batteries have limitations and it was gonna be a frustrating deal so I learned to live with the reminder.

I’d looked for After Market Chargers as I did when wanting to add a bigger Battery (8 amp) and Charger for our DeWalt stuff and it was easy and inexpensive. Getting a second Battery was critical when the DeWalt branded 5 amp Battery began refusing to take a charge. DeWalt replaced the defective Battery. Good timing during an ebay search got us a Used Charger suitable for the old 18V Battery for a little more than $20 delivered. I doubt I’d’ve complete the repair of the Deck if I hadn’t had the Ridgid. Good decision making!

No pilot holes and well controlled power made the screwing almost easy . . . almost.

Removing the old and decayed boards was a combination of unscrewing, also made easier with the Ridgid, and pulling decayed former boards loose. We found a Three-Way Wrecking Bar that made removal and replacing easier. Every home should have one! I'll take a picture of it and add it eventually.

The meaning of all of this is that it’s been satisfying to find that I can still, within well defined limits, do stuff that matters. Know what I mean? The project isn’t completed, but it is functionally done.

Here I Go Again.

For a lotta years I posted things here mostly related to riding a bike. Then, I didn’t. There might be catching-up to do, but that’ll come slowly. For now I’ll include the essentials; two metallic knees and a minor stroke can compromise pretty much everything one does.

No, the knees are the compromising element, the need for knees was. As i say about aging; being old is cool, but getting old is not.

A year and a half ago I apparently had a minor stroke. I say “apparently” because the definitive diagnosis would need an MRI and my personal history with them is not positive, so the nerve study and a neurologists opinion is adequate.

The consequences of the possible minor stroke was compromised balance and ability to walk well. I’m still unsteady, but have made significant progress and that’s all that matters now.

I anticipate riding again, but years of backlog tasks need to be managed and there’s been good progress there, too. Instead of riding as a physical outlet, something that has been invaluable during my healthiest periods, will happen again. For now it’s about gardening and maintaining a green environment and catching up with long neglected around-the-house maintenance.

To document this stuff I’ll have to relearn how to put things online as well as I used to and that’ll be a tedious thing. Mostly, initially, I’ll rely on words. Eventually I’ll figure out how to include pictures and not have them disappear.

We’re entering the real growing season here and that means there’s much to be done both in anticipating and preparing. Yesterday I took my self to the edge of “I’m too damn old to do this” while preparing to plant a couple of Cucumbers.

In the past I would have used the Chameleon Cultivator to loosen the dirt and finish pulling accumulated weeds in the former Lettuce bed. The approach now is to pull large stuff then run the string trimmer to eliminate small stuff. I then cover the area with layers of Cardboard and Mulch. Finally, I add a layer of Compost.

This Cardboard/Mulch/Compost idea is my adaptation of “No Till” and “No Dig” gardening, both of which require an interval of time between preparation and planting. I’m too old to wait as long as is suggested and, so far, the results have been satisfactory. Weeds are much less frustrating and because they are superficial they can be removed relatively easily using a Wire Weeder that is easy to make . . . if you have heavy enough Wire, an Anvil and a big Hammer. We do.

Peppers, Okra and an earlier Cucumber planting have done well using this approach. A source of Mulch, Cardboard and Compost is basic. Because we’ve been invested in Composting and have two lengthy driveways where falling leaves and woodsy stuff accumulate we have a consistent supply of Mulch. Cardboard accumulates and we have room to keep it. There’s some debate about what kind of cardboard can and cannot be used and I’ll discuss that when I get into specifics in the future.