Friday, July 24, 2009

Abundance

As I sit here exhausted, ten more quarts of tomatoes are on the stove being processed by the cold pack method. There's a peach cobbler in the oven; it's a recipe I found on the Internet that is new to me. I hope it turns out.

I had intended to have B.L.T.'s for lunch, but I just realized I canned all the very ripest tomatoes. Maybe I can find a couple in the garden that I missed.

Most of the peaches on my tree aren't ready yet, but I pick up the ones off the ground, the wormy ones, that are soft and ripe. I get at least half of each peach, by the time I trim out the wormy part.

Now I realize that, to you city folks, it might sound "sick" to eat a fruit that has had worms in it. But the worms leave evidence in the parts of the fruit where they've been living, so it's easy to know what part is bad. When I was working in the apple shed grading apples, if anybody saw me taking a bite out of a wormy apple (one year they changed poisons, and had a few worms) they'd actually gag.

Well folks, I grew up watching my mom, aunts, and grandmother trim the buggy parts off fruits and vegetables. So it's natural to me, and a waste not to use perfectly good food.

I doubt if I can any green beans this year, but if I do, I'll do something the F.D.A says will result in certain death: I'd cold pack them. Now, this is not something I'd advise others to do, because you'd be going against all public opinion. But it's how my family canned green beans. I'd have to talk to my sister to see how long you keep them in the boiling water bath... seems like three or four hours. In fact, I had better be pumping my sister for any of these family traditions while I am able. She and I are not spring chickens.

Yesterday I fixed up some sliced peaches, sprinkled a little sugar over them, dished them up for me, Cliff, and his sister, and put the tiniest bit of cream over them.

With the first bite I was transported to my childhood. Mother served peaches and berries this way often, with a little sugar and some cream.

Unbelievably good.

Oh, I'm freezing okra now so I'll have it for wintertime gumbo.

5 comments:

  1. Whats the new recipe you are trying out? :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your bounty overflows for sure. My grandmother always cold packed green beans and they were wonderful year after year. Even canned they are still better than any store bought fresh ones in the winter time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lindie1:53 PM

    My family loved fruit and cream (or half n half) Love bananas with cream and maple syrup when I was young and now give it to my grandkids. I think I always did my green beans like you do and my family loved to gets a few jars of them from me in the winter. (as long as they gave me back the jars!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Pat/Texas2:59 PM

    Question...do you put any lemon/lime in your tomatoes when canning? Some recipes call for it and actually say it has to be done, some don't mention it. My husband put up a small tomato greenhouse this year and I have tomatoes on the counters, tables & the back porch. In some canning I added lemon juice, some not. Now we are enjoying just giving fresh tomaotes to friends and neighbors!! PS...I love your blog, it is at the top of my "favorites". Thank You!

    ReplyDelete
  5. If I had beans to can I would be doing the cold pack also.
    I always cut the wormy part out. many an ear of corn went to the off the cob pile because of the worms(fried corn!!!!) What is the recipe? I tried a new one I found for blueberries. IOt turned out pretty good.

    ReplyDelete

I love comments!