While I’ve Been Gone…

Shocking Fact #1:

I got engaged.

I proposed to Whitney in September, when we were up at her GMa’s and GDo’s Lazy W Ranch in McArthur for the annual Labor Day extravaganza.  It was a perfect moment shared by taking the Dune Buggy and riding out to the apple orchard through 3 foot tall weeds with grasshoppers and bugs flying into our hair, mouths and eyes.   She had no idea what was going on, and luckily she was feeling extra adventurous that day.

When I got down on my knee, Whitney didn’t believe it at first, but when it finally sunk in, she was ecstatic. And of course we celebrated in the traditional fashion: gettin’ drunk!

I am so lucky to have her.  And the icing on the cake is that my future in-laws are pretty ‘effin kickass.

Whitney and her Mom

Six months later and we are still together.   So far, so good.

The ring I proposed with. The bling came later.

C’mon I know I jam, I know I jam jam

Yup.  Naughty by Nature…  Taking it way back.  When cool people rode on Vespas.  HA! 

Anyway since I still had 30+ lbs of apples from Aunt Netty and Uncle Vinnie, decided it was time to make some apple jelly.  Recipe as follows:

All you need to make apple jelly is apple juice, pectin and sugar.  So for 10 cups of jelly you need 7 cups of apple juice, 1 box of pectin (plus a little extra) and 9 cups of sugar.  You can either make your own apple juice, like I do here, or buy it.  If you do buy it from the grocery store (I can’t recommend that since I feel the soul of jamming is using fresh ingredients, but I digress) get the Simply Apple bottle that is not from concentrate.

Apple Juice

Wash, core and quarter 15 lbs. of apples and place in your largest pot.  You will probably have to cook the apples in two batches.  Make sure they are sweet apples, not like Granny Smith, as it would make sour tasting juice and jelly.  Some suggestions would be Golden Delicious, Fuji, or Rome.

Bring to a boil and then cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes.  Drain the juice from the apples and discard the apples.  After you have cooked all of the apples you will probably have 7 to 10+ cups of apple juice (Depending on your apples, ripeness, etc.).  Place the juice back in the pot and cook over medium-low heat to concentrate it until you have 7 cups of apple juice.  You can stop here and enjoy your apple juice, or continue on for jamming.

Now time to start jamming.  Make sure that all the next steps are ready to go; this entire process from cooking to preserving takes less than 10 minutes.  Quick check list:

1. All jars, bands and utensils are sterilized, dried and ready to be filled 
2. Canning pot is on stove and close to boiling
3. 9 cups of sugar in separate bowl
4. 1 packet, plus 1/4 of another packet of pectin
5. Canning lids are in a pot of hot water, ready for use

Stir the pectin into the juice and bring to a full rolling boil (A boil that doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred) stirring constantly.  When it hits a full boil, stir in all 9 cups of sugar, return back to rolling boil and cook for exactly 1 minute. 

Remove from heat and skim off any foam.  Ladle quickly into jars leaving 1/8 of an inch of headspace.  Wipe rims and place lids on and screw bands on.  Then place jars into canner, the water must cover jars by at least an inch.  When water comes to a full boil, process jars for 10 minutes (You start the time when the water boils). 

When processing time is up, remove and place on cooling rack for 8 hours.  Check the seal by pressing on lid, if no movement then you are good to go.  If the button pops, then place in fridge immediately and eat soon. 

You can store on the shelf for up to a year.  Happy canning! 

Applecore…

Scored 50 lbs. of apples from Aunt Netty and Uncle Vinnie.  They have two apple trees on their property: a Golden Delicious and a Granny Smith.  The “Golden Tree” (Aptly named I think) was LOADED with apples.  We picked about 60 lbs. of apples in a matter of 10 minutes!  So what to do with this load of apples?  Definitiley some apple jelly, apple cider and I am thinking of making apple butter.  The only bad part of apple butter is the amount of time required: 16 hours!  We’ll see what happens…

I made cider last night I thought I would share my recipe:

First, get yourself about 10 lbs. of apples for a gallon of cider

Remove core and stems, leaving skin on, then chop roughly

Then puree chopped apples for about 1 minute in blender. If you need/want your cider sweeter, add 1/4 cup of simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, heated until sugar is dissolved) per 5 cups of chopped apples.

I had to do about 6 batches as my blender holds five cups of apples. 10lbs of apples = 30 cups roughly chopped.

Then pour puree through strainer once and then place the left over mash in either a cheesecloth or what I have- a flour sack towel and let sit for a couple of hours to completely drain.

Refrigerate, then drink within a week and do not let pregnant women or babies drink since it is not pasteurized. You can pasteurize by heating to  165°F, though at the loss of flavor, but it will also keep for about 3 weeks.

 

 Now I need to decide what to do with the other 40 lbs. of apples!