Canning Peaches: Call It an Investment

My peach tree is an unusually early sort, and as a result our peach canning season hits well before school starts.  This is a blessing and a curse.  Yes, it would be easier, albeit somewhat longer to can alone, but that's not the point!  I know many wives and mothers who were raised in "canning homes".  Their mothers had lovely food storage rooms full of home canned produce, but theirs contain only #10 cans and sundry store-bought items.  Nothing wrong with these items, but there is something wrong with the gap in domestic knowledge that was not passed on.  So, go out, buy a Ball Blue Book, or go to http://www.freshpreserving.com and take the preserving plunge.  Truly, it's not as hard as it looks once you know a few of the tips and tricks.  Next, can on a day when your children can help in the process.  Even if they only wash the produce, or hand you canning rings from their perch on a barstool, it will start tradition of teaching and passing on home skills knowledge.  Just ask yourself, "Do I want my grandkids to eat rubbery peaches from cans packed in sugary syrup, or do I want them eating delicious (and subsequently more nutritious) home-canned peaches?"  There you go.  Bite the bullet, and get your kids involved in the process.  It truly is an investment on more than one level.  Ok, now to step off of my soap-box, and get on with some helpful nitty-gritty.

As far as I'm concerned, any part of the canning process that can be done outside, should be done outside.  I had my son wash the peaches outside, then carry them in using a big plastic tub.  One side note is that if you leave picked peaches or apricots out in the sun for more than a day or two, they will develop sunburn spots that turn hard and won't peel well.

I had the kids take turns blanching the peaches for a minute or two in boiling water, then transfer them to a sink filled with ice water.   Blanching serves 2 purposes: first it allows the skin to slip off the peach and second, it stops some of the enzymatic process of oxidative browning.

You can sort of see our assembly line.  The blanched peaches cooled in the cold water then were peeled over the next sink, then I sliced them and cut out any bad spots prior to placing them in the jars.

Would it have been quicker to peel them myself?  Sure, but nothing beats hands-on experience.

They really liked peeling the peaches once they discovered how easily the skins slipped off.  Yes, this led to fighting over who got to be the main peeler . . . so we started making rotations so they could take turns at different jobs.

I kept a bowl handy with a little Fruit Fresh (you can use lemon juice) into which I would slice up the really beat-up, ugly looking peaches.  Once I was finished canning, these went into freezer bags for future use in smoothies, cobblers, etc. I slid the peach halves cut side down using that handy flat plastic slide thing (poking out of the half-filled jar).  Also, for my liquid, I went for an extra light syrup using 5 cups water and 1 cup sugar.  I popped this into the microwave until the sugar dissolved, then poured into filled jars until an inch from the top.  The most vital part of the process, is making sure that your jars are wiped clean on the top surface.  Use a clean cloth and wash it out regularly during your canning adventure.  The key to a good seal is a clean top surface of your jar. 

Yes, my cute Dad came over with another canner and his camp stove to speed up the processing time.  Otherwise I just turn on the burner unit on the side of my grill and use that to process my jars.  It takes longer than the stove-top, but it is less messy and keeps your house infinitely cooler! 

I ended up with 24 quarts canned and 15 quart freezer bags of peaches.  So talk your kids through the process whether it is canning peaches or making freezer jam.  The more you make the effort to involve and teach them, the better your grandkids will eat! 

Organizing: Before-School Dejunk & Donate

       August means fresh tomatoes, peaches, new backpacks, school clothes and oh yes, the ugliest chore of the summer: dejunking.  We try and go on a deep dejunking expedition of  kid bedrooms 3-4 times per year - spring cleaning, before school, before Christmas and sometimes before their birthdays. And yet, they still don't seem to grasp the concept of throwing wrappers in the garbage instead of under the dresser, or throwing away splintered pencils instead of tossing them back in a drawer.  None the less, the point is to teach them the process of throwing away, donating and thinning things out so that hopefully when they have homes of their own, they don't end up on a hoarders-annonymous reality tv show. 
       Oscar Wilde said, "There are many things we would throw away if we were not afraid that others might pick them up."  I think the trick is to teach kids how to "throw-way" (or donate) with the thought that others can "pick them up" or use them.  Often that is the way I get the kids to part with a loved, but out-grown toy, or article of clothing - by tapping into their compassion. 
        One motivator for going through my kids stuff is that in my neighborhood they've started a tradition that every August, they have a kid's clothes swap night.  The month or so prior, people can drop off their gently used kids clothes at a designated home, then that night it is all laid out by gender-specific or size, or clothing category.  There is usually food or refreshments so even if you don't need anything it is still fun to come and visit.  The remaining clothes are then donated to a local charity or second-hand store. 
       So the battle goes on - my kids rooms inevitably turn into pits-of-despair, but at least they are learning how to let go of things and practice a bit of unselfish sharing watching others "pick them up". 

Cooking: Using Pinterest to Your Advantage

Often I find myself spending the 5 minutes a day I allow for "pinterest time" in scanning new pins and repinning them to my boards.  However, I often fail to revisit those boards to say nothing of put the ideas or recipes into practice.  But Pinterest as well as other online, visual recipe sites offer real advantages when getting your kids to expand their cooking repertoire.  Friday night (my daughter's night to cook) rolled around and we had not filled out our monthly menu yet.  So instead of letting her make browned butter pasta for the millionth time, I suggested we get some ideas from Pinterest.  This helped kill two birds with one stone: she was excited to try something new (the visual element is what it's all about) and I finally could see if some of my pins were 'keepers'.  She chose 2 separate menu plans, had the family vote. 

As you can see, the breakfast-for-dinner menu won out.

We talked about the timing of the recipes and which to start first.  I have to say, the muffin cup omelets that were made to order according to individual tastes were a big hit.

Cooking the canned orange rolls in the waffle iron was a bit gimmicky, but fun for the kiddos.

So, next time you stress over finding what your kids want to cook, look no further  than your computer. 

Mending: The Quest for the Perfect Fit

This summer my daughter and I finally came across some modest swimsuits that we liked, but the fit was just a bit off.  So we got creative with stretchy headbands and some sewing in order to alter them to fit.

This halter top didn't halter quite enough, so a headband looped through the neck strap at the back and sewn in the back of the suit provided an ideal fit and kept me from having halter-top-sore-neck syndrome.

This swimsuit was just a bit baggy at the top, so we sewed a small piece of pink, stretchy headband in a tube around the straps in the back.  Viola - perfect fit for my thin girl.

This last suit had the same problem - a bit loose up top around the chest and arm area.  So we simply unpicked the straps in the back, shortened them and drew them a little closer together.  The shorter straps and altered angle made for a good fit.
Did I have my daughter actually perform the alterations?  No, but I made sure I talked her through everything and showed her how we could creatively alter the swimwear.  Not all teaching has to be completely hands on (thank heavens!) but simply talking to her down by the sewing machine as I finished the alterations must be good for something.