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| "Halloween Mummy" [courtesy of Leah] |
We
had left one of those sticky traps in the dog dish, baited with a few nuggets
of chow. Would you believe it! The little so-and-sos managed to steal the chow
without getting stuck! The traditional traps had not been sprung, but
ironically there was a mouse in the commercial box trap. Go figure.
My
task today was to make another batch of elderberry jelly with juice on hand. I
accomplished that easily. I had a cup and a half of juice leftover, so I combined
that with an equal amount of honey, and that also went fine. I was cleaning the
kitchen as I went along.
I
think it was 10:30 when I decided to tackle the three “pie pumpkins” that have
graced the front porch. Mike came to lend a strong arm to cutting them open. I
scooped out the seeds and put the six halves in the oven to roast. I had
forgotten about the troublesome innards, but no matter – I’ll roast the seeds
later.
“We
should get out this afternoon,” suggested Mike. “We could hike around the farm
or go geocaching.” I just looked at him. I could already see where this day was
heading.
The
pumpkin meat was tender in about an hour, and once they cooled it was simple
enough to remove the shell. Now I have seeds, shell for the composter in an
upturned lid, and a big bowl of pumpkin to puree. But I had to take time out to
fix a light lunch.
When
the lunch mess was cleared away, I began the consideration of how to puree in
earnest. I found the old “Foley Food Mill” and set it up, but my arm just didn’t
go round fast enough to make it worthwhile. Then I tried the old food chopper
that came with my mixer, but what came out wasn’t smooth enough to suit me. My
next idea was to blend it. Useless!
So,
all of these utensils are cluttering my counter. None of them is doing the job
for me, but they all need to be washed. That’s when I remembered the juicer.
And that actually worked pretty well. However, the pumpkin was very dry and in
order not to clog the juicer, I would pour in some apple juice from time to
time. But oh! What a mess! I have nightmares like this. In addition to the used
appliances, I had bowls and pots of every size containing pumpkin puree.
At
this point, having finished the puree, I realized I could have tried the meat
grinder attachment, though I don’t know if the product would be smooth enough.
If I’d thought of it, I would have tried it.
Fortunately
I found freezer boxes for the puree – 5 pints. I also had another 3 ½ cups of
puree to be cooked for pumpkin butter. The first recipe I read seemed light on
the spices, so I used a second which was attributed to Martha Stewart. A little
too spicy, I think. I should have followed the tried and true adage, “You can
always put it in but you can’t take it out.” Oh well. It would probably make a
good base for pumpkin bread or I wonder if I couldn’t mix it with some straight
puree for pie.
It’s
late afternoon now. The kitchen is mostly cleaned. It only remains to roast the
seeds. Mike and Nellie went out to hike without me. Fortunately we have
leftovers for supper. Frankly, I’m in no mood to cook! KW
Oh my!! But it sounds like it's all been cleaned up by now. I think you should leave the jars on the counter for a few days so you can enjoy the "fruits of your labor." :-) I used to do than when I was canning dozens of quarts of fruit. Just seeing the shining jars for a day or two made all the work worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteI guess the moral to your story is that you now know what each appliance will or will not do when the going gets rough. How did women mash pumpkin meat 100 years ago?
ReplyDeleteYes, I did accomplish quite a lot actually -- elderberry jelly, elderberry syrup, pumpkin puree, pumpkin butter, and roasted pumpkin seeds. What isn't in the freezer is lovely on the counter.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how they mashed their pumpkin. I suspect they didn't have the smooth product we buy in cans. I do know that they didn't grow pumpkin here at Gilbert -- growing season too short. Undoubtedly it grew in the valley, though.
I made some elderberry syrup yesterday, too. I don't think I boiled it long enough because it didn't thicken. I need to find the exact right balance between that batch and Nick's batch that cannot be poured out of the bottle.
ReplyDeleteHallie, so funny. That's what's called "learning to cook." Your elders (myself included) have all gone down that path.
ReplyDeleteI just mixed the elderberry juice and honey in equal parts and cooked to blend it. Was I supposed to cook it longer? What's in Nick's syrup? Will it pour if you warm the bottle a little?
ReplyDeleteNick's is equal parts juice and honey, but he boiled it for about 15 minutes. I suspect it would liquify if heated--we'll probably find out soon.
ReplyDeleteLeah: I've finally learned to take notes on the recipes I like. It's so easy to find recipes online or make up my own based upon several recipes, but unless I write them down, they won't be replicated. Last year, I worked to find a great Irish stew and soda bread. We ate a LOT of stew and bread and I kept notes on how we liked each version.
It's been fun, but sometimes I wish I came upon the solution faster. :)