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Friday, September 22, 2006

Confession

Somebody play Taps and strip me of my MennoMom badge, but. . . I hate canning.

I hate the whole process--washing, cutting, cooking, straining. And manhandling these huge kettles of boiling water or tomatoes. And washing jars. And having every surface in the kitchen full of jars, kettles, and bowls the size of washtubs.

And don't get me started on the cleanup, chiseling dried bits of corn or tomatoes or applesauce from the floor, the table, the side of the stove, and my shoes. And washing tubs that are way too big for the sink. And cleaning the screen tube thing from the Victorio strainer of a million shreds of apple peel stuck in those little holes.

As in writing, I hate the process but love the product: dozens and dozens of fat jars lined up in military rows on the pantry shelves. Now that I really really like.

Quote of the Day:
(After Amy made a grocery run and found some bargain tubs of Peter Pan peanut butter)
Emily: You know you're a big family when you buy things labelled, "Great for day care, schools, restaurants."
Paul: And when you actually buy six of them.

5 comments:

  1. I was just today washing my kitchen window when I discovered corn splatters from two weeks ago. GRRRRRR! Corn has to be the messiest and time consuming of all canning.

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  2. Using a water nozzle with high pressure-not the kitchen sink one,but the garden hose nozzle,will clean those screen thingys out in about a half minute.Weren't you just dying to know that?

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  3. Margaret--I gratefully accept any tips people give me.

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  4. Oh, Dorcas, I'm with you on this one! I do peaches and corn (and that's about it)because you can't buy anything close to homecanned in either of those items. A local Mennonite man inferred that if I didn't garden and can everything it gives, I wasn't a "good Mennonite woman". So I guess you can see where I stand! Pauline

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  5. Amen to that confession!! If your Mennonite by how much you can,...i guess i'm not a Mennonite!

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