It seems that I can not walk into a store without seeing a wide variety of homemade canned goods made from local artisans from organic ingredients. I have been interested in the idea of canning and preserving for several years, but have never really found the time to do it. I can do most things in the kitchen, but for some reason- canning, pickling, preserving seems like such an intimidating process. I don't know if it is the threat of botulism that comes along with improper canning or the fact that I do not have a Grandma that passed down this lost art. Regardless, I am now ready to purchase the equipment and to dive in with my mason jars and tongs.
I have missed the best of the Summer fruits so I am not sure which will be my first expirement. Should I preserve lemons, make a tangy Blackberry Jam, or take a snap at Bread and Butter pickles that I see while shopping?
I have been doing a little reading on the topic and found a great book at the library called, "An Encyclopedia of Country Living Guide" by Carla Emery and Lorene Edwards Forkner. They put it best- "savor the season-harvest, preserve, share-and enjoy. Repeat."
I love that saying and I can't wait to see what this journey creates.
Happy Pickling,
Denyse Hale
Thursday, October 4, 2012
To Cry or Not to Cry
I am always amazed about how much emotion is surrounded by food. One sees a lovely plate of some of their favorite foods and they smile and smell with delight. The same can be true when a dish is presented that isn't what you thought it was going to be or when eating, you simply do not like it. The latter can lead to disappointment, sadness, anger....especially when you are a child. If you read my last posts, I wrote about how I am going to convert my son away from being a carnivore.
I have had a month of expirementing with various ramekins of vegetables be it broccoli, corn, carrots, red bell pepper, black beans, etc. My strong and handsome nine year old has been pretty brave through out the process and has accepted the mandatory three bites of the vegetable he prefers most. Last night, we hit rock bottom though. It had been a long and arduous day and way too late for eating dinner. I wanted to skip in and a grab a quick taco for them so we could rush home and tuck-in for bed close to the equated bed time. My older boy refused to eat and proceeded to cry the entire time my younger son savored his pollo asado con arroz. At one point, he was so angry with me, he proceeded to walk out of the restaurant. This whole situation was such a scene that I didn't know if I should cry with him or not.
I grew up in a time when we were served the food that was prepared and dinner was skipped if we refused. That time seems to have been lost (or at least in my household.) As my mind was spinning trying to convince him to eat something, I could remember the nights being sent to my room for not eating meatloaf, I could remember sitting at my neighbor's kitchen table well after the dishes were dried- getting the guts to eat the food that was prepared. My son finally ate a bowl of Spanish Rice last night after sitting there for over thirty minutes. His first bowl of rice ever and one of the first times, I was not going to alter the so very important lesson to be learned. As painful as it was to watch him scoop the rice into his mouth and to remember my tug-of-wars with dinner, we all need to learn to adapt. Whether it is going to a friend's house for dinner and not liking what is prepared, to an ethnic restaurant, or a new country- once in a while you need to roll with the bread and butter and eat it with a smile.
I have had a month of expirementing with various ramekins of vegetables be it broccoli, corn, carrots, red bell pepper, black beans, etc. My strong and handsome nine year old has been pretty brave through out the process and has accepted the mandatory three bites of the vegetable he prefers most. Last night, we hit rock bottom though. It had been a long and arduous day and way too late for eating dinner. I wanted to skip in and a grab a quick taco for them so we could rush home and tuck-in for bed close to the equated bed time. My older boy refused to eat and proceeded to cry the entire time my younger son savored his pollo asado con arroz. At one point, he was so angry with me, he proceeded to walk out of the restaurant. This whole situation was such a scene that I didn't know if I should cry with him or not.
I grew up in a time when we were served the food that was prepared and dinner was skipped if we refused. That time seems to have been lost (or at least in my household.) As my mind was spinning trying to convince him to eat something, I could remember the nights being sent to my room for not eating meatloaf, I could remember sitting at my neighbor's kitchen table well after the dishes were dried- getting the guts to eat the food that was prepared. My son finally ate a bowl of Spanish Rice last night after sitting there for over thirty minutes. His first bowl of rice ever and one of the first times, I was not going to alter the so very important lesson to be learned. As painful as it was to watch him scoop the rice into his mouth and to remember my tug-of-wars with dinner, we all need to learn to adapt. Whether it is going to a friend's house for dinner and not liking what is prepared, to an ethnic restaurant, or a new country- once in a while you need to roll with the bread and butter and eat it with a smile.
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