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Thanks!

The Cranberry Apple Preserves had no pectin & I stirred ‘til I thought my hand would fall off, but it definitely thickened up.

I will let you know how the Christmas Jam turns out - might have an opportunity to can towards the end of the coming week. I do know it’s going to smell great while cooking!

He’s had a US Marshall security detail due to a large number of death threats. I believe that is supposed to end soon - he’s going to have to spend some of his personal ‘loot’ from his years in ‘public service’ on private security IMO ... a lot of folks, who no longer have anything left to lose thanks to this criminal, will make security an ongoing necessity.

I would wash the grates whenever they get grease splatter on them or some other sort of spill, but the once-in-a-while applies more to the dishwasher since it would not be running every day.

I guess I am fortunate the previous owner left the cooktop in good shape & the grates didn’t have any buildup on them & I intend to keep them that way.

Thank you for a valuable tip! I have some frozen hamburgers I make & although I keep the pan covered as soon as the burgers are in, grease splatters no matter how carefully I partially lift the lid for turning. I have started washing the grates every time I make burgers, so no buildup - yet! The jelly that splattered took a bit of scrubbing, but did eventually come off. We don’t really use the dishwasher so doing the grates would be a good way to run the dishwasher now & again & it sure would be easier than scrubbing in the sink!

I recently got a gas grill & would like to make the burgers outside on that grill instead of in a pan on the cooktop. Never had a gas grill before (just charcoal) ... getting a lesson from the brother this evening grilling some brats :-)

Since you mentioned ‘vanilla pudding’, it reminded me of this great tip: if you want to stabilize whipped cream (the real stuff you make yourself), add some vanilla pudding. I did it for a cranberry salad I made for a Christmas lunch - the salad had to travel about 2 hours & was then sitting out on a buffet table .... the whipped cream held up just great! Here are some links:

Stabilized Whipped Cream
https://therecipecritic.com/stabilized-whipped-cream/

Cranberry Salad
https://thecaglediaries.com/cranberry-salad/

Need some input from people who ‘can’ .... I think I know what I’m going to try, but more knowledge is always better, so here’s the situation:

I found cranberries on sale for 50 cents a bag last year, after the holidays. I bought 6 bags, used 3 for the Cranberry Apple Preserves (12 oz bags ... if you need a pound or 2 pounds, you have to open more bags ... wish they’d just be 16 oz.). Anyway, I canned the Preserves earlier this week & when I got to the old house, I did a freezer cranberry inventory - I still have 5 bags ... it seems I had bought 2 bags before the sale bags & tucked them away (out of sight, out of mind).

With plenty of cranberries, I want to make the “Spiced Christmas Jam” on Mavis Butterfield’s site. It should smell heavenly & would make nice Christmas presents. I will put the ingredients below, but the recipe site is:
https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/spiced-christmas-jam/

Ingredients:
40 ounces frozen unsweetened strawberries or 2–1/2 quarts fresh strawberries, hulled
1 pound fresh or frozen cranberries
5 pounds sugar
2 {3 ounce each} liquid fruit pectin packets
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

I have 2 problems with the recipe ... the 5 POUNDS of sugar (confirmed by Mavis to be correct, in the comments) and the liquid fruit pectin packets.

Someone in the comments said 5 cups of sugar was fine. The Blackberry Merlot recipe is 4.5 cups, the Jalapeno pepper jelly is 6 cups. Using Sure-Jell, I use the pink (low sugar) for the Blackberry Merlot & the yellow (regular) for the Jalapeno pepper jelly.

Potential recipe modifications:
Sugar - use 5-6 cups
Sure-Jell - use 2 ‘low sugar’ pink or 2 regular yellow (leaning ‘pink’ - sugar to berry mix is probably on the ‘low’ side)

The recipe makes 12 jars .... the Blackberry Merlot yields 5 jars & the Jalapeno Pepper yields 6 jars, thus I think I need to double the Sure-Jell for 12 jars, just as Mavis doubles the liquid fruit pectin.

Think my ‘modifications’ will work? If they don’t, I’ll have some spicy syrup or could even freeze whatever I get if I don’t think it’s worth canning. I’ll still have 3 bags of cranberries left, too ... will have to look up some recipes that use them (other than for canning).

Jelly Jars - used 9 for the Cranberry Apple Preserves & will need 12 for the Spiced Christmas Jam ... I hate to use so many jars for “cranberry” items, so maybe I can find some jelly jars on sale somewhere. I have some ‘specialty’ jars I could use for the Christmas Jam since that will likely end up being used for gifts.

My nieces’ gardens are taking off! One niece is freezing blackberries for me (Blackberry Merlot Jelly). I can buy blackberries in the store, but they don’t seem to have much flavor - hoping her homegrown ones will be tastier. The other niece has tomatoes & squash. She’s pretty good at using her produce or freezing it ... she also did some pickling this year.

No produce, just herbs at the old house. This is probably a good thing because the juvenile marauding bear would be eating my garden if I had anything in it. This bear stole a watermelon the neighbor had sitting by the garage door (going to take it to the river for a picnic) & got into his trash. My brother found trash dragged into the back field - the bear has become a PROBLEM! We are keeping our trash locked up until the morning it gets picked up.

Crows - the resident crows have babies that are out of the nest & following the parents around. They are constantly begging the parents for food - it’s a certain, very annoying semi-cawing sound they make. I have started chasing them off after 10-20 minutes .... can’t stand the constant begging sounds!

... throngs of supporters INVITED by his campaign ....

He should pass by saying another debate, after what happened last night, would be “elder abuse” & while the Dems will obviously engage in it, he will not.

My native Monarda finally bloomed! It is a huge (tall) plant. Love the purple blooms. I will transplant it to my garden at the new house, but will have to be careful where I site it due to its size.

There has been a lot of SADS going around lately .... or Brandon, known for falling, could take a tumble & bump his head while wandering around the WH at night. At his age/condition, no one would bat an eye.

I do love my gas cooktop & I also have cast iron grates. The grates are heavy, but easy to lift off for cleaning. I have a large farm sink so I have room to wash the grates (yesterday they had Cranberry Apple Preserves splattered on them) & with the grates off, cleaning around the burners is easy.

Bunch of shooting going on nearby - small arms & something a lot bigger. It sounds like target practice - usually happens on Sunday mornings back on the mountain - this sounds like on the river & a lot closer.

This week has been rough ... one death from a rare cancer 5 mos. from diagnosis, another terminal diagnosis from a malignant brain tumor with a 14 month prognosis with surgery, a colon cancer diagnosis 3 years after breast cancer. My cancer list is somewhere around 15 at this point & about half a dozen are deceased already - they don’t last long. Not to leave out heart issues, the death of the teenage nephew of a friend - died in his sleep. All of the above are jabees.

My thoughts lately ... hell is not hot enough for certain people, specifically the jab mass murderers however they participated & adding to the list anyone involved in the wave of child mutilation.

First canning batch of the season is cooling on the countertop this morning. I made Apple Cranberry Preserves and used the recipe in the Ball book on page 65. Mavis’s recipe is the same other than she peels her orange and the Ball book does not so I left the peel on. I used the food processor to chop the orange pulp and peel very fine.

First time using the gas cooktop and it was really nice to use my big pot and process all nine jars at the same time without having to worry about breaking the glass stove top which is what we have at the old house. I also used my thermometer spatula for the first time and for some reason could never get past 210°, however the preserves had thickened up and they look like they gelled okay without getting to 220. I think all nine jars sealed too - yay!

Big storms supposedly coming through tonight with heavy winds. We need the rain badly - river level is dropping & some localities are starting water restriction measures.

Word has it Obama is so worried, he has been injecting (no pun intended) himself more frequently into Biden’s campaign. He REALLY wants that 4th term.

She’s got the biggest knife to stick in Trump’s back .... think Pence on steroids & in a skirt.

The county co-op is directly across the highway from TSC & that is where I go - friendliest, most helpful people I’ve ever met.

Those boats were loaded with some tired looking dogs!

Mowed today - in the 80’s & supposed to be humid, but very pleasant. Quite windy - the grass bits & dust blowing back on me was awful, even trying to turn the mower so that didn’t happen. 90’s return tomorrow so today was THE day to mow.

When I came in for a break & to refill the mower, a wasp flew under my hat brim, then under the edge of my glasses & stung me on my cheekbone. Boy did that hurt for about 15 minutes & I actually have a visible bruise where it got me!

Neighbor back at flatland house texted me a picture - the roving bear in the neighborhood got his trash last night. My brother texted me a picture of the bear around 6:30 last night, headed across the field between his house & ours, headed in the direction of the neighbor’s. Someone needs to call Department of Wildlife Resources - that bear is not going anywhere without some ‘persuasion’ or assistance.

Check this out:

https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/fishermen-mississippi-pull-off-dramatic-rescue-38-dogs-treading-water

Happy ending for hunting dogs!

Yes, that’s Mavis :-)

No tomatoes planted this year, but I have ‘volunteer’ Sungolds coming up everywhere between the raised beds. My SIL was at the lake for a week & the crows got in her garden & pecked up/ate her tomatoes. She had the dog with her too, so the crows were undisturbed in her tomato patch. Since she’s been home, the crows have relocated to my garden site & are there every morning, probably keeping an eye out for anything they can raid off the volunteer tomato plants ... those stinkers. There’s a flock here at the new house, too - visit a couple times a day & set off the driveway motion detector.

There’s not too many outdoor activities I hate more than camping in the rain! The wine for moms is a great idea! :-)

The moon came up over the Blue Ridge mountains looking huge & orange - it was gorgeous! I tried taking a picture, but with a phone camera, it doesn’t show those features.

Sitting on the back patio having my morning coffee. There is no ‘cool’ morning air - excessive heat warnings are in effect. I am not working outside although I have projects & mowing to do. I found out where the local farmer’s market meets, but I am not inclined to get out there with lots of people in the heat.

Inside project: holiday canning! Last year, I caught a sale on cranberries ... 50 cents a bag after the holiday - can’t remember the regular price, but it was between $2.50 & $3.00. I bought 6 bags & they have been in the freezer. There is a recipe for Cranberry Apple Preserves in the Ball book: 1 lb. of cranberries, 3 Granny Smith apples peeled & chopped, one orange, including peel, chopped up fine (in food processor). I saw the recipe on a blog with a reference back to the Ball book - it’s supposed to be delicious per Mavis:

“Cranberry Apple Jam with a Hint of Orange = Perfection.

With cranberries, apples and a little orange, this is the jam you need to have on hand for the day after Thanksgiving to slather all over the leftover bits of turkey goodness. Seriously, this stuff is amazing!

Not only will your house smell fantastic while it’s simmering away on the cook top, this recipe for cranberry apple jam with a hint of orange would be a delicious gift to give around the holidays. It’s simple PERFECT for this time of year.

Heck, if you really want to be the hostess with the mostess, make a batch and send them home with a jar!~Mavis”

Check out her blog under the “canning” section - she has a ton of recipes for jellies, jams, sauces, pickles, tips on dehydrating various veggies & herbs, etc.

Project #2: working on a prayer shawl for a cousin’s wife. She had breast cancer 3? years ago & early this year, was diagnosed with colon cancer. She’s been getting chemo every 2 weeks (2 days straight when she gets it). I do not have internet here (available but not connected to avoid a bill here & back at the other house) so I have to use ‘data’ & I try to use it sparingly. I download podcasts at home via wifi & play them here in the evening - perfect for knitting time.

Our new kitchen table & chairs were delivered yesterday & it all fits the space beautifully & looks good, too. Now, if I can just get mom to the point she is ready to move so I can get a mover for the furniture we need to bring with us!