Green Bean Canning Lesson

September 2, 2011 By 2 Comments

Today I had the chance to help Grandma can some green beans. I realize this may sound like a chore to some people, but it’s exciting when I’ve never done it before. Danny and Linda brought us over a whole bucket full to work on.

Bucket of beans

Frist we snapped off the end and snapped them into smaller pieces. I definitely snacked on a few raw ones in the process.

Snapping beans

We’ve had a couple different varieties of beans this week, but I think theirs were the best. I’m not sure how to explain the taste… maybe sweeter or just green bean-ier. They sure were good. I’ll have to find out what kind they are and see if we can get them at home. Or maybe they’re just extra good because they’re so fresh.

Grandma and me snapping beans

Washing beans

First, Grandma washed the beans

Filling cans

I drained and filled the cans

Can of beansMe canning

Salt in cans

A little salt was added to each can

Water in cans

Each can was filled with water

Boiled lids

The lids soaked in boiling water while the cans were being filled

Lids on jars

Each can got a hot lid

Tightening cans

Each can was tightened and secured

I had assumed that we would use the same method of canning we had used for tomatoes, but I was wrong and we did it a little differently. The huge pressure cooker came up from the basement for the most important step. That was interesting. I’ve never used one of those before either.

Pressure cooker

The big pressure cooker on the stove

Pressure cooker guage

We payed close attention to the gauge while the beans cooked

Can in pressure cooker

A little water and all the cans were added to the pressure cooker

Grandma taking cans out

The beans were ready to come out about half an hour later

Finished cans

Our finished cans!

That was a fun experience. I’m glad I was able to help can something while we were here.

Filed Under: Family, Travel Tagged With: , , ,

Morrow County Fair

September 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We headed out to the fair yesterday. It was quite a bit warmer than it was when we went to the fair last year. Last year we were bundled up with a couple of layers. This year we dressed in our coordinating Ohio State shirts. Grandma took a picture on our way out.

Us in Ohio shirts

It was nice and sunny when we first got to the fair. A little later it drizzled a little which cooled it down and made me need to put on a sweater.

Fairgrounds

First thing we did was admire some of the tractors, since Grandpa wasn’t able to go with us to enjoy them this year. Jesse even climbed into a couple of the ones on display like he remembers doing as a kid.

Jesse on tractor

We walked over to look at the sheep. They were in the middle of showing them to the judge. We weren’t quite sure exactly what they were grading them on. The owners made sure the sheep had all their legs lined up nicely and then the judge was feeling their back before he awarded them a ribbon.

Sheep

Then we watched some people show their cows. Again it was hard to determine how the cows were being graded. We kept picking our favorite, but our favorite never won. I guess our standards weren’t the same as the judges’ standards.

Cows

It was pretty amazing how these people handled such large animals. One little girl had to be no more than eight and was getting this huge cow to do everything she wanted it to.

More cows

We also watched some of the horses in action. We saw all these same animals last year, but we walked through their pens instead of watching them in action. It was neat to see them doing stuff.

Horses

They were doing some contest where the riders had to hold a piece of paper under their leg while they rode in circles. Not sure what they point was, but the last person to still have their paper seems to have won.

Horse rider

We walked through the work horses barn. Jesse couldn’t resist one of the little guys. He was kicking the door of his pen like he wanted to be pet.

Jesse with horse

We grabbed some lunch too. Jesse was really looking forward to his fair food. He had a pulled pork sandwich on thick texas toast and curly fries with cheese. I think he enjoyed it!

Jesse's lunch

I brought my own, not-so-fun lunch of ham and veggies. Boo! There’s no way I could have handled that food, but it did look good.

My lunch

We walked through the craft barn and saw all the winning produce. We were talking with one of Grandpa and Grandma’s friends the other day about kohlrabi. I hadn’t had it before, so Jesse was able to point one out to me. The huge sunflowers were cool too, they were bigger than my head.

Prize winning produce

We did a quick walk through of the pig and cow barns on our way out. They’re just fun to look at. We got to see a few of each getting a bath too. I headed straight to the shower when we got home. The combination of the animal smells mixed with the dust getting kicked up off the ground had my nose running pretty good. We had a fun fair day!

Filed Under: General

Of Corn and Computers

August 30, 2011 By 1 Comment

Breaking news of the day: I ate corn! A friend dropped by to visit this afternoon and brought with him a bag full of freshly picked corn on the cob. It had occurred to me on the drive up here that the opportunity would probably come up to try corn again, and it did. I just couldn’t resist giving it at least a little try.

Fresh corn

My allergist had advised me to cut out corn for several months in hopes that it would lessen my sensitivity to it. Since it had been about that long, I figured that now was as good a time as any. It doesn’t get any better than eating it hours after it was picked! It was SO good!! So far I’ve had no problems. I’m maybe a little itchy around my chest and arms, but nothing major. It’s hard to tell if that’s only my imagination. I think I’ll give it a few days and try it again before we head home.

My corn

In more important news: Jesse finally has his new computer! We have been planning this purchase for quite a while now, he was so excited when it was finally time to go to the apple store.

Purchase

We have been watching our budget very closely these days. We are working very hard to save money and not spend money spontaneously. Our goal was to get ahead a little in the business account and then earn enough on top of that to pay cash for the new computer.

BoxOpening box

With all the programs Jesse usually has to have running at once, the laptop would often have a hard time keeping up with him. I know he was frustrated with being slowed down by his computer, but he was determined to stick with his goal. He wanted to prove to himself that he could be wise with his money unlike he used to be.

New computerHappy Jesse

I’m so proud of him for EARNING his new computer before purchasing it. I had one very happy Jesse after making that purchase. We decided it would best if I drove home from the store so that he could play with it on the way home.

Jesse's office

It turned out to be great timing that we were able to make the purchase right before coming to Grandpa and Grandma’s house. He’s been able to set up his entire office here and work like he would have at home. Plus that means the taptop is now free for me to be able to use. Good work Jesse, I’m glad you’re happy with your new purchase.

Filed Under: Allergies, Travel Tagged With: , , , , ,