Whatever! - Homeschool Blogger

Apple Butter Recipe

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:53:00 -0600

I recently found an amazing price on apples, so, of course, I canned Apple Butter and Applesauce. Here’s my favorite Apple Butter recipe and the directions for canning applesauce.

Apple Butter

Ingredients

4 ½ pounds tart cooking apples* (about 14 medium apples)

4 cups apple cider or apple juice

2 cups sugar

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ ground cloves

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

Wash, core, and quarter apples.

Combine apples and cider or juice in a large Dutch oven. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until apples are very tender. Stir occasionally to avoid scorching.

Press apples and liquid through a food mill.** Return mixture to Dutch oven. Stir in sugar and spices. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cook, uncovered, over very low heat, about 1 ½ hours or until thick, stirring often to prevent sticking.***

Ladle apple butter into hot, sterilized pint or half-pint jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids. Process in a boiling-water bath canner for 10 minutes for pints or 5 minutes for half-pints. Remove jars from canner; cool on racks. Makes 4 pints or 8 half-pints.Notes:

*The classic Granny Smith apple is a great choice for Apple Butter. I happened to be able to get some McIntosh apples, too, so I made this batch from a mix of the two. I should also note that I used apple juice instead of cider because I found a “buy one get one free” sale.

**If you don’t have a food mill, you can press the apples through a sieve or colander using the back of a large serving spoon or ladle. By the way, after helping me do this with a batch of apples, my hubby bought me a food mill.

***This recipe can also be cooked in a crock-pot. If you don’t want to tie up your stove top for a couple of hours, place the spiced mixture into the crock-pot and cook uncovered, on high, for two hours. It takes a little longer, but frees up the stove top.

I love Apple Butter on toast, on oatmeal, and, don’t laugh, swirled into cottage cheese. However, if you do make this, Beware! As the scent of apples and spices simmering together begins to waft through the air, you just might be tempted to play Christmas music way too soon.

After being so pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to make Apple Butter, I decided to try my hand at canning applesauce. Wow! That’s even easier than Apple Butter!

Applesauce

Ingredients

12 pounds tart cooking apples

Fruit Fresh™ (optional)

½ - 3 cups sugar

Directions:

Wash, peel, core, and slice apples.

Optional step: Make a solution of 3 tablespoons Fruit Fresh ™ and 2 quarts water. Soak apples in solution for about ten minutes to prevent browning. Drain completely.

Place apples in large Dutch oven with ½ cup water. Cook on medium high heat, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, until apples are tender. Depending on the variety of apple this should take 5-20 minutes.

Press apples through food mill or sieve for smooth applesauce or simply mash with a potato masher for a chunkier sauce.

Add sugar, if needed, stirring to dissolve completely. The amount of sugar will depend on the tartness of the apples and personal preference.

Reheat to boiling.

Fill hot, sterilized jars with hot sauce, leaving ½ inch headspace. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids. Process in a boiling-water bath canner for 15 minutes for pints or 20 minutes for quarts. Remove jars from canner; cool on racks.

As always, when canning, be sure you are familiar with all basic canning procedures to ensure safe canning practices. Cool jars completely and check seals before storing.

My favorite canning resources for both the beginner and the experienced canner are:

Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving, by US Department of Agriculture

Complete Book of Home Preserving, by Ball

Canning & Preserving, by Better Homes and Gardens

Pick Your Own Farms website

If you check out these resources, you’ll notice my recipes are a little different than the ones in the books. I like changing things a bit. However, the canning directions provided here are safe and accurate.

Now, just because I can’t help myself, I’ve added one more Apple-y recipe.

Mulled Apple Cider

Ingredients

1 orange

1 lemon

1 gallon Apple Cider

5-6 whole cloves

5-6 whole allspice

2-4 cinnamon sticks

¼ cup packed brown sugar

Directions:

Wash and slice orange and lemon into ¼ thick crosswise slices.

Pour Apple Cider into a large crock pot. Add orange and lemon slices, spices and brown sugar. Stir well to dissolve brown sugar.

Heat on low for at least 4 hours to blend flavors. Strain into serving mugs. Strain any leftovers and refrigerate. Mulled Cider reheats very well!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoy the recipes!

Betty

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 13:12:00 -0600

I love to bake, and I especially love to bake during the holidays. In fact, there have been years that I’ve made a batch of cookies just about every single day between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That’s how much I love holiday baking!

Obviously, with all this baking going on, I go through a lot of supplies which can really strain the budget. One of the most expensive yet most commonly used ingredients is vanilla extract. Since I do not like using imitation anything, my baking habit can get pretty expensive just in vanilla alone. In order to combat the ever-rising price of real vanilla extract, I started making my own. It’s surprisingly simple to make, but please note, the recipe contains alcohol, just like real vanilla extract.

Ingredients

1 quart vodka or brandy*

1-3 vanilla beans**

Pour vodka or brandy into a quart-sized jar.

Using a very sharp knife, slice the vanilla bean(s) down the entire length of the bean but not all the way through. The objective is to expose the seeds inside, to slice the bean into two pieces.

Submerge the bean(s) in the alcohol, and seal the jar tightly. Store jar in a cool, dark place. The mixture needs to steep for about two or three months and should be shaken weekly. I keep mine on my baking shelf behind my most used items so I don’t forget to shake it every once in a while. You should see the tiny seeds floating in the alcohol.

After about two months, open the jar and test the vanilla. I do this by smelling it. At first, you’ll probably smell just alcohol. Leave the lid off the jar for about five minutes and that will dissipate. How does it smell now? If the smell of vanilla isn’t strong, reseal the jar and let steep for another month. If your scent of vanilla is rich and strong, then your extract is ready to use. You might find it easier to refill a small bottle continually rather than trying to work out of the quart-sized jar. Also, be careful to filter out the seeds as you refill your bottle.

Notes:

*Both vodka and brandy are good choices for making vanilla extract because they absorb the flavor of the vanilla easily. The biggest difference is color. Both vodka and brandy will yield a brown vanilla extract, however the vodka will be a lighter shade. Also, some people will swear that only the finest vodka or brandy will create a good vanilla extract. Me? I buy the cheap stuff, and have yet to be disappointed.

**Vanilla beans can be difficult to find and very expensive to purchase. Believe it or not, I recommend checking out a local health food store. Many health food stores carry Frontier organic herbs and spices at amazingly low prices. Also, the strength of the beans you use will determine how many you use. Does the bean have a really strong scent? Then you might need only one. I usually use two or three. When the jar is looking a little empty, I refill it with vodka, and add one vanilla bean, leaving the old beans in the jar to help flavor the new batch.

Making vanilla extract at home does require patience. However, it has saved me a significant amount of money. My initial investment on a quart of vanilla extract was equal to the price of a 4-oz bottle. I got eight times the vanilla for the same price! Now that’s a savings!

Thanks for stopping by.

Betty

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Beanie Weenies Video Ok

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 13:49:00 -0600

It's time to change the video at the top of my blog, so my darling daughter asks me to post the "Beanie Weenie" video from the Skit Guys. How could I resist?

So, I said, "Okay."

And she said, "Okay."

And I said, "Okay."

And she said, "Okay."

And I said, "Okay."

And she said, "Okay."

And...just watch the video. You'll understand.

Another Great Freebie from the Old Schoolhouse!

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 10:16:00 -0600

Have you downloaded your free holiday e-book from The Old Schoolhouse? What are you waiting for? Just click on the graphic below and check out this fun freebie!

Weekly Wrap Up

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:37:00 -0500

With the Lord

I am reading in John again. I had to stop for a little while and turn to Genesis. Why? Paradise Lost, that’s why. I had to read Paradise Lost in my British Literature class. For anyone who has never read Paradise Lost before, let me explain a little bit about it, and you’ll understand why I just spent several weeks intensely exploring the first three chapters of Genesis. Paradise Lost is an epic poem about Satan’s rebellion in Heaven, creation, and the fall of mankind in Eden, however the language can be a bit difficult at times. Imagine what would have happened if Shakespeare rewrote the King James version of the Bible, and you’ll have a pretty good picture of the intensity of the language of the poem. However, to guard against the possibility of my own beliefs being influenced by a poet’s opinion, I paired my literature reading with Bible reading.

On the Homefront

Home has been a bit chaotic these past couple of weeks. A full schedule is nothing new around here, but we just can’t seem to settle into a rhythm. Hopefully, with things like a vacation, a birthday, and an anniversary behind us, we can finally get more comfortable with our schedule.

Also, on the homefront, I found and amazing price on apples and canned Apple Butter and Apple Sauce. I didn’t have a food mill, so the first batch of Apple Butter was a bit challenging. I put the cooked apples into a colander and simulated a food mill by pressing the apples through the holes with the back of a ladle. It worked out fairly well except I got tired pretty quickly. That’s when my hubby rescued me and finished that first batch. However, when I came home with twenty more pounds of apples, he bought me a food mill that I absolutely love! By the way, if you do make Apple Butter this year, beware! The smell of apples simmering with all those spices just might have you thinking about Christmas. I’ve been listening to Christmas music ever since!!

Oh, and I went to Busch Gardens for my birthday/anniversary and got to feed a giraffe! Like I said, we’ve had a very full schedule!

In the Schoolroom

School is doing surprising well in spite of our schedule. Jared is really enjoying his weekly hands-on projects from Christian Kids Explore Chemistry and reading My Side of the Mountain for Total Language Plus. Sequential Spelling and daily dictation are really helping his spelling issues. Unfortunately, math hasn’t been much fun lately. Jared’s at a point where math is just practice and drills. He still won’t commit basic math facts to memory, and until he does we have to spend time drilling every day. It’s really just the nature of how Jared learns certain things. He simply needs to review it often before he can remember it. We’ll just keep plugging along.

Colleen is keeping up with her work load pretty well, although she did slack off a bit in Spanish 2 this past week. Oh, and she’ll get to read excerpts from Paradise Lost soon. I can’t wait to hear how much she “loves” it! She just finished Beowulf and was less than thrilled, so Milton should really bring out the groans.

On the Exercise Mat

We finally built a gas-free day into our week by riding our bikes to choir and drama classes. Between the heat and the spread out schedule, I just couldn’t find a weekday that I didn’t have to drive somewhere. Thankfully, the temperature had finally dropped below ninety, and we can ride in the afternoons again. I’ve also been using the treadmill a couple days of week in order to keep up on my reading for school. Unfortunately, I have, once again, let my strength training lapse. Time to unbury those dumbbells…again.

From the Library

School, school, and more school has taken up most of my recreational reading time. My literature class requires reading about sixty pages each week, and my environment class requires a book read every other week. Now, add in all the reading I need t do just to keep up with the kids’ schooling, and I’m full! Although, I have been getting a lot of cookbooks out from the library. Does that count?

On the Creative Side

Right now I’m working on the baskets we give to our friends each Christmas. I’ve been canning a variety of jams, jellies, and butters to put in the basket. This year, I’ll be adding an ornament of some kind. So far, I’ve found a crocheted snowflake and a quilled snowflake that I like. I’ve managed to work on these a little at a time while I watch different movies and videos for school. I hope to get the sewing room cleaned up this week so I can get a few more larger projects done. It seems someone in my home likes to dump big boxes of stuff in the sewing room so they don’t have to be seen or dealt with. Time to haul them up the attic!

In the Garden

The fall garden is coming up nicely! Hubby built an amazing drip irrigation system to keep those extra thirsty plants well-watered without drowning those that don’t need quite so much water. I do love my mornings in the garden suckering the tomatoes; thinning the turnips, carrots, and beets; weeding the broccoli, cauliflower, and corn. What a way to wake up each day!

Thank you for stopping by! Be sure to visit Carol's Blog and enjoy reading what other have been up to this week!

Betty

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Work With What You Have

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:14:00 -0500

Have you ever wanted to do something but thought you lacked the tools? Happens to me all the time. I see a project I want to attempt, but then I realize I don’t have exactly the right tools to do the job perfectly as described by the instructions, and since we’re basically poor, I usually can’t purchase the missing items. The idea then gets abandoned, and I move on to something else. Now, abandoning the inconsequential I-just-want-do-this-‘cause-it-looks-like-fun project is probably the best choice anyway, but what about the God-wants-me-to-do-this project? You know the ones I mean. The Bible study God wants you to host, but you won’t because you can’t afford a bigger coffee pot, or your table’s too small. Or the church construction project that needs extra hands, but you just don’t own the “right” tools so you don’t get involved. Or the homeless people we all should be helping, but the budget is so tight that we just don’t feel we have the money. It’s so much easier to let these obstacles stop us instead of having to spend the time and energy finding a solution. I should know. I do it all the time. “There’s no time on our already packed schedule to volunteer for this, and no money to give for that,” I think as I peruse the church bulletin. By the time I’m done, I’ve this’d and that’d myself out of doing anything productive! However, I came across a very interesting story in the Bible this week that helped me put things in a little better perspective.

¹As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

³"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. ⁴As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

⁶Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. ⁷"Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. (John 9:1-7)

While this is a wonderful and touching story of how Jesus heals us from our blindness, there’s a part here that I overlooked very time I’ve read the story. I think I overlooked it because it kind of grosses me out. Jesus spit in the dirt, made a little mud, and put it on the man’s eyes. Yes, there a small, girlie part of me that can’t help but say, “Ew!” However, that reaction had me missing a very important part of the story. Jesus worked with what he had on hand. He didn’t look at the man and say, “Hang on while I get my degree in ophthalmology.” He didn’t create an elaborate plan and make endless lists of things he couldn’t get anyway. No, he worked with what was available. He made things happen with what he had on hand. Let’s face it. That’s what he always did. His preaching wasn’t hindered because his outfit might not look good on the internet, or he didn’t have just the right graphics for his PowerPoint. He preached on the side of a mountain and made miracles out of mud.

I think we spend too much time worrying about having just the “right” tools before we’re willing to do what he’s called us to do. Even a tight budget can purchase a single can of vegetables for the food pantry or maybe even a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches handed to the homeless people who have been reduced to begging on the street corner. And God already gave you the most useful tools you will ever need: your hands. As for that Bible study, you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised that God will only send the number of people that your space and your coffee pot can handle. So, what has he called you to do that you’ve avoided because you don’t think you’re equipped enough?

Thanks for stopping by.

Betty

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

The Story of Stuff

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:17:00 -0500

Would you like to know more about stuff? Probably not, but I’m going to enlighten you anyway. I just finished watching video entitled “The Story of Stuff.” It’s an excellent, easy-to-follow video that explains American consumerism. Let’s face it. We are a country of consumers, and we love our stuff. Anne Leonard, the narrator, does a wonderful job relating the story of our stuff. Where did it come from? Where does it go when we’re done with it? How is it made? Why is it made? And how have we been manipulated to want more of it? The video is about twenty minutes long but well worth the time! Don't forget to check out the website, too!

FRESH: The Movie

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:47:00 -0500

How aware are you of the problems with our nations food supply? What do you know about the environmental impact of factory farms? Want to know more? Check out FRESH: The Movie. Here’s the movie’s synopses from the website :

“FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.

Among several main characters, FRESH features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur’s 2008 Genius Award; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma; and supermarket owner, David Ball, challenging our Wal-Mart dominated economy.”

Intrigued? You shoud also catch the Joel Salatin interview in Mother Earth News Magazine entitled "Everything He Wants to do is Illegal." While the title sounds like he’s up to no good, he’s really just an honest small-time farmer who’s challenging agricultural laws that are in place just to destroy competition for the huge, inhumane, environmentally destructive factory farms.

By the way, you won’t find FRESH on the marquee of your favorite fifteen-screen stadium-seating cineplex. The film is being made available to anyone who wants to organize a screening. Screening have been held in coffee shops, book stores, libraries, and schools. Check out the website to find a screening in your area or to find out how you can host a screening.

Camping @ Stone Mountain, GA

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:59:00 -0500

A couple of weeks ago, our family took a camping trip to Stone Mountain, Georgia. Now, for you hard core backpacker/primitive camping types, Stone Mountain is luxury camping! Every campsite has running water and electricity. The first time we camped here was the first time I'd ever had power at the campsite, and I didn't have to haul buckets of water from a community spigot to the site to do dishes. So, in our usual over-the-top fashion, we lit up our campsite like a Christmas tree. I am not kidding. We brought way too many strands of Christmas lights to decorate our area. A strand of plain white lights were strung around the inside of the canopy that covered the cooking area and served as our kitchen. A strand of white icicles lit up the dining canopy that covered the picnic table. A strand of decorative bamboo lights (don't ask) provided reading light in the tent. And various other lanterns and lights guided our way around the site. We definitely did NOT need a flashlight to find our way back from the bathroom!

Anyway, for those who had not heard, the Atlanta area was hit by the "worst storm in 150 years" that week. They surpassed the one hundred year flood mark and kept going. Six Flags had so much rain that the roller coasters were under water. A particularly large loop-de-loop coaster looked like a tabloid photo of Nessy with only its loops peeking out of the water. And we were camped on the shore of a lake.

We arrived on Friday and set up camp in nice dry weather. Then it rained until Tuesday. The mountain itself was just across the lake from us and buried under cloud cover most of the time! You really learn what kind of person you are under these circumstances. We all tried to make the best of the situation, laughing at how much "closer" we were becoming as a family while huddling together under a leaky canopy trying to stay warm and dry. However, after a particularly scary storm Sunday night that kept my hubby and me awake all night enjoying some extra special quality time with God (which means we were both praying like crazy for about seven hours straight while lightning struck the trees, the ground, and the power poles around us) and had the lake lapping at our tent door in the morning, I turned into a wimp who was ready to go home. I admit it. I was wet. I was cold. I was covered in Georgia clay. I was tired of huddling at our campsite watching a river run through it, and I don’t mean the movie. I was done.

However, my dear, tenacious husband, who knows me so well and loves me very much and is so very smart, had the intelligence to dump my whiny backside at a pavilion with internet access while he and the kids moved all of our gear to an unflooded campsite. They were such good sports, and I was so grateful to be able to get out of the rain for a while. I don’t know how they kept up their positive attitudes, but they did. I repaid their kindness by providing clean, dry clothes (the campground has washers and dryers), and yummy hot meals. They felt loved.

Monday and Tuesday went a lot better with a lot more sunshine and a lot less rain; however, flooding and mudslides closed off a large part of the park. Roads were washed out from underneath causing the asphalt to collapse in thirty foot sections. Several trails were closed and impassable. We did manage to climb the mountain, though, which is one of our favorite challenges when we go to Stone Mountain, and we did manage to find forty-five letterboxes which really helped to salvage our vacation. By the way, we already booked our site for a return visit in May. Are we gluttons for punishment or what?

Thank you for stopping by! Hope you enjoy the pictures of our ill-fated vacation. I'm sorry that there aren't more pictures. The cameras hid from the rain more than we did!

Betty

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Autumn Treasures - FREE

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:30:00 -0500

Have you downloaded your free Autumn Treasures E-book from The Old Schoohouse Store, yet? Ou really should, you know. This unit study by Amanda Bennett is filled with great activities, printables, and fun lapbooking ideas. And it's FREE! Can't beat that! Just follow the link to get your e-book.