I’ve been freezing, dehydrating, and canning. Non-stop. NON-STOP. Yesterday, it was apples all day. Today, it’s eggplant, tomatoes, peaches, nectarines, blackberries, peppers, cucumbers, and more more more apples. And probably even more stuff that I can’t even remember till I find it! I have boxes and buckets and boxes and buckets. All free, from our friends at the farmers market. This will go on for the next few weeks–then it will all be gone. Make hay while the sun shines.
I deal with the food all day long. Peeling, chopping, blanching, dehydrating, freezing. I run the pressure canner in the evening for the tomatoes.
But….. One of these things is not like the other.
In this picture, what doesn’t belong?
Sheila Z says:
Meow…………..
On September 4, 2009 at 2:38 am
Cottage Smallholder says:
Could it be the cat?
On September 4, 2009 at 3:05 am
Becky says:
The onlooker in the box. How cute!!!
On September 4, 2009 at 3:07 am
Kathy says:
I have never met a feline, a loved one at least, who didn’t think he belonged anywhere his master was. And a box, from a high point in the room…please. That’s not something too many cats will pass up. They sure are growing fast aren’t they?
On September 4, 2009 at 3:38 am
EightPondFarm says:
Nice helper. And that looks like a gorgeous kitchen too!
On September 4, 2009 at 3:52 am
Rose in VT says:
Lol! Cat in the box! She is just there to supervise!
On September 4, 2009 at 4:29 am
Lisa T. says:
Oh, it is not a good idea to can kitties. They don’t keep as well as you’d think.
Smiles,
Lisa
On September 4, 2009 at 4:44 am
Wheezay says:
Kitty Cat !! :snoopy:
On September 4, 2009 at 5:02 am
Tracey In Paradise Pa. says:
:snoopy: Precious Meow!! Meow!!
On September 4, 2009 at 5:07 am
Diane says:
Kitty looks like he needed to make sure you did everything right. lol.
On September 4, 2009 at 5:10 am
amelia says:
:sun: The boss – furry one in the box.
On September 4, 2009 at 5:11 am
Becky says:
The kitty is just keeping you company while you preserve away the hours.
On September 4, 2009 at 5:11 am
Naomi says:
Listen….every job needs a supervisor! :sun:
On September 4, 2009 at 5:20 am
KentuckyFarmGirl says:
Everybody needs a little company while canning. Where’s his partner in crime?
On September 4, 2009 at 6:06 am
WKF says:
I think it is the lack of daylight, because it certainly wouldn’t be Upper Management in the box that doesn’t belong.
On September 4, 2009 at 6:13 am
Hannah says:
Is that a helper in the box? Bet he’s not doing a very good job!
On September 4, 2009 at 6:15 am
IowaCowgirl says:
I’m with Lisa….kind of worried about canned cat – just too much succulance…
On September 4, 2009 at 6:23 am
Christine says:
Well obviously there needs to be a supervisor so it can’t be the cat.
On September 4, 2009 at 6:24 am
Mary says:
:hole: :french: :hungry: :sun: That kitty is too cute. My cat was my taste-tester for parties or big cooking events. He would sit in the only free spot…on a paper bag in the middle of the floor. He would then wait for little treats, and meow if he liked it. He always meowed!! Ok, did I miss the contest winner from last week?????? Have a great weekend and Labor Day. PLEASE don’t do too much on that day!!! You need a break, woman! :butterfly: :shroom:
On September 4, 2009 at 6:28 am
Jen R (aaron-n-jen.com) says:
The cat. 😛
On September 4, 2009 at 6:59 am
Larry Nottingham says:
The cat in the box doesn’t belong, unless you are making catsup from the tomatos!!!
On September 4, 2009 at 6:59 am
Claudia W says:
It’s the cat in the box. Not unlike Cat in the Hat…it’s just under the cat and not on his head. Cute. Was the cat a big help with all that canning, freezing and drying?
On September 4, 2009 at 7:05 am
Kacey says:
Drives me insane when one of my kitties thinks it’s okay to get up anywhere near our food! Silly kitties! (mine love to play in boxes…)
On September 4, 2009 at 7:37 am
Camille says:
Oh my how sweet…every job needs a cat supervisor! They make sure you get it done right!
On September 4, 2009 at 7:37 am
Shelly says:
That kitty found a nice warm spot with a good view!
On September 4, 2009 at 7:39 am
Suzette says:
Hah-HAH!!!! Took me a minute. That’s because it looks PERFECTLY normal to me!
On September 4, 2009 at 8:05 am
Mary says:
Duh–I didn’t even see the kitty. I was thinking what didn’t belong was that it was pitch dark outside and you had been working since dawn. I tried convincing my family to let me name our new kitty No. 6 but they didn’t go for it. Thanks for the laughs and don’t labor too hard this Labor Day weekend.
On September 4, 2009 at 8:05 am
Shells says:
Well apparently your definition of “belongs” and his definition are two different things. Or perhaps very similar.
On September 4, 2009 at 8:06 am
Gini says:
Kitty in a box!
On September 4, 2009 at 8:17 am
Mustang Sally says:
Cats ALWAYS belong!
On September 4, 2009 at 8:20 am
Joycee says:
Could you mean Ms. Kitty? How can you say that, she’s holding the recipe for you…
joy c. at grannymountain
On September 4, 2009 at 8:26 am
M.J. says:
Our beautiful Smokey–who shares Little’s gray and white markings, but with veeeery long hair–is also the resident supervisor.
Given the canning season and the fact that yesterday was your apple day, I thought you and your readers might enjoy yesterday’s “Writer’s Almanac” poem (Garrison Keillor, NPR): “Apple Season,” by Joyce Sutphen
The kitchen is sweet with the smell of apples,
big yellow pie apples, light in the hand,
their skins freckled, the stems knobby
and thick with bark, as if the tree
could not bear to let the apple go.
Baskets of apples circle the back door,
fill the porch, cover the kitchen table.
My mother and my grandmother are
running the apple brigade. My mother,
always better with machines, is standing
at the apple peeler; my grandmother,
more at home with a paring knife,
faces her across the breadboard.
My mother takes an apple in her hand,
She pushes it neatly onto the sharp
prong and turns the handle that turns
the apple that swivels the blade pressed
tight against the apple’s side and peels
the skin away in long curling strips that
twist and fall to a bucket on the floor.
The apples, coming off the peeler,
Are winding staircases, little accordions,
slinky toys, jack-in-the-box fruit, until
my grandmother’s paring knife goes slicing
through the rings and they become apple
pies, apple cakes, apple crisp. Soon
they will be married to butter and live with
cinnamon and sugar, happily ever after.
“Apple Season” by Joyce Sutphen, from Coming Back to the Body. © Holy Cow! Press, 2000. Reprinted with permission.
Thanks for brightening our day, and keep the good stuff coming!
On September 4, 2009 at 8:53 am
Jodie in Texas says:
the cat in the basket
On September 4, 2009 at 8:55 am
jean says:
Just ignore the kitty in the box.
On September 4, 2009 at 9:07 am
Brianne says:
Little!!! Get out of there, QUICK! Before you get poured in a jar and put up in the pantry for the winter!
On September 4, 2009 at 9:18 am
Sarah says:
Heehe giggle – love it!! Wow you are busy!!!! Sarah
On September 4, 2009 at 9:47 am
catslady says:
Only one cat lol. We have boxes all over our house that I can’t bear to get rid of because they make themselves right at home – I do alternate them though lol.
On September 4, 2009 at 10:16 am
Mariah says:
Is the cat administrating? I hope he doesn’t get caught in the frenzy! 🙂 (My cat likes to hang out in boxes too…very cute!)
On September 4, 2009 at 10:38 am
Dett says:
I’d say ‘the cat’ too!
On September 4, 2009 at 11:00 am
SHIRLEY T says:
I can’t find a thing that doesn’t belong.
On September 4, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Angela says:
Not one thing is out of place! Perfect!
On September 4, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Judy Mitchell says:
Ah yes, and cat hair in the tomatoes is just a condiment. :sheepjump:
Judy
On September 4, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Miss Becky says:
they must be the center of attention at all times. or just on the edge of things, observing. makes no difference. you have a constant companion and best friend and that is jammin’. gotta love those kitty cats. :airkiss: :heart: :airkiss:
On September 4, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Eva Gallant says:
Gotta’ love that kitty supervisor!
On September 4, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Kat says:
some would say the kitty, i suppose. but not me :~)
On September 4, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Ulrike says:
“Picked at the peak of freshness!”
There’s a kitten tree in Lois McMaster Bujold’s _Cetaganda_.
On September 4, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Darlene says:
Are you making CAT food??
Ok, that was bad. Actually, I don’t see anything that doesn’t belong.
A tip, something I just found out. Most of the southern states and some of the other states have county canneries. You can prep your stuff there or take the prepped food to the cannery, mix whatever you need to, heat whatever you need to, put it either in your jars or their cans and they do the processing for you.
Yesterday I canned 40 tins of food. Tomato sauce, chili, beef stew, veggie beef soup, a green bean,potato and ham concoction, ham cubes and a pork tenderloin that I cut into boneless chops. The prep takes the normal time, but it only took a couple of hours to get it all canned and ready for them to process. Some of that time was spent learning how to work the steam equipment. It cost me 50 cents per can plus the food. If I had put it in my glass jars, it was only 25 cents a jar (any size jar).
It was great. For the chili, I only had to soak the beans over night and then mix in the rest of my ingredients. We popped a can of it last night and it was GOOD. It was a little thicker than normal – the beans absorbed some of the liquid, but it wasn’t too dry.
This would have taken me HOURS at home and heated up my kitchen. I’m going back Tue to can carrots, potatoes and whatever I can from my overloaded freezer. I’m making meals out of most of it. Whatever casseroles or soups/stews that cross my mind. The great thing about this is the equipment is commercial, so they can can stuff that we are not supposed to can at home – like pumpkin puree. Normally, it’s too thick, so it’s not recommended to do it as a puree, only as chunks. I think I’m going to make pumpkin pie in a jar. It won’t have the crust, but then, it won’t have the calories either. Plus, when I open it, I can always put it in a blind-baked crust. I’m psyched!
Note: most of these canneries are only opened a couple of days a week, usually you have from 8 to about noon to get your product ready. Some require an appointment. They shut down anywhere from the end of Sept to the end of Oct. They only work the “summer” canning season. You can call your county extension office and ask if your county has a cannery; they may know what the days/hours of operation are and the phone number.
On September 4, 2009 at 2:30 pm
cranberry says:
don’t can the CAT! but he’s good company… :shimmy:
On September 4, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Runningtrails - Sheryl says:
Awww! He is just too cute supervising! Did the kittens get to taste things here and there?
On September 4, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Donna says:
KITTY!!!!!
On September 4, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Moey says:
You haz can cheezburger?
On September 4, 2009 at 5:08 pm
heidiannie says:
I’m sorry- I’ve been reading here too long to think that the cat DOESN’T belong!!! LOL- your cats DO belong- in as many places and pictures that they can lay claim to!
The cat belongs! I’m wondering about the blue and grey vase!
On September 4, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Beth Brown says:
:chicken: Not me – I don’t see anything that doesn’t belong. The jars of sauce are where they should be, the canner is there too, the measuring cup, and the cat. All are where they should be.
Beth in PA aka oneoldgoat
On September 4, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Catalina says:
Oh, what a cute to-meow-to! (tomato)
Nice blog BTW!
On September 4, 2009 at 5:40 pm
pam says:
I see your supervisor there!
On September 4, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Lisa in California says:
Kitten is keeping you company…she belongs!
On September 4, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Kelly says:
That is the funniest picture I have seen all day, priceless really! http://www.whatupduck.com
On September 4, 2009 at 10:18 pm
Malinda says:
Kitty looks like he (or she)belongs to me!!! Quite comfy in his supervisor position…
On September 5, 2009 at 6:32 am
Carol Langille says:
Kitty in the box….reminds me of wine in the box which if you had wine in the box, you wouldn’t mind kitty in the box on the canning counter.
But kitties, in the box or otherwise, don’t care much for tomatoes so he won’t eat much. Don’t try to can tuna, tho.
On September 5, 2009 at 7:19 am
Aimee says:
Oh I love it! So cute, but he definitely thinks he belongs! :yes:
On September 5, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Sharon says:
Ahh but Alf loved chicken fried kitty. Remember ALF
On September 6, 2009 at 6:38 am
Gretchen says:
The cute kitty perched in the box, and the food draped over the rim of the open canning jar. Nice kitchen too!
On September 8, 2009 at 8:00 am
TONYA says:
My guess would have to be your furry little friend in the box!!
On November 10, 2010 at 3:30 pm