One of These Things Is Not Like the Other

Sep
4

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.
IMG_9400
In this picture, what doesn’t belong?





Comments

  1. Sheila Z says:

    Meow…………..

  2. Becky says:

    The onlooker in the box. How cute!!!

  3. 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?

  4. EightPondFarm says:

    Nice helper. And that looks like a gorgeous kitchen too!

  5. Rose in VT says:

    Lol! Cat in the box! She is just there to supervise!

  6. 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

  7. Wheezay says:

    Kitty Cat !! :snoopy:

  8. Tracey In Paradise Pa. says:

    :snoopy: Precious Meow!! Meow!!

  9. Diane says:

    Kitty looks like he needed to make sure you did everything right. lol.

  10. amelia says:

    :sun: The boss – furry one in the box.

  11. Becky says:

    The kitty is just keeping you company while you preserve away the hours.

  12. Naomi says:

    Listen….every job needs a supervisor! :sun:

  13. KentuckyFarmGirl says:

    Everybody needs a little company while canning. Where’s his partner in crime?

  14. 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.

  15. Hannah says:

    Is that a helper in the box? Bet he’s not doing a very good job!

  16. IowaCowgirl says:

    I’m with Lisa….kind of worried about canned cat – just too much succulance…

  17. Christine says:

    Well obviously there needs to be a supervisor so it can’t be the cat.

  18. 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:

  19. Larry Nottingham says:

    The cat in the box doesn’t belong, unless you are making catsup from the tomatos!!!

  20. 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?

  21. 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…)

  22. Camille says:

    Oh my how sweet…every job needs a cat supervisor! They make sure you get it done right!

  23. Shelly says:

    That kitty found a nice warm spot with a good view!

  24. Suzette says:

    Hah-HAH!!!! Took me a minute. That’s because it looks PERFECTLY normal to me!

  25. 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.

  26. Shells says:

    Well apparently your definition of “belongs” and his definition are two different things. Or perhaps very similar.

  27. Mustang Sally says:

    Cats ALWAYS belong!

  28. Joycee says:

    Could you mean Ms. Kitty? How can you say that, she’s holding the recipe for you…
    joy c. at grannymountain

  29. 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!

  30. jean says:

    Just ignore the kitty in the box.

  31. Brianne says:

    Little!!! Get out of there, QUICK! Before you get poured in a jar and put up in the pantry for the winter!

  32. Sarah says:

    Heehe giggle – love it!! Wow you are busy!!!! Sarah

  33. 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.

  34. 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!)

  35. Dett says:

    I’d say ‘the cat’ too!

  36. SHIRLEY T says:

    I can’t find a thing that doesn’t belong.

  37. Angela says:

    Not one thing is out of place! Perfect!

  38. Judy Mitchell says:

    Ah yes, and cat hair in the tomatoes is just a condiment. :sheepjump:

    Judy

  39. 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:

  40. Eva Gallant says:

    Gotta’ love that kitty supervisor!

  41. Kat says:

    some would say the kitty, i suppose. but not me :~)

  42. Ulrike says:

    “Picked at the peak of freshness!”

    There’s a kitten tree in Lois McMaster Bujold’s _Cetaganda_.

  43. 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.

  44. cranberry says:

    don’t can the CAT! but he’s good company… :shimmy:

  45. Runningtrails - Sheryl says:

    Awww! He is just too cute supervising! Did the kittens get to taste things here and there?

  46. Moey says:

    You haz can cheezburger?

  47. 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!

  48. 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

  49. Catalina says:

    Oh, what a cute to-meow-to! (tomato)
    Nice blog BTW!

  50. pam says:

    I see your supervisor there!

  51. Lisa in California says:

    Kitten is keeping you company…she belongs!

  52. Kelly says:

    That is the funniest picture I have seen all day, priceless really! http://www.whatupduck.com

  53. Malinda says:

    Kitty looks like he (or she)belongs to me!!! Quite comfy in his supervisor position…

  54. 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.

  55. Aimee says:

    Oh I love it! So cute, but he definitely thinks he belongs! :yes:

  56. Sharon says:

    Ahh but Alf loved chicken fried kitty. Remember ALF

  57. Gretchen says:

    The cute kitty perched in the box, and the food draped over the rim of the open canning jar. Nice kitchen too!

  58. TONYA says:

    My guess would have to be your furry little friend in the box!!

Add Your Thoughts