Apples on the Weekend

We bought another bushel of apples in Pontotoc -- and ran into Mr Jacob at the little grocery store there and found out who in the community makes and sells straw hats ;o) We are in sad need of new ones for the boys for trips off the homestead --

We made apple pie filling this weekend and as I made too much 'sauce' for the filling recipe, I also ended up with 5 quarts of the for the fridge. If I don't use it up with more apples from the friend at church, I'll go ahead and process it for the pantry.

Maybe we should call ourselves the Apple Dumpling Gang this month :o) Seems that all I've put up lately. It's a blessing, though. Tired as I am of peeling, coring and quartering apples, it is a blessing to have them. And they do look good on those pantry shelves all sparkly and pretty :o)

My 16 qt bread bowl filled with prepared apples...I didn't take pictures of the many (many) hands going in and out as the children passed through the kitchen on false tasks.

Here they are tucked away into quart jars...
And loaded with the wonderful-smelling cinnamon 'sauce' for the filling...
And what do you do with all the apple trash? The cores went out for the piggies. The peelings went onto sheets to be dried in the oven for potpourri...
What else I didn't take pictures of was the first bath full of pie filling. As soon as my jars hit the water basket, one popped its bottom apart and drizzled apples and filling all over in the canner. We had to empty the canner and wash it out, get the jars emptied and start reheating everything and waiting to start again. I had one quart in there that was from the sorghum we bought last year in Pontotoc and I thought for sure, as soon as I heard that "pop" in the canner, that that one was the one that broke. But, it ws fine and one of the Ball jars popped apart instead. Go figure.
**It isn't considered safe at all to do canning, pressure or water bath, with jars not made specifically for canning. They are not of the same strength as true canning jars and you can have troubles, such as a jar breaking. Breakng inside the canner isn't nearly as large an issue as removing jars and having one shatter. Boiling liquids and foods....do not take chances in your kitchen. Make sure you inspect every jar that will be used. Check for nicks, chips or cracks along the neck neck and band edge where a false seal could be made. Watch for any damage and if in doubt, use it for something else -- like storing dried goodies or beans, or such.

So, right now, the kitchen is messy and there is an aroma of cinnamon and apples lingering about. When the potpourri is done, we'll toss it with some cinnamon and allspice and pack it up in a bag until I can find a nice crock to set it out in.

Aside from that, I've been working on a dress for me, plus a couple more aprons/pinafores cut out to stitch. Why is it with all my list of sewing needs, I am the one without clothing? If I don't get another dress for church made, folks will start giving us clothing thinking we are in dire straits here!

Christopher came home this weekend -- Dewey is still there 'networking' as it were. He has 3 hired so far. Today was a men's fellowship gathering at a local church there in Nashville and several men told him he needed to come and talk to this one or that one about electrical work. Haven't heard from him yet as to how the day went, but I'm sure he had a good time.

I took some pictures of our church last week -- I'll share them in another entry.