Had to take time out from the blog to "jar" turkey meat and broth...On Friday I boned 4 partially thawed turkeys, bought on sale last November, and Herb hauled all the jars and canning equipment to the kitchen...The kitchen was soon filled with delicious smells of simmering turkey bones and the hissing sound of the pressure cooker..Monday night we finished with 40 pints of turkey and 7 pints of pork and 10 quarts of lovely turkey broth...Today the pressure cooker is taking a rest while we prep dried beans and burger before we mix it all together and start processing chili...I come from a long line of "jarring" fanatics.
My Mother learned the art of jarring from her mother and continued this practice after marriage when my Dad presented her with her very own pressure cooker...This couple with 4 young children and another one on the way, lived in a two room "house" and Daddy worked for a cattle/sheep ranch in Wyoming...In those years Mom jarred everything possible to fill the cellar for winter...This was the start of a lifelong skill that she passed on to her children and kept up until she died at age 96.
In the fall of 1990 she moved from Utah to Elgin, Oregon, only 50 miles from Joseph...Her move to Elgin and canning (jarring as it is now called) go hand in hand...She settled into a tiny house with a large garden spot, including three apple trees...Her life revolved around gardening and canning.
I also learned to can at a young age, but only fruit, relishes, jams and tried my hand at pickles but never with much luck...Over the next 15 years I would learn how to make pickles of all kinds and also learn the art of pressure cooking meats and chili.
Our kids had only spent short visits with this gramma but grew to love and cherish the time spent with her in Elgin and always after a visit, she sent them home with a jar or two of her "Hot Garlic Dill Pickles."Bobi got the jarring bug and continues the art at her home in Portland...Rusty joins us in our tuna jarring extravaganza in Joseph and sometimes lends a hand at boning turkeys.
During the 15 years that Mom lived in Elgin, we celebrated some Christmas's together, spent a week on the Oregon Coast at a beach house and went fishing for salmon...Birthdays were celebrated and the time flew by, most of it centered around canning (Mom never could call it jarring!)..Hugs To All...OWAV:)
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