CANNING & BIRTHDAYS



I'll get to the canning and birthdays a little later. I'll start with the beginning of this week. On Tuesday the 20th, Brian worked until about 10 pm, so Vaughn and I were home together all day long. We both got pretty bored, so I called my Dad (aka Poopa) just to talk. He suggested getting out a little tent set they had given us for Christmas. I was so glad he mentioned it because Vaughn really needed some entertainment! So he played in that until it was his bedtime.









This is what the entire tent set looks like. Pretty cool, huh?







I just have to interject here and say I forgot to mention on my last blog that my very good friend BROOKE BURBANK celebrated her birthday on February 13th! So HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKE! I'm sorry I couldn't be there, but I hope you had a great time!





On Thursday I went over to Brian's sister Amy's house in Spanish Fork to do some canning with her. Vaughn absolutely loves their kids, so it was a great thing for him to be there too. Amy's youngest son Sammy was great to play basketball with Vaughn. Vaughn of course had never played before, especially with a stand that was his size, so this was extra fun. He took to it like second nature.














I just love the sequence of these two shots. Doesn't he look like a real professional?












And now for the canning fiasco! This nasty looking thing is a boiled turkey! In order to bottle turkey, you have to cook it first. So Amy set the turkey in a big pot to boil all morning...about three hours or so. Once it's cooked you have to let it cool, and then you pull all the meat off the bones.








In the middle of picking meat, I decided to stop and have a little snack!












Amy said this reminded her of a weird hat, so she decided to "try it on." (Don't worry, she didn't let it touch her head.)







After getting all the meat off the bones, you fill pint-sized glass jars with the meat, add 1/2 tsp of salt, and then pour the turkey broth over the top. You make sure there is 1 inch of space left from the top of the jar. Then you get all the air bubbles out by putting a plastic spatula in and pressing the meat towards the center. You do this all the way around the jar. Then you wipe off the top rim, put on a lid that has been softened in warm water, and screw on a band to hold the lid in place. Then you put 1 and 1/2 inches of water in the bottom of the pressure canner and add the glass jars. You have to make sure they are sitting on top of a rack so they don't directly touch the bottom of the canner.

Isn't this involved? Then you screw the canner lid on and turn up the heat. Once the canner starts shooting steam out the top valve, you time it for about 10 minutes, letting steam escape the whole time. This lets out all the excess air in the canner. Then you close the valve and wait until the pressure guage on the canner registers at 15 lbs pressure. (The canner has to stay at 15 lbs pressure for our altitude, or the turkey isn't safe to eat.) Then you let the turkey cook for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Once it has cooked, you let the canner cool completely down and then you release the rest of the pressure and open it up!

That may seem easy, but with old canners like what I have, you have to monitor the heat and pressure constantly so the pressure doesn't go too high and make the canner explode. My old canners have one safety valve, while the new ones have like two or three. So it's a little nerve-racking the first time. But Amy and I worked out a plan. If the canners exploded while we were there, we would turn and hit the floor. This is a shot of us practicing our technique. It looks fool-proof, doesn't it?





If all goes well, you get a very beautiful finished product! Amy and I calculated how much money we would have to pay for store-bought canned turkey to equal what we had bottled, and it was about $50.00!!! That's insanse! Amy had bought her turkey for only $8.00. In some cases, it really does pay to bottle it yourself!

What's excellent about having canned meat on hand is that is makes for super quick meals. Just drain off the broth to make turkey salad sandwiches, turkey enchiladas, and pretty much any dish calling for cooked chicken or turkey. If you don't strain off the broth you can use it for turkey gravy, turkey noodle soup, etc. It's great!

So all-in-all, we had a great time together. Amy is one of the funniest people I know, so she makes canning so much fun to do. She always has something interesting to talk about. And it's great that Vaughn gets cousins to play with during the whole process. THANKS AMY FOR BEING A GREAT CANNING BUDDY!!!

All day on Thursday (the day Amy and I canned together) it was sunny and warm...I think in the 50s or low 60s. That night a snow storm came in and THIS is what I awoke to....a winter wonderland. That's not exactly what I had in mind for birthday weather. Yes, Friday the 23rd was my birthday, and I am now 26 years old.

I also awoke feeling pretty sick, which was annoying. So Vaughn and I rested as much as we could. I didn't want to be in the house all day, so around 6:30, we met some family and friends at a local restaurant called Red Robin for dinner. I was just glad I didn't have to cook dinner! And we wound up having a really great time. I was just sad that Ben and Emily and their girls and Laura couldn't make it to the dinner. Everybody was either out of town or busy!



Brian's youngest brother Jared was also born on February 23rd, so we always celebrate our birthdays together. Jared is at the very back right in the blue and brown shirt. He turned 24. It was really nice to have the Higginson family there. (Amy is hidden behind me). We all had a really great time, and we really enjoyed the food too.











Here's me and Brian enjoying our meals. We both had food in our mouths when the picture was taken, so that's why Brian looks so funny, and my cheeks look so fat!











After Vaughn had had his fill of the food, he decided to provide the entertainment for the rest of us. Here he is trying on one of the little baskets that held our fries.










I gave Vaughn a taste of my Strawberry Lemonade drink, and he loved it! He must have had at least a full bottle of the stuff. We commented that he was "drinking like a drunk" and then he pulled this little maneuver! It was perfect timing! What a ham!













After dinner we went over to Julie's place and blew out candles and opened gifts. Here's Jared opening his gift from Marianne Firth, our good friend.









Marianne gave me the cutest set of rotary stencils, some candy bars, some sidewalk chalk, and some other cute items. Thanks Marianne!

(P.S., for those of you who don't know Marianne, you SHOULD! She is the cutest, sweetest girl you'll ever meet.)









Brian found these Kangaroo shoes at a local thrift store, and they were brand new! He got them for $8.00. What a steal! He also got me a pair of really high quality roller blades and a couple of sewing patterns at the same place. I think in total he spent $13.00! What a bargain hunter! Thanks babe!








Momma and Poopa (my parents) and my sister Lindsey sent me the cutest card with some birthday money to spend! I already have a few things in mind. I think though that I might want to spend it on a water-bath-canner. You use those to do all the high-acid foods like tomatoes and grape juice and stuff. We'll see though. Thanks you guys!

Like I may have mentioned before, Vaughn is enjoying his Big Boy Bed. He still fusses and wakes up in the night wanting to be held, but he's doing better.

We have tried to work out a little routine with him. First we rock him in the rocking chair in his room. Then we read him a story or two. And usually when he is ready to go to bed, he will sit up and point at his bed. Then I pick out a book for him to have, and he lies in bed for a while reading it. I just can't stand how cute it is!







He really enjoys reading books, and here's the picture to prove it!







All-in-all it's been a crazy, but a good week. Thanks to everyone for making it a great birthday week too. I can't wait to do some more canning with you Amy!








And here's one for the road....














Love, Lisa