Apple Butter Madness

This past weekend was Old Iron Works days back in my home town.  This is the third year my sister and I (with the help of our husbands, parents, siblings, aunts, and girlfriends) have demonstrated making apple butter in a kettle.  Making apple butter in a kettle is only fun if you have a small army of people!  Though we have done it with 5 people and that wasn’t too bad.  Cedric stayed with Zach’s parents for the weekend – THANK YOU Stephanie and Peter for driving him to their house.  Eli went to Old Iron Works and was seriously The Best Baby Ever.  Until the drive home, but that’s another story.

Here I am wearing Eli in the Ergo and nonchalantly handing money to my sister.

Grandma June supervising my Dad adjusting the fire.

Dad was in his element coaxing people to stir the apple butter.

My sister, the mastermind behind all this apple butter craziness.  Seriously you know its bad when you peel 144 pounds of apples and think, “Hey that only took a couple hours, we’re getting faster.”

I wish the Internet could have a scratch and snip option because this picture would smell like apples, cinnamon, and wood smoke.

“I have two teeth! Feed me!!” This is what I imagine Eli is thinking…

Maramec Springs is beautiful, especially in the Fall.

The Houghs surprised us with a visit on Saturday.

Minus my brothers, this is my family.  Right after this picture we all went our separate ways home.  Eli cried almost the entire way home – he had finally reached his “I’m done, people!” stage.  But poor little Riley-Roo blew chunks leaving an entirely different kind of smell in my sister’s car. 

At the end of this weekend, I always feel like I never want to do this again.  But even just a few days later when I look back I think, “That wasn’t too bad, and next year the kids will be older and it will be easier.”   Is this normal?

Grandma June's Pickles

This Sunday afternoon Cedric and I took a trip to Hermann so that I could sit at the feet of Grandma June and learn more of her craft. This woman takes being a domestic goddess to the next level and when I am her age, I hope that I can be like her.

On this day, Grandma June was making pickles and I brought along my camera in order to document the entire process. Dear Readers, if you like dill pickles you are in for a treat.

Yes there were distractions during the day. Every time Miss Riley June fussed or did something amazing we had to stop, drool, fawn, and "bless ourselves" as necessary. Babies must be respected in this way.

Mr Cedric was very curious about the process and in a few years when he's better at handling hot liquids and knives he will actually get to help. As opposed to sneaking off with spears of raw cucumber.

Here she is, my baby Sis-tah! Its because her that I even know Grandma June exists. Sorry Sister - your last picture was too beautiful, I had to post this one because it puts the Force in balance.

Alright - let's make some pickles!

First you must wash and scrub the cucumbers. Clean cucumbers make good pickles.

Next you need to peel about two heads of garlic into cloves. I love garlic!

You also need copious amounts of fresh dill. Grandma June uses the dill once its bloomed, which is why it looks differently in the photos than when its young and fern-y like in this post.

Once the cucumbers are cleaned, separate them into two bowls, one for whole pickles and one that will be pickle spears. FYI we packed both sizes together.

I love this shot of Grandma June. She's a woman of charm and grace.

Once you have your cucumbers separated and cut. Grab a clean jar and place one sprig of dill and one garlic clove in the bottom. Then start putting in cucumbers. We started with the spears and added the smaller cucumbers to pack the jars tightly.

Once the jar is full of cucumbers add another sprig of dill and another garlic clove on top.

Next sprinkle the tops with black pepper. Grandma June did this and I'm guessing its about 1/2 a teaspoon of pepper.

Then ladle the hot broth into each jar, filling up to the neck. The broth consists of 2 Cups of water, 1 Cup of apple cider vinegar, 1 Cup of sugar, and 1 Tablespoon of canning salt. Dissolve the broth in a pot over medium heat and let come to a boil.

Once the jars are full, wipe the tops with a clean towel and screw on the lids.

Place the jars in a canner and fill with water up to the neck of the jars. Put the lid on and let the water come to a full boil. Boil for one minute and then place the jars on a towel to dry and cool.

And that folks is what Grandma June calls "cold packing." I don't know why because the whole process involves heat, but what I do know is that once these jars cool off your pickles are ready.

Put one jar in the fridge to get nice and cold and store the rest.

I love pickles! I feel so domestically empowered to know how to make these.

P.S. On the family farm the plum tree was ripe and my sister's FIL let me take home two bags full of plums. I think I'm going to take a stab at spiced plum butter. Stay tuned...