My dear friend Theresa McLaren gave me a jar of her homemade blackberry applesauce. It was perfectly tart and thick and pretty and flavorful.
Her secret weapon.....THE CROCKPOT!
A couple of years ago I burned the applesauce so badly that all my hard work was wasted and the pan has never recovered. I still use the pan because I love it scars and all.
My life has changed. I will never sauce on the stovetop again. (given the choice)
So, Mom and Dad gave us a box of newly picked apples off their trees (thank you) and Sophiana and I set to work. I'd shove the apples on the peeler slicer and she'd turn the handle. After a couple of apples she wanted to do it herself. I showed her how not to stab yourself on the prongs and where the sharp blades are and let her have at it! I always have to remember to give the children way more responsibility than I (underestimate) think they are capable of! They always amaze me. Even six year old Rebekah can flip up the twin mattress on her bed and put the bottom sheet on! (It was even hard for me.)
Raspberries and blueberries, frozen, were on sale.
Here is a picture of the final result!
Apple raspberry and Apple blueberry sauces and Apple pie filling.
How satisfying to create something wonderful and delicious.
Here is part of a talk that I found very meaningful. It helps me to understand why I am so pleased with all those pretty, full jars and it even helps motivate me to do the laundry!.....
The Work of Creation
The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.
Everyone can create. You don’t need money, position, or influence in order to create something of substance or beauty.
Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty—and I am not talking about the process of cleaning the rooms of your teenage children.
You might say, “I’m not the creative type. When I sing, I’m always half a tone above or below the note. I cannot draw a line without a ruler. And the only practical use for my homemade bread is as a paperweight or as a doorstop.”
If that is how you feel, think again, and remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. Isn’t it remarkable to think that your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God? Think about it—your spirit body is a masterpiece, created with a beauty, function, and capacity beyond imagination.
But to what end were we created? We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness. One of the ways we find this is by creating things.
If you are a mother, you participate with God in His work of creation—not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next.
You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter.
What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside.
If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it.
Nearly a century and a half ago, President Brigham Young spoke to the Saints of his day. “There is a great work for the Saints to do,” he said. “Progress, and improve upon and make beautiful everything around you. Cultivate the earth, and cultivate your minds. Build cities, adorn your habitations, make gardens, orchards, and vineyards, and render the earth so pleasant that when you look upon your labors you may do so with pleasure, and that angels may delight to come and visit your beautiful locations. In the mean time continually seek to adorn your minds with all the graces of the Spirit of Christ.”
The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you.
-Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Happiness, Your Heritage,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 117–20
I realized that when an opportunity to learn something at the hand of the masters appears it's a great idea to seize the moment. For years now, decades even, I've known about Bob & Judy Bingham's tuna canning talents and had never yet witnessed this for myself. The last time I canned Tuna was 2002 and I have to admit, I had the fisherman fillet it and bought the meat all clean and pretty right off the boat. Now, granted it is absolutely delish and still a big job to can (and clean up) I knew I was missing something. So, on Friday I dropped off the girls at school and went straight to the Bingham's where I found Bob in the back yard in his bright yellow hip-waders with a large pile of tuna in the grass being showered all shiny and fesh with the garden sprinkler! Judy was no where to be seen (off on her morning walk) but the kitchen table was masked off with a black plastic garbage bag and bejeweled with open mouthed jars, dozens of them, hungry for fish. After watching Bob fillet out two huge beauties I had to give it a try. See one, do one...teach one? I'll have to admit I did a pretty good job (thanks Dad for taking me fishing as a child and for making me clean my own fish sometimes) but didn't come anywhere near Bob's ten minute whirlwind! I think mine was closer to a half hour. Point the knife toward the nose of the fish, find the soft spot on top, cut around the gills to the throat, cut out the little fins, slit up the belly, grab hold of the head and pull it towards you....the head should come off and all the entrails with it! Then start the work of running your fingers along the ribs separating off the meat...that's the gist of it. Not meant to exactly instruct. After a fish is done, bring the bowl full of fillets to Judy the Expert Jar Stuffer. 1/4 tsp of salt. hot lid. wipe the rim. screw on the lid and into the canner. Bob is the Pressure Watcher----in the shed of course---NEVER make the mistake of canning tuna in your house. Enough said? (s-t-i-n-k-y) Well, I was so impressed with my new skills that I went and picked up the girls after school and we headed straight for the Dock at the Woodley Island Marina. When we got there a pal George (really a fisherman looking guy in the parking lot) said to go to Dock A and see his friend Manny. Well, we saw Manny's nephew Jeremy on "My Lady". When the boats come in from deep sea, the fish are all frozen solid to keep them fresh and require twenty four hours to thaw. Since we were arriving around 4:30pm that would mean canning tuna in the dark the next day, but I was determined. It's always amazing to me how God tends to our needs and desires. I had set in my mind that I would buy two or maybe three fish. Guess what....Jeremy happened to have a lot of frozen tuna-sicles and....THREE tuna that had just finished thawing. What an amazing blessing. We bought the fish. 19lbs. 18lbs. and 12lbs. We called the Bingham's, stopped at our house to scramble for jars and lids and rings, filleted, stuffed, pressured and shut the heat off at 8:15pm. Done. The next day I went back and unloaded the canner to reveal all the sealed treasures. I am happy. I can check "Tuna with the Bingham's" off my bucket-list!....for this year ;-) Line caught, Dolphin free and Local!
