Friday, November 16

Time For Plan B

I made my rounds today, picking up the last of the items necessary to bring the weekend together.
I have 130 pounds of sugar in my truck. Thats a helldacious amount.

I stopped my The Well and picked up fresh allspice, cloves and cinnamon. While there, I visited with the shopkeeper and have found something to use in a pinch--something for those times when my mind is runing entirely too fast and I feel as if the top of my head will blow off at any second. I haven't tried it yet. I'm afraid. (I mean, which is worse? Having too much to do and your mind going crazy, or being so relaxed you get nothing done?)

By the time I got home from school and my errands, my backyard had been transformed.


The guys had built the retaining wall for the fire
and positioned two highly polished copper kettles,


added a garbage disposal to process the apples for cooking
(we are talking TWENTY BUSHELS folks),



set up the peeling table (complete with heat,
since it's supposed to be below freezing
when we start this stuff in the AM)
... and retrieved 20 bushels of apples.

The apples are inside the garage of JB's right hand man. We were afraid they'd be too much of a temptation for the deer if left out all night. Truth be known, we were more afraid of the damage to the Right Hand Man's shiny red truck, more than anything.

I spent 2-3 hours studying Glycolysis and Krebs Cycle in preparation of Monday's test. As I made my note cards, I heard noises that occasionally required me to peer out the window, just to keep abreast of the happenings. When I got the point where my head was overflowing with co enzymes and formulas, I went into the kitchen to prepare the brisket for barbecue.

I'll post the brisket recipe after/over the weekend. I put 12 pounds of meat in the oven before 8 AM and took it out at 7:30 PM. It is very tender and will be perfect for sandwiches tomorrow. I did half with barbecue sauce and half without--keeping in mind everyone's palate.

As I was busy chopping and stirring, JB shares a kink in the Apple Butter plans. He has researched (via internet) and has found that the statewide burning ban has been lifted--but not in our county. That means no wood fires!

Phone calls are made. Plans are shifted. He's thinking propane may keep us out of jail.


He goes outside to size up the situation. New pits will need to be dug to accommodate the propane burners...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

This sounds like a deeply complicated operation! We don't have a garden big enough to store that amount of apples (though the urban foxes would be more of a risk than the deer!)

Why would they lift it everywhere except in your county?

Anonymous said...

Really just awestruck/speechless. But enjoying the updates!

Jennifer (Jen on the Edge) said...

I am in awe, truly in awe, of what you are embarking upon.

Anonymous said...

When I read your post about making apple butter, I had no idea that your production would be ...THIS. WOW. Do keep us informed.