I’m in a mood
Wow, interesting how much spam the title “Homeschooling Myself” attracted. That may have been a record.
This weekend, I went over to a friend’s house and four of us did a lot of canning. We made pickles, pickled eggs, and pickled beets. I haven’t tried the last two, but I’m trying to keep an open mind. In theory, I should love pickled eggs, at least. I love eggs and everything that went into them. I’m still scared, though! We also made some jam. We had to improvise, because we didn’t quite have enough berries. We rounded the fruit table out with some grapes. The jam appears to be a loose set, but that only makes it more versatile, right? It can be either jam or syrup this way.
Aren't they pretty?
I’m very glad I went. When I originally got the email, I almost declined, simply because I’m tending to be reclusive right now. Prying myself out of the house generally ends up to be a good idea, but when social settings are involved, I worry that I’ll make people uncomfortable if the subject gets too personal. But these friends have been very understanding and treating me like I’m still a normal person, not a contagious leper. They talk to me, and ask how I’m doing in a way that tells me I can talk if I need to, or not. Also, this type of adventure in kitchen science are my type of domesticity.
Trying new foods is always fun. I told the girls that I drew the line at pickled pigs’ feet, though. Those things smell rank. I am really a very finicky eater, so it took a long time for me to become adventurous. I used to be the kid who took Burger King into the Chinese restaurant because even the compromise food – tempura chicken – yicked me. Now in my wise old age, I’ve learned that the more new things I try, the more I discover I like. It’s easier to avoid the common food that disgusts me if there’s some alternative I can find.
Learning how to do something from scratch is something I put a high value on, too. Soap is next on my list of things to learn. Yes, often I’ll learn how to do something, and decide it’s too much trouble to do on my own. Tortillas are a good example of that. I have friends who swear tortillas are easy, but I’ll save myself the 6 hours of rise time and spend $1.50 at the store. No matter what, it’s still worth the learning. I mean, the apocalypse is right around the corner! Anyone with any brains knows the fate of the world is in the hands of the Mayan calendar, after all. And I’ll be the merchant who is able to provide paper, yogurt, crackers, body lotion, and scarves to the poor souls that survive.
Hey, those garlic pickles should be just about ready, eh?
Saturday.
Yum, yum, looks good. How were those eggs?
OH, and I would prefer a hoody to a scarf, thanks.
A hoody, lol, I’ll get right on that.
The eggs were pretty darn good, actually. Weird, but good. They’re gone now. The pickles I’m having to ration. They’re absolutely glorious. I didn’t think we’d added enough garlic, but we did. Yum. I may have to go eat one now, even though I just brushed my teeth.