Reconsider Columbus Day

I posted a rather lengthy blog last year about Columbus and his heinous crimes. You can read it here.

I still stand behind that post and think that this man is not someone we should be celebrating.

Today I saw this video that I wanted to share. 

I would like to urge all American's to PLEASE Reconsider Columbus Day. This day is not a day to celebrate. This man was no hero. If he came here today he would be tried and convicted of many crimes against humanity.

Jam

I decided to try and make my own Jam with things I had on hand.

I had several apples and read online that I could make my own pectin with apples. So decided that I could probably make my own jam if I combined apple with some frozen fruit.

This is entirely an experiment and I have no idea if it will work or not. But I *think* it will. :) If nothing else we will have some lovely topping for some pancakes or something.

So what I have done is cut and quartered 5 medium sized apples and added 2 cups of water. I waited until those were cooked util they were soft and then I added 2 cups of frozen mixed raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. I cooked those until they were completely soft and then mashed the whole pot together. I picked the apple skins out of the pot since I did not want them in my finished product.

I then added 3 cups of sugar and a half a cup of water to the mashed fruit. I continued to cook this until it was about half its volume and was thicker then before. This took a few hours on very low heat. I did not want the fruit to scorch so I cooked it very low and stirred it often. Once it seemed thick enough I did the "freezer test" which requires you to place a small bit and place it in a bowl then put it in the freezer. If it sets up then it is done.

I placed my jam into several recycled containers I had on hand since I did not have any mason jars. The kids loved this jam and it turned out perfectly, especially since it was an experiment and I was not sure it would turn out.

Herman

One of the things that my mother in law gave me not long after my husband and I were married was a recipe for "Herman". This is one of my husbands favorite things and we have not had it in many many years. You see Herman is a yeast starter. You have to grow and feed Herman and he requires work on certain days. I am not so great at keeping Herman alive. I often tend to forget about him when he sits in the fridge. I have to mark the calendar and keep an eye on him or I forget. Herman has to be stirred constantly the first few days.. well ok not constantly but over a period of a few days. Of course because you feed Herman he grows and sometimes you have more then you need, if that is the case you can give some to friends and share the love of Herman with everyone.

Last summer when I went to my Mother in laws for the fourth of July she copied off some other recipes she found in her stash for several Herman recipes. These recipes use some Herman and then you add to it to create other foods. There is a recipe for pancakes, coffee cake, a 'white bread' that is a bit more like sourdough because of the Herman starter. There is also a recipe for cookies. I was a bit shocked by that.

Today I have started Herman. It is sitting on top of my fridge covered with a towel and growing as we speak. I am hoping that by Friday night when my husband is able to come home to have lovely dishes of Herman making set out for him to enjoy. Well ok I will likely be trying out the bread as I am baking bread constantly and honestly anything that makes it a little more accessible is always a plus. I also will have coffee cake for breakfast on Saturday when we wake up and share a meal together.

On another note I am also making some apple berry jam from scratch today and bread is rising for the day. I am feeling a tad better but still a bit loopy in moments as the crud rolls round in my head.

I am also roasting a chicken that will then get boiled and pulled apart for two meals this week. Cooking on a severe budget doesn't have to mean nothing good for the belly. I am contemplating what dishes to do with this chicken but at least the chicken is cooking and the house smells good.


***EDIT***

Here is the recipe for the starter, as well as the directions.
2 cups flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 envelope yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp dry yeast)
1 tsp salt
2 cups warm water

In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, yeast, salt then gradually stir in water. beat or whisk until smooth. Place bowl in a warm draft free place in the kitchen (mine is on top of the fridge) cover with a towel. Stir 2 -3 times a day for 3 days or until starter is bubbly and produces a yeasty aroma. After day 3 you can use part of the starter and refrigerate the remaining Herman. Herman must be stirred everyday so even when you are not using any Herman you must stir him. Be sure not to cover tightly when it is refrigerated, either cover with plastic wrap or with a lid off to the side. When you use Herman you feed it, so you use some and feed the remaining starter.

To feed Herman:
1 cup of flour
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup of sugar
add to starter whisk or stir well.

If it will be more then 14 days before you use Herman again then you can pop the starter in the freezer and pull it out again when you want to use it.

Check back in 3 days to see what I have used my Herman for first.

Sick

Sometimes when I get sick I just want to curl up and let the world fall away from me. Unfortunately when you are a mom you often do not have that luxury. I am not sure what it is about being the mom but sleeping in doesn't happen when I am at home. Even when I am sick. I slept until 10:30 this morning and was shocked, I could not believe it was so late. When I got up I discovered the only reason I slept so late was because the kids were all still asleep.

I have a nasty head cold that seems to be spreading like wildfire to everyone I know. Most of my friends are far away from me but so many of them have this exact same cold and all of us have come down with it at relatively the same few weeks. I hope that I can get over it without it going down into my chest the way it has for so many of my friends.

Until I get better I probably wont have many blog posts. I hope you all stay healthy and don't catch this bugger of a cold. It's not fun at all.