The third basket

When I wrote about my grandmother's baskets and how much they meant to me in the context of family and history, it seemed to me that something was missing - almost like I was a basket short.

It's a truism that you can walk by something every day and never see it.  Or look for something in the same place 100 times and not find it.  From time to time I actually prove that to myself.

Yesterday when I was picking up my dog's toys and putting them away - it became very clear to me where the other basket was!

It's now officially the toy basket & has been for so long it had "disappeared".

It might seem to some (hopefully not my family members) that this is desecrating a family heirloom.  I prefer to think of it as finding a loving ongoing use for something I cherish.  Nothing damages it - Joey is very careful when he takes items out of it and he clearly knows that this is where "his" things belong.  I have yet to see him take any interest in replacing them IN the basket but he loves choosing a toy to take out and play with.

This basket, like one of the others, is pretty old - no nails involved in the making of it.  Just the material that it was constructed with.

So at any rate, now I feel that the circle is complete and this is the "rest of the story".  Being a practical woman my Aunt Emily would no doubt approve of my using it - for some unknown reason she actually approved of almost everything I did!  One of the many reasons I loved her and miss her to this day.

My grandmother's baskets

There are many things that bind generation to generation. Sometimes it is the seemingly insignificant items that forge the strongest links.

My mother grew up from the age of two in a big old farmhouse dating from the 1800's that is located about 2 miles from where I live now.  It came complete with the shed between the house and garage and then a big old barn attached on the end of everything.  The barn was where my grandfather, who was a doctor, kept the horse and buggy that he used to do his rounds back in the "old days".  In bad weather no one had to go outside to get from house to barn - it was all connected. The shed even still had the privy back in the corner - left over from the no plumbing era.  Unused by the time I was a child except to store old canning jars and the like.

In the shed that connected the garage and the kitchen end of the house there were lots of interesting things hanging from the beams over head.  Among them were the baskets that my grandmother and then my Aunt Emily in later years used to gather vegetables from the garden.  They were there handy when you came out the kitchen door on the way to the gardens and out of the way up above your head when you didn't need them.

When my aunt passed away and the household goods were spread around though the family, those baskets were close to the only things I really wanted.  They spoke to me of tradition and daily life through the years and into the bargain they were useful!

Easy to see that they have some age on them because there aren't any nails at all in the lower one pictured and only tiny brads holding the edge band on the top one.  Considering how long I personally know they've been around they are in amazing shape.  They weren't for decoration, but to be used.

So now when I head out to my garden it's one of these baskets that I commonly grab to bring with me.

Even if I'm heading down cellar to get canning jars they come in handy.

It gives me a feeling of connection to the people in my family who are no longer physically here with me to use items that were dear to them.  It's important not to lose the sense of continuity that comes from cherishing and using things that come from your past.

At the risk of sounding trite, in this day and age of disposable and replaceable and "Made in China" I want to be able to put my hands on the same handles that my grandparents did and use these baskets daily as they did.  Sometimes I stumble trying to explain how this makes me feel but in some ways it's as if I am holding their hands down through the years and not just a basket handle.

Not really a mystery

I suspect that when I mention "canning" and "making pickles" or "zucchini relish" a lot of eyes glaze over.  Thoughts of "all that special equipment" or "how would I even know where to start" are, I suspect, the first things that cross your minds.

There are some specialized pieces of equipment you really do need to have but surprisingly not all that much.  With that in mind I took some pictures that I hope will help dispel the notion that canning is outside your area of expertise.  And, by the way, if you have a friend with any of the "special stuff", perhaps they would be happy to share some of it with you so you get a running start without having to buy much of anything but the jars & whatever you want to can.

So here we go - the picture quality might not be great but if you squint it helps:

Only special equipment here is the jar holder (has the yellow ends to grab the jars), the magnet on the green plastic stick and a wide mouth funnel - and , of course, the jars and lids

Nothing special here except the jar rings in the bowl and that funnel

If you take a good look at the above two pictures you will see that aside from the jars, the jar holder (to take the jars out of the boiling water bath), the magnet to get the hot lids out of the hot water without burning your fingers and that funnel, most of the equipment is utensils that you probably already have!

The other two items you really do need to have access to are the big kettle (ok, it doesn't have to be that exact kettle) and the racks to hold the jars during processing.  The one on the left is the really old rusty one that I prefer - it has dividers to keep the jars from touching each other.  I haven't been able to find another one quite like it - most of them are similar to the one on the right and I guess you just have to hope they stay in place while processing.

Let's say you choose to pickle beets, first you need the beets...

That was easy!  Next you need to wash them and cut off the tops (leaving a couple inches of the stems) and cook them just until they are barely tender.   I have found that a kettle the size of the next one pictured makes about 5 or 6 pints of finished beets.

Still not a special piece of equipment!

Cover them with water and when they are done cooking, dump them carefully into a cold water bath to stop the cooking and make it easier to get the skins off.

A dishpan full of water is definitely not special equipment

The skin will actually slip right off - cut off the tops and the roots and cut them into whatever sized pieces you want the finished product to have.

Follow the recipe (I will do a separate post of the recipe if requested) and pop them into jars, cover with the liquid, wipe the rims off and put on the covers.  They are now ready to be processed!

See how nicely that rack keeps itself stable and above the water - especially good when taking the jars out of  the water.

Once the jars have boiled for the correct processing time, take them carefully out of the water (that jar holder is really indispensable - it holds the jars securely and as hot as they are that's important).  Put them on a covered surface (wood if possible) and cover them with a towel until they have cooled.

Draft and peeking free!

Once they are cool leave them overnight - check the seals and label the contents - you only think you will remember when you made them and what they are.  Beets are pretty easy to identify but wait until you graduate to relishes and salsas!  And, by the way, if you put the label on the lid you won't have to scrape it off the jar when it is returned for a refill.  Everything but the lids is reusable but they are a one time thing.

So all in all that's all!  Part of the trick to angst free canning is to have all your materials laid out ahead of time - nothing is more anxiety producing than juggling a hot container of product while you try to figure out where that funnel is!