First fire and other seasonal stuff

Saturday, 10:10 pm

Oct

04

2008

Tonight I’m enjoying my first fire of the season. The northeast has been a little brisk the past couple of weeks and my house finally reached the official “cold” mark. After spending the day out and about, I came home, this evening, to 58 degrees and it wasn’t very pleasant. I’ve done pretty well getting used to and comfortable with 62 degrees in the house this fall, but 58° felt very much like a fire in the stove tonight. I thought that I might be able to skate through most of October without burning any wood, but...guess not. I probably won’t need another fire for the next week or so, but I’m still disappointed that I couldn’t hold out longer.

On the other hand, it’s so cozy in here. I think the disappointment is vastly outweighed by the sheer pleasure of being nice and warm for the first time in a couple of weeks.

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Over the past few days I’ve been searching high and low for a gallon sized glass jar in which to conduct a science project-- lacto-fermentation—homemade sauerkraut. Nothing fancy. I’ve looked in a variety of different stores from here to Portsmouth. And I even found one glass jar that would work just fine for a whopping $29.99. I did not buy it.

It wasn’t until last night that I had a brainstorm. How about an industrial sized pickle jar? I just betcha BJs or Sam’s Club has huge jars of pickles.

Today J and I went out to BJs and stocked up on some items. Among them...an industrial sized pickle jar with industrial sized pickles. For $3.99. The pickles were a bonus. I gave them to J. I wanted the empty jar. Imagine that. $3.99. Phooey on fancy $29.99 glass jars.

I’ll let you know how the sauerkraut turns out. My mom used to make it in a crock years ago. Best tasting stuff ever. It’s hard to believe that the cans marked ‘sauerkraut’ in the markets are even in the same food group.

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Last week I made and canned my first applesauce of the season. I had intended it to be the only applesauce of the season, but I didn’t get enough apples. I spent one entire afternoon peeling and coring and cooking one peck of apples and it only yielded 6 pints. Well, it beats store-bought and it’s 6 more pints than I started with. But I think I’ll go find more apples and make another 6 pints. I don’t believe there is such a thing as too much applesauce in the winter.

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And, speaking of...Winter must surely be just around the corner now. A couple of days ago, I glanced out the dining room door and saw several juncos and four tufted titmice lined up on the deck railing facing me. They were patiently waiting for the diner to open. I burst out laughing. It was a comical sight.

Shortly thereafter, the diner opened and my winter birds have been merrily throwing seed husks all over. It’s a happening place out there.

For the little rodents, I tossed out some peanuts, too. It’s chipmunk heaven.