Homebodies - Blessings of technology…
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, August 7, 2018
By Rita Friesen
Neepawa Banner & Press
It was a wonderful day. By pushing buttons and turning dials, three loads were drying on the line by ten of the a.m. I could have pushed more buttons and turned more dials and dried all the clothing, bedding and towels inside. However, I love the scent of sun dried items and my favourite tees and sweaters last much longer when line dried, or laid flat on the clothes horse.
It is now an easily collapsible, lightweight metal one, the old, staunch, wooden one did not make the move. Sadly.
In the kitchen, technology merged with primitive. Having picked a few raspberries, I decided to make some freezer jam. I know, coloured sugar! But it tastes darn good. Those glass jars I couldn’t throw out now are filled with glowing red jam. The mood was struck, so I thawed the last of last year’s strawberries and mixed up a batch of freezer jam. Still sweet red sugar, and still, oh, so good. The mixing and stirring was all by hand. The technology that allows the average home to have a deep freeze has not become humdrum or ho-hum. The days of boiling and canning and steaming up the home on a hot summer day to store the garden bounty for winter days has not faded.
Casting a glance around the kitchen I spotted several over ripe bananas. Not one to waste unnecessarily, I decided to turn them into muffins. My recipe books are tattered and few, so I googled a recipe that looked doable. I am no kitchen goddess! Basics, simply basics. I did improvise. The chosen recipe did not call for any chocolate chips. Imagine that, no chocolate! Three bananas indicated a single batch, so I forwent the electric mixer and blended and folded industriously. They actually turned out well. And I had the little paper muffin tin liners on hand, did not have to make an extra trip uptown. (Had slipped up town for the certo, and then, when making another batch of jam, needed more sugar. Two trips to town – imagine that!)
On trip one I noted that blueberries were on sale. I prefer saskatoons but there is nothing really wrong with blueberries. In a few minutes I had several packages to tuck into that wonderful freezer. Again, for winter enjoyment.
Lunch was berries and beans. Fresh green beans, steamed with a bit of salt and pepper and a dollop of butter. A heavy dollop. Really good. Brightening the plate was a right out of the garden tomato. Sun warmed and juicy.
It’s not often that the spirit moves me to kitchen duty. Again, the basics, but not often the extras. It is satisfying to see the row of gleaming glasses lined up on the counter. It was even more satisfying that by the end of my energy, not yet the end of the day, I could reach into the freezer and pick and choose what I wanted for supper. There was a selection. Chili won. My rationing was that after a glut of berries and fresh vegetables, a little protein was in order.
