I can has vets bill nao?

[desperance]

Hrrmph. Young Sir has spent the weekend dallying unproductively with his litter-tray, only finally having a decent pee half an hour before his vet appointment; which is of course exactly wrong timing, because now we want a urine sample for testing, and he is shut up in the bathroom with some clever crystals until we get one. However much he scrabbles at the door, and however much other damage he does. It could be some time; I don't think cats pee that often, even when they don't have presumptive infections. Sigh...

Barry is spending most of his time hanging around just outside the bathroom. Whether he's lonely or jealous or sneering, I can't work out.

Meantime, I'm supposed to be working. Suppose away. I think I might go downstairs and make some melon & star anise jam, in ongoing pursuit of new resolution to cook stuff I can give away in jars. I have melons, I have lemons, I have star anise; what more do I need? (I had hoped to find a recipe for melon rind pickle, so as to waste nothing; but googling for it only produces an endless list of recipes for watermelon rind pickle, which this is not. I guess no one pickles regular melon rinds. Damn.) Yesterday's peach & chilli chutney was a bit of a triumph, frankly; v nice with pork pie, anyway. And the house still smells of sweet spiciness, which is good.

And I have no concentration, so I might as well listen to the cricket, mightn't I? While I wait for a cat to pee. Good grief...

Comments

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

What kind of jars are you using? I ask because I love to make jam, but Ireland doesn't have the same kind of jars I'm used to, and while people claim you can in fact re-use storebought jam jars, I'm deeply suspicious of the whole matter.

You could always invent a melon rind pickle recipe.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Oh, I am just re-using storebought jam jars. You need to wash them thoroughly and then sterilise, but an hour in a low oven will do that just dandy. Everybody I know (in that sense of 'everybody I know who makes jam') does this, and it's actually one of the spurs that's driving me to all this jamming & chutneying; I have an ever-increasing collection of jars, now that I have rediscovered breakfast, and I hate to throw them even into the recycling process, when they could just be used again.

I don't think there's anything to be particularly suspicious of. Did you use to buy new jars every time? I'm not sure stores even sell jars for holding jam, over here...

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

I was told to be careful about jar re-use, in case the jars were then going to be pressure-canned, as flaws in the glass caused by tiny scrapes from the spoon might cause the jar to break*, but since pressure-canning preserves is Not Necessary**, we always re-used them.

*My mind boggles at that, I must say, even now. Since the companies that sell the canning jars also sell the books on canning, they may have been making sure they sold more jars this way.
**In fact, all my mother ever did was pour a layer of melted paraffin wax on top of jams and preserves before putting the lid on--pickles and relishes got a regular canning, no pressure needed--it's not like we're talking about green beans, for heaven's sake.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

The British habit is to lay down a disc of waxed paper on top of the jam or whatever. These I know you can buy; and what I say is, if it's good enough for the Women's Institute, it's good enough for me. (I was at this point going to link through to the Women's Institute, but their website's down, so I won't. Point being, they are famous the length and breadth of the land for many things, but for nothing so much as their sales of home-made cakes and jams...)

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

Well, if the WI don't feel the need to can the jam, why should anyone else?

I like the sound of the waxed paper discs--the melted wax is always a little scary.

[julesjones]

In my case, wash thoroughly, sterilize jars and tools by soaking in a sink filled with boiling water and some bleach, then stick them in the oven at a low temperature to dry off.

Running them through the dishwasher wash-n-dry cycle on the hottest setting works a treat as well, though more suited to when you have an entire load of jars to sterilise, or at least a full dishwasher load of stuff that will take the hottest cycle. Also requires a dishwasher, which is why this only happens when I'm making jam at someone else's house.

I'm now feeling a strange urge to go into the other unit's half of the garden, and get some lemons for a batch of lemon curd. It's the wrong time of the year to be making mince, really.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Jars when necessary, lids always, yes. Therefore I find the whole prospect of re-using jars/lids to be nervewracking. *chews nails* I suppose I could try. The worst that would happen would be a ruined batch of jam (which is, mind you, pretty dire).

[desperance.livejournal.com]

You could always invent a melon rind pickle recipe.

Well, I could, but my problem is I'm not sure it's actually edible. I just want it to be, which is not quite the same thing. Recipes would've confirmed it. Absence of recipes - well, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, but even so...

I guess they're going in the compost. At least I tried.

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

But think how happy you're making the compost bacteria--they're getting some delicious melon rinds!

[desperance.livejournal.com]

I do love making my compost-bacteria happy, it is true. I have been known to pick stuff up in the street - discarded apples, eg - and bring them home for the compost...

canning jars - locating and using

[(Anonymous)]

I am from the States and I am use to using Ball or Kerr lid and ring canning jars-yes it is alot different in England and Ireland BUT it still can be done. Kilner jars are the same 'mouth' size as regular Ball or Kerr lids and even with the glass top, they can be used. It's an expensive way of doing things though. You can also go through ALPACK, which is an Irish Company that sells jars w/lids for canning (like store bought jelly....) AND you can reuse jars and lids as long as there are no dents, rubber is intact and no rust marks. I was also taught to use wax as a sealer (called hot packing, wax sealed) but it can be messy and you must put on a nice layer to seal soooooooo canning can be done in Ireland-if you really want too.

[martyn44.livejournal.com]

I know watching Chanderpaul batting is as interesting as watching paint dry (compared to, say, the current South African in the team) but emailing TMS? Have you no shame, associating with debauched public school riff raff like that?

Or is just that they've never published anything I send (largely because I propose a fatwah against Jonathan Agnew, probably...)

[desperance.livejournal.com]

I know, I know - mea culpa! But I just happened to glance at that particular bit of the online commentary (because I was being good, and working, and not listening to the radio), and there was that guy asking whether anyone had a unique name, and I thought "I do!" - and I was even more amused to discover that officially I don't exist at all - so what's a guy to do, but point it out...?

Also, I was clearly not the only one reading it...