Putting Up Pear Preserves

What Is It Like To Be A Christian? Thomas Traherne: "You never enjoy the world aright...."

What is it like to be a Christian? The poet and preacher Thomas Traherne described it like this in the 1600s, and it is like this still today:

You never enjoy the world aright, till the Sea itself floweth in your veins,
till you are clothed with the heavens,
and crowned with the stars:
and perceive yourself to be the sole heir
of the whole world,
and more than so, because men are in it who are every one sole heirs as well as you.

And here - here is the longer, fuller passage:

"Our enjoyment of the world is never right, till every morning you awake in Heaven; see yourself in your Father's Palace; and look upon the skies, the earth, and the air as Celestial Joys: having such a reverend esteem of all, as if you were among the Angels. The bride of a monarch, in her husband's chamber, hath no such causes of delight as you.

"You never enjoy the world aright, till the Sea itself floweth in your veins, till you are clothed with the heavens, and crowned with the stars: and perceive yourself to be the sole heir of the whole world, and more than so, because men are in it who are every one sole heirs as well as you. Till you can sing and rejoice and delight in God, as misers do in gold, and Kings in scepters, you never enjoy the world.

"Till your spirit filleth the whole world, and the stars are your jewels; till you are as familiar with the ways of God in all Ages as with your walk and table; till you are intimately acquainted with that shady nothing out of which the world was made; till you love men so as to desire their happiness, with a thirst equal to the zeal of your own; till you delight in God for being good to all: you never enjoy the world.

"Till you more feel it than your private estate, and are more present in the hemisphere, considering the glories and the beauties there, than in your own house; till you remember how lately you were made, and how wonderful it was when you came into it; and more rejoice in the palace of your glory, than if it had been made but today morning.

"Yet further, you never enjoy the world aright, till you so love the beauty of enjoying it, that you are covetous and earnest to persuade others to enjoy it…. The world is a mirror of infinite beauty, yet no man sees it.

"It is a Temple of Majesty, yet no man regards it.

"It is a region of Light and Peace, did not men disquiet it.

"It is the Paradise of God. It is more to man since he is fallen than it was before. It is the place of Angels and the Gate of Heaven.

" When Jacob waked out of his dream, he said "God is here, and I wist it not. How dreadful is this place! This is none other than the House of God and the Gate of Heaven."

Thomas Traherne

Crops In Their Season* : Local Products

We've been oh-so-gradually moving toward "slow food" and eating more locally. As a cook, Paul has always been a big advocate of having things "in their season" because that is when quality is highest.

So we tend not to buy fresh tomatoes except locally grown during the summer, and we much prefer Texas citrus (although Florida citrus is very good in a pinch), which is available only during the winter.

Today, we are very concerned to support our local economy and conserve resources, and we favor those companies that are located within Texas and nearby states such as Oklahoma and Louisiana. Local companies use less fuel getting it to us, and small companies generally use more sustainable packaging.

I love the packages in the photo, don't you? So simple, so utilitarian - these companies are "green" by their nature and not because some marketing firm told them to be. Nothing is more true to vintage living than this.



There are some things we really need to have year round. My garden is helping provide staples such as onions and peppers. Friends have shared their fruit with us, and I have also bought from near-by "U-PIC" orchards and gardens.

Two great resources are:

PickYourOwn.Org is a wonderful directory of pick-your-own farms near you. It covers all the United States and some foreign countries, and lets you drill down to the local level very easily. The site is kept updated frequently, and welcomes suggestions and corrections.

The Texas Dept of Agriculture's "Go Texan" program is a great help when shopping. I don't even have to be consciously looking but the "Go Texan" Logo catches my eye as I scan the shelves in the grocery store. You can go to the website and search out products too, if you like to plan your shopping.

By the way, the "Morton's Chili Blend" in the picture is an old brand that my family has used all my life. Pawpaw's recipe for chili specifies using this (we'll make some this winter when it is cold out). Made by an Amarillo company, this bag was packaged by "Disability Resources" of Abilene.

*Title quote is from Acts 14:17

Butterflies Ate My Dill & My Passion Flower & My Cantaloupe?

I missed the opportunity to take a photo earlier this year when my lovely dill plant, which I was growing to use in pickles, was entirely and completely consumed by Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars. How on earth did they find my solitary, lonely little plant, in a spot where dill has not grown in many years if ever? It is a mystery, isn't it?

Given the trauma suffered by the dill, I was very worried when my newly-planted Passion Flower was discovered by Gulf Fritillary Butterfly Caterpillars. I took pictures this time, and said a little prayer for the Passion Flower Vine. I figured The Lord could smile on it while He was smiling on the wild grape vine He caused to grow on the other side of this new trellis. What a surprise that was, to find a wild grape coming up there - I thought it was a weed at first! Little blessings and gifts are everywhere we look.




At any rate, the Passion Flower survived and so did the Gulf Fritillaries. One returned for a "fly-by" visit briefly and I was able to get a distant picture of it.



At one point I had too many cantaloupes to bring in all at once, so I left some outside. Something, probably a racoon or possum, but maybe a deer, took a nibble on one - and by the time I saw it, the butterflies had come for miles! These ones are, I think, called "Hackberry Emperor" butterflies. They are very tame and they do love their melon rinds. I remember these butterflies from my childhood at Mama Myrt and Pawpaw's house. They had a burn barrel for their trash, and would throw the melon rinds down next to it to rot or be eaten by the critters. These butterflies would flock there.

A good place to learn more about butterflies, or identify those you see, is Butterfliesandmoths.org You can do a "Map Search" to get to your immediate area, then sort by "Phylogenetic Order" to get them separated enough to make sense of.

Putting Up Pear Preserves

The pear crop is coming on, and my friends let me come pick some from their heavily laden tree. I love picking fruit! Pears on a tree are all ready at the same time, this is not a progressive crop.
I made them all into preserves. My grandfather (Pawpaw) used to make these. I don't have his recipe but I think these are close.



Pear Preserves

Be sure to read up on specific canning methods and up-to-date instructions before doing this if you have never canned fruits before. The National Center for Home Food Preservation (linked from my sidebar) is a good start. Also be sure to call your mom or aunt or friend who cans and ask their advice/help/love/etc. :-)

Use unripe pears that have reached their size but are still very hard and green. Peel, core and slice the pears into water with salt or fruit fresh added so they won't turn brown. Drain the sliced pears completely in a colander - you don't want any liquid remaining.

Put the pears into a large cooking pot (a spaghetti pot is good) and cover with sugar - do not stir, leave the sugar piled on top.

For 20 cups of sliced pears, I used 10 cups of sugar: half as much sugar as you have pears. If you like a heavier syrup, you can increase the sugar to equal amounts as you have pears. But do NOT decrease the sugar amount, and do not use sugar substitutes.

Set aside in the refrigerator overnight. The sugar will draw out the juice during that time so that you don't have to add any liquid when cooking them.
The next day, set on the stove and slowly bring to a boil. Remove lid and continue boiling on low heat, stirring occasionally, for several hours until pears are translucent and golden. This could range from 3 to 5 hours, depending on how thick you want your syrup.

When done, put immediately into hot, sterilized jars and seal. Set aside, away from drafts, on a cup towel to cool slowly. The lids will "pop" as they seal. There is no nicer sound from a kitchen than the popping of sealing lids!

Write the date on the lids.

Store in the refrigerator, or you can process for 12 minutes in boiling water bath in order to make them safe to store in a cupboard for up to 2 years. See above link for the NCHFP for instructions on Water Bath Canning. You can use your spaghetti pot for processing if using half-pint or pint jars (they need to be covered with at least an inch of boiling water). But you will need a canning tongs for safely putting them in and removing them from the pot.

The syrup from these is heavenly on pancakes, and can be substituted for honey. The preserves are so good on a biscuit, and can be used to make tarts and such in the winter.

Tina