All’s Well That Jams Well

Or, 4 Different Jams You Can Make From Your Garden

This week we’re talking about 4 different canning recipes. The harvest from our gardens are starting to come in, so it’s time to put them to use. Given how strange the weather was this year, it’s probably a good idea to store up as much as we can. 

First off, why canning? Why not freeze drying or dehydrating? 

Canning is a long used method of preserving harvests so that you can have fruits, vegetables, even full meals safe all through winter. 

Freeze drying and dehydrating are both expensive and more complicated than canning is, and can only be applied to certain foods. 

Canning means your harvest doesn’t have to be composted if you get more than you can eat before it spoils. 

You save money by canning your own foods, especially if you opt to trade some of what you’ve grown with neighbors or friends who raised different plants. 

So what is canning? 

Canning, whether you use the water bath method or a pressure canner*, is a way to preserve foods in sealed jars.  You place the foods into sterilized jars and heat them to a temperature that kills microorganisms. This is for two reasons. 

1. To keep the food from spoiling. 

2. It drives the air out, which causes a vacuum seal as it cools. 

*A pressure canner is not the same as a pressure cooker. 

The Two Methods

- Boiling Water Bath 

Just like it sounds. In this one you cover the jars of food with water and bring it to a boil ( 212* at sea level) and cook it for a set amount of time. 

- Pressure Canning

Jars of food are placed in a  special pressure cooker in 2-3 inches of water. The lid is locked on and the temperature is raised to 240*F. 

The two different methods are used for different foods, based on their acidity. 

The boiling water bath is great for fruits, jams, jellies and tomatoes because they have a higher acidity. 

Pressure canning on the other hand is for use with low acidity foods like meats, vegetables, seafood and poultry. The pressure canner method not only kills bacteria but it kills the spores of botulinum that loves meats and vegetables. While the organism can’t live past 212*F, the spores that they produce can. The pressure canner is the only way to get the food hot enough to kill them off before they can grow inside the low acidity foods. 

Fortunately for us, all four of our recipes this week are foods that can be canned using the water bath method. 

Spiced Pear Jam

8 cups peeled, finely chopped pear,  (should be 5 ½ pounds)

4 cups sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

¼ tsp ground cloves

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a dutch oven, stirring constantly. Reduce heat, simmer, stirring occasionally 2 hours or until thickened. Skim off foam with a metal spoon. 

Pour  immediately  into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace; wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on bands. 

Process in a boiling water bath 10 minutes 

Store in a refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator when ready to use. 

Should yield 5 half pints. 

Fruity Preserves

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

4 granny smith apples, peeled and chopped

2 Tbsps grated orange rind

3 oranges, peeled, seeded and chopped

3 lemonds, peeled and chopped

4 cups of sugar

Bring all ingredients to ao boil in a dutch oven, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally 1 ½ to 2 hours or until thickened. Remove from heat and skim off foam with a metal spoon. 

Pour immediately into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch head space; wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids and screw on bands. 

Process in a boiling water bath, 10 minutes. 

Store in a refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator when ready to use. 

Yields 6 half pints 

Tri-Berry Lemon Jam 

1 cup crushed strawberries about 1 pint

1 cup crushed blueberries about 1 pound

1 cup crushed raspberries about ¾ pint

1 Tbsp grated lemon rind

2 ¼ cups sugar, divided 

1 (1 ¾ ounce) package powdered pectin 

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a  large bowl. Combine ¼ cup sugar and pectin in a small bowl. Gradually add pectin mixture to fruit mixture, stirring vigorously. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. 

Stir in remaining 2 cups sugar gradually until no longer grainy. 

Pour into containers, leaving ½ inch headspace. Cover with lids; chill 24 hours. Store in a refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator when ready to use. 

Yields 4 half pints 

Tomato Preserves

3 pounds of tomatoes, peeled and diced

4 cups sugar

¼ cup lemon juice

1 (6 ounce) package strawberry gelatin

Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil  in a Dutch oven, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring occasionally, 0 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin until dissolved. 

Pour into containers, leaving ¼ inch head space and cover with lids; cool 1 hour. Chill 24 hours. Store in refrigerator for 3 weeks or freeze for up to a year.  Thaw in refrigerator when ready to use. 

Should yield 5 half pints

Remember, even if your garden wilted (like our blogger’s) you can pick all of this up at your local grocery store or farmers market. 

We hope you liked this week’s post, be sure to let us know in the comments or over on Facebook. Do you already know how to can foods? Do you have a favored recipe? 

And if you’re living in the Allen area and your appliances are acting up, you can always call or use our website to set up an appointment. We want to help. 

All of Your Laundry Questions Answered

Or At Least As Many As We’ve Been Asked

Laundry is like the internet, both necessary and a total time suck. With many contradictory instructions for how to get what you want out of it. This week we’re answering some of the most common laundry questions in hopes of cutting down the time you spend doing it. 

1. Is distilled white vinegar as useful as the internet thinks? 

When it comes to laundry, it is indeed that useful. While it won’t fix every problem, it can be used to 

• Soften clothing

• Reduce body odor

• Clean your washing machine between loads (really, a half cup in where you’d normally run your detergent and it helps get rid of that funk!) 

2. I feel like my colors are getting dingy since switching to a High Efficiency machine. What gives? 

HE machines bounce the clothing around in the wash instead of submerging them the way traditional machines do. That leads to additional wear and tear, and greater potential for dye transfer. Pretreating your clothes with color safe bleach will help them stay vibrant, and get even cleaner as well. 

3. Does a High Efficiency washer have to use HE detergent? Or can I use what I have? 

HE washers are designed to use less water. What that means is that if you use standard detergent it could take as much as 5 rinse cycles to get all of the suds and residue out of your clothes. 

If you don’t have any choice, you have to get your clothes clean today, consider using less than a quarter of the amount of detergent you would have before. 

4. Do I have to sort my clothes? 

Simply? Yes. 

If you throw it all in together you end up frying shirts and lingerie just to get your jeans and towels dry. Not to mention you’re dealing with  transferring dyes, lint build up, piling, and snags or holes. 

An easy solution is to keep a hamper that has one section for whites, one for lights, one for darks and one for dry clean only. 

When it’s time to do laundry, sort by fabric types and your clothes end up not only looking nicer, but lasting longer as well. 

5. How much can I cram into my dryer before I cause damage? 

If you’re using the word ‘cram’ odds are you’re already doing damage. 

Overloading is one of the biggest reasons dryers break. The dryers belts or pulleys are strained and then the motor overheats. 

Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid this outcome. If you’re dealing with lighter fabrics,  you can get away with filling the dryer ⅔ of the way. If it’s towels, jeans or bedding though, you shouldn’t fill it past ½ way. Stick to these two amounts and your dryer will thank you. 

6. I shrank my favorite shirt! Can I fix it? 

If you dried it, it’s possible, but much more difficult. 

If you caught the shrinkage when you pulled it out of the wash, maybe. 

-Cotton is very forgiving, as is polyester. These can be both be gently stretched out and laid flat to dry.

-If it’s wool… we suggest you go shopping? 

7. I have multiple pets and the fur is always in my washing machine. What can I do? 

Get a lint roller. Not only will it remove pet hair before you wash, but using it will keep that hair out of the washer drum or the drain pumps. 

8. Can I hand wash clothes labeled dry clean only? 

In short? No. 

The manufacturers test their clothing during the deign process to see which method of washing holds up best and keeps the clothing lasting as long as possible. 

There are kits for the dryer like Dryel which will help freshen clothes, eliminate odors and even get rid of light stains and wrinkles. However things like velvet, leather and silk, even some nylons, polyester or spandex, don’t hold up very well in the wash and should  be handled with care. 

9. My T-shirts are being destroyed by sweat stains. How do I stop looking like I don’t care? 

Start by pre-treating the shirt in the areas where you know your  sweat collects., You’ll want to do this every time you wash them, even if you can’t see a stain. 

If the stains are in a white shirt, soak the shirt in boiling hot water in a dish pan to loosen up the stains. Then use a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, water and baking soda, rubbing the fabric together to get it worked into the fabric.  Rinse and toss it into the wash with color safe bleach. 

10. My white linens keep ending up dingy. What am I getting wrong? 

With time and repeated use, whites become dingy from missed stains, dye transfer and redeposited dirt. 

Try these tips to fix it. 

-Always separate your lines by color, whites, lights, darks. Each gets their own load. 

-Don’t overload the machine. 

- If the fabric is packed too tight the dirt will just get moved around instead of washed down the drain. 

-Use hot water instead of cold to more easily remove dirt and body oils. 

- Skip dryer sheets and instead dry on low heat so that any remaining dirt isn’t baked yellow. 

In short, it’s always better to ask questions when it comes to laundry, rather than having to replace your wardrobe or linens. We hope we were able to shed some light on your questions and if not, feel free to ask in the comments or on our Facebook. If your washer, dryer or any of your other appliances are acting up, feel free to call and set up an appointment. Or you can go to our appointment page and use that to set one up. 

We hope to see you again next week. 

Building Your Outdoor Kitchen: What You Need to Know Beforehand

Have you ever thought about building an outdoor kitchen? It’s summer and that means home improvement stores are pushing patio furniture and grills, and everything else that goes into it. So the idea is there. “What would it be like to have an outdoor kitchen?” and “how would I even get one started?” Every year we ask these same questions, and this year, we decided to bite the bullet. While not a complete list by any means (since every home and person is different) our list does cover many of the things that you need to consider when planning for an outdoor kitchen. 

Finding the Right Spot

That’s a trick question actually. There is no ‘right’ spot, nor is there a “perfect spot’.  

No, really. Take that idea and chuck it. No matter where you place an outdoor kitchen there will be reasons to love it and reasons to hate it. There isn’t a defined set of parameters that are going to make a spot ‘perfect.’ What you can decide on though is ‘perfect for you and your needs.’ 

Ask yourself, do you want it close to your house, or farther away?  There are benefits and drawbacks to both. 

-If you’re going to keep it close to the house: 

-It’s great because it’s easy to run water, electricity and gas. And extending a roof isn’t difficult. You can even get away with not having a sink if you place it near your indoor kitchen. 

However, 

- Make sure it’s on a northern wall to reduce exposure to the sun for you and your appliances. 

- Consider the location of doors and windows in relation to the area  so your house doesn’t become known for its smoked meats and furniture. 

If you want to build well away from your house consider: 

The benefits here include more space to spread out, the heat and smells from cooking won’t be as strong inside your house, and you’ve added an entire room to your floor plan. However, there are a few things that you’ll have to do ‘in exchange’. 

• Building a roof to protect appliances (and you) from the sun

• Including plenty of storage so you don’t have to run all over for tools, utensils etc. 

• How you’ll run water and electricity to it. Running back and forth to wash your hands is a pain. 

Talk to an expert 

Even if you intend to build it yourself, an expert consultation can be a big help. 

Experts can help with things like 

Building codes

How close to your property line can you build? 

Even if your local code says you can build right up to the edge of your property, maybe don’t? Consider the noise, privacy and smoke issues from your neighbor’s side of the line. 

What do you need for fire safety? 

While not a comprehensive list, when it comes to fire

-  Keep the grill or stove at least 10’ from combustible materials and your house. 

Always have a fire extinguisher, a bucket of water and a bucket of sand in a specific cabinet in the event of a fire. And know when to use each. 

What types of permits need to be filed? 

Consider lighting and ventilation

Lighting - Make sure that your work surface and the surrounding paths leading to the kitchen are adequately lit. Given how easy it is to get hold of small solar powered lights this is very easy to set up, and ensures a safe work environment. 

Ventilation- No one wants to hangout in or near a smoky kitchen, so make sure that the grill is either at the edge of the space or install a ventilation system. 

Can you afford it? 

According to Angieslist, an outdoor kitchen can cost between 5k to 15k, depending on how many of the indoor comforts you want (Although if you want to get really elaborate, we have seen some that have gone as high as 75k.) 

• How often will you use it? 

Really consider this one. Do you want it just for one major event a year? Or will you use it most weekends throughout the summer? Or do you really love cooking and plan to use it as often as possible? These answers are going to affect where and how you spend your money. 

• What features do you want? 

Just like when we went through how to remodel your indoor kitchen, you need a list. You have the basics: 

Water supply

Direct gas line for the grill 

Fridge or mini fridge for drinks

What about seating? Fans? A trash drawer? Outdoor safe cabinets and counters? 

• How much maintenance do you want to do? The materials you choose for your outdoor kitchen will directly affect how much you spend cleaning and repairing as time goes by. 

• ROI

For some homeowners they look not just at ‘can I afford it and enjoy it now,” but “will it make my home sell better in the future?’ 

Given that most of our clients live in Texas we can firmly say Yes. According to Quicken Loans, houses in the south see a 100 - 200%  ROI on their outdoor kitchens. The reasons for this are many, but here are a few

-The weather is suitable for year round use

- If you use weather safe woods it will last for decades

- It gives a versatility for living indoors and out which is a growing trend, alongside outdoor bedrooms and living rooms. 

When you’ve looked at all of that, how does it add up for you? Do you think you’ll save up for another year and put in a lavish outdoor kitchen next year to boost the value of your house? Or are you dying to get started grilling now and you’re willing to add to it bit by bit? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page. 

And remember, if any of your appliances are giving you a hard time, you can always call or set up an appointment on our website. We want to keep your home running in tip top shape. 

Beat the Heat With This Spicy And Sweet Set of Ribs

Sweet and Spicy BBQ Ribs 

Welcome to this month’s first recipe, all about sweet and spicy ribs. Texas is known for its grilling, right? With the heatwave that’s melting us, we wanted to get out of the kitchen and work outside where there’s hopefully going to be a breeze.  So we went digging and found this great recipe tucked into the back of the recipe book that sounded perfect to share. It’s even got a delicious side of grilled (or broiled) peaches to pair with it and tame some of the heat. 

4 pounds  pork spareribs

½ cup chili sauce

½ cup hoisin sauce

¼ cup packed brown sugar

¾ tsp ground allspice

½ tsp hot pepper sauce

4 medium size ripe peaches

2 Tbsps peach preserves

About 2 hours before serving or a day ahead 

Take your rack of ribs and cut them into two-rib portions. This means you won’t be fighting as much for space later, and they’re easier to flip with tongs. 

Put an 8-quart saucepot over high heat, add in the ribs, and enough water to cover. Bring it to a boil. Put a lid on top of that and turn the heat down to a simmer. Leave that there for an hour to get the meat tender. 

Using tongs, remove teh ribs from the saucepot and put them on a platter. 

If you plan to grill right away, go start the barbecue. If you’re cooking the ribs later, put them in the fridge covered in foil. 

About 1 hour before serving 

Prepare your outdoor grill, remember, coals need at least 30 minutes to heat fully. Meanwhile, mix chili sauce, hoisin sauce, sugar, allspice and hot pepper sauce.  (If you want to check out how to make your own chili or hot pepper sauces, check out the notes below.) 

Cook your ribs over medium heat, 15 to 20 minutes to heat them through. Brush with the sauce frequently during the last 10 minutes to keep them from charring. (Unless you’re like our bloggers and prefer a bit of char on your ribs. Then just be careful.) 

Cut all of the peaches in half and discard the pits. Grill the peach halves with ribs, turning and brushing them with preserves until hot and browned. This should take roughly 5 minutes. Remove ribs and peaches from the grill, transferring to a platter and enjoy.

When you’re done and it’s time to clean  up, throw your grill grates into the dishwasher for an easier cleanup. 

If you can’t grill, due to weather or what have you, try broiling your ribs. 

Start off by precooking the ribs and prepping the sauce same as we did above. 

Roughly 30 minutes before you want to serve, preheat the broiler. Arrange the ribs on a rack in the broiling pan and brush with the sauce. Broil ribs 5 to 7 inches from the heat for 20 minutes, turning and brushing with remaining sauce every 5 minutes. 

Remove the ribs from the broiler and transfer them to the platter. 

Grab your peaches, and just like above, cut them all in half, chucking out the pits. Place peach halves with the cut side up on the rack in the broiling pan. Brush the peaches with preserves and broil for 5 minutes.  

Transfer the peaches to the platter with the ribs and enjoy a sweet and hot treat. 

Let us know what you think over on our Facebook page! We’d love to hear from you and how your ribs turned out! 

If this isn’t your thing, we have something completely different coming out in two weeks, so be sure to check back then. 

Remember, if your appliances are giving you trouble, or if you just want someone to give them a once over, give us a call. We want to help keep your home running in tip top shape. 

Call ((214) 599-0055) 

Set an appointment online.

Notes: 

We know that most people don’t like to go and make their own chili and hot pepper sauces. It’s a lot of work after all. For those of you that do though, these recipes are for you. Please let us know how they turn out! 

Chili sauce

Check out this recipe straight from Ball’s own Fresh Preserving site. This recipe is a classic and with good reason! The flavor is rich and complex and goes great anywhere you’d typically throw in chili sauce (and even a few places you hadn’t considered yet.) 

The ingredient list looks like this 16 cups chopped cored peeled tomatoes (about 16 medium)

6 onions, chopped

6 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped

`2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped

2 cups white vinegar

1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 Tbsp. freshly grated or drained bottled horseradish, optional

1 Tbsp. celery salt

1 Tbsp. mustard seeds

1 Tbsp. salt

1 tsp. ground allspice

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground mace or nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground clove

Hot Pepper Sauce 

If you’re looking to make your own hot sauce, a great place to start is at Wholefully. Her ingredient list looks like this. 

1 1/2 pounds peppers of your choosing (a mix of sweet peppers and hot peppers), tops/stems removed, halved

6 cloves garlic, peeled

4 cups filtered water

4 teaspoons sea salt

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup, optional

If on the other hand you’re an aficionado and want to go a step further you can take a look at this guide we found that takes you from the very beginning, through multiple different recipes and up to creating your own business if you’re so inclined. That is over at Chili Pepper Madness. 

How to Prep Your Home Before You Go Away for Vacation

Is it just us or is Texas miserable in the summer? We want to go on vacation and get out of the heat! But your home needs to be prepped before you go on vacation, especially if it’s for longer than a few days. There’s so much to do between planning the trip and packing that we put together a checklist. You can print it out to go step by step over how to prep your appliances, home and security before you leave. 

Outline: 

Prepping Your House

Security Set Up

Take It Easy When You Get Back 

Prepping Your House

- You want to start by making sure that your home is prepped if you’re going away for more than 3 or 4 days. 

- Whether it’s winter or summer, start by putting your water heater on vacation mode. 

- Turn off the valves that lead to your dishwasher, washing machine and sink. It can’t leak if the valves are off! 

- Unplug what doesn’t need to be on. 

TVs, computers, game systems, sound systems, etc. These don’t need to be plugged in if there’s no one home to use them, right? And why rack up the electric bill if you aren’t using it? 

- Take a moment before you leave to check your smoke detectors. This way, if the worst happens your neighbors will hear. Or if you have newer models, the fire department and your security company will be alerted. 

- Run a  half cup of vinegar through your garbage disposal to make sure you don’t come back to a rank miasma. 

- On that note, empty out your fridge and cabinets of anything that is set to expire while you’re gone. You don’t have to throw it out, just make sure to eat it or give it away. You can also see if any of the foods could be made into freezer stable foods if you aren’t keen to give away food. 

- Set your thermostat to a more neutral set of temperatures. Maybe 80s if its summer or 50s if it’s winter. Again, this saves you money, while still keeping your home at temps that won’t destroy furniture or other elements of your home. 

Setting Up Security 

- Engage a friend or neighbor to come and stay over a few hours a day, park their car in your driveway, water the plants, feed your pets, etc. 

- Call your home security and tell them you’re going out of town and if you have anyone that’s coming to check on the house. 

- If you don’t have anyone to check on your house, make sure to call and delay your mail and your newspaper. Piles of newspapers, mail and packages are a clear sign that no one has been home for a while. 

- Another way to avoid that is to park your car in the garage while you’re gone. Or if you’ve transformed your garage into a  shop or a bedroom, you can park your car at a storage lot for the duration. 

- Set up an ‘at home’ routine with your lights. With the benefit of smart tech, you can schedule your lights at different times to mimic your usual routine. It could look something like this at night.

Kitchen: Come on 7 and go for 30 minutes 

Dining room: Lights turn on at 7:25 and go for 1 hour

Living room: Lights turn on at 8:30 and run for 1 hour. 

Bedroom: Lights turn on at 9:30 and then run for 1 hour. 

- If you want to get really clever you could even create multiple routines for different days. 

- One last night on security. Make sure that all of your windows are closed and latched, even the upstairs ones. Keys to your doors definitely shouldn’t be somewhere obvious like under the doormat or on a  windowsill. Make sure that your garage is locked as well.

Take It Easy When You Get Back 

- You’re going away on vacation, the last thing you want to worry about when you get back is cleaning. The simplest answer then is either to schedule a top to bottom cleaning. Alternatively, do one yourself before you leave if you don’t want someone going all over while you’re gone. 

- Take out all of the trash. Kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, office. Get rid of it. Coming back to your house after a vacation and finding squatter rodents is not someone anyone wants. 

- Do your laundry, especially if it’s summer. Coming home to find that you have get right into the humdrum of doing laundry is the worst. And if you do it beforehand you can…

- Plan clothes ahead of time. We don’t mean for your vacation. We know you’re already daydreaming about that.Studies have shown it can take a least a week for most people to get back into things after being gone for more than a few days.  So we’re suggesting that you lay out a week’s worth of clothes for when you get back. This way you can keep yourself focused on getting back into the routine, without feeling overwhelmed. 

- Now that you have your house prepped and secure, you can go on your vacation!

Go and enjoy, and tell us what you get up to while you’re out of town. You can do that, or ask any questions you might have on our Facebook page. 

If you want to download the checklist, here you go.  

And if the worst happens while you’re gone and some of your appliances start acting up, you can always call us at ((214) 599-0055), or go to our webpage to set up an appointment.