Monkeys?

September 15, 2008Family, WVFamily, WVwarren

We had a family reunion last weekend and apparently we are descended from monkeys…My kids and their uncle shimmied up and down the lally columns in the basement of the house in which we met. Isaac has always been a climber so he had no trouble.

Abigail is definitely more hesitant but that’s her nature. I am not sure about uncle though. He looks natural in the picture but I can’t speak to his pole climbing experience. Anyhow, we had a lot of fun at the reunion. I am not sure if families do this much any more.

My grandpa’s people (there were 8 brothers and sisters that survived into adulthood) used to get together once a year. All 200 or so cousins would goof around on the farm, swim in the pool, drink way too much pop from the fountain machine…you know, kids’ stuff. Anyow, as the number of original brothers and sisters dwindled (my grandpa is the last at 94!), the reunion shrank significantly. I am partly to blame as I didn’t make the trip back home. Still, I wonder if it is a fading tradition. Well, this new reunion is going strong and we surely enjoy attending. My kids get to be monkeys just like I used to be. I have learned though…no free soda fountain!

Tomato Press

September 12, 2008CanningCanningwarren

If you grow tomatoes, you have to get a tomato press (aka food mill). We used to freeze tomatoes, let them defrost a little, then with numb fingers, slip the skins off and chop them up. This method works fine but oh my heck there is a better way! We found this Velox Tomato Press on the clearance rack at an Ace hardware for $15.00! It’s mostly plastic/nylon but appears to be pretty rugged. For $15.00, if it lasted me a season I figured I was way ahead. Anyhow, we attach the vacuum base to the glass stove top (which we hate, btw) and set up a big bowl to catch the good stuff and a plate to catch the skins and seeds. We quarter the tomatoes and drop them in the hopper. I grind them once, then take the skins/seeds/etc and run them through again. There is a ton of juice/pulp to be had on the second processing so don’t miss this part.

I suppose that this $15 tool has reduced our tomato-processing-time by 90% plus we can feel our fingers when we are done! We do tend to make a bit of a mess as tomatoes squirt and squish all over but it is no worse then when we did it by hand. If you are on the fence as to whether the $50 (normally) is worth it, I’d say YES!

Edit: Sorry…for some reason, comments were turned off for this post. That should be fixed now…

My excellent wife!

September 11, 2008Family, WVFamily, WVwarren

I posted about this earlier this Summer but Emily was awarded the Paul Morris Character Educator of the Year for the state of WV. She was formally presented the award yesterday and we attended a recognition dinner last night. There are some links here and here that talk about her and the award. I know she hates the pictures and all of the attention but she is a great counselor and a great wife and I am super proud of her!

Capitol of WV

September 11, 2008Family, WVFamily, WVwarren

A while back we took a visit to the WV Capitol grounds and were able to tour and take pictures of the area (and play a little soccer on the grounds). The Capitol building is imposing at 535,000 square feet but sits upon a magnificient grounds of proportional size. The exterior is made of Indiana limestone and the majority of the interior is marble. What we all noticed is how beautiful the golden dome is. It turns out to be covered in 3 inch squares of gold leaf over copper and lead.

It’s amazing! In its current form and location, the capitol was built between 1924 and 1932 at a cost of $10 million. Inside, there are numerous offices but also several displays taken from the exhibits in the nearby WV Cultural Center. We saw displays on shoes and walking sticks (much more interesting than it sounds) and talked to the folks stuck working on a Saturday when we visited. It’s really an interesting place to walk through, especially on weekends when it is not busy. We saw tons of beautiful bits of artwork formed into the building as well as incredible craftsmanship around the rotunda area.

Some folks say it is overdone and wasteful but I think it beautifully illustrates that good government should be beautiful and strong, neither extravagant nor cut to the bone. Meh, I won’t get all political here, but I think the Capitol building is a beautiful symbol of WV!

More green

September 10, 2008Green, Nature, ThoughtsGreen, Nature, Thoughtswarren

Well, yesterday’s post was about bad green. Actually, green is my favorite color and there are tons of green things that I have snapped pics of this summer. These greens are much better than Soylent green.

Humans have three types of color receptors in the eye. Basically, they are for sensing red, green, and blue. In general, humans are most sensitive to greenish wavelengths. I suppose that is why greens seem so vivid (or is it just me?). I used to do some physiological research on various critters, among them, zebrafish. Zebrafish have four sensor types and are most sensitive to UV. I wonder what their favorite color is…

I guess I am sort of glad, but also bummed that a camera just rarely seems to capture colors as vividly as they are in real life. I guess that’s one of the things that makes the moment so special.

This hillside is outside my office and has been very interesting to watch evolve in color through the summer. Right now, there are plants that are turning bright red and goldenrod has also really cropped up. Green dominates but the hillside is alive with color!

This is my favorite green…I am trying to avoid caffeine and drink more water and milk so it’s rare that I get to enjoy any of this nectar…so sad…

Soylent Green

September 9, 2008ThoughtsThoughtswarren

Soylent Green Movie Poster

Emily and I watched on old 1973 movie called Soylent Green starring Charleton Heston. The movie is set in the year 2022 when the Earth is overcrowded and polluted. People are forced to scrape by with little to eat except Soylent food wafers which come in various colors including green. Nearly all food products are made by the Soylent corporation which basically owns the world because of its importance. It has a wierd twist at the end and the line Charleton Heston delivers was provided to me in another context by a friend which is what made me originally watch this movie (I’ll say no more).

The cool thing about the movie is that it made me think on two separate topics. First, I wonder if we are headed down the same general road of overcrowding, pollution, disassociation from our food, etc. There are large corporations that genetically modify food/seeds/etc to increase viability, production, and whatever else they can. At the same time, they may be introducing a monoculture future where varieties of corn and beets and peppers, etc are non-existent. With reduced genetic diversity comes danger. These corporations are also holders of the patents for these seeds/genetic variations which may give them additional power over what is available to us to eat in the future.

Secondly, I wonder how the human race ever survived the 1970s. Older movies highlight hair styles and clothes and make me wonder how people were able get past how goofy they looked so they could procreate. It amazes me. Of course, I am a 1970s child and the fact that my parents procreated even further horrifies me (though, for my sake, I am glad they did). I can write no more…

Cicadas

September 8, 2008Audio, Nature, WVAudio, Nature, WVwarren

Cicadas go through life cycles where they appear in adult form every 2 to 17 years. Most of their lives they live underground and are harmlessly out of the way. As I understand it, this year was the time for the 17-year-between-adults type to hatch in WV. Sure enough, we have had a bunch of them. The big hatch where they molt and leave their dried, older shells everywhere occurred earlier this year. I am not sure how long the adults remain, laying their eggs and such, but they are still active in great number. Cicadas are harmless, except I think they can make a person deaf if proper hearing protection is not worn. We had one land on our kitchen door the other night while Emily and I were doing something. It started its “song” and nearly drove us from the room. I went around outside and was able to record the racket it was making for your listening pleasure.

I don’t think this recording does the volume justice, but it goes on constantly in the evenings. Really, they are fun to watch bumble through the air. They are harmless, crazy, prehistoric-looking bugs that the kids are almost brave enough to try and catch. I always enjoy hearing them is some ways as it is a definite sound of summer!

[audio:https://myhomeamongthehills.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/cicada-on-the-kitchen-door-2.mp3]

Hot peppers

September 5, 2008Canning, Food, GardenCanning, Food, Gardenwarren

I like hot peppers of various types. Over time, it seems that my taste buds have become less sensitive. I remember when jalapenos used to send me over the edge. Not so much any more. As a bit of a pepper junkie, I decided that we need tons of peppers to satisfy my cravings. In the excitement of late winter/early spring seed-starting, we planted hot peppers in sufficient number to feed my entire family for a year. We planted jalapenos, hungarian wax, cayennes and habaneros.

I have been drying pepper rings, I have canned peppers by themselves, I have thrown peppers in salsa, pickles, spaghetti sauce, and on everything I eat fresh. Still, we have millions and millions of peppers. I had to resort to something extreme and strange to use up some jalapenos.

I made jalapeno jelly last night. I am not exactly sure how you eat this though I have heard it is good on anything with creamcheese. The recipe is pretty simple so it’s worth a try:

Jalapeno Jelly
3/4 pound stemmed & de-seeded jalapenos
2 cups vinegar
6 cups sugar
2 pouches of liquid pectin
I de-seeded the peppers for the first batch of jelly but got tired of that so I ground seends and all for the second batch. Anyhow, puree the jalapenos until they are nearly unrecognizable. Boil them with sugar and vinegar for 10 minutes. Make sure you stir constantly and have a big enough pan as this mixture swells a lot and really smokes-and-smells-up-your-house-and-your-wife-has-to-scurry-around-to-deactivate-the-smoke-alarms-since-the-kids-are-sleeping when (I mean if) you boil it over (so I’ve heard). After the 10 minute boil, remove from heat, add pectin and boil again for 1 minute. Powdered pectin does not work very well so do yourself a favor and just use liquid pectin. Ladle into half-pint jars and water bath can for 10 minutes. You can add green or red food coloring, by the way. I prefer not to add coloring but you can color it if you’d like.

Clendenin

September 4, 2008Family, WVFamily, WVwarren

There is a small town nearby called Clendenin. Whenever it makes the news or whenever we drive by and see a sign of any sort, we say “Clendenin, Clendenin, Clendenin, Clendenin” without moving our lips. To be said properly, you must also say it slowly in a monotone sort-of-southern voice. It’s almost a mental illness with us but we always do it. Right after college I worked as a laborer with a fella from Clendenin (did you say it correctly?) and he always talked about where he lived (can you guess where?) He was fairly country and spoke little except when speaking about Clendenin. I’ll never forget how he pronounced it and the fact that he started this madness that Emily and I suffer with now! I suppose every couple has some sort of goofy stuff like this that they do (I hope so or else we are just crazy) that seems to make the kids look at you and wonder if they will ever be normal. Sorry to say it kids, you have no chance!

Cushaw

September 3, 2008GardenGardenwarren

I listen to this fun podcast called Geek.Farm.Life and I once heard them talking about cushaw squash. Being naturally curious (though nothing compared to my brother George), I decided to embark on the Cushaw express to see what delights lay ahead. I knew winter squash can grow pretty large but I had not really considered what that meant. They shot up pretty little heads, just like the nearby summer squash. They vined out early, just like the summer squash…but then, something happened. I am certain a genetic mutation occurred or some sort garden demon hexed them and caused them to send vines 20 feet or so through summer squash and zucchini and nearly to the peppers!

It was madness watching these cutsie little squash grow into gigantic green and white striped widow-makers! We harvested these when the skin became tough and they basically stopped increasing in size. I have read that they can keep a very long time so we will have some time to experiment. I will post again with details of how they taste and how we use them. In the meantime, beware of these garden whales!

My Home Among The Hills

Life in WV!