All Hands On Deck!

Welcome back, followers! Today was a nice warm day compared to the frosts we had last week. Weather forecast says it should remain pleasantly warm for the week, with just one caveat: nasty winds, gusting up to 90km/h (that's 56 mph), starting tomorrow morning and lasting through the night. I realize that's not so bad compared to a hurricane or tornado, but its still not pleasant.

Taking advantage of this pleasant day, a friend of mine came out to help with my deck project. I had put my posts in place last week, then waited until the cold spell had passed to continue. My kids "helped" too.

We got the beams up (forgot to take a pic at that stage!) and followed with the joists. At that point, my friend had to head for home before her children were returned by the school bus! I think we did well to get that much done anyways.

I spent another couple hours putting on some deck boards afterward, with the hindrance help of my kids, before I needed a break, and also to prepare some supper.

Of course, no Tanglebranch post woukd be complete without some sheep, so here's the flock with their guardian, Jenny the donkey, awaiting their breakfast.

I also finished up with my tomato paste today! After about 30 hours roasting low and slow in the oven, those tomatoes had turned into this:

So, right after supper, it got packed into clean, hot jars, seals and bands applied, and set into the pressure canner for processing.

10 minutes exhausting time, that is, allowing steam to jet out through the pressure valve, which I couldn't get a decent picture of, then the 10 pound weight goes on. It doesnt ACTUALLY weigh 10 pounds, but it restricts the steam flow, allowing the steam to build pressure and reach temperatures higher than can be acheived just by boiling. This kills dangerous bacteria that would cause the food to spoil otherwise. Once the weight starts rocking (its literally being lifted slightly off the valve by the pressure of the steam), the timer is set for an additional 15 minutes. When time is up, we remove the canner from heat and allow it to start cooling on its own. Weight stays on to allow the pressure to decrease very slowly. Taken off too soon, it makes the pressure in the pot drop faster than it can in the jars, which can make the jars explode, which is both a mess and a waste of the last three days of cooking tomatoes! It's actually still de-pressuring right now, on the table behind me.

So I guess I'll show you the final product in tomorrow's post! Goodbye for now!