Fun with Friends

My other friend, Leisa, who I have known since junior high school and who spells her name just like me invited our group down to her family's river place on the Rappahanock.  It was a short drive (under an hour) from my house, and it was a welcome distraction from regular 'stuff'. 

The weather was glorious.  Beautiful sunrises (blazing, blinding!) and the most stupendous moon rise I have seen in ages.  The moon was a large orange ball coming over the eastern sky.  We didn't catch it on Thursday when it was full (Sturgeon Moon), but it was just as impressive Friday and Saturday nights.

Being with old friends, laughing and crying about events in our life was wonderfully restorative. The great thing about old friends is that no matter how long has passed, one just picks back up from where one left it.  There are few things as resilient and joyful friendship.

Walking the Walk

I have recently encountered several instances within the course of the last three months of people purporting to believe in one thing, but acting out in a much different way.  It was a reminder of just how hard it is to walk the walk v. talk the talk.

Ultimately we see the world through the imperfect lens of our experiences and our processing of those experiences within the context of our personalities/nature.    Accordingly, the ideals of compassion, trust, fidelity, understanding, honesty and integrity and other laudable ideals are the manifold prongs of the tuning fork that we need to better align our nature toward higher ideals.

We forget, sometimes, that our belief structure (whatever that might be that seeks to guide us to right action) is referred to as our "spiritual discipline".  There is no discipline involved in speech that contains:   "I'm just telling you like it is."; "Your problem is:" "I'm just speaking my mind."; "I'm just being honest."  People who truly embrace honorable ideals and practice the discipline of self control walk the walk of their professed ideals.  Others just give lip service to it.

Nowhere are our ideals put to the test than through our interactions with other human beings--family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances.  When our stress levels are low, the water level in our transactional relationships is high. Our personal raft (our personal boundaries) is carried effortlessly through any turbulence that we encounter.  "No problem!", we exclaim as we are swiftly transported through the current that takes us quickly past any difficulty.

However, when our stress levels are high the water level is low.  The current is sluggish, the rocks and sticks (real or imagined) poke our raft.  We begin to take on water.  Everything is an unwelcome provocation.  These are the moments where our commitment to our ideals is sorely tested.  Do we lash out, or do we practice our spiritual discipline?


Joseph Campbell espoused this concept (paraphrased) in a lecture on compassion:  
When we have problems with other people, the core of the problem is seldom with those people, but within ourselves.  It's not what they say or do, but rather how we react to it.

I consider this concept one of the greatest personal tools of my own development over the years.  Naturally none of the above applies in instances of abuse.  However, when put the test in our ordinary relationships, it has remarkable power when invoked as a yardstick for how we should evaluate the situation, and more importantly, how we are to act. As it is said, "We cannot control the things that happen to us, but we can control how we react to it." 

For any of our strongly held beliefs, our conviction in and commitment to those beliefs are not tested when the water is high, but rather when the water is low.  When the water is low and we are being bumped about, it is in those moments that we are tested. Understanding our reactions to provocations by others tells us more about our vulnerabilities and inadequacies than the failings of the other person.  After all, we have an imperfect lens.  Nothing is more dangerous in a relationship than projecting our own fears and insecurities on to another person and leveling unfounded accusations.

When we find ourselves hitting the low water mark, reaching for our ideals, rather than ignoring them, will lift us above the water line.  And reaching for them, not ignoring, is the discipline needed for staying on our chosen path.  Otherwise, we get stuck on the bank of the river, taking on water, getting bit by mosquitoes and cursing everyone but ourselves for our predicament.










Canning

I normally just stick to relish for canning.  In fact, I don't recall ever making any jam or jelly.  I'm enamored with hot peppers in some sort of sweet medium.  I elected to try my hand at making a peach and hot pepper jelly.

I regret that I'm such a skeptic/cynic when it comes to OPR (other people's recipes) for canning.  I liken it to my dive into making my own dog food:  once I became committed to the process, I realized that that some people's 'recipes' were rather far afield from the science.  I found a couple of trusted DVM resources (Pitcairn/Strombeck), and then felt that I could balance the science and the mythology of dog food.

I've made a commitment to ensure that I understand the science behind the methods for canning.  Sure, I've done it all rotely before.  However, I'm willing (and want) to do the deep dive on the principles.  I simply want to be able to identify problems before they happen.  Also, I want to know what I can change v. what I cannot change.   And arming myself with some basics, I can generally spot recipes that I would like to steer clear of. 

Digression:  Miyamoto Musashi wrote the book of Five Rings.  I promise you that if you apply the following principles to everything that you do, all will be right in your world.

  1. Think of what is right and true.
  2. Practice and cultivate the science.
  3. Become acquainted with the arts.
  4. Know the principles of the crafts.
  5. Understand the harm and benefit in everything.
  6. Learn to see everything accurately.
  7. Become aware of what is not obvious.
  8. Be careful even in small matters.
  9. Do not do anything useless.


Every one of those principles are important in home food preservation.  Here are a few examples of things that I'm glad to know:
  •  Vinegar is not an acceptable substitute for lemon juice.  Why?  Lemon juice is a more powerful aciduant  (agent that acidifies the batch).  The point is to get the pH well south of 4.6.
  • There is a reliable on-line reference on the pH of foods, and you can find it here.  When (not if) you are tempted to make changes in recipes, (and the rule is that you should not), check the pH of what you are intending to swap.  If it is lower or in the same range as the ingredient, then you are likely okay.
  • Understand the properties of the overall ingredients--meaning that the acids are there to bring the overall pH down of your ingredients.  If you change the proportions, then the acid balance is going to be off in terms of either taste (too much) or safety (too little).
    • I love Plan to Eat for canning recipes.  It allows me to scale up or down a recipe base on the quantity of product that I have on hand.  This works very well for relishes, though I understand that jams etc require smaller batches--and pectin must be scaled which may cause your mileage to vary.  (I'm intrepid, and I'm not deterred).
With my father transitioning with his terminal illness, I'm feeling compelled to preserve in a way I've never been motivated to do.  Not a bad way to cope.  Yesterday, I wanted to locate some peaches to make a hot pepper and peach jam.  I found some SC peaches as the SuperFresh (not a place I typically shop).  They were 67c/lb.  That's a good price, and the peaches were beautiful.  I also found this great recipe at Colorado State University Farm to Table. (I see quite a few other recipes about, but I wanted to find a tested one).

After I washed, peeled and pitted them, I ended up with 40% more than the recipe.  So, I used my Plantoeat program to scale the recipe.  I have great digital scales so measuring out the pectin was not a problem.  One of my jar bands was misapplied by me, so it did not seal.  I just stuck it in my fridge.  I have to say, it is very delicious. We will see if my scaling has any long term effects on the product's setting.  I'm definitely going to make more of this.