The RAnts of RA

I was feeling ambitious yesterday, so I made some Apple Butter, then some Garlic Jelly and what the heck, I still had some time… I decided to make some Apple Sauce.  I should have stopped while I was ahead.

When I was done I turned the burner off, or rather I thought I turned it off, and actually turned it to high, where it cooked all night long. 7 hours it boiled on my stove.  I was afraid to open the pressure cooker. It was bone dry. Boil might not be the right word, since it wasn’t really liquid anymore.

These jars were actually full when I started out.  I used only the best spices and it tasted so good, the texture was perfect.  Tomorrow, I get to start all over again. The entire batch ruined.

So, if you ever wondered what would happen if you boiled something all night long, wonder no more. Actually, the apple sauce doesn’t taste too bad as long as you don’t scrape the bottom of the jar.

I can’t wait to try my Garlic Jelly.  Not only did I leave the garlic in the jar (instead of straining most of it out) but I used Ultra Gel to thicken the Garlic Jelly.  I had made some last week that was incredible but I made it with liquid Pectin.  My bad, it’s full of GMO’s!    It didn’t even occur to me to check.  I mean it’s for canning, it must be all natural, right?  Wrong.

This might just be the answer to prayer…  I’m going to try it out.  By the time I get to the bottom of the package, I’ll either order more or find something else.  What’s important to me is it’s GMO free.

Ultra Gel is a gluten-free, non-GMO cornstarch that can be added directed to any liquid, hot or cold, for instant thickening. The Ultra Gel Starter Kit includes one 16-oz pouch of Ultra Gel and one Ultra Gel Answer Book with 150 pages of easily prepared, delicious recipes.  From dips and dressings to dessert, the recipes are friendly for chefs of all skill levels and include nutrition information and tips and tricks for special diets and make-ahead preparations.

Of special interest are the sections on Canning and Jams and Jellies. Since Ultra Gel can be refrigerated, canned or frozen without losing quality, there are plenty of recipes for bottled pie fillings and sauces. [Get Ultra Gel]

Did you know you can make your own Pectin?  In fact, there are several methods.  I’m going to try this method soon:    Harvest: Making Your Own Pectin!  Be sure to check out other recipes, too.

Apple Pectin: How to Make It, How to Use It, and Why I Don’t

Homemade apple pectin seemed like such a frugal and healthy idea –  an all natural, chemical free alternative to store-bought pectin that I could make from apple scraps I would normally throw away.Brilliant, right?

Imagine my dismay when my experiment was a complete and total flop.  Oh, my jam “set” just fine.After I had almost completely boiled it away, that is.  And added way more sugar than I usually do.

She recommends using  Pomona’s Pectin, but what about those nasty GMO’s?  I won’t feed them to my family.  We are using Ultra Gel. My jelly setup just fine.  So, we shall see.

Related articles

• Making applesauce in the breadmaker
• An Apple a day… for a whole month.
• Cleansing Apple Sauce
• This Week’s Harvest: Apples
• Homemade Apple Sauce

We had a bunch of errands to run in Merced and decided to stop off at Costco. They were having a sale on Nutiva Coconut Oil – 74 oz. for $14.99 – organic.  For that price  I can’t help but wonder if there isn’t something wrong with it. I’ve got five in the pantry and I’ve been using one for what seems like forever.  I can’t find a thing wrong with it.

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (There is no such thing as extra virgin…)

I have to say I was pretty dismayed at the amount of organic food available.  I was looking for organic staples: flour, sugar, corn meal, rice and beans. What I found was crackers, soups, cookies and other assorted items of prepackaged food that I don’t trust anymore.  I’m tired of buying stuff with things I can’t pronounce and ingredients I have no idea what they are.  If I can’t make it in my kitchen, our family is not going to eat it.

I was happy to see they had packages of grass-fed ground beef that were very reasonably priced. Sadly, they didn’t have any other types of organic beef or any other organic meats.  The Modesto location seems to have a better selection, but I haven’t been there for awhile, so it’s hard to say.

There are deals to be had in the organic market.  Look for deals on beef during the month of October.  When you find them though, stock up because once the supply is gone, the price shoots back up, and it’ll stay up until Spring.  Consider canning the beef, chicken, pork, etc… instead of freezing it.  The meat will last longer and will be tastier, and most of the cooking will already be done.  It’s just a real nice thing to have on hand.

I think we’ll find a lot of organic food to choose from come Spring. Plan ahead.  What does your family like to eat?  Make a list! What items would you like for them to start eating? Search for recipes that use those items. Buy extra when items are cheap and either can, freeze or dry them for later.

Get to know your neighbors, plant a garden. If we demand organic food, things will change, slowly…

Related articles

• Food: Celebrate organic, natural living
• Farmivore: Going Grass-Fed, Profits Be Damned
• ‘Super foods’ a growth industry for Nutiva
• Really, How Much Better Is Grass-Fed Beef?
• Our kids and GMO’s
• Beef prices reach highest level since 1987

If the NSA is  harvesting data 2-3 points from everyone (and yes, they are), they have a map way more intricate that anything we could ever collect on our own. They know everything about everyone who has ever talked to anyone who has ever talked to anyone you have ever talked to. Think about that.

English: Kevin Bacon. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In perspective, 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon  only requires “a link” at  some point in two people’s lives, nothing more substantial than a name in the credits. Yet, the NSA is collecting data 3 people away from everyone for every communication or other ‘link’. Everyone.

Oh, I’m sure that  many  will interpret the phrase  “terrorist suspects” to mean only the  million or so people  on the public  terrorist watchlist, but that doesn’t actually include the other “suspects” such as those who support the Constitution – you know, like every law enforcement officer, military member and duly elected representative in America is sworn to do.

Do you bank at BofA, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of the recent Boston Bombings  also banks? That’s a “link.”

Do you use Facebook, where there are literally dozens of Al Qaeda affiliated groups? That’s a “link.”

Have you visited Twitter or Youtube, where the digital terror group (if you accept the FBI’s terminology)  ‘Anonymous’ shares information about their activities? That’s a “link,” too.

Or, admittedly my favorite example, did you vote for President Barack Obama, who has provided weapons to militant terrorists abroad  and personally signed off on the sale of guns used in well over 200 Mexican murders? That’s a “link.”

Oh, did you think you had to have actual contact with these people in order for it to count? Bah. Clearly you’re not familiar with how the law is abused in America today. Each time someone tells me I’m blowing things out of proportion with my pessimistic view of government, I send them the following links:

• Botched Paramilitary Police Raids: While the data is extensive, the question is really why any paramilitary-style police raids happen in America in the first place. The same government that drones civilians in countries across the globe, and  stores the content  of every phone call we’ve made for the last decade can’t be bothered to pick up a suspect on the street instead of beating in  his neighbors  door for refusing to allow them to occupy his home to spy on the house next door.
• National Police Misconduct Newsfeed: This daily newswire reports on the abuse du jour. Read the last week or two then tell me that the same government that used to help get cats out of trees is still trustworthy enough to be allowed to track your every action, movement and communication.

I read an article yesterday from the NY Daily News that tried so very hard to dispel the theory that the NSA is the American Stasi. His reasoning is perfectly sound, as long as you are willing to bury your head in the ground and believe every lie told to you.

The Stasi only wishes they had the ability to track and record every single movement and communication, along with legal authority to ‘disappear you‘ without judicial oversight. Where the Stasi  failed, our government has not only succeeded, but excelled. Why stop with targeting of those who are actually intending to do ill – heck, even after multiple warnings the Boston Marathon will never be the same. Meanwhile, Shia LeBeouf tells it like it was…OVER FIVE YEARS AGO:

Surely they don’t think the ever-goofy Shia is a terrorist? Must be the hair, right? Are you fed up yet?

Related articles

• The Third Degree: NSA Now Admits Surveillance Extends Three Degrees Away from Actual Suspected Terrorists
• Half A Kevin Bacon
• NSA: The “Half-Bacon Agency”