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First of all you may be wondering what the heck is a crabapple. A crabapple is a wild or cultivated variety of tree that are relatives of apple trees but produce a small sour fruit.

The blossoms on the trees look like normal apples blossoms and they come in various shades of white and pink. I am partial to the pink flowering trees.

Up here in Virginia the crabapple trees are different from the crabapples trees I had in Georgia. My old crabapple tree (still standing today) was about 40 years old (maybe older when I was a kid) and is at least 80 years old now. It produces a white flower and looks like a wonderful snowball tree in spring when it is all in bloom. The fruit from this tree was yellowish skinned with white flesh and being about the size and shape of a golf ball. The bees and wasps and yellow jackets loved that tree in the late summer and fall. As a kid would pick the fruits and nibble at them. My mother would fuss and tell us we would get a 'belly ache' but we never did. She never made us jelly from those crab apples either. One year before we moved from the old house I did make a very small batch of jelly and it was devine.

The crabapples trees that are popular here in Virginia give a very small fruit. About the size of a cherry, in some cases smaller. People plant the trees for their lovely blossoms and shade but often turn up their noses at the fruit as if they can't be bothered with the lowly sour apple cousins. I have three crabapples. Two of them flank my path to the koi pond and one is deeply root on the far side of the pond. The two standing century produce a yellowish fruit and they ripen and soften quickly in spring and fall off. The other tree blooms in lovely pink flowers that soon give way to deep pink fruits that hang in clusters very much like cherries. They are ripening now on my tree and the color is gorgeous.

So what does Martha have to do with crabapples? Martha has something to do with everything it seems but this one is in particular a funny story. If you remember when Martha was a guest of the penal system in West Virginia she got in trouble for harvesting and making crabapple jelly for the other inmates. I think the warden was an ass about the whole thing and Martha was ever Martha by taking sour old crabapples and turning them into sweet jelly. You know that old line "When life hands you lemons?" try this one instead, "When life hands you crabapples - Make jelly." Martha did.

 So how does oe make jelly out of sour old crabapples? (Isn't that a great name for sour fruits? Crabapples!)

Crabapple jelly is very simple to make. Pretty much all jely is easy to make. Jelly is the thickened, sweetened, juice of the fruit. Jam is the thickened, sweetened juice and pulp from fruit. Both are easy and now days can be made nearly fool proof.

First - get yourself some small canning jars with bands and brand spanking new lids. Do NOT try to use old lids! Send the bands and the jars through the dishwasher to wash and dry on a high heat cycle. This sterilizes the jars for you. Don't open the dishwasher until you need the jars. If you do not have a dishwasher hand wash the jars in hot soapy water. Rinse well. Place in a pot of boiling water and let the boil until you need them. In a smaller pot of simmering water place the new lids that you have washed in it and leave them until you need them.

Second - Pick your crabapples. Wash them well, removing all stems and inspecting for damaged fruit. Place them in a stock pot and add just enough water to barely cover the top. Bring to a boil and simmer the fruits until soft.

For jelly - strain off the juice using a colander. Then strain that juice through muslin or cheesecloth to get the pure pulp free liquid. For every cup of liquid add 1 cup of sugar. Then add 1 extra cup of sugar -just in case. Put the mixture back into a clean pot making sure all of the sugar is dissolved before it comes to a boil. Boil for about 2 minutes. Stirring well add one box of pectin (Sure Jel is the brand I use). Continue stirring for about 2 minutes and remove from heat. If any foam has formed on the top spoon this off.

 For jam - strain off the juice using a colander. You will have juice and some pulp particles. For every cup of liquid and pulp add 1 cup of sugar. Then add 1 extra cup of sugar - just in case. Put the mixture back into a clean pot making sure all of the sugar is dissolved before it comes to a boil. Boil for about 2 minutes. Stirring well add one box of pectin (Sure Jel is the brand I use). Continue stirring for about 2 minutes and remove from heat. If any foam or scum has formed on the top spoon this off.

Third remove your jars from the dishwasher or your pot of boiling water. Make sure your hands are clean and do not grab the jars by the lip or let your fingers touch the inside. You want to them as sterile as possible.

Pour the jelly/jam into the jars leaving about one quarter inch of space  at the top of the jar. If the lip of the jar has any jelly/jam dripped on it use a clean hot cloth to wipe it clean.

Take one of your lids from the simmering water and place it on the jar making sure you do not handle the inner side. Remember clean clean clean is the key to good canning.

Place a band ring on the jar and screw it down tight.

I have seen many people take a jar and place it upside down and when it cools they turn the jars over and check for sealing.

PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS!

Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!

Not all things will seal properly. Even though the sugar content is high you could poison yourself or your family! If you can this way you are very lucky to have never gotten sick.

To properly can jelly/jam from sugared fruit:

In a large pot of boiling water place the jars right side up making sure there is about 2 inches of water over the tops of the jars. Boil for 15 minutes.

Remove jars. Place them on a clean towel on the counter top or table and allow them to cool naturally. You will hear the pop of the lids as they vacuum seal themselves.

Once the jars are completely cooled check to be sure each one is sealed. You can hold it up and look across the lid and see a small dimple. You can feel the slight dent in the lid.

If you do not see or feel the jar lid dimple it probably is not sealed properly. The lid is faulty and needs to be replaced. Remove the band and old lid. Heat a new lid. Make sure the lip of the jar is clean. Apply a new lid. Screw on the band tightly and process in boiling water again.

 Put your jelly/jam on a shelf and leave it sit for a few weeks. This aging lets the flavor develop. When I can in the summer I make the kids wait until late fall when the weather is cold before opening jelly/jam/preserves.

This process I have described above is often refered to as water bath canning. It is done only to very high acidic food stocks. It is used mostly for jam, jelly, preserves, marmaladies, etc - things with a very high sugar content because nothing can live and grow in that kind of environment. It is also used for things that are pickled. Nothing lives in vinegar very well either. Not everything can be canned in this manner.

NEVER TRY TO CAN GARLIC OR MEATS IN THIS MANNER.

Garlic, meats, and most vegetables must be canned using a pressure canner. It is the only way to be sure germs are killed inside the jar. A simple water bath process will not do the job. This is how people poison their families.

I don't want to put a damper on anyone's jelly/jam making. The process is easy and not dangerous at all. But I don't want anyone to think that this method can be used for anything and everything and something horrid happen simply because a novice did not know.

Go out and buy yourself the Ball Blue Book for canning. It has tons of recipes and the processes for canning almost any kind of food you can imagine.

If your budget is short or you are very frugal call your local extension office (you know, the people who sponsor 4H for kids). They have tons of information printed that you can have for free. They are being paid with your hard earned tax dollars so put them to work for you.

If you happen to run across an old pressure canner at a yard sale or estate sale. Grab it up and take it home. You just saved yourself about two hundred dollars. The county extension office also is able to test the pressure on your canner and set it properly for you. Or point you in the direction of purchasing a new seal or pressure gage. I love my pressure cooker and canner. I use them all the time.

Happy canning!

Past experience with an old hovabator over 15 years ago left me not wanting to try and hatch eggs myself. The thermostat was wonky and unreliable. Even replacing it with a new wafer it was a pain to get the temp set and maintained. With things changing and solid state thermostats available I thought I would give the idea another go. I cringed every time I looked at the price of incubators with all the bells and whistles. Over $200 in some cases for all the extras. I could not and cannot see that expense for a styrofoam box! I started collecting pieces and parts and figured this girl could make one. And so I did. This is my effort at putting together a reliable incubator. So far it is working fine. I have it running now so I can work out the adjustment on the thermostat for consistant temperature. Supplies: 1 styrofoam ice chest or a chest that is used to ship frozen foods. I had both but chose the ice chest because it is larger. 1 hot water heater thermostat ($8, temp ranges from 90 - 150 F) 25w light bulb 1lamp kit (bottle version) 4 old wine corks 1surge protector 1water wiggler Not pictured: hardware cloth water dish old pc fan adaptor/transformer I cut and bent the hardware cloth to make a rack that fit into the ice chest. I placed an old dish in the bottom to provide more surface area for the water to help with humidity and also to rest the hardware cloth rack on. Be careful because the cloth will scratch you as you work with it. I worked with it removing pieces here and there until I got a good custom fit. I also cut out the area where the light bulb would be installed to keep the light low in the box because heat rises. I am not an electrician and have very little expeience with wiring. I followed a diagram and wired my light and the thermostat. I did wire them wrong the first time but when the breaker tripped I knew then the right way to wire them. LOL The thermostat is the least expensive, single pole version I could find(under $10) from Lowes. The temperature range on this model is 90 - 150 F. The screw at the top is numbered #1 and the lower is #2. I used a bottle lamp kit because it has an opening on the side so that the kit can be wired straight from the bottom or from the side. This was perfect for this project because it allowed me to run the wires, connect them, then seal the base closed. I am terrified of exposed wires and prefer to have everything contained neatly and hidden away. On the kit the ribbed wire was to be connected to the silver screw. So I cut off a piece of the cord about 4 inches long to have wire to work with to connect the thermostat. With the ribbed wire connected to the silver screw I then used a piece of the wire I cut to wire from the brass screw to the thermostat #2 screw, then used the non ribbed wire of the cord to wire it to the #1 thermostat screw. The wire is run through the base screw and then over through the side opening to that everything is sealed shut when the lamp assembly is closed. I then carefully wittled out around the inside hole I made to insert the lamp assembly so that everything was snug and tight. The walls of the ice chest I used are rather thick -just a bit thicker than the screw/bolt that came with the light kit. I was very careful to cut away around my bolt opening to that the light assembly would screw together snug and tight so the bulb did not wiggle around and pose a fire threat by melting the styrofoam. Also I cut away a little bit to accomdate the wiring running over to the thermostat. Assembly on the outside. And from the inside. I put electrical tape over the little screws on the thermostat that the wires are attatched to because I worried if a child reached in and accidentally touched the screws they might get shocked. Make sure you thread your wires through your tiny holes before assebling them. I used an ice pick to make tiny openings to thread the wires through. Next I used an old adaptor, 120v input 12v DC output, from which I snipped off the end and wire it to an old pc fan. I wired the black to the black and the red to the other mixed color wire. I secured the wiring with electrical tape and wire nuts. I used a stick coated wire to secure the fan in place. Using a pumpkin carving tool, I cut out 4 air vent holes and used old wine corks to plug them up with. I cut out a large rectangle in the lid and placed over it an old window glass pane. I used duct tape to secure the glass and cover the edges of the glass. I used pink duct tape because it is a Chick 'Bator! Woot! My helper - I recieved a box of welsummer eggs yesterday. They are now set. Welsummer Chickens Today is Day #1 of Welsummer Hatch Watch 2007. Badger! Do you see how very dark these eggs are?!?! You just wait. If I hatch any and get these dark eggs I can send you some. Farm fresh eggs, never washed or refrigerated will keep on a counter top for 3 weeks. Just think if I collected eggs and mailed them same day you could be eating them in 2 days time! Farm fresh! This part is always exciting and makes me a little nervous. This is an inexpensive project if you go around and collect things that you may already have or someone you know might be willing to give you. For example - check your local Walmart in the sporting goods section where they sell live fish bait. The worms come in large styrofoam boxes. If you ask nicely they will usually save one for you. I am waiting for the next shipment now and the guy has promised to save me the box. Free! It is an excellent project to do with your kids. Even if you live in the city (Yes, you can have chickens in most towns and cities. Some places limit to 3 hens and 0 roosters in the city limits. You can check most ordinances online at Municiple Codes.) but if you can't you can still hatch eggs and give the chicks to someone. It is not like being stuck with a litter of puppies or kittens. If you hatch some rare breed chicks you will be able to find someone through free cycle or Craig's List who will take them off your hands in a matter of minutes. For all of you teachers out there (Yes, you! And you! And you, too!) This is an excellent classroom project for elementary kids EXPECIALLY those in the city who may never in their life get to see where a chicken comes from and how life begins. I recommend this as a great learning experience for your classroom. Chicken eggs take 21 days to hatch. I will be blogging the daily log of temperature, relative humidity, turning of the eggs, etc. You can follow me and use my success and failures to learn from. Rare Breed Chickens: Blue Laced Red Wyandotte Cuckoo Maran Dominiques Sumatras Golden Penciled Hamburgs Silver Gray Dorkings Silver Leghorns Red Caps Egyptian Fayoumis Silver Penciled Rocks Rare Breed Special Lakenvelders Phoenix Blue Andalusians White Laced Red Cornish Golden Laced Wyandottes Golden Campines White Faced Black Spanish Buttercups Modern Bb Red Games Silver Penciled Wyandottes Have I shown you my silkies? How's this for a different kind of chicken? Check out ebay or eggbid.com or someone local if you want to try to hatch some chicks with your kids. Remember it makes a great 4-H or boyscout/girlscout project, too.

One of the very best things I have learned to do is make yogurt at home in my very own kitchen. The kids eat about 1.5 quarts every day or day and a half. They have it for breakfast, make smoothies or have it for a snack. What is left in the jar gets scraped out and fed to the chickens as a cool treat in this hot, hot weather we are having. (It was 101 today! And we need rain so very badly right now.) You will need: A couple of clean quart jars with lids and ring A couple clean dish towels A cooler Boiling water A candy thermometer (Or a digital one) Milk Dry powdered milk Yogurt culture Boil a large pot of water. Pour it into your empty cooler to allow the cooler to begin heating up. Close the lid and let the cooler sit while you work on the next steps. This is your incubator. You are going to grow all of the beautiful and healthy bacteria that makes milk into deliciously thick and creamy yogurt. You can make more than 1 quart at a time, just remember to keep the ratio - (2 quarts milk, 2/3 cup dry milk powder, 4 tbsp culture) - (3 quarts milk, 1 cup dry milk powder, 6 tbsp culture) - (4 quarts milk (1 gallon), 1 & 1/3 cup dry milk powder, 8 tbsp culture). I make 3 quarts at a time. To make 1 quart of yogurt - 1 quart of milk 1/3 cup dry milk powder Mix well. Place over medium heat. Stir to prevent scalding. Heat milk to 185 degrees F. Watch it carefully. Don't let it boil and don't scorch it. In an ice bath begin to cool the milk down to a temperature of 110 degrees F. Sometimes it will drop very quickly. Other times it might take awhile. It depends on your type of pot and how much ice in your water bath. While your milk is cooling take the time to boil some more water and fill a couple of quart jars, wrapping them in a dish towel to insulate the heat. At 110 degrees add 2 heaping tablespoons of your yogurt culture to the milk mixture. Stirring well to mix. You can buy a yogurt culture in powder form but that is not what I use. I buy a very good organic PLAIN yogurt from the grocery store. Stoneyfield Farms to be exact. It has 6 different cultures in it and it one of the best on the market available in commercial form. You must use a plain yogurt. No flavors. None of that with the fruit already in it. Plain. Once your culture has been added pour your milk into your quart jar closing the lid hand tight. Wrap it in a towel. Pour the boiling water out of your cooler. Put the yogurt and hot water jars all in the cooler and close the lid. Don't open for 10 to 12 hours. When the yogurt is set move it to the refrigerator. Allow it to get cold before serving. If you make it in the morning it can incubate throughout the day and go into the refrigerator that evening. The yogurt will be perfect for breakfast the next day. I serve the girls a plain bowl. They top it with fruit, honey and granola. 3 quarts every 2 days. It must be good. I promise you it is good. Better than anything you can get in a grocery store. The homemade yogurt doesn't have a bitter after taste and it isn't as sour as its store bought cousins. You can add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar to the milk in the beginning if you prefer a sweeter dessert type of yogurt. If all you can find is the large containers of plain organic yogurt go ahead and buy it. You can spoon the yogurt into an ice cube tray and freeze it. Pop them out and keep them in a freezer bag. To make another batch of your own yogurt just set the number of cubes you need of the frozen yogurt out on the counter and let it thaw. In the beginning whne you mix your milk and dry milk powder you can also add a couple tablespoons of instant pudding to flavor it. Once you accomplish the basics of making the yogurt you can experiment and create your own custom flavors. This is one of the easiest, healthiest, best things I have taught the girls to make this summer. Next we are tackling mozzarella cheese. Go on. I dare you to make a quart.