Keller's Corny Country

We went to www.KellersCornyCountry.com today in Tennessee City. had lots of fun...

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required. Visit www.apple.com/quicktime/download to download the free player or upgrade your existing QuickTime� Player. Note: During the download process when asked to choose an installation type (Minimum, Recommended or Custom), select Minimum for faster download.

Homemade Apple Syrup

So... Mom has these two apple trees that have surprised us with all kinds of apples... WE have been coming up with apple jelly, apple butter, etc... looking for ways to save these apples and use them. They were also quite tart.

So, I decided to make some apple syrup today. I had seen several different recipes and I sorta mixed them up to my own concoction.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups of cored, peeled and sliced tart apples
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 T lemon juice
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar (optional)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups homemade apple juice*
• 1 T cornstarch
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water

Throw the apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and butter in a deep pot. (I made sure to have the butter and lemon on bottom.) Cover and cook on medium heat until the apples are mushy. (You should probably stir occasionally)

Mash the apples (I used my potato masher so that it's just little pieces. You can do this in the pot)

Add everything else except the cornstarch and water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to boil. Let boil for 5-10 minutes until it gets runny. You will have apple chunks.

Mix the cornstarch into the 1/4 cup of water until it is completely dissolved. Then stir into syrup mixture and cook until slightly thickened.

Pour into jar and refrigerate. (This made 4 jelly jars for me They sealed but I still put them in the frige until use, which around here won't be long.)

Homemade apple juice...

What I do is when I am coring and peeling the apples is save the peels and cores and freeze them. Then when a recipe calls for apple juice or cider it's easy to make some fresh.

I make a bag out of cheesecloth and put in about 3 cups of the peelings and cores. In a small saucepan, heat 2 1/2 cups of water and place the bag inside. I let this boil, covered for 10 minutes. Depending how strong you want the juice you can do longer. When done take the bag out and squeeze the juice into a bowl (I used a mesh strainer to assist. That way just push the bag into the mesh and have a bowl under)

YUMMY! I think we are going to have this with some fresh biscuits tonight.

The Political game...

So, I was watching the debate last night and I was disgusted with a couple of things. Personally I think that aside from the things that bothered me, Palin did quite well and addressed issues the Biden had no idea were open for attack... Like his many gaff's. To me it seemed that she held her own and did exceptionally well, especially considering that most of the politcal analyst thought the debate would completely win people over to Obama.

So... from an UNDECIDED voter... these were the things that bothered me...

1. Not just last night but since Joe Biden was named VP for the dems there has been nothing but talk about how he was a single dad and how he would ride the subway daily from Capital Hill to his home so that he could take care of his kids. Well, guess what? The man has been married for 20+ years. I am sorry he lost his wife and young child in a car crash, I am sorry that he had to parent the rest of the kids for 6-7 years without a wife. I suppose it was a REALLY good thing he was in Congress so that he made plenty of money to support his family. I could only imagine if he didn't. The way I found out? Gov. Palin brought up that Biden's wife has been a teacher for 30+ years. So I looked it up.

2. I say this with love and I think the question needs to get back to Gov. Palin. Just because her son has Downs, does not mean that she knows everything about special needs. I think it is great that it is her desire to help those of us dealing with special needs kids, I just wish she would be careful about flaunting it around. To me the Republican ticket is the way to go if you are just going to vote on the single issue of Special Needs. But, the candidate you vote for has alot more going on than just one issue.

3. Senators Biden and Obama... okay... I know that I am not rich, I know that to some my family isn't even included in the middle income... but let me tell ya, THE TAX BREAKS THAT GEORGE W BUSH PUT IN PLACE HAS HELPED MY FAMILY INCREDIBLY!!!!!

4. Windfall taxes... I got a laugh here... I can't believe Biden worded it the way he did. LOL... Senator Obama and I would like to do windfall taxes like you have done in Alaska. (speaking to Gov. Palin.)

I also feel the need to point out that alot of people are saying her down home charm is fake... I disagree. It's the type of person she is. Her personality is the way it is because of the way she grew up. Why didn't people condemn John Edwards? To me he had a similar feel with his debates and speeches.

So... I have gotten that out.

Please note that I am sick of the Bush politics, I don't believe they have completely failed, but I do believe there has been grievous errors. That said, I do not believe that John McCain would continue in the same path. And Obama... he worries me.

Is my family better off now that it was four years ago? Yes. We own our home where we were renting. We are debt free aside from the mortgage. Do we work about Jeff's job? Not really. We have trust in Our Lord to provide for us. In our family God is our source, not the government, not the job.

I would love some comments on what you thought...