Canning with Billy

Last Friday I had the unique and wonderful opportunity to learn how to can pinto beans with Bill, my incredible father-in-law. It was an all day affair and Lori was on hand to assist with the help with her mischievous little boy Logan (Dakota was there too but he slept or ate most of the time-he was our mascot). Bill taught me things that his mom had taught him and things that him and Loretta and learned together. It was very neat! He had several neat little tricks he had learned from his mom. My favorite trick that he had learned was how to take the "farts" off the beans (taking the foam off the beans after they boiled) which his mom "Grandma Freida" swore helped decreased the amount of gas in the beans. He also educated me on how to prepare the mason jars, where to keep the pressure of the cookers, how much salt had to be added, and to boil the lids. It was all very fascinating!

My mom used to be very big on canning when I was a little girl but of course I don't remember how to do it now. With all we have been told from our Leaders about food storage Rob and I have been trying to do as much as we can. Due to this fact, we recently made a big purchase with our Relief Society of items such as flour, wheat, dry milk, and pinto beans. Bill offered to spend the entire day (Bill started at 6am before I even got there and I left at 6pm) teaching me and helping me do it. On top of that, Rob came back the next day and did the same thing since I had to work. We did 25 pounds per day. What a trooper Bill was! That was two 12-hour days canning beans non-stop! Thanks Bill!

Bill, Lori, Logan, Dakota, and I had a great time. Logan asked "Papa Bill" so many questions that I though his ears would fall off! Bill was just so patient and answered every one of his questions making Lori and me laugh with some of his answers. He was Papa Bill's big helper and was sure fun to have around. It was a great day and I learned a lot. I'm not sure I could do it totally by myself the next time around but I would spend the day with Bill anytime! I'm sure glad I had Lori's and Logan's help too. Thanks guys! Now I will have plenty of beans for green chile, chile burgers and and anything else you can put beans in! Maybe I will turn into Susie Homemaker after all. I said it would take baby steps didn't I? This is just the next step.