It rained yesterday while I was boiling, so I had to figure out a way to keep cooking without actually adding water to the sap. I made a sort of protective "shelter" . . . . probably not very safe, but neither was it a particular fire hazard. I won't post (and didn't take any) pictures, but it was still outside and the syrup kept boiling and nothing (not water, nor dirt, nor plastic deck chairs) fell into it. As is often the case, I have to run out to pick up kids or take them places, and so the afternoon was hit or miss with the boiling - a little here there and everywhere, but nothing extended.
When I got home at 5pm from skating lessons, I fired up the camp stove (and took apart my contraption since it wasn't raining any more - that was a relief), and went in to make dinner. At some point during that 10-15 minute stretch 'til I checked on it again, the propane ran out. "Finally" was my first thought, followed quickly by "now what" and a quick transition to the stove top. When dinner came out of the oven, I put the roasting pan (aka my improvised boiling pan) in the oven to take advantage of the heat there as well. Frankly, we steamed the house up but good over the course of the next two hours, no thanks to the outside humidity from the rain. I barely got it boiled and cooled downto a point (quantity-wise) where I could refrigerate it by bedtime. So this morning I have two very full pots (about 3.5 gallons) still to do.
My beloved said (after I got the house humidity back down to a reasonable level by opening several windows and running several fans despite temps in the 30s....) that perhaps refilling the propane tank and finishing it off outside today would be the best way to go. That is a relief, though honestly it hadn't even occurred to me. He had said one tank and I guess I was very committed to that even though I knew we'd be refilling the tank to use with the new grill we'll be setting up in the next week or so (whose box is currently gracing my living room...).
So my day begins with my monthly "Four Winds" Training (for teaching an environmental science class once a month in each of my younger children's classrooms). The topic this month? Maple Sugaring! And then I will fill the propane tank and spend the rest of the day boiling on the back porch (and praying it doesn't rain again). Fun!
When I got home at 5pm from skating lessons, I fired up the camp stove (and took apart my contraption since it wasn't raining any more - that was a relief), and went in to make dinner. At some point during that 10-15 minute stretch 'til I checked on it again, the propane ran out. "Finally" was my first thought, followed quickly by "now what" and a quick transition to the stove top. When dinner came out of the oven, I put the roasting pan (aka my improvised boiling pan) in the oven to take advantage of the heat there as well. Frankly, we steamed the house up but good over the course of the next two hours, no thanks to the outside humidity from the rain. I barely got it boiled and cooled downto a point (quantity-wise) where I could refrigerate it by bedtime. So this morning I have two very full pots (about 3.5 gallons) still to do.
My beloved said (after I got the house humidity back down to a reasonable level by opening several windows and running several fans despite temps in the 30s....) that perhaps refilling the propane tank and finishing it off outside today would be the best way to go. That is a relief, though honestly it hadn't even occurred to me. He had said one tank and I guess I was very committed to that even though I knew we'd be refilling the tank to use with the new grill we'll be setting up in the next week or so (whose box is currently gracing my living room...).
So my day begins with my monthly "Four Winds" Training (for teaching an environmental science class once a month in each of my younger children's classrooms). The topic this month? Maple Sugaring! And then I will fill the propane tank and spend the rest of the day boiling on the back porch (and praying it doesn't rain again). Fun!
2 comments:
Dear Heroic one,
I wish I could have been there to observe this whole adventure, but your logs have been soooo Great. I feel almost like I did it with you.
Thank You.
Mom C.
Thanks Mom. You are the main reason I've gone to so much detail and documented it thoroughly. I knew you'd want to know all about it, and that the pictures and description would allow to participate from your "armchair". :-) I'm so pleased to know it has been effective in including you. Love you, and thanks for the curiosity and appreciation of these things that you passed down to me!
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