Posted by on Sep 19, 2015 | 8 comments

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These little babies are what mama is looking for–but in FRANCE!

Well, mama is running around like the proverbial chicken with its head removed because she cannot find tiny jam jars anywhere in which to put her hot pepper jelly that will be her presents for many people during the holidays.

Why is it that all the great products one loves and has used over years and years DISAPPEAR just when you run out of them? My crackers for teeth tartar, for example, are not easy to find.

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See, I couldn’t even find a package with English on it!  Normally, it says Irresistibles Controle Tartar (that’s in French)

And mama is always looking for really good paper napkins, a certain lipstick color, the tiny jelly jars, real steel knives (NOT stainless steel, the real kind that can be sharpened easily with that magical sharpener from Marble Falls, Texas!), certain makes of shoes, tee shirts, pants, dresses, you name it that have gone by the wayside even though they were the best quality on the market and everyone loved the items!

Well, she’s off on a search in the wilds of Perpignan, the town near where we are staying, because maybe, just maybe, the answer will be that they are found only across the border in Jonquera, Spain and that would mean a little outing to Spain, just across the border from here, and that would mean Whiskas tartar crackers could be found in BULK and my poor little teeth would be cared for yet again…

Meanwhile, mama is making hot pepper jelly whether she finds jars or not.

At least she can make the base:

8 very ripe red peppers, seeded and chopped

4 small hot red chile peppers, or 1 teaspoon dried hot peppers and seeds (Habaneras are TOO hot, don’t use those)

1 1/2 cups wine vinegar

Juice of a large lemon

1 onion

1/2 teaspoon salt

Whiz all of these ingredients up in a blender and strain the juice into a large pot.

Add 5 1/2 cups sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes and then add 1 envelope of pectin and boil for another minute or two, just until the drops of jelly on a large spoon turned on edge come together into one stream of jelly. Pour into small jars for gifts.

That’s her mama’s recipe for good jelly that jells. But I will tell you a secret: I’ve seen mama take ALL of the jelly she made out of the jars and RE-COOK it with another packet of pectin—especially if she made the jelly on a humid day.

Better choose a dry day full of sun to make jelly.

Well, that’s my kitty wisdom today. Plus I want my teeth crackers soon so I hope they find those jars in Spain.

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Okay, I’ll exercise my OWN teeth! Just don’t let your fingers get in the way…