Tonight, we had spaghetti with sauce I canned last summer. The sauce has been sitting in my pantry since July, daring me to open it. Whatcha so afraid of, it's been whispering when I walk past. Think I've got botulism spores in here? Yes, I tell it. That's exactly what I think.
Well, it takes botulism symptoms eleven to twenty-four hours to manifest. I'll be waiting for my eyelids to droop and the sides of my face to feel tight. Oh, and to drop on the floor dead. That, too. If you never hear from me again, you know what happened.
The good news is the jar was tightly sealed--I had to use a butter knife to pry the lid off--and the sauce wasn't at all discolored or weird. To be on the safe side, I boiled it for ten minutes (reducing it quite a bit in the process), just to kill any bad stuff that might be in it. Then I tasted it and waited to see if I felt funny. And sure enough, my eyes started twitching and I could feel my muscles go slack and simultaneously get rigid. Have I ever mentioned I'm very suggestible? If you tell me the flu is going around, I immediately feel like I've got the flu. If you mention you've been down with Hepatitus A, my liver starts to hurt. It's just how I am.
So far, so good. And speaking of good, the sauce was mighty tasty! I want to grow twice as many tomatoes next summer, and make twice as much sauce. I've still got a lot of frozen tomatoes in my freezer, and some frozen sauce, but I've only got one jar left. If I survive tonight, who knows? Maybe we'll open it tomorrow. Live dangerously, I always say.
(ETA: For a fun post on food memories, go check out what Tracy recalls from her Australian girlhood on Beyond My Picket Fence.)
An Ex-Friend of a Friend
1 hour ago
6 comments:
Hooray for delicious spaghetti sauce and no botulism. I knew your canning would turn out beautifully!
How magnificent to have a jar of fast food made by your own hand. Now that's what I call clever! I love it when my ability to organise myself reaps benefits like that.
I'm sure you'll still be alive in 24 hours because you are very astute at all things domestic. Don't scoff - you actually go into your attic and attempt to control it. I ignore my dungeon, so you can imagine how that translates to the rest of the house!
I am sure you will survive
I should hate to hear you had Pasta Way!
Ha ha ha! If I hear mention of head lice, I have them. I'm very suggestible, too. Frances, I know you know this (because we all love you and TELL you) but your sense of humor is absolutely delightful. I adore your clever delivery. You need a nationally syndicated column, Erma. This "lots of blogging" has added to my days in a sweet gift sort of way. (BIG HUG!)
Hello- are you still with us?! This is exactly why I am too too afraid to can anything. I read a fab book a while ago where the young wife kills mother-in-law with botulism- it's the atory of the son- ends up in Canada remarrying first wife- do you know it? Anyway. Hope you're well! We got the headlice letter home yesterday. Ho hum. That's a dad's job definitely...
Seeing as there is another post above this one, you survived! Yay! I would miss you and your posts very much! I get a little leery of my canned stuff sometimes too.
Blessings!
Deborah
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