Mmmmm! Mint Jelly!

Several weeks ago (I know, I'm trying to update more!) Clarice and I went to visit her Grandparents in Cheyenne, Wyoming. We spent a very nice morning with GranMary and PopPop (Chip's parents) drinking lemonade and discussing many interesting topics from religion and Calligraphy to our future and the differences between Scotland and America. We also discussed several of the same topics more than once, in the time honoured tradition of speaking with your elders! This, coupled with the (as Clarice would put it) 'most delightful lunch', resulted in a most enjoyable morning and early afternoon.


Leaving around 2:30-3 we proceeded over to the Wiseman ranch to Clarice's other grandparents Sherm and Jean (who insist I call them Grandma and Grandpa) where we made magic happen! Jean is a wiz in the kitchen, her daughter gets it from somewhere after all, and is more than happy to share some of her secret recipes with her granddaughter and, after signing the official secrets act (and been shown grandpa’s rifle collection),her ever loving boyfriend, Me! So we learned to make mint jelly. Now this is not the stuff you put on lamb, oh no! This stuff if for sandwiches and is coveted by the Wiseman and Clark families as if it were the nectar of the Gods! I have to admit, it is very good on PB&J sandwiches. Or on toast. Or just with a spoon!

Learning to turn this.....

OK, I admit it! The stuff is good! So armed with our trust, rusty

...into this!

(and slightly muddy)knifes we went mint hunting. This involves squeezing yourself under the house/stairs/well-house/barn/etc to trim off a large handful of mint. Why these places? Well.....Sherm and Jean's ranch is a horse ranch. The horses roam free and eat the mint, so it grows best in the places that the horses cant reach, but still get the benefit of having horses nearby! If you don’t understand what I mean by this, try walking in a field. So our next step is quite obvious......WASH THE MINT!!!!!! And your hands! Then with some sugar and some secret ingredients mixed, boiled, roasted and dissolved in, you get hot mint jelly gloop! Then its just a case of jarring and cooling and its done! Then its a case of leaving some for the grandparents (like an offering!) and fighting your way out with the rest! We escaped with *several* jars (number not disclosed as we live too close to people who want it!) of Jelly, including one we planning to give to Aric and Stacia, but they haven't visited yet. Maybe we should mention we have jelly for them..............NAH! YUM!