MSU Extension in Teton County is planning a Babysitter Boot Camp for Thursday, October 20 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Choteau Baptist Church. Registration can be made at teton@montana.edu or 466-2491. The class is being offered free of charge and will be filled on a first-registered basis. Class limit is 25 participants, with a minimum required of 10 registered by Monday, October 17. Participants need to bring a lunch and beverage to the class.
During the Babysitter Boot Camp, babysitters will learn basic training in first aid. Babysitters will learn how to get marching orders from the families they serve, and will receive ammunition to become Purple Heart babysitters.
All participants will have a chance to learn about how to plan enrichment activities (including crafts, games, singing, and science activities) to keep the children in their charge occupied. Babysitters will also learn about providing nutritious and safe foods for a variety of ages and will learn about foods that are common choking hazards. Sitters will learn skills to provide top-notch customer service and to keep themselves safe as they develop their babysitting business.
Members will leave the Babysitter Boot Camp fully armed with ideas for safe fun and tips to use throughout the year when in charge of kids. To enlist in Babysitter Boot Camp, contact the MSU Extension Office in Teton County at teton@montana.edu or 466-2491.
Growing up, my family raised beef. I would guess about 85% of our meals were beef-based. No one in my family did much hunting or fishing. A few of the hired hands occasionally enjoyed hunting, so every once in a while, we would get some delicious elk jerky or deer salami as a treat. Not only did we have several cuts of beef in the freezer at all times, we also had meat stored in our food room on the shelves in jars. (We lived pretty far from town, so it really was a room, not a pantry. We had both a food storage room and root cellar in the basement. We could have been stranded on the farm for months and we would not have starved. )
My mom always canned beef. I didn't pay much attention to the canning process, until I got older, but I always loved the soft, tender, juicy canned beef. Mom would open the cans, boil the meat (as an extra precaution) and serve with noodles and soy sauce.
According to the USDA, "If it is possible that any deviation from the USDA-endorsed methods occurred, to prevent the risk of botulism, low-acid and tomato foods should be boiled in a
saucepan before consuming even if you detect no signs of spoilage. At altitudes below 1,000 ft, boil foods for 10 minutes. Add an additional minute of boiling time for each additional 1,000 ft elevation. However, this is not intended to serve as a recommendation for consuming foods known to be significantly underprocessed according to current standards and recommended methods. It is not a guarantee that all possible defects and hazards with non-recommended methods can be overcome by
this boiling process."
The USDA gives the following directions:
"All low-acid foods canned according to the approved recommendations may be eaten without boiling them when you are sure of all the following:
Food was processed in a pressure canner.
Gauge of the pressure canner was accurate.
Up-to-date researched process times and pressures were used for the size of jar, style of pack, and kind of food being canned.
The process time and pressure recommended for sterilizing the food at your altitude was followed.
Jar lid is firmly sealed and concave.
Nothing has leaked from jar.
No liquid spurts out when jar is opened.
No unnatural or “off” odors can be detected."
I do know families who process their meat and then, without boiling, add mayonnaise and make it into a sandwich spread. While that sounds delicious, I am like my mom and I always like to take that extra precaution of boiling.
My upbringing on beef didn't deter me from canning game meat when it has been available to me. I have canned venison and elk and find I like it just as well as, if not better than, the canned beef I grew up eating.
Meat is a low acid food and must be pressure canned. Acidic foods are hot water bath processed. Some people find pressure canning intimidating, but it is actually pretty easy. Honestly, meat is one of the easiest products to can. I generally do a raw pack, so it is a matter of putting the meat cubes in the jar, sealing with a lid and starting the processing. Once while I was canning, a neighbor stopped over and watched the process. She could not believe how simple it was. Her family does quite a bit of hunting and fishing and they have since started to can portions of their harvest. It is a great way to preserve meat tying up the freezer. (The meat doesn't have to be pressure processed right away, it can be frozen first, until a more convenient time -- provided you have the freezer space.)
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has prepared this video on canning meat from your hunting and fishing.
Right now I'm thinking about using a can of meat to prepare supper. When my Mom cooked the meat and noodles, it was a nice, simple meal with salad and veggies added. My family also enjoyed canned Flathead cherries as a dessert. I know it was great to have the canned goods when Mom had lots of mouths at the table and little time to prepare. It was not uncommon for 8-12 people to be around our farm table. Lots of good food and stories passed around that table! Fortunately, some good food preservation skills got ingrained, too.
You can find MontGuides here for your food preservation needs or you can access the National Center for Home Food Preservation or the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning. While home canning and food preservation is relatively simple, there are still some scientific principles at work and food safety concerns, so be sure to follow tested, recommended guidelines and recipes from reliable sources. Also, remember to get your dial-gauge pressure canner tested for accurahere to find an MSU Extension Office near you and call to see if they offer the free pressure canner testing service.
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Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house
we go … I recently went on a reminiscing trip thinking about my Grandma Bernece
and Grandpa Olyn. When I was very
little, all the first cousins and families would gather at Grandma and
Grandpa’s on Christmas Eve to open presents. There was wrapping paper
everywhere and cousins and aunts and uncles and my Grandpa’s homemade ice
cream. Great memories! Years later, as the cousins got older,
Grandma and Grandpa would travel to the homes of each of their children,
starting south of Gilford at Uncle Leroy’s, stopping at Aunt Coleen’s in
Rudyard, hitting Uncle Merlin’s north of Rudyard and then to our house. We were always last because we shared the
same farm yard with Grandma and Grandpa.
That close proximity meant there wasn’t a lot of holiday travel in my
youth.
Safe travels this season to you and your sleigh full!
Years later, as a teacher, I tried to make it home for the holidays
on an incredibly icy Highway 2.
Somewhere near Harlem, we tried to stay on the road as we passed some of
my students in the ditch. There was no
way for us to stop to offer assistance.
There were half a dozen vehicles in the ditch in about a half-mile
stretch. Law enforcement was there,
trying to stay on their feet. More than
once we saw an officer slide off his feet on the skating rink that hours before
had been pavement. It was slippery and
slow going – white knuckle driving at its best.
I have a few stories from other treacherous trips over the years and
over the river and through the woods.
Holiday travel can be one of the big stressors of the
season, so I’d like to share a few tips for winter driving. First, make sure your vehicle is road
ready. Now anyone who has seen me
driving around town in my fashionable Ford Explorer of the 1994 vintage may
wonder how I can even give such advice.
This is definitely do as I say, not as I do! And, lest you be worried, my rig rarely
leaves town. So, back to your vehicle …
when was the last oil change, tire rotation, brake inspection? Have you checked the fluids – oil, coolants,
power steering, brake and windshield washer – recently? Have you replaced your windshield wipers
lately? What about tires? For winter driving, the MontanaDepartment of Transportation gives this information on tires: You need good tread. All-season radials on a front-wheel-drive
passenger vehicle are adequate, as are snow tires on most
rear-wheel-drives. Chain restrictions in
Montana are most often put into effect for commercial vehicles. Studded snow tires can be used in Montana
from October 1 until May 31 and they are 218% more effective than conventional
tires. Chains are 630% more
effective.
If your vehicle is prepared, the next step is to make sure
you are. It is recommended to have an
emergency travel kit that includes a first aid kit, blankets, winter clothing,
whistle, tow chain or straps, sand, water, non-perishable high energy food,
matches in a waterproof container, flashlight and extra batteries. For a complete list see the winter survival
guide at MDT website. Another thing to
consider is having a fully-charged cell phone.
You may not have reception in all places, but keep in mind that
sometimes a text message can get out when a voice call cannot.
Plan ahead. Look at
road reports. Leave early and travel as
much as possible in daylight. Call
someone to let them know when you are leaving and report in when you
arrive. Use your headlights to be
visible – think of Rudolph guiding the sleigh!
Wear a seatbelt, stay hydrated with water as it assists with focus, and
stay alert. Take stretch breaks as
needed. Keep your focus on your driving,
not on passengers. This task is hard even
for short distances sometimes, like this morning as my daughter spilled hot
chocolate all over as we approached the school zone! Yikes!
Some distractions can be hard to avoid, but others can be planned for,
such as habits with cell phones while driving.
I have a friend who puts her cell phone in the back seat of her vehicle
just to avoid the temptation to use it while driving. Drive a reasonable speed for the conditions.
Driving slowly was never a problem for Grandpa Olyn, and it
seemed especially true on Christmas Eve.
Better to arrive slowly than not at all.
I’m certainly thankful all those years that Grandma and Grandpa arrived
back to our door safely. I don’t think
even Santa on his sleigh would have brought more excitement! Safe travels this season.
Below are some additional resources curated from the web for your edification.
MSU Extension in Teton County is planning a Babysitter Boot Camp for Thursday, October 20 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Choteau Baptist Church. Registration can be made at teton@montana.edu or 466-2491. The class is being offered free of charge and will be filled on a first-registered basis. Class limit is 25 participants, with a minimum required of 10 registered by Monday, October 17. Participants need to bring a lunch and beverage to the class.
Members will leave the Babysitter Boot Camp fully armed with ideas for safe fun and tips to use throughout the year when in charge of kids. To enlist in Babysitter Boot Camp, contact the MSU Extension Office in Teton County at teton@montana.edu or 466-2491. 
