TurtleMama

Vioet, is the very first link a safe way to process the ground meat -- the one where you boil it instead of frying it? I'd like to give that a shot with ground turkey if it's OK.

Wish there were something I could do to help.... (((((Amber)))))

Amber, I am so sorry.

Amber, just came across this and wanted to let you know that I'm and .

How are you feeling today, Katz?

Oh, you poor thing!! Sounds like you're dealing with he aftereffects of the virus (lots of vomiting = smasming stomach), but also severe dehydration. It can cause stomach cramps, fatigue, dizziness, etc. Start small -- little sips of about 1 teaspoon first, so as to not shock your tummy. The best things are still, room-temp water at first; then Gatorade, or Sprite, or ginger tea; later on you can go to regular tea, if you like it. Increase your intake as your tummy accepts the liquid. After an hour of keeping liquids down, you can start on something like Saltines (our family's stomach flu fodder!) or dry toast. Once that's down, just keep pushing the fluids and eat bland and soft....my favorite post-tummy-flu meals are mashed potatoes (I make them with chicken boullion powder instead of butter, since my stomach doesn't respond well to oily stuff after being sick...and the salt is good if you've had vomiting or diarrhea) and pancakes. Just try to rehydrate and try to rest as much as you can. Sleep is important! Also....I know that you said you really have to get back to work tomorrow...but if you're still feeling truly terrible, try to take an extra day to recuperate. Sometimes these viruses can really throw your body for a loop...give it time to heal. *HUGS* to you!!! I really hope you feel better quickly, hon!

I know that the Ball Blue Book has instructions for canning "bone-in" pieces of chicken....so you should be able to do that. I'd just follow the recipe to a T and process it for the recommended time. Should come out fine!

Jeanette, can you let us know how those tattler lids work out?

I'm not trying to be contradictory -- But sometimes influenza does present with some GI symptoms. It's not the norm, but it can happen. H1N1 had GI symptoms...mainly nausea and diarrhea, but sometimes vomiting, although those GI symptoms were mainly in pediatric patients. My kids and I all got H1N1 -- I had no GI symptoms; DS had lower GI symptoms; DD had nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. DD was youngest. Avian flu can also present with GI disturbances, but obviously, whatever you had, it wasn't avian! It also depends on the type of influenza as to how severe its accompanying respiratory symptoms are. Most will generate some pretty significant respiratory involvement; a few seem to have minimal respiratory symptoms. Here's a little clip from the CDC website regarding the H3N2v (new swine) flu: "•Flu symptoms usually include fever and respiratory symptoms, such as cough and runny nose, and possibly other symptoms, such as body aches, nausea, or vomiting or diarrhea." And another regarding "variant" influenza viruses, such as H3N2v: "People who have been infected with variant viruses have had symptoms similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza. These include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people also have reported runny nose, sore throat, eye irritation, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea." Again, I'm not trying to be contradictory or rude....just want people to know that influenza symptoms can be surprising, sometimes, involving symptoms that we might not automatically associate with influenza. The more we know about how the virus affects us, the more aware we can be when we fall ill, and the sooner we can understand and know if we need to pursue medical treatment -- especially if you're part of an "at risk" population (under 5, over 65, pregnant, immunocompromised, etc.). Either way, and whatever you and your DD had, I'm so sorry you were ill during her visit, Mt. Rider. I'm especially sorry that she was so sick while traveling and visiting with you! That's certainly not how you want to spend a vacation, right? I hope you feel better now, and that nobody else catches the bug.

There is a new strain of swine flu circulating as of August 3, 2012. So far the CDC seems to think that the people who have come down with it contracted the strain from pigs at agricultural fairs in the midwest. It's a definite jumper -- can go from swine to human without a problem. Be on alert if you're around livestock. http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/03/health/swine-flu-cases/index.html Health officials have seen an uptick in cases of a new strain of swine flu in humans. According to the latest flu report published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 people have been infected with a new strain of an influenza A (H3N2) swine flu virus in just the past three weeks. Twelve of them were infected in the last full week of July. Among those 12 newest cases, the CDC says 10 people were infected in Ohio; Indiana and Hawaii have reported one case each as well. According to the CDC, so far a total of 29 people have been infected with this new H3N2 strain: 12 in 2011, one earlier in 2012 and 16 in the past three weeks. Nobody was hospitalized this year, and only three of the 12 cases last year required hospitalization. Nobody has died from this new flu. Everyone diagnosed with the new flu strain this year reported having contact with pigs. Most of the cases from last also reported contact with pigs -- often at county or state fairs. CDC: New strain of swine flu "There are a few cases where no pig exposure could be found, so we think those are are human-to-human transmissions," said Dr. Joseph Bresee, an epidemiologist in the CDC's Influenza Division. "We're not saying don't go to fairs," Bresee said, but because this is the time of year when many fairs are going on, people ought to take special precautions: -- Wash your hands with soap and water before and after touching pigs. -- Don't drink or eat near pigs, and don't take food into animal areas. -- Avoiding contact with animals such as pigs may be the best protection if you are among those likely to suffer severe symptoms if you get the flu -- people with lung disease or diabetes, for instance. H3N2 flu viruses are common among pigs. H3N2 viruses are a subgroup of influenza A viruses and they are known to adapt in humans, Bresee said. What makes this new version of the H3N2 flu virus different is that it has picked up a gene from the novel H1N1 flu virus that became a pandemic three years ago. This can happen when a person or an animal is exposed to two different viruses at the same time. Global H1N1 death toll may be 15 times higher than previously reported Somewhere along the line, H3N2 and H1N1 viruses were present in a mammal at the same time and the "matrix-gene" (or m-gene) from the H1N1 pandemic virus was picked up by the H3N2 swine flu, thus creating a new or variant version of H3N2. It is this m-gene that has experts on the lookout, because the presence of the m-gene can make it more easily transmissible to humans. The majority of the children and adults who got the new strain were attending country or agricultural fairs, which is where they came in contact with pigs (the other pig-to-human transmissions occurred in farmers or veterinarians). Health officials point out this flu is not a foodborne illness. Instead, it spreads like any other flu -- someone sneezes or coughs, spreading the virus to other mammals (humans included) and onto surfaces. Dr. Lisa Ferguson, a veterinarian for the National Animal Health Policy Programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said this variant of swine flu was first detected in 2010. Bresee said the first human cases were reported in July 2011. Most of the people infected have been children; among the 16 cases this year, only three were adults, which is also consistent with what was seen last year, Bresee said. New research raises hopes in quest to find universal flu vaccine CDC researchers said that while the genetic makeup of the flu strains found in all three states is similar, they do not believe the cases in Hawaii, Indiana and Ohio are related. Even though the regular seasonal flu vaccine contains a strain of the A-flu virus group, it will not prevent you from getting sick if you come in contact with the new flu strain. So Bresee said preliminary steps have been taken to develop an H3N2 vaccine -- part of the overall pandemic preparedness planning of the CDC and other health agencies. When a new flu virus pops up, "we immediately begin to think about the process of making a vaccine," Bresee said. The incremental process involves finding a good vaccine candidate, reassessing and testing the virus, developing seed vaccines and ensuring their safety. The goal is to have a vaccine quickly available in case a pandemic occurs, as with H1N1 in 2009. Bresee said he is not equating this new H3N2 flu with the 2009 flu, but a new H3N2 vaccine is in the early stages of development and clinical trials are expected later this year.

I've heard of "waterglassing" eggs, but wouldn't try it myself for long-term storage. The best idea is to get your own flock of layers and a rooster....then you don't have to worry about preserving them!

Happy birthday, dear TMC!!!

This weekend I canned 15 pints of chicken and 4 quarts of chicken soup. I'm cooking up the rest of the chicken today....it's been in a teriyaki marinade for 24 hours. Yum!

Here is an interesting article I found about seals carrying and dying from a strain of avian flu. Apparently most of the deaths took place in 2011. Scientists are concerned, however, because it appears that seals are like pigs -- they have the receptors for both avian and mammilian flus -- and since pigs are one of the prime species to pass new flu strains on to humans, there is some concern that seals may be able to, as well. http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/07/31/new-flu-strain-in-seals-could-pose-risk-to-human-health-experts-say/

My soup is out and all four quarts "pinged!" Hooray! My DH keeps laughing at them, though. He's making fun of them because the carrots turned the broth orange. I think it's kind of cool...canning is always an adventure!!

Oooh, Jeepers, that sounds good....DH and I are going to try BBQ with our canned pork, but I defniitely need to try it with the chicken, too. YUM! It feels so good to have all that chicken put up! Goodness knows I need more, but every jar on the shelf is a little more security. And a hedge against future inflation!

4 quarts of soup are in the canner perking away!! It came out very tasty (tasted some before I put it in the jars). Now I can't wait to can up more soup in the fall!!

Yes, they were pints of chicken, and I processed them as for quarts. Silly me! LOL Dee, I'm so sorry that happened....thank goodness you realized what had happened and you were able to freeze it. That could have turned out a lot worse! All that time and work down the drain, though...ugh!! Thanks for the input and for putting my worries at ease. I ate some of the chicken today that didn't seal, and it was super-"tender!" Just about fell apart. It will make awesome chicken stew, or chicken pot pie.

Yesterday I canned chicken, and I read the instructions wrong. I was supposed to process it in the pressure canner for 75 minutes, and I accidentally processed it for 90 minutes. The jars sealed....but will it be okay? Is overprocessing the food bad for it?

Aw, thanks so much for your wisdom, Violet! I appreciate your help.

I am currently canning chicken -- there was a kick-bootie sale on it this week -- but going through my Ball Blue Book, I am getting interested in trying to can up some homemade soup. We LOOOOOVE soup in our house, but we're out of freezer space and that's usually how we keep it. My main question is, can I use pre-packaged stock (like the stock that comes in those aseptic packs...I get mine at Costco) to use in the soup? Reading the recipe in the Ball Book, I'm kind of getting the impression that they are calling for the homemade stock. Also, in canning your own soups, can you use rehydrated dried veggies? I have a TON of celery that I dehydrated, and I'm looking for a way to rotate through some of it....canning homemade soup would be a great use! Jut want to make sure I'm playing it safe. Thanks!

Let us know how everythng else is doing... that your preps are not ruined.

Thanks, Violet!

Does anyone know...can you can ground turkey like you would ground beef? We have a sale here...and I'd love to can some up if it's safe. Thanks!

Scary stuff, gofish! I'm grateful they didn't entirely go out on your DD! I know how often I'm thankful for my DH....isn't it wonderful when they take such good care of you?