December should bring colder weather, but outside of a few days below the 50’s it has felt like summer. Our weather has been gloomy, overcast, and wet, but only for a few days at a time. These temperatures spur me to cook and can soups, stews, and an occasional gumbo. I really want to bake some sweet potatoes, but it is much too warm to heat the house up, so I embarked on making and canning Satsuma Marmalade and Pineapple Satsuma Jam. It was a first and turned out delicious. I also squeezed some fresh Satsuma juice, which really outshines store bought juice.
A few rows of the garden were struggling. Come to find out there was a resident rabbit eating my lettuce, radish tops, and parsley leaves. So we purchased rolls of chicken wire and I got busy attaching it to the bottom of the existing fence while Randy hacked away at chicken trees (Chinese Tallow) making trails through the thick brush for the sheep to find their way back and forth in their pasture. Funny how everything is coming back up and growing freely. A couple of 4” (+) rains and the evening/morning dew waters my garden.
My husband, Randy, and myself (Carmalete) have been the sole owners of Carmalete’s for the past six years. Included in running this business, we do the ordering of products, meet with the owners and managers of grocery stores and chains on corporate levels, pick up the products from the blender and packer facility, and then drive throughout the states of Louisiana and Texas restocking the shelves when supply dwindles down. Even though Randy is a retired CPA, the bookkeeping and tax preparations were handled by me. We made lots of friends throughout this business venture.
That will all change in 2023. We sold half of our business to a business man who has been extremely successful blending, packing, and selling a wide variety of organic spices, teas, facial scrubs throughout the world. We will miss the friends we have made along the way, but this will enable the Carmalete’s line of seasoning blends to expand and go into more stores, thus ending up in more household kitchens and on their tables.
Who knows, we may be able to cater events again with a little more time on our hands. It is a shared enjoyment and adventure when Randy and I work alongside each other cooking and crafting such events.
We will all be busy with family and friends the rest of this year. So embark on new recipes and implement some of the Carmalete’s line of seasonings. You may enjoy experimenting in the kitchen. Who knows, you may become the next chef in your family and amongst friends.
So, until next year, enjoy yourself and stay safe,
Carmalete Manuel