One thing I hear more than anything else is new canners talking about being afraid of using a pressure canner, this fear while understandable is unfounded in that the concerns they may have regarding these canners have long since been addressed. I cannot encourage new canners enough to give this process a try once you do you will never look back. Canners are much safer than they have ever been, and the chance of an accident when canning jars of food is extremely low. All canners ... [ Read More ]
English Style Pickled Onions
Pickled onions were a staple in my husband's home when he was growing up. He spent his middle school and high school years in England and pickled onions where a part of many meals in their home. It did not take long before I heard stories from my English mother-in-law about how quickly the pickled onions would magically disappear out of their pantry with hungry teenage boys of course being the culprits. I knew I had to try my hand at making these and in the beginning my in-laws would bring ... [ Read More ]
Sweet and Spicy Pickled Beets
I have been working madly to keep up with all of our harvest lately, with the worst yet to come, I am still doing a pretty good job of getting everything done. A lot of our harvest has been going into the freezer, due to cost issues, and not having enough canning jars for this big of a harvest, but I decided to make some sweet and spicy pickled beets for my daughter and mother in law these are one of their favorites and they look forward to them every year. These beets offer a ... [ Read More ]
Should I Can or Freeze my Garden Harvest?
One of the most common questions asked at harvest time is whether to put produce in the freezer or to can it. The answer to this question will vary depending on who you ask, preppers like to can most of their produce because it keeps without the need for electricity, while those who are more concerned about nutrition often say it is better to freeze it since it goes through much less heat and cook time, and preserves nutrients better. In addition to freezing and canning you can also dry your ... [ Read More ]
How to Make Chicken Sausage
A couple of weeks ago we had our first adventure in sausage making, this process was not nearly as hard as I would have thought it would be, however I do have a small disclaimer with this tutorial. I am not a sausage making expert, although I have canned, dried, preserved and cooked for many years, sausage making is one of the things I had never tried until this year. Still I thought a good step by step of what we did would be in order. The desire to make our own sausage ... [ Read More ]
First Harvest of the Year,Garden is In, keeping busy With New Puppy
It has been a very long time since I have given an update on my progress here, as well as being a long time since I have updated this blog. I have had very good intentions to update it every week and would love to do much more frequent posts, but I am still trying to figure out how to manage my time. There are so many things demanding my time between planting, butchering and our business not to mention a brand new puppy but more about him later... that I have a hard time keeping them all ... [ Read More ]
How Much Canning Do You Need For a Full Year?
Canning and preserving can go a long ways to making sure that your family's needs are taken care of over the long winter months. With the rapidly rising costs of food and the gas needed to transport it, it is becoming more and more of a necessity to do everything you can to make sure that you have plenty of food you have grown or have been able to get in season. Start with a Plan Get a Good Idea of What Your Family Will Eat One of the biggest mistakes that new and seasoned gardeners and ... [ Read More ]
Preparing for the Upcoming Canning Season
Preparing for the Upcoming Canning Season If you love to do jams and jellies then most likely you have already started on your canning for the year. I honestly intended to do jams this year but with the arrival of a new grandchild, and a father in Law having a triple bypass time just got away from me. Still it is time to start taking stock and getting ready for the new Canning season. If you have never canned before you might want to pick up a book as your first expense, not only will it show ... [ Read More ]
Long Term Food Storage Methods
Today we have many options for long term food storage, as long as all of our appliances are operating properly. There are several techniques used to preserve fresh foods for extended periods of time under normal conditions, including freezing, canning, dehydrating, and freeze-drying. Freezing Archaeologists have found evidence that man started freezing meats thousands of years ago. At first, freezing was only possible during winter months in temperate climates. Before electricity became ... [ Read More ]