Nurturning a Pioneer Spirit: De Mystifying Food Canning

The Appeal of Home Food Canning.


Home Food Canning holds an appeal similar to that of baking.

It's relatively easy and often very inexpensive.

As well...

it can become an enjoyable, productive and money saving experience...

shared by family and friends.


If you have yet to fill a jar with something fresh from the earth...

and enjoyed it at a later date...

click on the video link below...

It will de-mystify this mundane miracle....

and put you on the path to your own canned goodness.

YouTube - Home Canning Basics - Part 1- Introduction

Real Food Is Soul Food | Food Renegade

One of my favorite reads is The Real Food blog, written by The Food Renegade.

Several weeks ago it posted a fantastic article about the Soul of Real Food.

Here is a short excerpt:

"Real Food is old and traditional. It’s sustainably grown, organic, and local. And it nourishes the soul as well as the body.

That’s because finding, cooking, and eating Real Food is a craft. I once heard that cooking was the only art form that uses all five senses. It engages the whole person, and as such rewards the whole person. Preparing Real Food isn’t just about good nutrition or ethics. It’s about becoming the people we are meant to be, becoming more fully human..."

Read the entire article (and, believe me, it's worth the short amount of time) by clicking the link below:

Real Food Is Soul Food | Food Renegade

Lesson From History: The Dignity of Making Ends Meet

A beautiful little reminder from one of my favorite food blogs.

Lesson From History: The Dignity of Making Ends Meet

Even nonstick pans need some seasoning | HeraldTribune.com | Sarasota Florida | Southwest Florida's Information Leader

Even nonstick pans need some seasoning | HeraldTribune.com | Sarasota Florida | Southwest Florida's Information Leader

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Swap Neighborhood Fruit! Visit neighborhoodfruit.com

This is a lovely way to swap Neighborhood Fruit! Neighborhood Fruit is an organization designed to help you find backyard fruit and share your bounty with your neighbors. They believe that cities resplendent with edibles are better places to live, and sharing with neighbors is a great way to get there. Through their mediated online platform, you can find fruit in any quantity you want. We hope you let others know about it.


Welcome to Neighborhood Fruit! | neighborhoodfruit.com

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CREATE A SUMMER-KITCHEN...IN THE GARDEN?

Vintage
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Below is an excerpt from Frugal Luxuries, published by Bantam Books, NY, 1997
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Lingering Wisdom

"May I a small house and large garden have;

And a few friends, and many books, both true;

Both wise, and both delightful too!"

--Abraham Cowley, The Wish
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" If you are involved in the art of preserving foods, you might find yourself bent over a hot stove during the warmest months of the year. Take a cue from the past and set up your own version of a summer kitchen in a shady area near the garden. This is done by using your camp stove to blanch vegetables and to simmer and seal jars of jams, jellies, and preserves. You may use a small, clean child's wading pool to wash your produce beforehand. When you are finished, simply drain the pool water into your garden."
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Note: All kinds of tasks may be made more pleasant when taken out of doors.
Monica at The Homespun Heart took her ironing board to the garden last month and watched her children play as she performed this often dreaded chore.
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What are some of your tricks for transforming mundane tasks into more pleasurable events??

Growing (Self-Watering) Heirloom Tomatoes in a Teeny...Tiny... Garden.

Recently, my friend Cindy over at Dirt Du Jour posted about a successful, frugal, water-saving technique for growing Heirloom Tomatoes in containers called...

The Earth Tainer TM .

A Revolutionary Alternative in Container Gardening...
Self-Watering and sturdy enough to grow heirloom tomatoes.

Here's the catch...

You cannot buy it... you must make it yourself.


If you're interested in knowing more,


the nice folks who designed The Earth Tainer


offer detailed instructions on how to make it....

for FREE.

Heirloom tomatoes

Originally uploaded by LensENVY


Click HERE to learn how download FREE instructions or...

to watch the FREE how-to video.

Broken Stemware... Onions... and... Bell Jars.

A Simple... Green... Way to Grow Windowsill Chives.

You might want to think twice before discarding those sprouted onions...

...and pretty pieces of broken stemware.

I save the sprouted onions and snip their green stems (i.e., chives) to use in recipes

such as soups & salads or as a garnish.

A spritz or two of water is all we need to keep them green.

We nestled the onion bulb (on the right) inside a wineglass with a broken stem...

then added a bit of moss (for looks :).

The onion bulb on the right... we set it inside a small iron garden urn!


Oh...notice...yet another way to use the broken wine glass is...


to turn it into a bell jar (as we did in the photo above, on the right).




Frugality...Function...Charm & Whimsy...

all rolled into one little project.

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THE SIMPLE DOLLAR & Ten Grocery Products Be Ware Of...

The Simple Dollar website is one of my regular reads.
I appreciate their thorough research and straight forward writing.

Today's post reminded me that being a creature of habit is often expensive.
Below, you'll find a snippet of their post regarding bulk-pricing-surcharges.
Something to think about next time you're shopping at your local warehouse store!

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Grocery Shopping 101:

Quantity Surcharges and 10 Products to Watch Out For

Excerpted from The Simple Dollar.

"One common trap with buying in bulk is the fact that on some products, the higher volume version often has a higher cost per unit than the smaller version. For example, I recently spied two cans of tuna on the shelf at my local grocery store. The same brand (Starkist) featured a 5 ounce can for $1.29 and a 12 ounce can for $3.19. Per ounce, the smaller can featured tuna for $0.258 per ounce, while the larger can cost $0.265 per ounce, making the smaller can the better deal. This stuck in my head, so I went home and did some research on these price differences..."

Finish reading this informative article at The Simple Dollar

Publish Post

WIN THIS BOOK! Frugal Luxuries: Simple Pleasures to Enhance Your Life & Comfort Your Soul!

How?

Simply share one of your favorite frugal luxury or luxuries...

by clicking...

HERE !

Can Conserves and Consumption Be Friends???

FRUIT CONSERVES

...in...

FIFTEEN MINUTES OR LESS!

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This morning I was looking at the last of the wondrously sweet and tasty strawberries

we bought in San Diego last weekend...


Lamenting the fact that they were all just a tad on the over-ripe side...

when it occurred to me to make a sugar-free conserve/jam...

for the refrigerator.

So....

I washed and sliced the strawberries directly into a saucepan....

added a squirt of lemon juice; a teaspoon of Splenda; and a teaspoon of

Xylitol (a natural sweetener from the natural foods store, but you don't need it for this recipe) ...

and about a cup of water...

brought them to a low boil and then decided to add...

...a cup of fresh/frozen cranberries along with teaspoon or two of

0range zest (and I squeezed a bit of the juice into it as well).

I cooked them at a high simmer for about ten minutes...

keeping a sharp eye on it while I brewed a nice pot of tea.

Once the cranberries popped (see photo above) I turned off the heat...

...and poured them into this French jam jar/glass and allowed them to cool.



I cut a double round of waxed paper and tied it atop the jar...

...and stored it in the refrigerator.

It tastes deliciously tart and surprisingly sweet!!

I'll use it to flavor plain yogurt and/or cottage cheese or use it as a topping for toast,
in lieu of jelly or jam.
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At Long Last...a Winner Has Been Revealed!!

"How frugal is the chariot that bears the Human soul."

--Emily Dickenson, referring to books.

We're Giving Away "FRUGAL LUXURIES BY THE SEASONS" Book!

In honor of the season of Spring, we are giving away a book...

Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons!

Click HERE to enter…

WHO... WILL BRING HOME THE VINTAGE GARDEN URN? FIND OUT NOW...

"Verily great grace may go with a little gift"
--Theocritus

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WHO... WILL BRING HOME THIS VINTAGE GARDEN URN?

To discover the answer...CLICK HERE
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Attention All Gardeners: Potential Outlawing of Organic Farming?

I wanted to ask if you'd heard of the two bills just introduced into the House and the Senate (HR 875 AND S 425) that potentially could make all farmers (even small, independent, organic farmers) subject to restrictions, certifications, fees, and require MANDATORY pesticide use? If you haven't seen the video, here's the utube link .
If not, I thought you might be interested in knowing it was out there

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I first heard of these bills while listening to the car radio. I could hardly believe my ears, so I went online to find out what this was all about. There are a lot of rumors regarding these bills circulating on the Internet, mostly con, a few pro. Being a little confused, I decided to find out for myself and read each one.

Here is my conclusion:

Both bills were, obviously, written in legal-ese and their actual message/meanings were sometimes hard to discern. That being said, while reading I understood why people are not only worried, but down-right scared by this potential new "law of the land". While there is no language that specifically prohibits home gardening and owning and cultivating heirloom seeds, in my humble opinion, the language in both bills is far too vague and broad to leave to interpretation by the courts. That is why I contacted all my reps to register my disagreement with these bills, and have urged them to vote against HR 875 and S 425. To paraphrase Socrates, they need to "define their terms" more concisely. The subject of healthy sustenance (and the freedom to grow it) is much too important to leave to chance.

If you care to read them for yourself click Here for S 425 and Here to read HR 875 .

If you’ve already made your decision and want to contact your representative and congressman to ask them to oppose these bills,
the links are posted below.

NOTE: You must act quickly to let your voice be heard. They both will be coming up for review very soon.

To find and contact your congressman:
http://www.house.gov/zip/ZIP2Rep.html

To find and contact your senator(s):
http://www.senate.gov
Click on “Find your senator” at the top right hand side of the page.


FYI: You may need to know your Zip code plus the four digit extension if you live in a large district and/or state. (I found mine on a utility bill.)

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I’m a firm believer in the simple philosophy of “what you focus on grows”. Thus, my focus is on retaining a free society where gardeners can grow healthful, natural food—on their own land—without bureaucratic intervention, fees, and monitoring.

WIN THIS EASTER-EGG-FILLED-WHITE-IRON-URN

TO ENTER…


JUST CLICK HERE and it will pop you over to...


FRUGAL LUXURIES: KINDRED SPIRITS LETTERS & RESOURCES BLOG!

Sisterhood Award from The ECLECTIC CATLADY !!!

Angie at The Eclectic Catlady (hilarious blog and
a kindred spirit regarding soft-touch for anything cute and cuddly with a heart beat) has honored me with a Sisterhood Award.

Angie is much more fun to read than I am. Her writing makes me laugh out loud every time (...well... at least snuffle and snort loudly). Contrary to rumor...laughing is one of my very favorite things to do! Thank you Angie for your amusing and amazing posts...with their very cute pictures of furry creatures (okay...the guy with the hat not included in the thanks). Thank you for making my day more than once. For those of you who haven't visited Angie's blog, you're in for a TREAT.
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NOW...as for giving this award to others...
I will just say, this is a small blog,
thus...
I hear by award this award to each and every one of the followers!!

Charmaine from Beautiful Things to Share
Ellen from The Existence of Ellen
Marie Beausoleil from Trail Mix-Up
Mona (you know who you are...even though you don't have a blog :)
Mary Ellen from Megarden
Heather from Vintage Girl!
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Please feel free to post this award on your blog (or not)
and know that we are all sisters in spirit.

REMAINS OF AN IRISH FEAST: THE CLASSIC REUBEN SANDWICH

Please Note these Vegetarian/Vegan alternatives:

This sandwich recipe, as well as the Traditional Saint Patrick's day feast meal (posted below this--from which this sandwich is derived) may easily be adapted to a vegetarian and vegan meal. For the vegetarians and vegans in our household we simply omit the the meat and/or cheese and add a layer of simple garlic hummus (sounds icky, but it's really not bad--and the yellow mustard adds a surprisingly tasty tang). For the St. Pat's day meal, simply cook the vegetables separately from the meat and serve with a side of meatless protein such as small bowl of white beans or, serve hummus as an appetizer with organic flax seed chips, corn chips or cucumber slices, or....
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Excerpt below taken from:
Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons, by Tracey McBride;
published by Bantam Book, NY, NY, 2000.


REMAINS OF AN IRISH FEAST

“Small cheer and great welcome make a merry feast.”
--William Shakespeare

When I was a young girl, my father would make sandwiches from leftover corned beef in one of two ways: steamed and served hot on a soft French roll (with lots of yellow mustard and a garlicky dill pickle on the side); or as a type of Reuben sandwich (on toasted rye bread, with lots of cheese, sauerkraut, and mustard). The secret to either of these delicious sandwiches was the proper draining and chilling of the corned beef itself. Papa would put the remaining hunk of cooked meat inside a colander (with a pie plate beneath to catch any drippings) and refrigerate it for two or three days. This allowed the excess moisture to drain away from the meat, thus drying it out so that when he finally sliced the corned beef we were rewarded with tender, wonderfully thin, deli-style sandwich slices.

While my own children are not always enthusiastic about the traditional corned-beef-and-cabbage meal of Saint Patrick’s Day (I believe it has something to do with the cabbage) they are more enthusiastic when we serve these delectable corned beef sandwiches from the remains of our feast-day meal.

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Papa's Reuben Sandwich



This sandwich, inspired by our favorite delicatessen, was sometimes accompanied by a cup of soup and dill pickles, but most of the time it was a meal in itself.

Ingredients:

• Rye bread slices (we liked to use the rectangular-shaped rye loaves, as those slices seemed to hold the sandwich ingredients together well)
• Mustard (Papa preferred the spicy brown mustard, while we children put on lots of the vinegary yellow mustard)
• Swiss cheese, sliced (enough for at least one generous slice per sandwich)
• Chilled corned beef (be certain that it is as lean as possible--trim all fat before slicing) sliced thin--enough for three to four slices per sandwich

Butter the bread slices on one side and place them on a baking sheet. Lightly toast the bread about four inches from the broiler (1 to 2 minutes). Remove from heat. Spread mustard on all of the bread slices. On half of the bread slices continue to add cheese, drained sauerkraut (about one tablespoon0, and sliced corned beef that has been warmed in a microwave or steamer. Top sandwiches with remaining pieces of toast and halve. Serve immediately with crunchy dill pickles, soup, and/or fried potatoes, French fries, or onion rings.

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Reuben sandwich at the Manhattan Deli at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.

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Celebrating the Feast of Saint Patrick: Papa's Corned Beef Dinner

"People will not look forward to posterity
who never look backward to their ancestors."
--Edmund Burke

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Corned Beef, a brine-cured savory meat, is the mainstay of many a Saint Patrick's Day boiled dinner. In old-time Irish households, a platter of this delicious meat was the centerpiece of the evening meal, served with boiled potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. After dinner sweet songs of Ireland were heard throughout the house, as well as the sound of feet that danced a jig, proclaiming Gaelic heritage.
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Excerpt above taken from, Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons, by Tracey McBride;
published by Bantam Books, NY, NY, 2000.



Last weekend, when visiting my Dad,
we enjoyed our traditional corned beef dinner a little early.
This photograph was taken right before he served it forth.
While not the prettiest dish in the universe,
it certainly is a delicious memory food.

Why does food always taste better when your parents cook it??
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Happy Feast Day!!

Frugal Gourmet Eating

I came across this listing for the top 100 Frugal Gourmet blogs and had some fun browsing through them... thought I'd share the joy!
Bon Appetit !

http://www.culinaryschoolguide.org/blog/2009/top-100-blogs-for-the-frugal-gourmet/

Chilling Techniques...With Warnings Attached

Shusshhhh....
Here's the Secret to Perfectly Flaky
(Not Soggy)
Pie or Tart Crusts...
Really and Truly.

Monet's Apple Tarts
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Several weeks ago, my friend Clarice, from Storybook Woods tagged me for a
"25 Random Things About Me" challenge on Facebook
(where I have two friends total...Clarice and Dana...
Hi Clarice and Dana!). I recently got to it and this is what happened.
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Okay...
One of the random things I listed was the secret/ability to make a perfectly flaky pie crust. I offered to share it if anyone was interested and Clarice expressed a desire to know...

So...Shusshhhh...Here's the Secret.

Any pie crust recipe will do...I just use a basic recipe.
The trick is not in the crust ingredients, believe it or not. I have used basic all-purpose flour, expensive/fancy pastry flour and many flour grades in between...as well as butter/lard/shortening/ margarine/oil and multiple combinations of the above, all with great success.
The secret is in understanding the chemistry behind the process.
(Now...don't get discouraged by the word "chemistry" as it's just a technical term for "trick" :)
What happens is...
a chemical reaction occurs between the COLD butter/shortening, the flour, and the high heat of the oven.
Thus... the secret is to keep the butter/shortening cold as possible...
and ensure that your oven is pre-heated to at least 400 degrees when you first place your pie in the oven to be baked.
That's why everyone tells you not to overwork the dough.

Here's How I Keep Things Hot and Cold.

First. Roll out your dough and put it into the pie pan--then pop it, pan and all, into the freezer for at least 7 to 10 minutes. HINT: I often prepare several crusts and store them in the freezer (I nestle the dough-lined pans together, with wax paper in between). I store them in plastic bags (the gallon Zip Lock bags work well) they will keep nicely for about a year.
These make super quick and convenient pie crusts for future use...also...they allow you to give a home-made pie as a gift with minimal effort, time, and money, But I digress.
You cannot get the crust too cold.

Second. While you're rolling out the dough, or waiting for it to get super cold,
pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.
This is very important.
Make sure it's at least 400 degrees before putting in your pie.

Third. Quickly fill your pie crust. If I'm using a dense filler like fruit and the like (as opposed to pumpkin etc.) I will fill the cold pie crust and then pop it into the freezer, filling and all, for a quick 5 to 10 minutes, just for insurance. After putting the chilled, filled pie into the pre-heated 400 degree oven I set the timer for 10 minutes. After the first ten minutes I then turn the oven temperature down to 350 degrees (this is important as a consistent high heat may cause the pie to burn if you leave it on longer than ten or 15 minutes) then continue baking as the recipe suggests. The first ten minutes are crucial. The high heat causes the fat molecules in the butter/shortening to fuse with the wheat molecules in the flour...thus creating a flaky crust. Yes. Really...it's true and quite amazing. NOTE: This chilling technique also works well when making shortbread cookies or any sort of butter cookie.

Words of Warning: Beware!! Once you learn this trick you will want to bake pies all the time...and eat your own baking. This can be dangerous to your waistline. I am speaking from experience. I gained a LOT of weight after learning this trick because I was baking (and EATING) pies almost daily. In fact everything became a pie-filling to me! Because the crusts were so light and flaky, I just kept eating. The delicious taste & texture, along with the wonder and magic of turning ordinary butter/shortening and flour into this delicious new treat kept me going back for more! I now bake much less often. When I do bake, I serve it specifically as a dessert...and then quickly box the extras to give away. (Mike takes them to work for everyone to enjoy, or I share them with the neighbors). I'm still working at whittling my waistline down to a semblance of its former (smaller) size. Hind-sight is twenty-twenty, and I've learned it is a lot easier to abstain from eating than to lose the extra inches once they've arrived! Exercise helps. :) But then, you probably know this already!

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All Warnings Aside...
This is a Lovely Skill To Possess.
Please see below...
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STOCK YOUR GIFT PANTRY (TM) WITH TARTS & PIES.
Here's how...

Throughout the year, I collect all manner of inexpensive pie plates and tart pans from flea markets, thrift shops and yard sales--then they are stored in my Gift Pantry(tm). I use these for giving home-made pies and or tarts as gifts. This process is simplified by pre making my crusts (as mentioned above in the FIRST step) and keeping them in the freezer. To present them, I purchase inexpensive, cardboard pie boxes (the type the bakeries use) and have them on hand . These are reasonably priced and can be bought in bulk from paper suppliers, or buy a few at a time from your local bakery. I have found that people truly appreciate a tasty, home-made pie or Tart any time of the year...of course, they are especially appreciated during the holidays.

The Taste of Memories (tm): Swedish Butter Cookies

The Taste of Memories
"Their memories will be encrusted over with sublime and pleasing thoughts."
--Henry David Thoreau

Did you know that memory making is done every moment of our lives: Some memories are happy and vivid, while others we prefer to forget. What most people don't realize is that we often have a choice between making them happy or unhappy. It's for this reason that I try to cultivate the habit of making pleasant memories from small events. An example of this is when my daughter Rosie and I bake together. We call it tasting memories...and when we use a recipe for Swedish butter cookies handed down from my Grandmother (and her mother before her) we link the past with the present...and the present with the future.
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Swedish Butter Cookies

3. Dust with powdered sugar. Share and enjoy.

2. I always make extra to store in the freezer for future use.

1. Mix your ingredients then roll dough into cylinder shapes and wrap in waxed paper.

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Corrected Post with ALL ingredients included.
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Recipe: Grandmother Carlson's Swedish Butter cookies.

You will need:

1-1/3 cups butter, softened (Hint: I don't recommend margarine in this recipe. You may substitute half of the butter with shortening for a lighter cookie, but less of a butter flavor.)

3/4 cup powdered sugar (Hint: You may also use granulated sugar but the texture will not be as light as if you used powdered sugar.)

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
(Thanks Rhonda for noticing this omission in my first posting of this recipe.)

1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract (we prefer almond flavoring).

Note: This is an ideal recipe to use in a food processor, but it is not necessary for good results.

To Make:
Mix all ingredients and work until smooth. Roll dough into long tube-shapes and wrap in waxed paper (see photos above). Chill in the freezer for about 5 minutes, or 15 -30 minutes in the refrigerator (this will make slicing easier). Slice the tube-shaped dough into 1/4 inch rounds. Place these on an un-greased cookie sheet, about 2" apart. Put the cookie sheet with unbaked cookies in the freezer for 3 to 4 minutes to chill slightly. Bake in a preheated, 400 degree oven for 4 - 6 minutes (check after 4 minutes--you'll know they're finished when you see that the edges are slightly golden and the cookies slightly puffed). Dust with powdered sugar and serve with tea or coffee, or box and give as gifts to special kindred spirits. They melt in your mouth.

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This recipe originally was published in our Frugal Luxuries newsletter in 2001
Copyright 2001. All rights reserved.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash

A simple side dish of Spaghetti Squash...with butter and sea salt.

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Roasted Spaghetti Squash

I had never prepared spaghetti squash.
It is surprisingly easy.

I simply cut it in half long-ways...and scooped out the seeds.


I roasted it in a 350 degree oven for about forty-five minutes.

It scooped it out easily, using a spoon.

Into a casserole dish with butter and sea salt it became a delicious side dish.

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Now that I know how easy and delicious it is...
I plan on trying this recipe from Taste of Home ...
as well as using it in lieu of pasta when making my next marinara sauce!

Edible Decor(tm): Homemade Pumpkin Pie from Roasted Fresh Pumpkins ...as Promised!

REMEMBER the AUTUMN PORCH VIGNETTE from our ...
FRUGAL LUXURIES by THE SEASONS Blog ??

As promised ...I'm posting their transformation from whole pumpkin...
into Pumpkin Pie filling (i.e., pumpkin pack).
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These two, smallish pumpkins are from our Thanksgiving decor
(see Edible Autumn Decor).

I cut pumpkins in half and scooped out the seeds (as with an acorn squash).

Here are the pumpkins after I roasted them, uncovered,
for about an hour in a preheated 350 degree oven
(until they were very soft).

Once they were cool to the touch , I scooped them out and into a bowl, using an ordinary tablespoon. These were very soft, and needed no processing. However, some pumpkin varieties are tough and fibrous (usually the larger ones). You can still use them for pumpkin pack, just puree them in a food processor after they have been cooked and cooled.

Here is our freezer stash of pumpkin pack. This lasts for about 6 to 9 months without losing flavor. I'll use some for Christmas pies; we'll also have it available to bake lovely pumpkin bread, muffins, and any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin pack. I also use this pumpkin in savory recipes such as vegetable soups and stews...it's adds nutrients and acts as a slight thickener. (Hint: We have a freezer full, thanks to a pumpkin sale after Halloween & Thanksgiving--$1.00 each).

A delicious pumpkin pie.

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