Making homemade vinegar is a good way to make use of fruit scraps and it is so easy to do. Of course, we are all familiar with apple cider vinegar but don’t stop there. You can make vinegar with almost any fruit: pears, apricots, peaches, plums and even pineapple. What Fruit to Use Vinegar is…

You’ve heard the saying “Variety is the spice of life.” Well, spices bring variety to your menu, as well. You’ve been spending all year investing in and improving your food storage basics. Who wants to eat just bread, rice and beans? Now let’s try to add some variety to the basics by stocking up on…

It’s the end of the harvest and our storehouse is full to overflowing. Here are some highlights from this year’s garden: We got a bumper crop of blackberries and Nanking cherries. Gallons and gallons of blackberries and cherries in the freezer. Plus a couple batches of jam and several pies. Our apple tree produced a…

This is a really busy time of year. Right now I have garden produce filling the house every day. (That’s why I am a few days late getting this posted.) But I love it. This is when the summer garden is at its best. But it can also be a frantic time trying to get…

Let’s make canning less of a chore Canning can be a pretty overwhelming task, especially if you want to put up enough food to last your family all year. But if you have the right tools for the job, you can make the job a lot easier, saving your hours of work and headache. Let’s…

We’ll talk more about canning later in the year, but since we have a goal this month of Learning a New Skill, I thought I’d mention canning as a good skill to learn. Once you learn to can, you can be canning something almost every month, putting lots of ready-made dinners into your pantry. Which…

Safety note: Whenever handling hot peppers, always wear disposable plastic gloves. Always. And wash hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after taking the gloves off.  Every year I plant peppers. A lot of peppers. At least six varieties of peppers, two to four plants of each variety. This year it’s Jalapeno and Serrano (for…

When lemons go on sale in the winter, buy a whole bunch and preserve them. Preserved lemons will last a year, or more. At least that’s the theory. I don’t really know, because there are so many wonderful ways to use preserved lemons that they never last more then a few months in our house.…

Remember back in November when turkeys were on sale for a ridiculously low price? You bought a a couple extras, didn’t you? A 28-lb turkey will yield about 7 qt jars of meat plus 7 pts of broth. That’s a lot of ready-to-heat meals from one turkey. But what if you didn’t buy any extra…

Man has used salt to brine or fermenting vegetables for millennia. It is one of the easiest ways to preserve the goodness of vegetables all year long. Sauerkraut is one of the easiest foods you can preserve. There are two ways to make sauerkraut: in a big batch that you later process in a water…

Tip of the month Since this month’s goal is canning, I thought I’d share this little tip for storing your canning rings that comes from my friend Heather: When your jars are sealed and you remove the rings, put them onto a wire hangar. Just untwist the wire at the top, slide the rings on…

Canning can be the backbone of your food storage plans and is a very safe method for preserving food if you follow tested and safe canning directions. Please do not take any shortcuts. For the latest information on canning, please consult reliable, up-to-date sources, such as the USDA. What do I need to start canning?…

First, a short history In the 1860’s, a tinsmith named John L. Mason invented what we now call the Mason jar—a glass jar with a threaded lip and a reusable metal lid. Since then, this homemaker’s wonder has allowed people all over the world to preserve fruit, pickles, relishes and jams. Even though people of…

There’s not much that you really need to get started canning. A canner with rack and some canning jars with 2-piece lids will get you started. And maybe a jar lifter, magnetic lid wand, funnel and timer. Altogether all of this can cost you as little as $10 if you buy it at rummage sales…

November sales There are lots of great sales in November. I hope you are taking advantage of them. There’s turkey (of course), spices, flour, sugar, evaporated milk. And…celery. Well, I’m going to get eight bunches of celery. Because this is the perfect time to make celery powder. And nothing could be easier. Just rinse the…

Safety note: Whenever handling hot peppers, always wear disposable plastic gloves. Always. And wash hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after taking the gloves off.  This last week I finished making our family’s favorite: Sriracha. All the men in our family love this spicy condiment and chances are yours do too. It’s on our…