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.…

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…

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…

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…

This last week I finished making our family’s favorite: Sriracha. All the men in our family love this spicy condiment and chances are your’s do too. It’s on our table at almost every meal.  Last year for Christmas stocking stuffers, I bought sriracha key-chain bottles and filled it with my homemade sauce. Now they carry…

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…

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…

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?…

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…

That’s right. This time of year, turkey is the best meat bargain you can find. Grocery stores use it as a loss leader to entice you to do all your holiday shopping at their store. With coupons and other special offers, you can get some really amazing deals on turkey this season. Your goal is…

You have so much good food available to you this season, now is the time to learn (or improve) canning skills. First, get your equipment Canning doesn’t need to cost a lot. Just start with a water bath canner and a box of jars. Here’s my list of the important canning tools that I use.…

Man has been drying food for millennia. It should be an important part of preserving your food. If I had only one way to preserve my food, only one way to build up my food storage, I would go with dehydrating. As much as I like the taste of frozen food and the convenience of…

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…

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…

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…

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…