When I was thinking of my post for this week, I considered talking about my past weekend experience with Bonnaroo. I won't go into all that, but let it be said I had to take Monday off to crash for a while.
But as I was reading my Twitter updates this morning at my desk, I saw an interesting post by NPR talking about the rise in Canning since the current economic status hit us. For some reason I couldnt get the URL link to work correctly, but I found a similar link that talks about the current canning revolution.
I know that some of my fellow bloggers are canners so I pose this question: Do you see a huge difference in your shopping bill when you consider the things that you have canned over the summer months?
I have been interested in learning the fine art of canning in order to savor the summer tastes of squash, tomatoes, and maybe even a pickled okra. Another question posed to my cunning canners: What are some other things you enjoy canning? My mom was never very interested in cooking, but she did do some canning in the summer when my grandfather would bring extra crop from his amazing garden over to our house. Many a day I remember standing in the kitchen, helping my mother stuff Ball jars full of squash or cooked tomatoes, trying to get every little air bubble out, and lugging around the heavy metal pressure cooker.
Who knows. Maybe if I get a few extra squash plants from my Grannie Miller or my cousin Glenna I will have to try my hand at canning again.
Hope you all have a good weekend! I will be disconnecting this weekend so hopefully I will have a few stories of that experience next week!
3 comments:
Hi Allyson,
I like canning. No, wait. I don't really like the whole canning part, but I like being able to reach into the pantry during the winter to get the wonderful things I canned during the summer.
But lately I've taken to freezing things. Vegetables like corn and green beans are very tasty that way. Tomatoes are also great and make a wonderful addition to stews and soups.
We used to have a large garden in TN (large by suburban standards) so the produce was cheap unless you counted the drops of sweat that were expending in the effort. :)
Now I rely heavily upon others who have gardens. They bring me lots of tomatoes, peppers, and onions, cucumbers, zucchini, green beans, and strawberries. I like to make fresh pico de gallo to serve with meals and then make salsa to can.
I guess the answer to your original question is, "No, nothing about the economy has changed what I am doing as far as preserving food. I've always done it. I didn't suddenly become thrifty due to an economic downturn."
If you're thinking of canning, I would suggest that you start small. Nothing worse than spending a lot of money on canning equipment and jars that you'll never use. That kind of defeats the purpose.
I take what you say to heart. Luckily I still think that ole pressure cooker is hovering somewhere in our garage (eeks). If I can't find it, I will wait until a day that my grandmother is canning and spend the day there. Actually, that sounds like a much better plan.
Yes, that is> a good plan! you get to spend time with your grandma and avail yourself of her help and expertise all at the same time. Plus, no equipment to buy. The last I checked, pressure cookers are not cheap.
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