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Canning Mishaps: What to Do When Your Jars Don’t Seal

For a couple of weeks, I was canning nonstop. I’d say that I’m really into canning, but that would not be telling the truth. The truth is that I am really into eating, and I really like supporting local farmers and good food. To preserve much of this food, I can, freeze, and sometimes dehydrate it. After the weeks of canning ended recently, I discovered that I had a few jars that didn’t seal properly. I also had some jars that had lost a lot of liquid. What happens when you suffer a canning mishap? You pick yourself up, and … Continue reading →

Don’t be Intimidated by Canning

As a New York City girl born and raised, I never thought that I would even consider doing something such as canning produce. Didn’t that go along with prairie skirts and living on a farm? Now I know better. When we were blessed with an abundance if inexpensive organic apples, I learned fast. Canning isn’t as hard as it might sound. And despite my fears that I would do it wrong and give myself and my family food poisoning, it all worked out and was pretty easy actually. There are two big things that you need to know about canning. … Continue reading →

Canning for the First Time 2

Have you ever tried canning? I did for the very first time. Now I am looking forward to putting all sorts of things in jars to preserve for future months. Nice, fresh, local organic food to be had any time of the year! Yesterday I started talking about my first canning experience. If you missed it, you can see the post here. Today I will finish up, offering some tips about the canning process. After this step, I was ready to fill the jars, Because the apple butter was piping hot (as it should be to makes sure there is … Continue reading →

Canning for the First Time

This week I canned my own food for the first time. You know what? it was easier than I thought it would be. I know happily have 11 canned jars sitting in my food pantry. Have you ever tried canning your own food? Here is what I learned. First of all I needed something to can. For my experience, I didn’t specifically set out to can, but I realized that it was the best option for my apple butter. (You can check out the recipe here.) The first batch I made went directly into the refrigerator and to friends, so … Continue reading →

Scanning Photos – Resolution Tips

Scanning old photographs to digital images is actually quite easy. I recently started a large scale project to scan all old family photographs to digital media. The project has two goals. The first goal is to have an archive of my family photos in case of a disaster. Hopefully my family will never experience a fire or natural disaster to our home but if it happens I don’t want any regrets. The material things can always be replaced; the memories are priceless to me. The second goal is to have a little fun by creating slide shows and sharing the … Continue reading →

Preserving Memories

Yesterday evening I spent some time in the room where I keep the canning. Until recently, this was known as the rec room. It still is, by those not in the know. For me, this room has been transformed from a room dedicated to toys and random assortments of stuff into a room of pride and beauty. This is where I go to stare at my canning. I could say that I love canning, but I would not be telling the truth. I find canning to be an arduous process. It is sticky. It is wet. It is hot. No, … Continue reading →

Top 5 Household Gadgets

Now I don’t know about you, but my favorite gifts at Christmastime are not household products. This actually brings me back to my first Christmas with my husband, 20 years ago. Imagine my surprise when I unwrapped one gift after another, only to discover I was receiving household items. As if the colander and potato masher weren’t bad enough, he actually bought me canning supplies. Okay, let me explain something here. I am not a country girl, I am as city as city can get. So I don’t have the slightest clue about canning. And to be honest, about the … Continue reading →

How to Store Dried Food

Having a supply of dried food is a good strategy to include in your emergency preparedness plan. Many important nutrients can be found in dried food, and those nutrients are generally more concentrated in a smaller package, ideal for storage and transport if needed. Because the food is preserved when it is dried, there is no need for refrigeration or freezing, an important factor when electricity to run appliances may not be available. While dried food generally keeps very well, there are some special considerations that you can follow to ensure a long shelf life and optimal nutritional content of … Continue reading →

Pre-Packaged Preparedness Kits

One way to cut down on the time and planning it takes is to purchase already packaged preparedness kits. There are a few different companies, and they each have a variety of kits that you can purchase to suit the needs of your particular family. What types of preparedness kits are available? You can food supply kits, water kits, food storage kits, kitchen processing items, medical and first aid kits, power charges, shelter kits, navigation kits, and cooking supplies. Food supply kits are the most popular for purchase because they put all of the food that you might need for … Continue reading →

Relief for Parents Traveling with Kids

There is finally some good news for parents flying commercial airlines with young children. If you are planning to take to the skies during the upcoming holiday season, you will find things a wee bit easier as you make your way through airport security. Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that kids 12 and younger will no longer be forced to remove their shoes at TSA checkpoints. In addition, Napolitano said that children will not have to suffer through pat downs as often, and those, who get selected for the extra screening, will do so at the hands … Continue reading →