Canning~FOOD Preservation Quandry!

Well, I've had a problem. Last year we canned up all kinds of stuff~and so NOW we are consuming it with gusto...that is until I saw a blackish corrosion in the underside of my lid, well sealed jar of stewed tomatoes! YIKES! Is it going to KILL US?? Rather than take a chance, we pitched the tomatoes and lost some of our hard work, but until I could get a hold of a University Extension Agent for some authoratative info, we just weren't going to take a risk.

You know, home canning is a wonderful strategy for good solid food preservation and nutrition, BUT if you have to pitch out some of it, one might just wonder IF it's worth all the effort!

Well, after getting in touch, I've found that my tomatoes are FINE~oh YES! THEY ARE!! and so tastey, but you gotta know that now that I've had such a scare, SisterT has been busy updating all my info on canning to my trusty notebook so this summer when we're in full harvest/canning mode we will be all geared up with the info we need. 

What about you? Are you planning your GARDEN HARVEST already by getting your garden in and working on your knowledge base or supplies?

Here's some ideas:

NOW IS the time to collect up those jars.  I'm finding loads at thrift stores for cheap and also on give a way sites like FreeCycle.  (FreeCycle http://www.freecycle.org/ (you can search this site for your local group!)  is a yahoo group that is in many locations for gifting unwanted items on the FREE!) or other sources like a friend who found 4 boxes on the curb the other day~GOTTA LOVE curbshopping! LOL...

HOW does your GARDEN GROW?? Are you planning one NOW??  In many locations, it's THAT time of year to begin tilling and mulching the soil~and even if you aren't a FARMER BROWN type, you can get some 5 gallon buckets and grow a tomato bush or two..what about some peppers OR a green bean bush OR two?? YUM!! There's NOTHING like home grown produce straight to the pot!

BEGIN researching the HOW on canning!  There are supplies you need and methods to follow...HOW overwhelming it will be IF you aren't prepared when your harvest is coming in and you NEED to can in short order~LEARN IT NOW! Practice~get together with someone who KNOWS what they're doing...or go help that person do THEIRS so that you can get their advice on yours!  Collect info in a notebook and I recommend the Ball http://www.freshpreserving.com/home.aspx and  Univ of GA site http://nchfp.uga.edu/questions/FAQ_canning.html#13 ~ck out your University Extension Office http://foodsafety.osu.edu/ask-the-pros/consumers/ohioline/food-preservation.php  as well~Home Economists are usually in each state~it's amazing the wealth of information they have!

FIGURE OUT what you want to eat.  THIS IS our biggie this year b/c last year we canned up over 100 qts of tomatoes and honest we haven't eaten that many this year~sooo I will can less, but will can some...but thinking about our garden~WHAT do we want to eat?? I'm loving FRESH FRESH FRESH green beans pan fried in olive oil and garlic~just tender crispy~ooohhla la! AMAZING flavor with just a little CRUNCH! But in the past, it wouldn't have done to eat them THAT way, so we like them canned too~home canned! We even made dilled greenbeans~oh if you haven't tried 'em...but they are soo sosoo good! They're called Dilly Beans! Anyway, we're looking at our garden and making a plan.  Last year I also dried up some red peppers and jalapenos and crushed them for our own homemade crushed red pepper spice.  YUM! Also hope to plant some fresh dill and basil again and crush for seasonings as well as mint~and don't forget the CATNIP! LOL..your kitty will love you...and one more...stevia is an awesome sweetner~you can grow it and crush it too! woot! Of course, we will do cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, the green beans, peppers, and I'd like to try pumpkins...NOTHING LIKE green pumpkin~oh I know...I digress! LOL...but seriously, figure out what you want to EAT so you can plan and preserve for next year!

Okay, now I know my tomatoes are good~WOOHOO! Sounds like a big pot of homemade speghetti sauce for supper to me!

Be blessed and have a GREAT DAY!
HUGS
SisterT ;-))

HEALTH~NOT Reinventing the Wheel!

I'm sorta stuck.  Not totally, but sorta, b/c I have insulin resistance and so I need low carb in my life...but it goes against all the whole grain LOW FAT info of the past 25 years that I know.  I did learn about three years ago that all carbohydrates turn into or PROCESS as sugar in the body~hence why whole grains are better than more milled varieties b/c they process slower~MORE FIBER equals slower...okay, I get this...but, what and how can I eat?  I am morbidly obese. YUP~afraid so.  And SisterT is redoing her life, so how and wha?  I NEED INFO...

So since I don't have to go to a chemist nutritionist to figure this out (HOPEFULLY!!) I've done some web surfing and I want to lay it all out here for YOU AND ME...interested?? Okay, if you are, here we go~

I have learned first that insulin resistance in when my cells don't accept the insulin my pancreas produces nor the sugar that it will or is supposed to carry to those cells...as a result, sugar circulates at higher than normal levels in the blood causing high blood sugars...OKAY~something like a first form of diabetes.  Yeh, THAT word...NOT THRILLED, but TRUTH...and truth is knowledge.  So I'm living with this. Now, b/c the sugar isn't effectively sent into those cells that IF IT HAD, would give me BOUNDING WONDERFUL energy, IT INSTEAD goes to FAT. FAT. YES, I said, FAT...uh...NO WONDER! And so I'm fat. FATTER than EVER IN MY LIFE...well, okay...119lbs down from my highest EVER wt...but FATter than EVER! Soo what to do now?

I have to eat, right? TRUE.

I have to live, right? TRUE.

In researching this, I'm coming to the conclusion that a LOW-CARB diet is going to be best for me.  LOW meaning none of that really high intense carb stuff that has given me the CARB COMA for quite a few years now, and IF I had known then..oh how diff my life might have been!

So here's The Low-Carb Food Pyramid I found. Actually they have quite a few resources that TO ME seem better than the American Diabetes Assoc.  GO FIGURE!  HOW reliable is it? Well, it's adding up with other sources, and I plan to ck it all out~or as much as I can find.

I like the Low-Carb Food Pyramid. I have always believed that fruit and veggies FRUIT CARB (approx) COUNT ARE ESSENTIAL and PTL I've always eaten quite a bit of it~okay, too much! B/C I can overeat on celery..but I will tell you that God has blessed me with relatively good health for a person LIKE ME of 'size.'  I attribute this to #1 the LORD, and #2 the way I eat..loads of FRESH unprocessed whole foods/virtually NO MIXES or pre-prepared (BOX FOOD) stuff for me.  I can explain more of this later, but for now, just know that I do eat mayo and mustard, bought spices, some bought pickles, but overall~my food is made by us out of whole foods, and some of it we grow ourselves...and can or freeze.  MORE on that another time.

Okay~soo at this MIDDLE AGE time for me~WHAT ARE YOU doing for your health? HOW's your carb situation: TOO MUCH or ...???

Paula Deen Recipe: Pulled Pickled Beef

I know, it sounds yucky in a way, but I don't eat pork and to eat lovely wonderful beef~this just sounded good...and different.  We have home "corned" beef which is a more difficult process b/c we used less salt too~

Here's Paula's recipe~HERE!

I'm from Savannah too, and this is good eats!

(This pic is of Forsyth Park which has a gorgeous fountain given to the City of Savannah by France. There is an identical one in Paris, and each spring there the bushes you can see flanking the walkway is a blaze in pink azaleas! The over hanging trees are live oaks with sweeping long branches with gray whispy moss.  Oh what a beautiful place!)

GiveAway: The Vintage Remedy Guide to Real Food (book)

  is offering a this book. ENDS 6/27