Food For Thought

It’s the perfect time of the year to begin preparing to preserve all of the delicious foods which will be popping up from the ground, on bushes, vines or on trees. Last autumn was the very first time I ever preserved or canned. It was a very cool process and one which will remain with me forever. First times are like that.

My niece brought me a few books to look over a few months ago. We decided we will get together in May to begin trying new recipes such as pickling, putting aside tomatoes in water, oil and herbs, cooking tomatoes for paste and sauce, plus making more sweet preserves. This book really offers a lot of choices.

One of our members, Amybyrd, has provided a recipe here at Half Hour Meals, for her Apple Pie In A Jar and as soon as the West Virginia Apples are picked in May, I am going to make this, so I will have it on hand for speedy apple pie desserts. Thanks Amybyrd!

My niece has a lot of canning tools that I never purchased, so it will still be a learning experience for both of us. She has her own garden that she has planted and I am certain we will be using many of the fresh herbs and vegetables for our projects. Since she is carrying our newest addition to our family and is due in late August, we will have plenty of time to stock our shelves and even try our hands at making baby foods, too. This wholesome way of storing fresh foods for later use is a novelty and very exciting. You can tell I was raised in the suburbs, where I have been taught to purchase everything from the local grocery store chain.

If you have never tried this before I certainly think you should give it a go. The preserves I made last October, when we had a Preserving Event, still taste fresh and better than any I have ever bought.

Well Preserved is a gem and gives easy to follow tips and suggestions. It has the idea that preparing smaller amounts gives the novice a chance to try out many recipes. This cookbook is filled with infused vinegars, conserves, jellies, chutneys, sauces, fruit butters, pickles and much more. It’s a tiny book of edible delights.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 23rd, 2010 at 4:24 pm and is filed under Healthy Cooking, Recommended Cookbooks, Trying Something New, Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.