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Coming soon!
Now that we are in the new year and produce is beginning to wake from its long winter slumber, canning time is back! With my focus on canning only what’s in season, winter can be hard as there really isn’t a lot to can. But the good point about winter is that you get the…
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Pressure Canning – basic principles
If you want to know how to preserve food by pressure canning, this article is what you need. You may want to check out my boiling water bath article as well. First, what foods must you pressure can? Low-acid foods. In this context, low acid is defined as “pH 4.7 or higher”. Vegetables, meat, fish,…
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Farmer’s markets
One of the benefits of going to a farmer’s market is that you can get some absolute steals when they are at the end of their produce and want to go home. I got 1.5 bushels of tomatoes for $4. So far I have canned 7 qts of tomatoes and 7 qts of basic meat…
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Choosing produce for canning
The modern grocery store is a wonder. You have all sorts of produce available all the year round – strawberries in December and lemons in July. If you look carefully, you will notice that all of the produce is uniform – everything of one type is pretty much the same size, shape, and colour as…
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Seasonal eating – June
As the temperature rises, so do your choices of fruit and veg. A good, but busy time of year! Beets – root and greens Broccoli Broccoli rabe Cauliflower Red Cabbage Chinese Cabbage Carrots Peas (various) Radishes Scallions / green onions / spring onions Tomatoes Summer squash Onions Potatoes Cucumber Corn Garlic herbs arugula / rocket…
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Complete protein
What is complete protein? It is a protein that contains all 9 essential amino acids. What do you mean by 9 “essential” amino acids? They are 9 amino acids that your body cannot produce. They have to come from an external source. So what if I eat incomplete protein? You’ll get nervous, dizzy, and suffer…
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Links
Here’s some articles I have enjoyed reading during the week. The first suggestion in this article uses my favourite bean, the black bean. Do video games make you eat more? Is eating healthier more expensive? Not necessarily, according to Sparkpeople, but look at the comments and how defeatist so many people are. If YOU want…
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Seasonal eating – May
Finally, things are beginning to get better. More produce is appearing on the shelves, but not to the overwhelming levels we’ll have in a couple of months. Asparagus Beets: roots and greens Broccoli Broccoli Rabe Cauliflower (time to make piccalilli!) Cabbage: red, green, Chinese Carrots Peas (English, sugar, snap, snow) Radishes Spinach Turnip Onions Kale…
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Eat real food
As I read more about health and nutrition, it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that a lot of what is wrong with people’s health in the “western world” is the food we are eating. Our grandparents mainly ate what would today be considered a semi-vegetarian diet: fresh, local, seasonal fruit and vegetables, cheese, butter, relishes…
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Spices and seasonings – taco powder
Tacos appear fairly regularly on the menu at home – once a month or so. Packets of seasoning mix vary in price between “quote reasonable” and “are you kidding me?!!?”. As usual, my answer is to make it myself! 6 teaspoons chili powder 5 teaspoons paprika 4 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 1/2 teaspoons onion…