We finally had blue skies in North Dakota on Friday, after a long spell of gray weather. We are grateful to go into winter with the moisture, but the dreariness was beginning to wear thin. At least we didn’t get the heavy snow that hit the eastern part of the state. We got a little snow last week, and it …
Although the growing season began with such promise, Jim is bemoaning that it has been a disappointing year in the vegetable gardens, as he harvests the meager take of vegetables. Last year at the same time, he was bringing in 30 or so tomatoes a day, and now he only finds about three or four ripe among the hundreds of …
Well, on Thursday I said it to Jim. That statement that comes around every year: “I don’t want to see another tomato again for quite awhile.” By this point, we’ve converted thousands of tomatoes (Jim says over 1,700, plus my sister gave us some of hers) into salsa, juice, marinara — and Thursday, I canned 14 quarts of tomato basil …
Many people have fond memories from their youth of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. For a lot of families, it was a matter of economics. Both peanut butter and jelly were relatively inexpensive compared to luncheon meat, making the sandwich combo a great alternative for snacks or school lunches. That’s the way it was at our house, although we were occasionally treated with …
Many people will tell you that dill pickle recipes are a dime a dozen. Just ask anyone who’s purchased a quart of pickles — sometimes at a cost of up to $10 a jar — at a bazaar or food festival, only to discover they’re no better than the ones they can buy at the supermarkets. I’ve canned my share of dill pickles over the years, using …
Anyone who cans knows that smaller cucumbers make better pickles. It doesn’t matter if you’re making dills, bread and butters or chunky sweet ones. Large cucumbers often tend to be seedy, which makes them unsuitable for every kind of pickle. Sometimes, just a day or two can make the difference between perfect pickling cucumbers and those that are better off being de-seeded and used …