Tag Archives: canning

Putting Up: Tomatoes — Crushed & Sauced

Posted on September 6, 2013 by diary of a tomato

For some, security is having enough jars of strawberry jam, for others it’s having a root cellar full of potatoes. For us, it’s having enough canned tomatoes to fill an entire shelf in the pantry. Tomato season is the one … Continue reading →

Posted in local food, preserving | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Mastering Food Preservation: A Pickle Primer

Posted on August 10, 2013 by diary of a tomato

“The laws of hair care are simple and finite.” — Elle, “Legally Blonde” We’ve all had them, bad hair days. And, for those who practice the art of canning, the same goes for less than optimum pickles. Luckily, like hair … Continue reading →

Posted in cooking, preserving | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

Mastering Food Preservation: More on Identifying Ball’s BPA-Free Lids

Posted on July 19, 2013 by diary of a tomato

For those concerned about the presence of BPA in the lining of lids for home canning, we posted previously on identifying Ball’s new BPA-free lids by looking for the serial number on the boxes they come in. Since that post in May, two … Continue reading →

Posted in preserving | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

7.15.13 Agretti, Invaders, and Other People’s Harvests

Posted on July 15, 2013 by diary of a tomato

This is the second time around with the radishes and agretti. The early spring plantings of both failed to thrive, and were replanted with enough success to be included in this week’s harvest. To get beyond the low germination rate, … Continue reading →

Posted in garden, preserving | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

Pea Pod Broth

Posted on July 11, 2013 by diary of a tomato

So much of cooking, especially preserving, is born of necessity. It’s always disturbed me that we didn’t use the pods left from shelling peas. Their skins dense with pea flavor, it seemed a wasted opportunity to just chuck them in … Continue reading →

Posted in cooking, preserving | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

Barley Scones with Rhubarb-Ginger Jam

Posted on June 28, 2013 by diary of a tomato

I’m a terrible shopper when traveling. Fortunately, the Gardener is not. Other husbands may bring home gifts of meat. Much like the Will Ferrell character in the movie Stranger than Fiction, mine brings me flours. There was buckwheat flour from a … Continue reading →

Posted in cooking, preserving | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Mastering Food Preservation: Ball’s BPA-Free Canning Lids

Posted on May 22, 2013 by diary of a tomato

We’ve long been concerned about BPA in canning lids, and just received a tip from an alert reader that Ball is now offering BPA-free lids: They began production/release of their BPA-free lids in January 2013. To identify a BPA-free box … Continue reading →

Posted in cooking, preserving | Tagged , | 56 Comments