A Beginners Guide to the Herb Garden

Clockwise from left: Parsley, Basil, Rosemary, Oregano, and Thyme.

Late March is a great time to start planning an Herb garden.  It’s a time to shake off the winter cold and embrace the first of the sunny spring days.  Though it’s a little early to get elbow deep in the garden soil you can still search out a location, plan what seed or plants you need to include and decide what materials you want to use to frame the herb garden.  As you start to plan you can feel the sun start to shine on your mind, inspiration takes hold, and your spirits start to rise.  So grab those seed catalogues and dream!

As with all great endeavors planning is everything. There are a few questions you can ask yourself when you plan your first Herb garden.  Do you have a location that gets at least 6 hours of sun or is it more of a shaded area?  Is there a water source close by?  Is the location near the kitchen?  Do you use herbs in cooking?  Are you looking for a fragrant garden?  Do you drink herbal teas?  The answers to the first three questions should have you thinking about location and convenience. The answers to the last few questions give some insight into what would be the most useful herbs to grow.  If an Herb garden is convenient and useful you will be more likely to enjoy working in it and enjoy the bounty that it produces.

First let’s look at location, size, and preparation.  Most of the culinary herbs and many of the fragrant herbs require at least 6 hours of sunlight a day.  A few of these herbs are Thyme, Sage, Basil, Parsley, Lavender, Rosemary, Oregano, and so on.  Other herbs can be grown in partial shade, like Mint, Bee Balm, Lemon Balm, Sweet Woodruff and Angelica.  This not an unbendable rule, I’ve seen Sage, Oregano and others grown in dryer partial shade and they still did well.

The size of a first herb garden really depends on the gardener.  I suggest a 4-foot by 4-foot square that can be expanded by adding more 4×4 squares with walkways in between them.  Now the dilemma, do you remove the sod, which is a lot of work, or do you build the garden on top of the existing sod?  To prepare the area for planting measure out the area and put stakes in the corners, then if you choose, remove all the sod.  Use some kind of edging, like rocks, landscaping timbers, cedar planks or something else to your liking to define the area.  Add the Sod to the compost pile.  Turn the soil over with a shovel or rototiller to loosen and increase the drainage in the soil.  Heavy or clay soils must be amended with sand and compost to lighten them up because most herbs like well-drained soils.

If you choose not to remove the sod you will be building the garden on top of the sod.  I’m finding that as I get older, raised beds are much easier to care for and they can be located anywhere that the meets the plants light requirements.  Even on top of poor soil  First, lay a thick layer of newspaper or cardboard over the area.  Next, put in place what ever you will be using for edging, I use rocks because they seem to always be popping up in the fields and gardens.  Timbers or cedar planks can be used to raise the garden higher and make gardening easier on your back and knees.  The edging should be placed so as to hold the paper or cardboard in place.  After the edging is in place start to fill the garden area with a mixture of compost, manure, Grass clippings, bagged garden soil, Peat, etc., to the depth of about 12 inches.   Now using a shovel, thoroughly blend the ingredients taking car not to break through the paper or cardboard at the bottom of the garden.  An alternative to mixing the soil in the garden is to mix it on a tarp then add it to the garden.  Finally, water the garden and let set.  Water the garden every day for the next week before adding any plants.  This will allow the soil time to settle and if the mixture is going to heat up it will have time to cool before you put any plants in that could be damaged by this composting action.  Taking care to choose the right location, a size that won’t overwhelm you and taking time to prepare the garden properly will save a lot of time and work later on.

Now, for the fun part, choosing the plants for you garden.  Your 4-foot x 4-foot garden can comfortably accommodate about 5 plants, one plant for the center, preferably something taller, and one for each corner.  This gives the plants enough room to spread out as they mature.  If you are going to cook with your herbs, plant the herbs you cook with the most.  This could include a mixture of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Chives or Oregano. If you’re looking for fragrance, how about a fragrant Rose for the center and a selection of Lavender, Rosemary, catmint and maybe one of the scented Basils like Cinnamon.  For a tea Garden you could include Bee Balm, Roman Chamomile, Catnip, Lemon Balm, and Pineapple Sage.  Once you’ve chosen your plants and planted them you need to make sure to keep the area watered for about 2 weeks until the root systems become well establish.  If the garden looks a little empty at first you try adding a few herbs in decorative pots to fill in the gaps.  These can be moved elsewhere later in the summer to make room for all those delicious herbs that are being produced in your new Herb Garden.  In a few weeks you will able to start to enjoy the flavors and scents of your garden.

 

The Cooking Connection

My pie recipe, made with my Grandma's rolling pin, in my Mom's pie plate, on a hot pad that my Grandma crocheted.

As the snow swirls around outside the best thing I can do for myself and my husband is bake.  He has had a real craving for one of my Apple Pies, but it got put onto the back burner with all the cooking that the holidays require.  So with peeler in hand and apples that were crying to be used before they went bad, I resolved that this was the day!

When I’m doing something that doesn’t take a lot of concentration I either have to make a game out of it, i.e. how fast can I peel an apple or how long can I keep the peel intact without breaking it.  Or I can let my mind just drift.  Today it drifted.

It started when I spotted my cast iron fry pans that are a perpetual inhabitant of my stovetop.  Ken’s Mom entrusted these pans to me soon after we were married.  She had them stored in the attic of her house and asked if I would like them.  They had surface rust from not being used.  Young and dumb I thought to myself, “Who would want these old things”, but I was eager to please her so they came into my care. They had belonged to her mother and they needed to be used.  She told me how to care for them and then she told me stories about the women who had used them.  She told me stories about the family that they helped to feed and the food that they produced.

Then the stories all started to come back.  I was 5 or 6 years old again, standing by as my Grandma Skopec took a small disc of dough and set it on my Moms round kitchen table.  With rolling pin in hand she started to roll the dough out in all directions.  Larger and larger it got as I stood by asking endless questions.  Finally, she stopped for just a minute and explained that if she didn’t work quickly the dough would dry out and be unworkable.  I was welcome to stay, remember my questions and she would try to answer them when she was done.  As I watched, as quietly as was possible for me at the time, the dough became thinner and thinner until it hung off all sides of the table by at least 10 inches.  It was so thin you could almost see through it and there wasn’t one tear.  I can still see the look of satisfaction on her face.  That pastry recipe is in my mother’s recipe box in my cupboard, though I still haven’t attempted such a feat.

I remembered my Aunts and Mom gathered in a kitchen, cooking and talking, getting the food ready for a family get-together.  The food flowed from the kitchen to the tables that were set up.  My Mom’s special recipe potato salad was always served in her pretty ruby colored antique bowl.  I had just used this same bowl when I made my her Potato Salad recipe for Christmas.

My Dad liked to bake, and when he was laid off from Clark Equipment he made the best cookies and biscuits.  Much of this was learned when he Managed Thomas’s Restaurant in Niles for a short time.  He would explain why he mixed the ingredients the way he did and how you didn’t handle the biscuit dough too much or it would get tough.  He told me why he would flour the biscuit cutter after cutting each biscuit so it wouldn’t stick, and then gently lay the biscuits on the baking sheet.  They were the flakiest biscuits I ever tasted.  When he made cookies he would let me help mix the dough near the end when it was too thick to use a spoon on.  We would wash our hands and plunge our fingers into the thick gooey dough mixing in the chocolate chips and oatmeal.  The best part was licking our fingers when we were done mixing before he showed me how to drop the cookies onto the cookie sheet and put them into the oven.  The biscuit cutter and baking sheets are in my cupboard waiting for the next batch of biscuits or cookies.

My Grandma Quick would always let me help make piecrust.  She would flour the table in the kitchen to roll out the crust on, and then she would add a little flour to the top of the dough.  After rolling out the disc of dough to the right size she would drape it over her rolling pin and ease it into the pie plate.  She would trimming the dough to fit then hand me her rolling pin so I could make a small crust with the leftover dough.  As I roll out the crust for my pie, I remember the feel of her standing behind me with her hands on mine guiding them over the dough as we rolled.  I can feel the rhythm of the gentle back a forth motion and the feel of her wooden rolling pin in my hands as I shape and flatten the dough.  Yes, I’m using that rolling pin today and maybe someday I will stand behind one of my grandchildren helping them roll out their little pie crust.

Yes, many of the things that my family cooked with have taken up residence in my kitchen.  The bowls and biscuit cutters, rolling pins, and pie plates are all there, along with their recipes and the cooking heritage that they have bestowed on me.

As I drape my dough over my Grandma’s rolling pin and ease it into my mother’s pie plate I can feel all of my family’s cooks gathered around murmuring their approval.  What better thing to do on a snowy day than to invites these wonderful people back into my memories to warm my heart as their recipes baking in the oven warm the house, filling it with incredibly yummy scents and a feeling of home.

 

Season of Sourdough

Seasons and Sour Dough

You can feel it in the air.  There is a dry crispness.  The sunlight is also changing.  The days are getting shorter and the shadows are creeping out longer to the north as sun descends to the southern regions.  The days just feel different.

Not only do the days feel different, but also I feel different.  Where in the spring I’m aching for activity.  To be elbow deep in the gardens and feel the soft warm soil under my bare feet.  Now, I’ve started to want to slow down.  Now, I want to wrap my hands around a hot cup of tea instead of a glass of ice water. I feel like taking a little longer to do things with more breaks.  Now, I’m hungry!

The food I eat is different from summer to winter.  In the summer I look forward to that first food off the grill and we cook outdoors almost every day.  With the cooler weather and less sunlight I opt for slower meals.  Meals that take a little more time to prepare.  Roasts, Potatoes, and Carrots slow cooked in the crockpot, homemade Egg Rolls, Spaghetti, and all types of stews and soups.  Best thing of all is homemade bread!  It makes me happy.

I love sourdough bread.   The flavor is wonderful!  I remember my Grandma always having a jar of sourdough starter in the refrigerator.  If she wasn’t making bread soon she would feed the starter and use the castoff for the best pancakes and biscuits.  I also remember my first experience with sour dough starter.

A neighbor, who had just moved in gave me starter for Friendship Bread.  Included were instructions on how to care for the starter, the recipe for Amish Friendship Bread, and a loaf of the bread.  It was great!

I placed the starter on my counter and followed the instructions for caring for it, after a few days I made my first bread and it was also very good.  As the days went on I kind of forgot about the starter on the counter.  It repaid me by blowing its top off and climbing all over the counter.  Its amazing how far a cup or so of sour dough starter can ooze.  It’s really a good thing that I cared for my children and animals better than I did that starter.  Even though I swore I’d never make sour dough starter again here I am craving it.

Sourdough starter is not rocket science though since I’ve had one mishap and killed 2 starters I’m beginning wonder.  Sourdough is also not an exact science.  I’ve found it to be a living organism with a personality that you have to get to know.  When it’s happy and well fed it behaves very well.  It also makes really good bread.

Sour dough starter was used before commercial yeast came on the market to make bread rise.  Actually, someone’s grain probably got wet and “Viola!”  You have sourdough. It’s not hard to start your own starter.  All it takes is flour and pineapple juice.  The naturally occurring wild yeasts that are in the air do the rest.

 

Making Sourdough Starter

Starting the Starter:  First of all you need to have every thing that comes in contact with the sourdough very clean.  Even if the spoon that I use to stir the starter with was just taken out of the drawer I run it under very hot tap water and wipe it with a paper towel.  Bacteria will ruin a good sourdough starter and can make you very sick.  Now, in a 1-Quart wide-mouth canning jar mix 1/4 Cup of Whole Wheat flour and 1/4 Cup of unsweetened Pineapple juice.  This is the juice usually labeled as no sugar added.  Cover the jar with a square of cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band.  Use a glass or ceramic container to avoid having the sourdough react adversely with a metal container.  Let the container set at room temperature, about 70 to 75 degrees, for 24 to 48 hours.  Stir occasionally, at least 2 to 3 times a day.  Next add 2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour and 2 tablespoons of Pineapple juice and again cover a stir for the next 48 hours.  You should start to see some bubbles appearing on top of the mixture.  If you don’t you may want to throw this batch out and start over.

Now that the Starter is bubbling a little add 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour and 4 Tablespoons of purified water.  Some tap water contains a lot of minerals and things that may inhibit the Starter.  Cover and set on counter for 24 Hours stirring a couple times a day.  Some separation is normal when the starter sets for awhile.  As long a it isn’t tinged red or fuzzy and has a pleasant kind of alcohol yeasty smell it’s fine.  Finally, add 4 Tbs. whole wheat flour and 3 to 4 Tablespoons of water to the Starter.  Stir and cover, let set on the counter for about an hour.  Congratulations you are now the parent of a nice healthy, bubbly Sourdough Starter.

Initial feeding:  Like all living things sourdough has to be fed.   At this point I start using half Whole Wheat flour and half unbleached flour.  After the first 48 hours add 5 Tbs. flour and 4 Tbs. water, stir well.  Let the container set at room temperature for another 24 hours.  The mixture should keep bubbling.  After another 24 hours feed the mixture again and let set for 24 hours. If the starter seems too thin add a little flour a tsp. at a time and if it seems too thick add water a tsp. at a time until it feels right.  It should be thick and mixable but not doughy.

This is the sourdough about an hour after feeding and it's ready to return to the refrigerator

Sourdough and cast-off:  Now empty the mixture into a bowl and thoroughly wash the jar.  Put 1 Cup of starter back into the jar and add 1 cup flour and ¾ cup water and leave it at room temperature for 1 hour, this is your sourdough starter.  What remains in the bowl is called Cast-off.  Though it can be tossed on the compost pile and it isn’t strong enough to raise bread, it can be used to make pancakes, pizza crust and is good added to muffins or cakes.  You also can give it away to an agreeable friend with instructions on how to care for it

 

Caring for Sourdough Starter

 

            To make a strong sourdough starter that will raise bread keep the starter at room temperature and feed ever 12 hours for three more days.  This helps the sourdough become well established, though it also creates more cast-off.  At the beginning of the 2nd day I add 1 Tbs. of honey.  Always make sure you have a large enough container so that the sourdough can expand and not overflow.  On the morning of the 3rd day place the starter into a bowl and put 1 cup back into the clean and washed jar.  Feed the starter in the jar with equal amounts of flour and water and allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour then place it into the refrigerator.  Measure what you need for your recipe from the contents of the bowl and the rest is cast-off.  If you don’t use the starter within 5 to 7 days:  Remove it from the refrigerator, allow it to come up to room temperature, feed it with equal parts flour and water, leave it on the counter for an hour, and then return to refrigerator.  Caring for sourdough starter is kind of like caring for a baby, but with out all the diapers and crying

Success!

.

Your sourdough starter is now ready to use in bread recipes.  Always keep a cup to feed for future use and experiment with any cast-off in your everyday recipes.  There are a lot of recipes to be found in cookbooks and on the Internet.  I’m off to bake bread!

 

Micro-Greens

Winter Gardening: Mighty Micro-Greens

Nutritious Micro-Greens

From tiny seeds emerge tasty micro-greens. These lowly seeds bring forth a burst of flavor and color that can brighten up our day and make us turn our thoughts to Spring. Since winter is on its way, I have turned my attention toward small scale gardening. With a little time, a small amount of space, and some loving care the seeds that you plant can produce the same small greens that are being sold in upscale restaurants and in the bags at the store as Spring Greens for a fraction of the cost.

Micro-Greens are not the same thing as Sprouts. Sprouts are grown in a covered container. They can be grown in low light, because of the short amount of time it takes to produce a small sprout. About 5 to 7 days depending on the type of seed used. Also Sprouts are not grown in soil, the seeds are first soaked then rinsed a couple times a day until they have sprouted and produced the first pale leaves. The difference isn’t just in the way they are produced, but in the final result.

Grown in potting mix, Micro-Greens can take anywhere from 10 to 15 days for the faster growing varieties, to 16 to 25 days for the slower growing varieties. They require good light and ventilation to keep them healthy. They are the same herbs and salad vegetables that are grown in our gardens during the spring and summer only harvested when they are a lot smaller.

Growing Micro-Greens takes very little investment. Some of the things you will need are: Small square containers that have drainage holes, like the plastic ones at the store that are filled with mushrooms or the Earthbound Organic salad mixes, something to put under the container to catch the excess water, a good potting mix, a few different varieties of seed (see varieties below), something to water with, and a window with good bright light or, even better, a simple grow light with a timer. I suggest starting with one or two varieties of seed. Fill your container with potting mix to about ½ inch from the top, then firm and flatten the soil. Next, sprinkle some of the seed on top of the soil. It should look like it would if you were peppering your food, it is ok for the seeds to overlap a little. You want the plants to grow in a dense mass so that they grow straight with tender stems.

Seeded container

Cover the seeds with about ¼ inch of soil. To start with I use a mister to water the seeds so that I don’t move them around too much. Later, when the seeds have sprouted, you can use a measuring cup to gently water your micro-greens farm. Water only until the soil is damp wet, not soggy. You can cover the container at first to keep moisture in and create greenhouse like conditions, but remove the cover as soon as you see the first sprouts. Set the containers in a bright window or under a grow light that is no more than 10 inches from the top of the container and nature will do the rest. You should see green sprouts in 3 to 10 days depending on the variety of seed used. Then water enough to keep the soil damp but not soggy, roots need oxygen to stay healthy. If you eat a lot of micro-greens the small containers can be planted 7 to 10 days apart so you will always have a fresh crop.

Though there are many varieties of seeds that can be used for micro-greens here are just a few suggestions and their characteristics. Fast growing varieties: Mildly sweet Chinese Cabbage, peppery flavored Cress, mildly flavored Red Russian Kale, Spicy flavored Ruby Streaks Mustard, Mildly flavored Red Cabbage. The fast growing varieties germinate in 3 to 5 days and are generally ready to harvest in 10 to 15 days.

Slower growing varieties: Lemony flavored Sorrel, Carrot flavored carrots grown for their tops, Spicy flavored Arugula, Pink stemmed Red Gunner Purslane, Deep red Bulls Blood Beet with its spinach like flavor. The slower growing varieties will germinate in 5 to 7 days and be ready for harvest in 15 to 25 days. Also many herbs can be used for Micro-Greens. All of the Basils, Dill, Cilantro, and Parsley are a few easy suggestions. Finally, any type of vegetable that is grown for Lettuce or Greens can be used for Micro-Greens. You can combine different seeds to get a mixed crop, but always mix slow growing seed with slow growing seed or fast growing seed with fast growing seed. This way the plants in the mixed container will mature at the same rate.

Harvesting what you have sown is a fairly simple affair. You will need a small pair of kitchen shears and a container either to eat out of or to store you harvest in the refrigerator for later. Many of the seeds sold for Micro-Greens have harvesting instructions on them, but as with everything else there is a rule of thumb. Hopefully it’s a green thumb. Most greens are ready to harvest when they are 3 to 4 inches tall. If the plant has a long stem topped with just the baby leaves, these are the first leaves to appear and usually don’t look anything like the true leaves, wait until the first true leaves have unfurled to harvest. Using the small kitchen shears simply trim the tops of the greens off even with the top of the container. They are ready to eat immediately and if they don’t have any of the potting mix on them they don’t even have to be rinsed. If you are storing them for later in the day put them into a sealable container without rinsing them, but do rinse and pat or spin them dry before serving. Since it is so convenient having your own mini garden, you always have fresh greens available, there really is no reason to have to store the greens unless there are too many. As with anything the more you grow the better you will get at judging how much to grow for your family’s use.

Micro-Greens ready to harvest

Micro-Greens can be used a lot like sprouts, on salads, in sandwiches and as a topping on soup. They can also be tossed with warm or cool pasta, some fresh cut tomatoes, olive oil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese for a light meal. Wheat Grass and Barley Grass are mainly used for juicing and are considered one of the super foods. Micro-Greens also work well in sandwich wraps and if a quick snack is what you are looking for, simply snip and eat. What a great way to add some color to the house. It is healthy, edible color to boot and a lot less expensive than the spring greens at the grocery store. Give it a try. You’ll be amazed at how easy this project is.

Time to enjoy!

 

Lake Effect

Lake Effect 1

There a phenomenon in Michigan and the surrounding Great Lake States called the Lake Effect. Though it happens in every season it’s at its best in the winter. Lake Effect is a fickle creature whose rains and snows are at the mercy of the direction and strength of the wind. If you’ve ever lived in this area you understand.

One minute it can look like the Lake Effect 1 Pic. 

Magnificently big snowflakes cascading to the ground.  Covering everything in sight and five minutes later -

You get this, the Lake Effect 2 pic,with the sun reflecting off the snow-covered landscape.

Lake Effect 2

For us it is Lake Michigan that gives us this wonderfully fickle weather.  In summer our area can be bathed in sunshine with the temperature around 90 degrees and 80 percent humidity.  Then the rumbling starts off to the west and black storm clouds begin to rise on horizon.  The leaves of the trees curl their underside upward and air turns an odd greenish color.  The heat is suddenly replaced by a chilly breeze that brings goosebumps up on your skin.  Then the downpour begins as puffs of dust rise with each raindrop and all you want to do is dance in it with your face turned up to the sky.  As suddenly as it started it is over, but there in the sky in all it’s jaw dropping wonder is the Lake Effect 3 pic.

Lake Effect 3

Lake Michigan moderates our weather.  It’s not quite as cold in the winter and for the most part not quite as hot in the summer as some of the surrounding area.  I lived for a while in Florida and I wouldn’t trade it for Michigan.  I couldn’t give up the long Summer days of garden bounties, vibrant colors of Fall, the pristine snow coverings of Winter, and the long-awaited colors and smells of Spring.  The seasons are the circle of my life.  I am totally, comfortably, excitedly, and passionately in love with where I live.

 

Tell Me A Story

My Uncle Gordon and Mom at my Grandfathers gasstation/Grocery Store at Walton Rd and Old US 31 in Niles MI around 1930

     Listen.  Can you hear it? The hum in the air as friends and family gather
together. Really listen as the humming harmony of voices begins to
separate into each familiar voice. The voices tell of life past and
present, of comedy, tragedy, and drama. It’s all playing out right
there if you listen.

     With the starting of the New Year maybe it’s
time to learn about your story. When I was little my Grandfather
was always telling me about how he grew up. Of course he had found
a willing audience. Then sometime in the mid to late 1960’s my mom
talked him into writing down the things and events that he
remembered. He didn’t think it was that interesting, but he granted
her request in long hand. Mom carefully typed it out on our old
manual typewriter not once, but at least 6 times. Ah, the good old
days. I keep my copy in a safe place, pulling it out now and then
to share with someone. Someday I will take the time to put it into
the computer.

     I believe we all have a story to tell. Maybe because
we’ve been the ones living our lives we feel, like my Grandfather
did, that it’s not interesting. You would be surprised at the tales
that can be told to the willing listener, and the pleasure it
brings.

     One place to find out about your story is with older
relatives. Now that the colder days are setting in it is the time
of year that is lonelier for our older friends and relatives. Many
have a hard time getting out and would love a visitor. Sure, it’s
nice to talk about what is happening now in our lives, but many
age-challenged people don’t have a lot going on right now to talk
about. What they do have is history and when encouraged to do so
they love to talk about. Our older population has so much to teach
us about history and our ancestral background, if we take the time
to ask. You could start off asking things like: “Where were you
born?” “What was the house you lived in like?” or “What was the
depression like?” Many of the elderly population have first hand
knowledge of growing up in the 1930’s. The things that shaped their
lives and in turn the lives of their children are sometimes taken
for granted now. Ask permission first, but write it down or even
ask the person if they would consider writing things down. Even
just jotting down short memories that they happen upon when no one
is around can be great areas of discussion when you do visit.

     When family or friends gather together is another time that the stories
will fly. Sometimes each one is bigger than the last and, believe
me, they are told from many different perspectives. In this relaxed
atmosphere the brain tends to open up. One memory will trigger
another and another. This brings up long forgotten events,
emotions, and names of friends that have moved on to other places
and new adventures. This can also be a little scary when everyone
is talking about the girl or guy in our 4th hour history class in
high school and the only name we can come up with is “You know who
I’m talking about, get out the yearbook”. Of course this adds a lot
more memories to the discussion or fuel to the fire. It’s always
good for a few laughs and also a few sad reminders.

     Before there was written history there were stories told around the campfire.
These stories were passed down from one generation to the next.
Slowly as families grew farther apart the family connections were
lost and the stories were forgotten. Maybe it’s time we got
reconnected. While there is still time to learn about past
generations, talk to the older people in your life while they are
still here. You might be surprised at what you find out. All it
takes is asking someone “Please, tell me a story about your past.
Tell me what your life was like. Tell me what the depression was
like. Tell me about the war. Tell me about my Family. I will make
time to listen.”

 

Preserving Perseverance

                When it comes to food, I like to remember the story of the Ant and the Grasshopper.  While the Ant spent his summer stocking up on food for winter, the Grasshopper frivolously spent his summer eating through the many delectable leaves of his domain, saving nothing for the winter to come.  Some years I’m the Grasshopper and some years I’m the Ant.

                During the intermittent year that I’m the Grasshopper I don’t feel that I have the time to preserve food for the coming winter.  I have become very good at coming up with reasons that I shouldn’t take up my time with food preservation.  My brain tells me, “It’s easier to just go to the store and pick up whatever I need”, or “It’s cheaper if I wait until whatever I need is on sale”, or “It’s just as good as what I put up”, even “I’m too tired” or it’s too hot”.  The last two are when I’m really in a whiny mood and can’t come up with anything else. 

                To tell the truth, during the years that I’m in Ant mode, there is a real feeling of satisfaction when I look at the shelf where my preserves set and think to myself, “Yes, I did that and isn’t it pretty.”  There are real benefits to canning your own food.  You know who preserved your food.  You know what is in that jar of peaches or pears because it was within your control the whole time. You know when the food was preserved, thus how long it has been in the jar.  You know where your food came from and in my case that it was from a local farmer.  You are spending money in your local area so it benefits the local economy and so is the farmer that just received your hard earned money.  You know how the food was handled.  You know why you do canning, for purely hedonistic motives.  What, you might ask, is the historical significance?  Why I remember my Grandmother canning Tomatoes and fruits when I spent summers there.  So, I can still keep the feeling of those days gone by.  This is one of those comfort memories that makes me feel good.

                 The science of canning is fairly straight forward.  For high acid foods like tomatoes, fruits or anything made with fruit, and anything that is pickled, the heat of a Hot Water Bath Canner, also called a Kettle Canner is sufficient.  For all other vegetables and meats a pressure canner is a necessity.  When your jars are filled and the lids and bands have put into place they are then placed into the canner.  When you heat the jars their contents start to expand and the air that is left at the top is forced out.  This happens even if the lids are on tightly.   After the allotted time has passed the jars are removed from the canner and left to set and cool at room temperature.  The contents start to contract and PING, the vacuum seal is made.  The heat destroys bacteria, molds and enzymes that cause food to spoil and yeasts that cause fruits to ferment.  Basically the seal keeps all the good stuff in and bad stuff out.

                Preserving food by this method is not hard to succeed at as long as you pay attention to the details.  Having a good book on canning on hand is a great idea.  The Ball Blue Book is my favorite and it teaches you a lot along the way.  Making sure everything that touches the food, whether it is cold packed or hot packed, is sterilized in boiling water is very important.  Also, the suggestions for the amount of time to process the jars in the boiling water or under pressure should be followed.  I haven’t canned in almost 10 years so I bought a new Ball Blue Book and spent an evening reading through it a little before I embarked back on this adventure.

                There are some basic supplies you will need.  A pressure canner or a hot water bath canner is your initial investment and it will give you years of return on your investment.  This item can also be borrowed from a friend or relative who might also be willing to help by passing on their knowledge of canning.  Second, an assortment of jars, either regular or wide mouth, that are meant for canning.  You can use used canning jars, but you have to be diligent about checking them for chips or cracks that could spoil you canning experience.  Always use new lids on the jars although the rings can be used over and over.  Other things like a food funnel for putting the food in the jar neater, a jar lifter for moving the hot jars, and a thin blunt utensil for releasing air bubbles from around the food in the jar before you put the lid on are handy but not necessary.  A butter knife works well for releasing air bubbles. Clean old towels to set the hot jars on to cool.  You don’t have to have the most expensive equipment.  It’s better to just keep it simple.

                I remember those hot fall days in my Grandmas kitchen with my mom and aunts canning everything in sight, including me if I didn’t get out of the way.  It was sweltering and messy and in the mind of a kid I wonder who would ever want to do this every year.  Now I think to myself, as I look at the pretty rows of preserves on my shelf, who wouldn’t want to do this.  Now, on to Apple Sauce.