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Canning Joys - A New Adventure Begins


"Peaches on the shelf
Potatoes in the bin
Supper's ready, everybody come on in
Taste a little of the summer,
Taste a little of the summer,
You can taste a little of the summer
my grandma's put it all in jars."

                             -- Greg Brown "Canned Goods"

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First all-day canning event. Quarts of chili and pints of ground turkey - all sized to hold two servings - perfect for a quick after-work dinner
Preserving food has been a necessity for thousands of years - freezing, drying, smoking, fermenting, curing, preserving, pickling and canning.  People had to preserve surplus foodstuffs to tide them over during months when their indigenous foods weren't available.

Modern refrigeration, food handling and storage methods have allowed food to travel the globe and show up in our local market.  While this is really amazing, it has created other concerns, including crops picked before they are ripe, or crops that are stored for months before they are sold.  Many crops are not grown for their flavor, but rather their "eye appeal" - how good they will look in the store.  We have all heard of the atrocities our fruits and vegetables undergo before they arrive all perfect and shiny in our local grocery store.  Every week I see new types and brands of prepackaged and prepared foods slowly taking over the supermarket with less of the raw ingredients available to make our own fresh food, and I find this alarming.
While allowing more healthy foods to be stored for longer times, more refrigerators and freezers are stocked with processed, quick-cook foods that are less healthy. Studies connecting the correlation between frozen (microwaved) foods and obesity have proven that access to easy meals has led to a general decline in overall health                 
                                             -- Wikipedia, "Refrigerator"
Why we decided to start canning:
  • Save money - stock up on staples when the prices are great, supplies are plentiful and ingredients fresh
  • Save time - meals can be ready in a few minutes, which is wonderful after work when I don't feel like cooking
  • Eat healthy - avoid commercially processed foods full of mysterious and unwanted ingredients and preservatives and replace it with healthy, homemade food
  • Emergency preparedness - we are 15 minutes from the nearest town on a single lane road and we were stranded here without power for three days.  It can happen and next time we'll be ready.

Motivation to start canning came in the form of a tasty chili recipe that we can't seem to get enough of.  We decided we liked it better than our pantry staple, Dennison's, and that we'd much rather reach for a "can" of ours.
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All American Pressure Cooker & Canner
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Pints of cooked ground turkey in broth and quarts of turkey chili
Canned meats are available at Pleasant Hill Grain,
our supplier of choice for wheat berries and oat groats (for whole-wheat bread and oatmeal)
If you decide to can your own food, following proper guidelines for either water-bath or pressure canning is very important.  The USDA has a lot of great information and detailed guidelines for safe canning practices.  See their downloadable pdf instruction publications here: Complete Guide to Home Canning


Some ideas for using canned and left-over meats:
  • Tacos, nachos, enchiladas, quesadillas, etc.
  • Toss with pasta and/or vegetables
  • Pizzas
  • Sandwiches (hot or cold)
  • Sloppy Joe's or Joe's Specials
  • Sauce or gravy over rice or noodles
  • Spaghetti sauce
  • Soups
  • Serve it on a shingle (milk gravy on toast)
  • Casseroles
  • Salads
  • Chili
  • Stew
  • Fried Rice
  • Stir-fry (add at the end)
  • Asian-style sauce on steamed rice
  • Lasagne
  • Pot Pie or Shepherd's Pie
  • As-is, heated and eated :)
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Chicken breasts cooked in broth
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Thick cut cooked bacon
Stay tuned for more canning adventures...
Links:
Green Living: What Your Hamburger (and Cereal and Produce) Aren’t Telling You by JUDY ZIMOLA
Canned meats available at Pleasant Hill Grains
Complete Guide to Home Canning by the USDA
©2012 Laura Delanty, Wife With A Knife - All Rights Reserved
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