Home canning is a popular method for preserving foods, particularly fruit and vegetables. It allows you to take advantage of the bountiful crops you experience in spring and summer from your home garden, and save them for the colder months when supply is considerably diminished.

But there are tricks and tips you need to know about home canning which can save you a lot of time and effort, and will save you from the risks of losing your valuable preserves through spoilage.

One of the major causes of concern in any food preservation technique is to ensure that the integrity of the food is maintained for as long as possible in the safest possible way.

Although you need to be careful and follow some basic safety rules, the actual process of home canning is quite straightforward. As you are going to be heat processing all food, it is important to make sure that the correct heating standards are maintained.

Here are some basic steps:

• All food should be placed in jars that have airtight seals, preferably two-piece metal lids.
• Choose an appropriate canner such as the highly recommended All American Pressure Canner Cooker, to heat the jars to the temperature stipulated in the recipe.
• Choose the correct size jar appropriate to the food you are processing, and be careful to maintain space inside the jar appropriate to the expected expansion rate.
• Make sure that the heat is maintained for the period of time specified in the recipe. This will ensure that no bacteria or other microorganisms and enzymes will spoil your food.
• Allow the jars to cool slowly. This will allow the lids to form a strong vacuum seal.

The principle behind this process is that the contents will expand as the jar is heated. This causes pressure changes to take place inside the jars so that air is expelled from them. As the jars cool, the difference in outside and inside pressures causes the lid to clamp down tightly to form a vacuum seal.

It is vital to have a good quality canner such as the All American Pressure Canner,  that will maintain temperatures and will heat the contents at a consistent temperature, whilst at the same time ensuring that the vacuum sealing method outlined above can take place as efficiently as possible.

High acid foods and low acid foods require different processes however, and for these you will need either a boiling water canner or a pressure canner respectively.

The bottom line is that you should always follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and make sure that the equipment is clean and properly assembled before use.

Read our detailed review on the All American Pressure Canner Cooker.

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I was recently over browsing around one of my favorite blogs “The Pioneer Woman Cooks’ when I came across a Delicious Website that Ree featured called Three Many Cooks.

So off I went to check out this website that has been put together by Pam Anderson and her daughters Sharon and Maggy.

I started at the first post I came to which is entitled Marathon Women and relates the story of when Pam and Sharon competed in a marathon. I became totally engrossed with the story and went on to read quite a few more posts before I pulled myself up and remembered that I was also here to check out the recipes.

Well the first delicious recipe I would like to recommend is the  Orange Cream Cheese Strata with Cranberries and Walnuts.

But there are so many other tasty recipes to try.

This is a site full of wonderfully inspirational stories about women supporting each other and the camaraderie between the women is lovely to see. Believe me you will get lost in time once you start reading about Maggy’s adventures in Malawi, Sharon’s cooking adventures and Pam’s recipes.

Just today I was reading Pam’s latest article about her father in law, and what a remarkable man he seems to be considering his age of 91. Such a refreshing story where you can read how Pam made Fajitas from her beef carnita recipe,which is made from pulled chili-braised chuck roast. And then there is Maggy’s tale of a family visit to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. Hmmm, more chocolate.

So why not head on over to Three Many Cooks where you will find tasty recipes and an enjoyable read.

I have been very remiss of late and have not been adding the blog of the week as often as I should. So in an attempt to rectify this situation I decided to start by dropping in on one of my many favorite sites Months of Edible Celebrations.  Louise gives so much interesting information and past history about recipes that I always become totally absorbed by what I am reading and time passes all to quickly.

If you are ever stuck for an idea on what to prepare for a particular celebration, then Months of Edible Celebrations will certainly give you great recipe ideas. It seems there is a celebration on almost every day of the year.

While checking out whats new on Months of Edible Celebrations this morning, I came across a recipe the I haven’t made for many years, it used to be a favorite of my friends and family – Baked Alaska.  We knew it as Bombe Alaska but the principle is the same.  Although a cake base is generally used, when I was at school (seems like a hundred years ago) we were taught to place the ice cream on pineapple rings which also makes for a tasty dessert.

The recipe is courtesy of the Millennium Hotel, Anchorage, and my thanks to Louise for mentioning it.  I have to say it brought back some very pleasant memories.

Grilling is one of the most healthy cooking options. It lets any grease drain away from the food, cutting down on your fat intake and total calorie intake.

Almost anything can be grilled, from fish to steaks to veggie burgers. What you cook on your grill is limited only by your imagination.  Unfortunately for those us that don’t live in Hawaii or Florida sometimes we have to grill indoors. So the question is how to choose an indoor grill?

The first thing you’ll want to consider when choosing an indoor grill is if you want a stovetop model or a countertop model. There are benefits and disadvantages to both.

• Countertop: A counter top model is a great cooking option. You can find countertop grillswith a heavy lid so that the food cooks evenly on both sides in much less time. You can find countertop grills that are set at an angle so any grease drains away from the food and into a grease

  

  trap. The only real disadvantage to a counter top indoor grill is the space you will need for storage when it isn’t in use.

  Stovetops: A basic stovetop grill is more commonly referred to as a griddle.  You’ll want a heavy cast iron grill so you can use the highest heat possible on your stove. The only disadvantage of a stovetop model is that grease doesn’t drain as easily as with a counter top model. Although ther are stovetop grills available that have a raised cooking surface which helps to eliminate this problem.  The best benefit of a stovetop grill is the high heat you can use.

How to choose an indoor grill basically boils down to whether or not you want to cook on the stovetop or use a separate countertop model. Both are great choices when you’re forced to move the grilling back indoors in the dead of winter. With an indoor grill you can enjoy that great grilled flavor all year round.

A set of ramekins are a must for  any well equipped kitchen. Ramekins can be used as a small bowl for dipping  sauces, a bowl for your morning Kashi and of course for cooking up individual  servings of custard, flan, and crème brulee.  They can even be used as small  fruit bowls and for dipping sauce.

I have a set of these ramekins actually I have 8 of them. Along with everything else you can use them for, I find them great for making individual chocolate muffins. A treat I don’t make very often thanks to an ever spreading waistline.

The CorningWare French White 7-Ounce Ramekins are really well made.  They are a manufactured  stoneware that can hold up to the harshest treatment.  You can use them in the freezer, the fridge, the microwave and even  in the oven.

CorningWare French White ramekins,  are slick and non-porous. You don’t have to worry about food sticking to the  sides or staining. Since it’s non porous you don’t have to worry about any  strong food odors transferring between dishes.

The ramekins have a classic design with a flared lip and  fluting along the outer sides for a traditional classic look. These are a bit  larger than standard ramekins but that just makes them that much more  functional.

What We Like:

• CorningWare have so much faith in their product that there French White Ramekins come with a ten year warranty. Something not too many other companies have the confidence to do.
• The price point for this set of ramekins is perfect. They are  a quality set that can be used in any cooking environment. So the price is very reasonable for what you get. The Corningware set is quite competitively priced  compared to some other units we have looked at.
• We really like the 7 ounce size. They are bigger than the  traditional four ounce ramekin. This just means that we get bigger crème brulee  servings, not exactly a bad thing.  The larger size also makes them much more  functional than standard four ounce units.

And while you are thinking about creme brulee you might like to consider buying the Bonjour Chef’s Torch.

Long before the advent of the All American Pressure Cooker Canner, preserving food was a necessary task.  And the methods used in the past were often tedious.

The history of home canning can quite easily be traced to the early 1800s. But there are plenty of suggestions that man’s attempt to preserve food started well before that. The Egyptians used to place sealed jars containing food in the Pharaohs tomb for his use in the afterlife. The Romans certainly used sealed earthenware containers and buried them for future use. Although these early attempts were hardly successful that evidence of man’s obsession with retaining the bounties of a current harvest for the future.

It is also said that Napoleon authorized the use of sealed glass jars to preserve food for his troops during long campaigns.

As far as what we would currently term canning, the inventor of the Mason jar, John L Mason, first introduced his famous threaded jars in 1858. These jars became the central focus around which our modern approach to home canning developed.

In the early days, fruit was the most commonly preserved item. American women pioneered the increasing use of fruit preservation and extended it to vegetables. The idea was that the home orchard’s produce could be more completely harvested in that all excess fruit and vegetables could be preserved for use during the winter months when fresh produce became unavailable.

As sugar became less expensive and wood-burning stoves became a common household implement, preservation methods developed into a kitchen-based activity which all families could utilize.

The process involved placing the jars in a large bath like, water filled container on top of the wood-burning stove. The food was placed in the jars and went through a cooking process before being filled with hot liquids, usually sugar-based syrup in the case of fruit, to seal the food in, and then applying a screw top lid.

The jars had to be regularly inspected to ensure that there was no spoilage. From all reports, the food was often overcooked but still quite edible. Nevertheless, it fitted the bill for the times, and the cost of food purchases were reduced considerably. Salt and sugar were the main preservative elements of the canning process, so sauces and pickles were favorite products.

There were many other products apart from the Mason jars however. Over the years many manufacturers entered the market and provided kits to be used for home canning. Atlas jars and Bell jars were popular as were the lightning jars manufactured with a metal clamp and a glass lid.

Even if those products are no longer used in today’s home canning industry they are still popular collector’s items and can be found at second-hand shops around the country.

Thank goodness the All American Pressure Cooker Canner has made preserving your excess produce a simple task. Read our review on the All American Presser Canner and in no time at all you will have a pantry stocked full of  home preserved great tasting food  even when it is normally out of season.

As our regular readers are aware, we love the KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer and have written a detailed review on the benefits of owning one. So I thought you might like to read the history behind this great looking, excellent performing machine.

The KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer has its origins in the first standing mixer powered by electricity. This first mixer was designed by Herbert Johnson in 1908, and it was primarily designed for commercial use in large bakeries. 

Johnson’s 80-quart electric stand mixer was scaled down to a home “food preparer” and was sold by the newly renamed KitchenAid company in 1919. The new 1919 version of the KitchenAid Stand Mixer was still a bulky machine that weighed around 65 pounds. On top of that, it cost $189.50, or around $2,300 in present day cost.

 In 1936, KitchenAid hired an industrial designer to redesign their stand mixer. Three new models were produced, and the Streamline KitchenAid shape that still characterizes these machines was developed. The price was cut to around $55, making KitchenAid mixers much more affordable for home use. 

Over the years, KitchenAid stand mixers gained a reputation for quality and versatility as a food preparation tool. Virtually from the start, KitchenAid offered a variety of attachments that would allow the machine to perform many different functions. Early attachments included the food grinder, citrus juicer and pea shucker. 

KitchenAid began to offer stand mixers in a bright array of colors in 1955. KitchenAids became available in Petal Pink, Satin Chrome, Sunny Yellow, Island Green and Antique Copper.

Although more than 90 years have passed since the introduction of the first KitchenAid, the machine has remained much the same in many ways. Today’s stand mixers are still produced in the same factory in Greenville, Ohio where the very first 1919 model was manufactured. The mechanics of the original mixer have been altered so little, attachments made in 1919 will still fit today’s KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer. 

Today there are many more colors to choose from when it comes to purchasing a KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer, but the spirit behind offering the original color varieties in 1955 remains the same. Colorful choices make buying, owning and using a KitchenAid stand mixer more fun and exciting for owners. 

The tradition of designing useful attachments that allow the KitchenAid to serve as many roles as possible in the kitchen is also in place now as it was in the past. Today, the Artisan Stand Mixer can not only mix dough and batters, but can serve as a food grinder, citrus juicer, sausage maker and pasta maker, to name but a few roles it can serve.

So there you have it, the KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer - a product manufactured with performance and style, just right for your everyday baking needs.

I find that a good set of kitchen tongs are an essential part of my kitchen. I use them for all those jobs such as turning steaks on the grill, sausages,kebabs, chicken pieces, tossing and serving a salad and a myriad of other cooking tasks.

For many years I used a set of tongs with the black silicone tops which is essential to making sure I don’t scratch any of my non-stick cookware. 

Well, although my set is functional, black sure doesn’t have the whizz bang effect that this set of Rachael Ray tongs has. Because like all Rachael Ray kitchen accessories, these tongs  are available in her signature colors of  orange, green and  blue .

So apart from being one of those really useful kitchen essentials these tongs add a bit of pizzaz when it comes to serving food.

Now another feature that I really like about these Rachael Ray 2-Piece   ‘lil Hugger Tongs’ is that they are  designed to withstand high heat up to 500°F, so you can use them on the grill without worrying if they are going to melt.

They have  grippy silicone handles which are comfortable to hold and makes it really easy to hold onto slippery foods such as corn on the cob.

When you have finished using the tongs they lock into a closed position for easy storage in the drawer or utensil holder.

You will be really happy with how easy these tongs are to clean and they are dishwasher safe.

Included in the set are tongs in the following sizes:

• One pair  measuring 9 inches
• One pair measuring  12 inches

The Rachael Ray tong set is one of those really useful kitchen utensils that you will have you wondering how you ever did without them.