Cracked under Pressure



I have decided to try out home canning. Ever since I canned a jar of crabapple jelly ( er..crabapple syrup) I decided to learn more about it. Low acid, High acid, my, my, there's a lot of ways to get botulisim. But I am going to try and avoid that. Hence the pressure canner. What a heavy duty, precision ground apparatus. I just love the idea behind canning. Making your own food and keeping it. I was wondering how much of our food just gets stored in the fridge a while and then thrown out. Just seems like a big waste of resources. And besides I get to decide what goes in the cans. Like a lot less salt. Next year: bigger garden, cold storage, and a place to store canning.

Somethings happening to me lately. I guess the idea has been lurking around my head for quite a while. About using resources more responsibly. This redneck is a born again Hippie. Jo-Ann actually caught me perusing a web space called tree hugger. I was looking for information on our wood furnace. Honest. Haven't hugged a tree. Don't want to. Use a pickeroon. But I do want to use them efficiently. Carol Browne calls me the king of reduce, recycle and reuse. I know earlier in my life I wouldn't have thought that was a compliment. I sure do now!

It only takes a couple of trips to the woods around here to see the huge burn piles left after logging. Enough wood going to waste to heat and light our homes for decades.. Most every one here I know has at least a fireplace to keep fueled. We depend on wood almost entirely - only using the electric side of the furnace when we go away. Makes a huge difference in stretching pension dollars.

I am in wood gathering mode for the winter right now. I am fortunate in that I can get a lot of our wood prebarked and cut up from my brother Tiny's log home building. Some of it comes in smaller pieces and odd shapes, so it's hard to stack. Hence the new addition to our home: the wood bin.



I made it out of recycled shipping pallets, a couple of old recycled railroad ties and some chicken wire which I bought from the local hardware store. Makes storing all the odd stuff a lot more convenient.

Comments

Art Blomquist said…
Well I've thought of that but that would make a rather large can wouldn't it. I guess I could put a Moose haunch in it..Also those pressure cookers are pretty expensive and I wouldn't want to keep buying them...
Art Blomquist said…
two words: head cheese
Anonymous said…
Art: Good to see that you both are doing well and enjoying yourselves.
I just got wind today that you had a blog (should have known). It looks like you have a very interesting life. All the good things without the BS. Keep on enjoying yourself. If you get a chance (I know that you are awful busy) send me an Email nick76@shaw.ca I hope all is well, all the best. NK Lois says Hi

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