Keeping Up Family Traditions

Remember the old days?  Cooking and canning to provide fresh and healthy food to your family?  I do, I remember learning to can vegetables and bake bread from my Aunt Barb on the farm when I was just a kid in the 70's.  No, that's not me above...

...that's my Hannah yesterday afternoon.  Learning a family tradition.

Just look at that knife fly....good enough for The Food Network, don't you think?

She wasn't really enthused about this, but I told her that if she wanted Kosher Dill (her favorite) instead of Bread and Butter (my favorite) than she better help. :0)

Now to let them sit and pickle.  Yum yum.  And because I forgot to share my effort from last week...

....I'll be ready for all the butternut squash casserole my family can eat this coming winter.  (I also canned 8 quarts of tomatoes but I forgot to take pictures.  Don't worry, I have more tomatoes on the vine just waiting for me.)

So how about you?  Do you bake or can? 

Where did you learn your culinary skills?

Be blessed,

Debbi

My Abundant Herb Garden

In the spring of this year, I did an overhaul of my herb garden.  I pulled out EVERYTHING. 

** here's a tip...never, never, never plant mint in a garden....it grows overwhelmingly, lol.**

I tried to just pull the mint last summer, but it would just come up someplace else.  So I dug up my other herbs, and then Chuck tilled, and tilled, and tilled.  Then I laid down weedblock and replanted my lemon balm, sage, and rosemary, and purchased new plants of basil, flat leaf parsley, oregano, marjoram, dill, and chives.  It looked good....then everything got bigger.

**this is not the most recent picture, but I forgot to take a picture before the harvest, of course. **

Now what to do with all my herbs?  A quick google search and I decided on freezing.  It was messy, but I love the feel of having fresh herbs in winter.

First, pick and clean.  This is my basil, the herb I tend to use the most.  After picking off the leaves, into the salad spinner.  I love my spinner.  

Then I started chopping.  I got this great rocking herb cutter years ago.  I am a real sucker for kitchen gadgets.  Which is quite funny since I don't really like to cook.

All nice and chopped.  And guess what I discovered?  Chopped basil will turn your hands green! hahaha

I forgot to take a picture of the next step, but I put the chopped basil into a bowl and added olive oil.  After mixing it together, into a labeled freezer bag.  I laid it flat and stuck it in the freezer.

Viola!

Now last night I was making spaghetti for dinner, and went outside to get herbs for the sauce, when I realized that I harvested so well, I needed to use some of my newly frozen herbs. And they were tasty!

Do you harvest and preserve anything?  What is your favorite way to eat summer all winter long?

Be blessed,

Debbi