Nice Rack

I was gonna work up a few pics of DIY canning racks but I came accross these two blogs with similar posts. Both are excellent so here's the links

Canning rack made from canning jar rings - project small 

Alternative method canning rack along with jar tongs and funnel - thekitchn 


No need expensive equipment to put food up ...


~~ pelenaka ~~

Swagbucks - Free Coffee Creamer

The coffee creamer I ordered off of Amazon came this morning none too soon as I was starting what would be my second day without coffee. No creamer no coffee for this Senora. I had such a big smile on my face the UPS guy told me it must not be work related when he handed me my delivery.
What's not to love I told him you bring me free groceries!

Expiration date on the Coffee Mate Creamers is April 2013 so I'm not really gonna bother with marking on each one the extended expiration date (4/2015) from the website StillTasty.com  because I use it so quickly.
Now of course I wish I had ordered another 12 containers the Amazon deal worked out to $1.07 each with a subscribe & save (free shipping) and a promo code that has since expired.
I have a while before I've scheduled my next delivery in February to search for another promotional code (think coupon).
Gotta say that I'm loving Amazon shopping. No paper coupons to clip, no biking to the store, no reworking my schedule to have the car for the day just to go grocery shopping. No hanging out @ the service desk to get a rain check because the shelf was empty because EVERYONE got that great deal on creamer or peanut butter.

First cup of the day, my morning coffee with my free creamer & Stevia that I grew myself.
And yes my cup is one of those big coffee house mugs which in reality holds a bit over two fill cups.
And yes, after this cup I have one more = almost 5 cups for me.


~~ pelenaka ~~

Pot to Can in

The following blog post is 5th in a series of fugal home food preservation for the novice.

So you went got a bushel or two of something that needs to be put up like yesterday which you have been doing but it's going slow. Real slow because the pot you found or borrowed only holds 6 or 8 quart canning jars. Meanwhile the produce you bought is starting to show it's age and your tired of tripping over the ice chest that holds those damn xxx, is leaking all over the kitchen floor.

Here's one solution that I've personally tried  with good results and a few minor adjustments.

A galvanized laundry tub 11.5 gallon capacity. 

Holds 15 quart jars & 1 pint.

You'll have to build a rack for the jars to sit on while you water bath can. Easy real easy let me build one snap a pic & I'll post it. 

A lid which can be anything from a piece of sheet metal with a drawer handle bolted on, or a sturdy thick piece of cardboard covered with aluminium foil. 

The times that I have canned using my wash tub I've built a simple fire pit with cinder block & used an oven rack for the grate to hold the tub above the fire.

When the ice chest is empty wipe down the lid and use as a table top to pay out the hot dogs & smores that you can cook on the fire after your done canning. 

Years ago when my three children were young they would come out with an old plastic kiddie pool and place it near the fire, filling it with a few blankets & pillows. Then they would try to rig up an umbrella to make a tent while they waited for the canning to be done.  Excited to be camping out in the back yard with a campfire. Over the din of the water rolling to a boil I could hear them talking to each other about making their tent or sleeping in the garden. 

"Now Mom, now"?

"No soon, put down the hot dog stick before someone eye ends rolling into a canning jar".

Deep belly laughs followed by a chorus of eyeball eyeball eyeball ...

"Can I have a graham cracker Mom"?

"No there won't be enough for dessert ... put down the stick and the hot dog".

"Now Mom"?

"No soon, go find the mustard and bring out a pillow for me please. I want to go camping".

~~ pelenaka ~~

who never would have thought that she would one day miss those days of canning & kids in August in the our city backyard 

Canning Party

Jarden Home Brands & Canning Across America are hosting a National Can-It-Forward Day on August 13.
A canning party for who ever you want to invite. 


Click on the links, sign up and get some pretty nice free goodies including a printable intro to canning download, recipes, templates for canning labels, and coupons (delivered to your email).




~~ pelenaka ~~

Stevia in my Coffee

K, you can accuse me of heaping tablespoons of powdered chemicals in my coffee with the addition of non-dairy creamer but you can't claim that I don't try and go with alternative sweetening methods by growing & using Stevia.
This plant is actually a child of the original which I bought over 7 years ago @ a big box home improvement store for around $5. Since then I've divided & repotted  each either for gift giving or even as a barter opp.

Here is the most current generation thriving in a container on the patio. I'll bump it up to a larger pot before Autumn and let it grow as a house plant over the Winter.
I want to make an effort to grow larger quantities of Stevia leaves to dry & grind into a powder for cooking & baking. Probably won't be able to grow enough Stevia to cover all of my needs but I do hope to be able to replace a fair portion of the Splenda that we now use do to our diabetes.
Icing on the cake is of course that I can grow Stevia virtually for free.
Splenda not @ all.

Besides floating Stevia leaves in my morning coffee I also use it in my Green Ice Tea along with a sprig of mint from a large patch the grows under the clothes in the garden.
Gently bruise the leaves thoroughly before adding to drinks.
Give the leaves a moment to seep before drinking.
Removal depends on how adept you are at not swallowing leaves.
With or without the help of caffeine


~~ pelenaka ~~

It's the Cream in the Coffee

I just ordered Coffee Mate Non Dairy Creamer Lite on Amazon, 12 containers for $12.86.
Used the subscribe & save + a promo code on amazon's website which brought the price down to $1.07 per container.
No biking to the store, no coupon clipping, no swinging by the service desk for a rain check.
Just shopping in my nightgown.
Free shipping.
No handling charges.
$ in my amazon account was all earned by doing swagbucks. So no out of pocket expense.

Now to hunt down a deal on whole bean coffee, anyone got any amazon promo codes out there ?

~~ pelenaka ~~