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Do You Like Canning at Home?
Summer, with its bounty of exquisite produce, couldn't be a more fitting time to preserve fruits and vegetables for less-than-abundant months to come. Last year, I was obsessed with making quick pickles; this year, I'd love to pick up some professional canning equipment so I can save jams, jellies, preserves, and pickles for the Winter. Have you dabbled in home preserving?
Making Preserves at a Public Fruit Jam
Last weekend, I attended a collective canning event. Sponsored by Fallen Fruit, an activist group that promotes the planting of public fruit trees, the public fruit jam was a free, communal jam-making session where participants shared fruit and jam-making tips.
I arrived with empty jars and lots of plums, and left with new friends, half a dozen jars of different kinds of jam, and the know-how to make fruit preserves.
Blueberry Jam Session
A couple of months ago, I got together with my pals April and Jessie for what I hope is to become a new tradition of ours: hanging out drinking champagne while doing random bits of domestic diva-ry. This time we were doing one of Jessie's specialties: jam - blueberry jam to be exact.
It all came about when I had my housewarming party back in August.
Other Search Results
Fittingly Green: BPA-Free Food Containers
Ever since the BPA/Nalgene scare of 2008 — in which we learned that bisphenol A could cause all sorts of health problems — manufacturers have been churning out BPA-free plastic water bottles and baby products. Now, BPA-free food storage is also becoming easier to find.
Since we know that bringing your lunch to work is a healthy habit, make it even healthier by packing food in BPA-free plastic containers.
Look What's on the Preservation List of 11 Endangered Places
The National Trust for Historic Preservation just released a list of 11 endangered sites chosen from almost 70 nominees. The list's goal is to protect significant buildings and locations. Of the approximately 200 places listed by the organization in the past 20 years, only six have been lost.
On the Market: Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates's Restored Revolutionary War Georgian Colonial
It's always interesting to see how the other side lives but, in many cases, the celebrity homes you see are underwhelming, cookie-cutter LA mansions. As for this restored Revolutionary War Georgian colonial recently listed by Daryl Hall of Hall & Oates, I'd consider it a coveted crib even if one half of history's most successful music duos didn't sleep in it. Beyond its good looks, there's much more of a story behind these digs than the "unparalleled views" and "updated appliances" of those California cribs.The Dutchess County, NY, property, known as Flint Hill, is actually two museum-quality homes that once belonged to Revolutionary War captains, and have since been joined through a beamed living area with a fireplace.
Open House: Historic Preservation vs. Energy Efficiency
There is something — much — to be said for historical accuracy. Architects of the past have left a legacy for us, so we should respect their work. But sometimes this conflicts with efforts toward energy efficiency and renewables.
Must-Read: Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It
Given that some say we're in the middle of a food revolution, and local, sustainable, home-grown produce is popping up everywhere, it's only logical that an uptick in home preserving will happen, too. Enter Karen Solomon's Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It, a new book that's focused on making your own artisanal food products, either to keep or to give as gifts. The tome isn't simply limited to fruit jellies and quick pickles — it also includes instructions on making everything from flatbread to watermelon Popsicles to chai tea.
A Tale of Two Toothbrushes
Yes! Daneen at Spoiled Pretty has said what I've been thinking all along: Colgate's new Wisp product is an environmental fail. Wisp is a wee single-use cleaner that has a pre-soaked scrubber on one end and a pointy pick on the other.
'Wich of the Week: Mediterranean "PB&J"
When I opened my fridge the other day and saw fig preserves and almond butter, I thought, "that's like the Mediterranean equivalent of peanut butter and jelly!" Remembering that I also had a block of feta cheese, I took that glimmer of an idea and came up with something weirder: a Mediterranean-inspired marriage of a PB&J and a grilled cheese. I spread the fig jelly and almond butter on apple-walnut bread (though any sweet bread, such as cinnamon raisin, would do).
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