seasons greetings

I really have negleccted this blog over the last 6 months or so,  not because I don't have recipes to share or shops to recommend, or  things to say... mostly because I keep forgetting about it!  I have some catching up to do, and hopefully I will get some of it done over the holiday season.

A fellow blogger shared this link - looks like a great book to order!Food in Jars cookbook

I have recently re-discovered my love of canning and preserves. I do small batch canning - which basically means I can 6 to 12 jars of something ( soup, stew, spagetti, gravy, etc etc) on a regular basis.  This fall I was doing a batch of preserves up once a week  an it worked out great for having a variety of ready to eat meals available for the family. I also offered our friends a trade of ingredients for finished products - to help cut the cost for everyone and share the deliciousness of fresh canned goods.

This last month though I haven't gotten anything actually INTO the jars - my family eats it all up with nothing left to can!  I will get back to the canning next month, any one who wants to get in on sharing the costs and the bounty, feel free to get in touch.

I love the immediacy of a can of soup or stew in the cupboard, and I am delighted that I know exactly what went into each item when I do it myself. I can offer my family the convience of canned, prepared food, without the mystery of store bought 'cans'. I also find that the food gets eaten more, enjoyed more and is easier to re-heat in a hurry than freezing in similar serving sizes did.

I started making extra large batches of gravy when we would have roast beef or chicken and when we did a turkey, then I canned the left over gravy. It has turned out to be FABULOUS to have that extra bit of gravy on hand when done a meal up quickly.

My oldest daughters and I have been working on compiling recipes for a family cook book, if I can find a decent interface to upload it online, I will happily share.

Alberta Regional Cuisine Sourcing Directory

(a website my daughter shared with me- thanks Amanda!)

Alberta Regional Cuisine Sourcing Directory

This directory give Chefs or their product buyers and the public a source for purchasing a wide range of Alberta grown ingredients and/or value-added products. It is up-dated annually as part of the Dine Alberta project. The Dine Alberta team is proud of the diversity and quality of the ranchers, farmers, producers, bee keepers, processors and distributors that are part of the program!

Regional cuisine advocates the usage of quality locally grown ingredients, in union with the culture, geography, and history of Alberta. The Dine Alberta: Savour the Regional Flavour project is a stimulating way to showcase local agriculture products, family owned farms, and value added processing. In doing so it brings together producers, processors, distributors, restaurants, chefs, media and, most importantly, consumers.

continue reading at... http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca/app68/dinealberta