Thanksgiving is right around the corner (closely followed by Christmas, but shhhhh. . . we don’t even want to think about that yet!). It’s time to start planning your holiday meal! Since Walmart is your one stop shopping destination for everything you could want for a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner, they asked me to share a… Keep Reading
Bulk Applesauce Canning Session
This year was a stellar year for apples in Upstate New York–so this fall it was time to do a big bulk applesauce canning session! Whenever apples are plentiful, several girlfriends and I make sauce. The last couple of years we’ve done it at my house, but to be honest my kitchen isn’t really set… Keep Reading
Pickled Peach Recipe
This month’s fruit of the Month for the Walmart Mom fruit challenge was simply “stone fruit”. (In the past we’ve done strawberries–I made Tipsy Strawberry Preserves, and Blueberries/Cherries–I made Cherry Lime Syrup) For those of you not familiar with the phrase, stone fruit refers to fruits with a large, single pit (or “stone”) in the… Keep Reading
Tipsy Strawberry Preserves
Strawberry season is here! While I won’t be able to hit up the “pick your own” places here in Upstate NY for several more weeks, delicious strawberries from warmer climates are all over the place at my local Walmart-and at great “in season” prices too. To celebrate the start of their big “Strawberry Season”, and… Keep Reading
The final drying & storing of herbs
This summer’s herb garden did well. I grow most of my herbs in pots on a little strip about 3 feet wide that’s between my house and the driveway. Here’s what it looked like this spring: I’ve managed to cram in there Lovage , Chives, Sage, Parsley, Mint, Spearmint, Lemon Balm, Oregano, German Thyme, Rosemary,… Keep Reading
Reader’s Question: Forgot to Process Canned Figs
Dear Frugal Upstate I am in a real pickle. Yesterday i put up 16 jars of figs, boiled the lids and jars, filled them, but did not water bath them. Can I do that today or is it too late. I am so upset, I guess i was tired and didn’t follow through. Please advise,… Keep Reading
Reader’s Question: Water Boiling Off While Canning
Dear Frugal Upstate, I am new to canning and processed cherries in quarts. While I was processing the water boiled out of the canner and even though I started out with 2″ of water I ended up with only 1/4 in. over the jars after processing. The jars are sealed. Are they safe? What is… Keep Reading
From Around the Web: Canning Meat
This lady shows you how to can pork loin, round steak, chuck roast, ground beef and kielbasa. Wow, that’s a lot of meat! She gives very clear and detailed directions for the process. The video was long enough to have to be cut up into two videos. Canning Meat Part I: Canning Meat Part II:… Keep Reading
Readers Question: Information on Dehydrating
A couple of days ago I posted about how I’ve been busy putting up the harvest. There has been a lot of great conversation in the comments on that post. Kimberly in particular had a couple of questions regarding dehydrating. As I told her, I always assume if one person actually takes the time to… Keep Reading
I’ve Been Busy–Putting up the Harvest
One of the cool things about being a blogger is that everything is a blog post. Whatever you do, wherever you go, pretty much anything can be photographed and turned into a post. The problem is, sometimes the process of taking the pictures and writing about it takes more time than the actual doing–and sometimes… Keep Reading
