The first week of July I had a visit from Paul Kuehnel of the York Daily Record/Smart Magazine to photograph me canning salsa. The photographs were for an article I was quoted in for the Smart Magazine September/October issue written by Sarah Chain. I was honored to be contacted by Sarah for the article. (look on page 40 and a mention on page 22 in the couponing article) There are so many other women (and men) in my community who have years more experience than I do in the subject of canning and freezing. But I took the opportunity to share the knowledge that I do have and hoped that the information I shared would inspire a few people in our community to try their hand at canning and freezing.
Canning and freezing is one of the ways I pinch pennies in my house. This year I planted about 20 tomato plants and at peak they were producing about 5 gallons of ripe tomatoes PER DAY! What is a family of 5 going to do with 5 gallons of tomatoes a day? We are going to can them! Not only do I make salsa and pizza sauce I make bruschetta topping. Also check out how I make applesauce. Or in a couple of months we will be freezing pumpkin puree. This year I had good luck with tomatillos and I made salsa verde. MMMM. Last year I learned from my friend Jess how she and her family freeze corn. There are so many yummy fruits and vegetables that can be canned and frozen. I am just scratching the surface with these tutorials but it should be enough to get you started and leave you hungry for more!
I love gardening. I have control of what pesticides (none) and fertilizers (just my compost bin) go in and around my garden. My children know that fruits and vegetables can come from the garden and not from the grocery store. I provide plants for the bees to pollinate and in turn they make honey from the pollen they collect. Are you hear me singing the ‘circle of life’ as I type this?
So this is another little peek into my penny pinching world. I hope I am able to help you pinch some pennies, eat and enjoy what you can grow yourself!
