Time to stock up, and preserve it while it's fresh

Well it is that time of year. Gardens are pumping out the green beans, the cukes, and lots of other great garden goodness. Now is the time of the year to start stocking up. If you have a garden you know what I am talking about, but if you weren't able to do a garden this year then your not out of luck... You can find a local farmers market and stock up while the stocking is good with great fresh and local food.

Well this time of year is a good time to find those bargains on the canning jars and supplies. I have seen them at Chinamart, Farm King, and seveal other places. So now is the time to go and lay into a supply of jars. You can never have too many jars, lids, and rings. So if you haven't already done so now is the time to get out there and get you some and start thinking about canning up some of those lovely beans and the other good stuff coming out of your garden or head over to that farmers market and meet your local farmers.

You can find your local farmers markets at a sight like: localharvest.org

One item I stumbled on a little while back that really makes fast work of cutting up things is the Chop Wizard. I find I use it all the time and is really a great time saver for food prep and should help make some of those cutting tasks a little faster for canning.

Vandalia Chop Wizard

Now frankly I didn't see the advertisement for this one on TV, and many times that stuff turns out to be junk, but this actually seems to work and I can recommend it. So far it has made dicing onions, tomatoes, and potatoes a snap, and makes short work out of chopping stuff up for a salad.

I just bought one of those inexpensive slicers to experiment with for doing sliced veggies for the dehydrator. I will have to post more on that later once I have had a chance to play with it.

I hope your summer has been fun and enjoyable and that you were able to do some things to help you prepare. Nothing has improved on the economic front so every day that hasn't gone completely to heck is a good day to prepare, learn some skills, and help family, friends, and your community.

Longsnowsm