Okay, I admit it: I'm not the most imaginative cook in the world. I'm happy with a basic dinner of a spinach omelet or vegetable noodle soup, whereas Spouse is a maestro, cooking Thai, Indian, Korean, Italian, you-name-it he-knows-it. Which probably explains why when I offer to cook a shared meal Spouse will often politely demur, saying "Don't worry dear, I'll fix myself something, uh, later." This is why I say to guests: "If you want something to eat, I can cook you something. If you want something good to eat, better ask Spouse."Regardless, I'm hoping that my simple cooking imagination will actually be a boon in the area of staples canning and food storage.
Sharon Astyk is holding another on-line class on Food Storage this January, and I've signed up. Not only covering the basics of pantry building and food canning/drying/etc., she will also discuss how to plan a garden around canning, and how to pass on the knowledge to your local community. Spouse already knows how to can from helping his mother and grandmother when he was a wee lad, so I plan to also lean on his experience while getting started. Hopefully he's not been too scarred from past forced family labor to lend his advice. (Just kidding, Mom K! He's never said anything like that, honest! *cough*)
If you decide to take this class as well, please leave a comment saying so - it'd be neat to have some known folks in the discussions!
[pic: a round loaf of gluten-free rustic dark bread, made by Spouse. He is a minor god among mortals.]
Hey, a resident chef sounds ideal. Until I can actually keep a garden, I am going to pass on a canning class, but I know it is one of those subjects I am going to explore some day, so please let us know how it goes!
ReplyDeleteI learned everything I know from my hubby about canning, drying, packing a pantry to the brim -- but I am always looking to learn more. I would be grateful if you can pass along what you learn in your class -- I'm sure things keep evolving. And, if you have any questions about food storage, maybe we can help as well. Great post! as always.
ReplyDeleteSounds fun! I learned how to can this past summer, and I don't regret a thing (other than not having more time!!) it really is a wonderful skill to learn. Good luck with it da!! :)
ReplyDeleteLearning to can has been a great joy for me, I highly recommend it. I could use to learn more, but I am in a low-spend cycle, so the price of the class is a bit steep for me. I really look forward to your reports of the class though, and let us know how it goes.
ReplyDelete@all: I'll give a review one day a week on the chaos I'll undoubtedly create during the course :-)
ReplyDelete!!! That GD bread looks wonderful! I wish mine could hold it own loaf shape. Please share the recipe!
ReplyDelete@Cindy: hello! Spouse got the recipe for the round loaf out of the Oct/Nov 2008 issue of "Living Without" magazine. I think he uses the baguette recipe, substitutes flours around (he used teff in the photographed bread) and then he used an enameled iron round cookpot to bake the bread in. That helped the batter to keep its shape.
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