Categories
Homesteading

101 Uses for Canning Jars

Cherie Langlois' 10 ways to use canning jars
Photo by Cherie Langlois

OK, I lied.  I haven’t actually figured out 101 ways to use them yet, but glass home canning jars, also called Mason jars, are just so versatile and useful that I couldn’t resist the title. 

I adore these things, and I’ll bet there are 101 uses for them out there (please contribute any ideas you have in the comments below!).

First, a bit of historical jar trivia, gleaned from www.pickyourown.org:  The glass Mason jar, with its reusable, screw-top lid, was invented in 1858 by a tin smith named John L. Mason. 

Up until that time, home canners had to make due with a glass jar, flat tin lid and sealing wax.  These affordable, easy-to-use jars revolutionized home canning, making the activity popular with farmers and city folk alike. 

In 1882, another type of canning jar emerged—one with a clamped glass lid called the Lightning Jar, invented by Henry William Putnam (I inherited a bunch of these lovely old jars from my mother-in-law, including some made from blue glass).  Eventually, Ball and Kerr jars—familiar to any home canner today—took over.

I’ve accumulated quite a collection of canning jars, of all different sizes, over the years, and here’s what I found these jars holding in my home today:

1.  Home-canned foods, of course:  red and green salsa, apple butter, blueberry and blackberry jam, some herbal jellies.

2.  Dried beans:  I use the jars to store beans, and have also layered different colored/sized beans (and pasta) in the antique jars for kitchen decorations:  Easy!

3.  Home-grown mint tea; homemade hot chocolate mix; Christmas chocolates.

3.  Dried herbs from my garden, store-bought bulk spices.

4.  Saved garden seeds for next year’s planting.

5.  Rose bud/lavender/sweet woodruff potpourri.

6.  Cotton balls, Q-tips.

7.  Made from scratch salad dressing and pancake syrup.

8.  Jewelry odds & ends; make-up brushes, mascara, etc.

9.  Tacks, nails, screws, etc.

10.  Candles. 

One Christmas, I hired a candle-maker friend to take some of my antique jars and make candles out of them for gifts (I kept several for myself).  They’re beautiful! 

If you need a candle-holder in a pinch—say during an unexpected power outage—simply take a wide-mouth glass canning jar (small or large) and stick a votive candle (or tea light) inside. 

You may want to layer some small, pretty pebbles on the bottom of the jar first to make a steady base for the candle.  For safety’s sake, place a glass plate underneath the jar and, as with any candle, never leave these unattended.

Hope your New Year is off to a good start!          
         
~Cherie

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Categories
Recipes

Maple Custard

Make your own Maple Custard from Hobby Farms at home
Photo by Stephanie Staton

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 2 T. sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • pinch of salt

Preparation
Combine sugar and cinnamon, mixing until cinnamon is evenly distributed; set aside.

Beat eggs well. Add milk, syrup and salt, and stir to combine. Pour into six buttered custard cups; sprinkle each lightly with cinnamon-sugar. Set cups in a shallow pan filled with water that reaches about halfway up the side of the cups; bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes. Custard is done when a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Categories
Animals

Horse and Donkey: An Unlikely Friendship

Red and Razz formed an unlikely friendship
Photo by Lisa Munniksma
Red, the horse, and Razz, the miniature donkey, were an unlikely pair, but they cultivated a heartwarming bond.

“Stubborn as a mule” was all I could think. Except he wasn’t a mule—he was a miniature donkey. It was 9:30 on a Monday night in November when we met. My horse, Red, came up lame that day, and I needed to keep him in the barn overnight. All the horses at this farm lived happily outside in huge pastures, but I couldn’t keep Red in the barn overnight without a buddy or he’d tear the place down.

The farm owner suggested I bring in Razz, her miniature donkey, to keep him company. Razz’s round belly suggested a night off of the pasture would do him good, and I thought it couldn’t be all that hard to convince a donkey to come to a total stranger.

It took me more than a half hour to catch this donkey in the pasture: He’d go right, I’d go right. He’d go left, I’d go left. He’d stop, I’d stop. Then I’d take a step, and he’d start walking again. He was just walking, but what he lacked in speed, he made up for in strategy. When I finally wrangled him, he wasn’t any more willing to cooperate—the trek from the far corner of the field to the barn took several more minutes. I bedded the stalls for Red and Razz and wished them goodnight. From that night on, they were the best of friends.

It turned out Red bowed a tendon and needed months in a small paddock while his leg healed. Razz and I mutually ignored each other in the paddock each day until he caught on to my regular routine with Red, which included five to 10 minutes of grooming.

Razz soon decided to rethink the misgivings of our first encounter and stood patiently (or not so patiently) behind me to wait his turn for a scratch. As I curried Red’s belly, Razz would put his face against my back—a gentle reminder that there was more than one creature in that field who needed loving. I think Razz came to see this attention as his reward for being Red’s new constant companion, and I was happy to pay it.

When I brought Red into the barn for whatever reason, Razz would let off his he-haw alarm system, which the farm residents must have loved during my 6:30 a.m. visits.

Red and Razz lived in their small paddock until May, when Red was sound enough to turn out in the geldings’ pasture. I was fascinated to watch how Red protected Razz from the rest of the herd in the large field. Red first worked Razz the way a cutting horse works a cow, which I found disturbing—I thought Red was harassing his donkey friend. But when Razz ran between a large tree and the fence for relief, Red left him alone. This carried on a few times before I realized Red was putting Razz there for safekeeping.

Red would park Razz behind the tree, and then he’d stand watch and chase off other horses as they came to inspect the situation. After a few hours, Red let Razz come out from behind the tree, but he continued to chase off the other horses.

In July, Red seriously coliced. As I walked him for hours over the next day and a half to try to ease his discomfort, Razz came with us. I laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation as I took them out of their stalls at 2 a.m. to let Red nibble grass (he could have about three minutes’ worth at a time) and get him walking again. I saw my moonlit shadow against the grass, Red snorting and puffing his nose, walking briskly next to me, and Razz dragging along behind me—in their usual places.

Razz hung out with us the whole next day as I realized Red wasn’t going to pull through this bout of colic. Razz was calm through the whole ordeal, until he let out his wailing bray when we returned him to the pasture after Red was put down.

To see Red and Razz standing next to each other, you might call them The Odd Couple, but their relationship worked. Watching their bond evolve over eight and a half months and observing how it changed each other’s relationship with the other horses was an interesting study of herd dynamics. I’ve always been fascinated with animal behavior and herd dynamics—everything we do with horses boils down to these factors. To see this horse and donkey, in turn, watch out for each other was heartwarming. Razz’s charm and steadiness—not to mention the way he’d protect Red from dogs, including my own, that entered the paddock—turned me into a miniature donkey believer.

Categories
Recipes

Whey Ricotta

Hobby Farm Home shows you how to make homemade Whey Ricotta

When making homemade mozzarella cheese (as shown in the March/April issue of Hobby Farm Home), make sure you reserve the whey. While most of the milk protein goes into the curds, there is still protein and calcium available in this by-product. If you make a couple batches of mozzarella cheese, and have what looks like 2 gallons of whey, you can make an easy (though low-yielding) ricotta cheese as a bonus. You need to do this within three hours of making the mozzarella.

Ingredients

  • 2 gallons fresh whey, no more than 3 hours old
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 1 quart whole milk, for increased yield (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp. cheese salt (optional)
  • herbs (optional)
  • 2 T. light or heavy cream (optional)

Preparation
You can use the same pot from the mozzarella that you left the whey in. Add the milk, if desired. Heat the mixture to 200 degrees F. While stirring, add the vinegar and turn off the heat. You’ll begin to see white bits floating around in the whey—this is called albuminous protein.

Ladle the curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth or, better yet, butter muslin (finer weave is better for tiny curds). Allow it to drain. When the muslin is cool enough to handle, tie the corners into a knot and hang above the sink to drain for several hours.

Once the cheese stops draining, untie the cloth wrap and put the cheese into a bowl. Add salt and herbs, if desired. For a richer cheese with more moisture, add a little of the cream.

Cover and refrigerate up to a week.

Makes 1 to 2 cups.

Categories
News

Making Food Fair

"Fair Food: Field to Table" documents farm-worker conditions
Courtesy Rick Nahmias
The Fair Food: Field to Table documentary raises awareness about farm-worker conditions as well as encourages consumers to find out how the food they purchase is produced.

To many consumers in the U.S., the food industry is an abstract concept. When asked where their chicken or their tomatoes come from, many promptly reply, “The grocery store.”

But for others, the idea is more vivid. When they think of the food on their table, they think of the farms where the food was harvested and the workers who toiled in labor to grow that food. Instead of a black abyss containing a food-generating machine, they see a specific person. However, in many cases in the country, that image is a bleak one.

According to the creators of the Fair Food Project—the California Institute for Rural Studies in collaboration with writer and photographer Rick Nahmias—about 2.5 million U.S. farm workers receive an income of about $11,000 per year, a wage that hasn’t risen in the past 30 years and is about half the 2009 poverty line for a family of four.

The project’s three-part online documentary, Fair Food: Field to Table, takes a look at the reality of farm workers from three different perspectives. In the first part, the documentary shows the nearly slave-like working conditions and the substandard living environment that a lot of farm workers endure. The second part takes the perspective of farm owners who are working to enforce fair labor standards and cultivate a communicative relationship with farm workers. It shows how these practices not only benefit the workers, but also the farm’s productivity. The final part chronicles the advocates whose mission is to change the farm and food industry to focus on consumer consciousness of farm labor practices.

Although it’s a short 20 minutes, the documentary gives an introduction to the plight of farm workers and leaves the viewer wanting to do more—and that’s exactly idea the creators had in mind.

“There are so many harsh exposés on farm workers—and rightfully so—but very little for people who wanted to go to the next level,” said Nahmias, who served as the documentary’s creative director.

This documentary, he said, offers opportunities to people who want to affect change and also looked at farms that have a positive relationship with farm workers. It is an education tool aimed to raise awareness among student and university groups, purveyors of produce for large corporations, and corporate responsibility organizations.

According to Nahmias, a great place for people advocating fair food to start is the local farmers’ market.

“Have dialogues with the farmers about payment, housing and conditions for farm workers and let them know you care,” he said.

He also suggested those who work at large companies with cafeterias to find out where their food is sourced from and look into how to bring “fair food” to the table.

In addition to being shown online, Fair Food: Field to Table will be shown at the EcoFarm conference Jan. 20 to 23, 2010, in Pacific Grove, Calif., as well as other conferences and universities around the country.

To view the documentary or to learn more about farm worker issues, visit the Fair Food Project’s website.

Categories
Crops & Gardening

Garden Resolutions for 2010

Jessica's 2010 to-do list may be temporary
Photo by Jessica Walliser

Another year bites the dust.

The good news is that much was accomplished in 2009’s garden: The perennial beds were expanded, a raspberry patch was made, 7 chickens found a home, 1 rooster found a different home, boxwoods were pruned, a new viburnum was planted, veggies grew and a damn big pile of compost was spread.

So now I consider what 2010 holds in store.  Every year I promise myself I will be realistic in my gardening goals.  But we gardeners are dreamers are we not?  That’s what we do, dream about the future and grow until we get there.

Lots of stuff I plan to do doesn’t get done.  This year, though, I swear I’m going to make it through the list.  This year will be different for sure.  (Ugh…)

So here goes.  Here’s the list, right here in writing, of the stuff I plan for 2010’s garden.

– Extend the perennial bed in front of the veggie garden and build a tee-pee for pole beans and sweet peas there.

– Dig up and divide the strawberries.  Replace some of them with ever-bearing varieties.

– Have the gigantic, half-dead spruce tree in the front yard removed and plant something else tall and green.

– Rip out the back patio and put in a new one (ha, ha, ha, ha, ha……).

– Put up a grow light and start my own tomatoes from seed (better get crackin’ on this one).

– Divide nearly every perennial in my front border.

– Completely redo the landscaping on the west side of the house.  Right now it’s just a single azalea bush and a whole lot a nothin’ else.

– Mulch all the fruit trees and prune them properly.

– Re-think my to-do list.

Categories
News

Get Your Backyard Poultry Calendar

The 2010 "Backyard Biosecurity: Keeping Your Birds Healthy" calendar
Photo courtesy USDA
The 2010 “Backyard Biosecurity: Keeping Your Birds Healthy” calendar is now available.

As you update your schedule for 2010, poultry owners might consider tacking on your wall a poultry calendar available through the USDA. The “Backyard Biosecurity: Keeping Your Birds Healthy” calendar contains full-color photographs of chickens and other poultry and includes information on how to keep your poultry disease-free.

The calendar is offered free from the USDA every year as part of its ongoing effort to educate backyard poultry owners on what they can do to protect their poultry against infectious diseases. It includes tips on what poultry owners should do if they suspect their birds are infected with a disease such as influenza.

To request a copy of the 2010 calendar and learn more about protecting your poultry, visit the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website.

Categories
Equipment

Chainsaw Safety, Part 2

When it comes to safe chainsaw operation, clothing is a key element. If I am working outside, especially with a chainsaw, I layer my clothes.

The colder it is when I start, the more layers I want. My goal is to be able to completely remove items yet remain warm without soaking my clothes in sweat.

I don’t need loose hanging clothes getting snagged in the cutting chain as I bend over the saw. A good pair of steel-toed boots also is essential. I need a good grip as I move around trimmed branches and uneven surfaces to make my next cut.

Once at the job site, I add the finishing touches to my safety program. I pull on my Stihl chaps with seven layers of Engtex cut-retardant material. I know they can’t stop a full throttle chainsaw, but should I slip or lose control of the saw, I want to give myself the best odds I can.

In that case, fibers in the material will jam the chain, hopefully before too much damage is done. My particular chaps are wrap-around so they are easy to slip on and off, yet effectively give my legs 360-degree protection, limited though it might be.

Next is my hardhat with face shield and hearing protectors. My face shield is a screen, not solid so a pair of safety glasses is advised. Finally, I slip on my leather gloves.  Now it’s time to fire up and start cutting.

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