food storage talk and new to twitter

I was just analyzing my food storage. Wondering what I needed to stock up on again for a few months. Somehow, December was a good month and I put away quite a bit more food than I thought I would. I got my fats - shortening, oils, and cooking sprays - built up again. The stock isn't huge, I don't want them to go rancid, but I've got enough to last me until spring at least. That is a good feeling.

It is a great time to take inventory and assess what you need at this time in anticipation of a New Year.

What sorts of things are you succeeding at and what things do you need to focus on?

I need some dry powdered milk in my storage. (Just in case I find a good recipe that calls for powdered milk. I don't think I could ever drink the stuff straight.)

Happy New Year!!

And I just joined Twitter - feel free to follow me. (Click on the link in the top right corner.)

Dry Pack Canning

My sister-in-law got use of a dry pack canner the other day, so I took advantage and borrowed it for a minute to pack some oats and popcorn. (Shown in pictures is the packing of oats.)

First we filled the 10# cans full... we used the red bucket to easily catch whatever we spilled.

Oxygen packs were placed to keep the product fresh.


Next come the lidsThis is how we seal the lid on the cans - with this great canner machine. It spins around and seals the lid on.

Here is the final product - labels and all. Great, huh? I'm happy to have a few extra things in storage and safely packaged.
Have you ever used a dry pack canner before?

update

I am still here. We have been busy with craft fairs. My last scheduled craft fair is tomorrow - if you are in Jackson Hole, WY, please stop by the Virginian Convention Center and say hello. We are hoping the snow doesn't cause too much trouble tomorrow - if it shows up. There are several inches predicted.

We had a bread class today. A good time was had by all. One of my favorite moments was the cinnamon roll treats we got to sample at the end - I always love a good cinnamon roll.

Though, don't get me wrong, the company and conversation was good, too.

I'll talk to you again soon - after this next craft fair.

-Jamie

FREE Bread Classes Available

I've decided to teach {FREE} bread classes to all who want to come and refine their bread techniques, or who want to learn about different kinds of wheat, grinders and flour, or who just need a social outing!

Wanna come?

We just had a class last week. We had a LOT of fun and learned lots of tricks. It was a hands-on class, so you know how to "feel" when the bread is ready when you try this at home. It was a totally custom class. We chose to work with hard red wheat and spelt. We learned to make bread and then voted to make cinnamon rolls with the extra. We swapped recipes, talked and shopped while the bread rose and then when the cinnamon rolls were done baking, we each got to eat one.
They were DELICIOUS!!

More classes are available upon request.
I have a few scheduled and would be happy to work something out to fit your schedule.

It is a lot of fun and I hope you'll join us for a class sometime soon.