Book tour: segment 7!
Oregon is where it’s at.
;)
Mountains (and volcanoes) galore, the Columbia River gorge, the Willamette Valley, the Pacific coast. Ah! Descending upon Portland OR always takes my breath away.
Oregon is where Linda Ziedrich lives, too. Earlier this year, Linda took the time to review my manuscript (and blurb my book!) before we went to print. A few weeks ago I was writing out a mailing label to send her a copy of the finished product and realized we’d be driving near her home en route from Portland to San Francisco during the first portion of my west coast book tour. (I’ll recap Portland events next week, since I’m returning to Portland for the PDXSwappers event this Friday.)
She invited us to stop in for tea…;)
which turned into a garden tour…;)
;)
(Yes, she is that awesome, solar panels. They sell energy back to the grid during the sunny months.)
;)
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And, of course, I asked for a peek at her larder!;)
Ah-maaazing…;)
Wandering around her fruit- and vegetable-filled estate then turned into a homegrown lunch. Lucky us!
It was such a delightful afternoon, and, what’s more, it was an honor to meet in real life such an inspiring author and all-around resourceful woman. Her years of research and testing have made such an impression on so many people, myself included.
As a thank you for keeping track of my travels, and for trying new things (having a go at those beginner-friendly, home food-preservation projects in Chapter 9 of my book), I’m pleased to announce a giveaway made possible by Linda’s publisher, Harvard Common Press. Linda’s Joy of Jams, Jellies and Other Sweet Preserves and Joy of Pickling books are the first books I consult when I have any amount of local produce. I gave away her books last spring; and now, on the second day of summer, HCP has allowed me to offer up the set of both books to two lucky readers. Yes, you get the Pickles and Jams book together!
To enter: Post a comment below describing who or what has inspired you to try preserving food at home. Books, people and/or other reasons all accepted and welcome! Be sure to leave your email address in the specified box on the comment form (so I can contact you if you win). Random.org will select my two winners after entries close at midnight on July 5, 2011.
To close this up, four hours after eating a delicious lunch with Linda and her lovely daughter, Rebecca, we were back on our way, heading west to the coast and then south to eventually stay the night in Crescent City, CA. Stay tuned for Redwoods detouring and California book party adventures in the next tour post.
(Disclosure: I’m doing this giveaway purely because I think Linda’s books are the bees knees, and a great addition to any experience-level preserver’s library. I actually purchased my own copies of the Joy’s with my own money.)
Book Tour
Reader Comments (151)
I got my start in canning/perserving solely due to being frugal. I could not stand paying $4 for a small jar of jam when I could make 5X more for a few dollars - and I could control the ingrediants.
My grandmother always treated us to special foods when we came to visit as kids - pressing apple cider, frying doughnuts and rolling them in cinnamon sugar, and pulling jars of sour cherries and peach jam from the basement shelves. My mom put up all the fruit, applesauce and jam that we would eat all year - at one point, it was 52 jars of strawberry jam, one per week. I've known for a long time that these homemade foods were special; now that I know how much work it takes, it's all the more inspiring!
My mom totally inspired me to can. She told me I had to respond with "thank you" every time a jar sealed. I have everyone do this when I teach them to can, and I can't wait to teach my daughter!
Thank you for the opportunity to win these books! exciting! I started putting food up to capture in-season fruits and stop buying imports in the winter months. And because I love jam!!
My mom always canned a few different things each when I was growing up. I will never forget the sound of the jar opening, and the taste of my favorite canned apricots out of the jar in winter. I want my girls to have those same memories, and to learn about where food comes from.
My Nono's canned peaches and pears. There is no better food memory in my mind than going down to the celler, opening the door at the foot of the stairs, and looking at all of the glass jars. I never ate anything but the fruit, however. The flavour was amazing and the texture was always perfect. Her fruit floated, either, but the syrup was never too heavy. I now understand how much work and love went into those jars I opened year after year. My Nono really loved me.
I have find memories of picking berries with my mom in the Alaska wildness. We would have to fight the bears for them, but it was so worth it! We would bring the berries home and make here's and hard of jam. To this day, the smell of berries cooking brings a smile to my face!
Now I continue the tradition with my children! I'm proud to say they can identify most of the wild Alaskan berries when we go berry hunting!
I've been inspired to take up canning simply to have more control over what I eat. I love knowing exactly what is in everything I eat. I feel it is not only healthier but also more economical. I'm still a beginner at it and am excited to learn and experience more! Thanks for the opportunity to win!
Looking with wonder, as Gramma's hands flashed around peeling and chopping, pouring and tightening. It looked like magic to me. Even though I was allowed to wear an apron that matched Gramma's, I knew to stay back once the pots started to boil and bubble. Gramma said she loved me too much to let me get burned, I had my job though. I kept track of the popping lids. Gramma said that they were singing to us that it would be okay to eat that jar come winter. I still do canning now. I still take just as much joy when my lids "sing" to me. And I think of my Gramma and that she was teaching me a lot more that merely how to preserve food in that kitchen of hers with the turquoise refrigerator.
My grandmother, who died before I was born, canned just about everything according to my older siblings. Gramp was a farmer. I inherited her pressure canner. When I began keeping an organic garden, it seemed wise to put it to use and 'put it by' for my young family.
My friend Carolynne makes all kinds of awesome canned goods - the salty beans are my favorite and is teaching me the art of gardening and canning! I have been trying to commit myself to buying only local grown and creating enough of a sustainable garden for the rest! And - I'm loving it!
I always helped my mother when she was canning. We canned all summer long. When I married I just canned on my own. It seems so strange to see this *new* wave of interest in canning, considering it is just normal life to me. Thank you, Mom. (We just never took pictures of any of our canning. That would have been considered a waste of film. I love the new digital age and all the pictures!)
Actually....this blog was my first inspiration because I never realized how easy, accessible, and timely perserving was. And then after reading your recipes and following links to your favorite blogs and books, I remembered my grandmother's fig preserves and stories of my other grandmother preserving and storing under her bed. I made my first fridge batch of strawberry jam based off of your recipe for Mother's Day and I have been in search of more information ever since.
My mom canned peaches, pickles, salsa, and chokecherry syrup every year, so I always knew it was a required task in the summer. Then a good friend who lives almost completely off of her farm inspired me to do it by myself.
I grew up in Oregon canning, My mother canned and my grandmothers canned. I canned in Canada when fruit had to be inported from British Columbia. I still can. One of our favorites from last year was. dilly beans.
I got started canning on a whim. I had tried these pickles at a local BBQ place I loved. After buying a jar of theirs and sharing with my uncle he told me how easy they were to make, so I made some and looked up how to can them.
After the initial pickles it was my Mimi (grandma) who inspired me to try my hand at jams and I took to it like a duck to water! I love canning little jars of love to share!
I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracles two summers ago, and it totally changed my life, not mention ushered me into the fun world of canning/food preservation.
I've gotten interested in canning recently for a number of reasons. Quality is first, the knowing for certain what's in something for mine and my families health benefit. Not to mention that like many other people it reminds me of my great grandmother, grandmother and even my mom. It's a way to preserve the seasonal bounties on my own terms. Most of all, it just makes sense to me.
What has inspired me? Goodness, a lot of things! Partly my mother who has always been on me to give it all a try. Mostly because my two boys have food allergies and intolerances (NOT like lactose intolerance, nothing so nice) and there is a lot of foods they cannot eat. Doing it from home is safer for them. I've not tried to can as of yet been looking into what you can can, how to do it, etc. Not to mention as a stay at home mom with a family of five on one income and having to eat special foods, money is tight! I'd love to be able to give them the food they deserve.
I have been inspire to can my my mother. I recall summers of my childhood where where would be canning for what seemed days upon end. I remember her bringing home crates of peaches and tomatoes and turning them into such goodness. Then all winter long we would feast on the bounty. There is nothing like a peach pie in the middle of winter from home canned peaches! Thanks mom.
I was inspired to begin preserving food by my friend Erica - the lady that taught me that it was hip to be a "homemaker" and to be crafty. I always rejoiced in cooking and making things from scratch, but was always told that I "was so domestic" (in a condescending voice) until I met Erica and let my homemaking tendencies roll. The first batch that I preserved I picked myself and preserved in her cramped D.C. kitchen with temperatures in the 90s. Surprisingly, I still love canning!
i've always thought the sight of jar-filled pantry shelves was one of the most glorious things. so the first year i had my own garden, i figured i might be able to eat least get a small taste of that. i started with dill pickles. and both my garden and canning pantry have grown every year since.
Growing up in rural Wisconsin, preserving food was a normal part of every summer. I don't think I realized until recently that not every child grew up picking flats of strawberries and helping make them into jam or harvesting tomatoes from the garden to make juice to use making soups in the cold winter months. I feel pretty fortunate in that way.
I've canned off and on as an adult, but this past year decided to embrace it more fully, not only because it can save money and it allows me to control what's in my food, but also because I really truly enjoy the whole process (especially the yummy end result!).
Thanks for the opportunity to win these awesome books!
My mother preserved EVERYTHING when I was a child. But somewhere in my teens she stopped preserving. What caused me to put up my first item was a search for brandied cherries. I wanted to make some fun cocktails, and the only brandied cherries I could find cost $50 at the local gourmet food shop. So I decided when cherries were in season I would make brandied cherries myself. That was two years ago, and it turned into a variety of cherry concoctions. Last year I branched into jams and made no less than 7 types of jam, one pickled item, and lots more of those delicious cherries. This year I just completed strawberry season with 2 types of jam, a dessert topping... and I have just started preserving those cherries... vanilla ice cream will never be eaten alone. And did I mention that my delicious cherries and jams have re-inspired my mother to start canning again?
One of my favorite parts of staying at my grandma's when I was little was her bottled goods and jellies along with her amazing homemade bread!