Canning Strawberry Peach Jam

I found a great strawberry sale earlier this summer. I bought a bunch of strawberries with the intention of making and canning strawberry jam since my first canning experiment of spiced blueberry jam went so well.

The berries sat in the refrigerator for a while and started to go soft. I froze four containers of strawberries until I could find the time.

 My second attempt at canning jam. Woohoo!

I Ate My Way around the Columbus Oktoberfest

Husband and I spent last weekend in Germany.

Actually, it was sorta Germany.  Husband and I spent an afternoon at the Columbus Oktoberfest eating lots and lots of fried food.

From Germany.

Well, from local German themed restaurants. That explains the fried curly potato turned nacho thing they called German nachos. 

Hang on to your cholesterol meds we’re going in!

Artisan Lettuce and Flower Salad with Tatzaki Sauce

Keep reading! I'll teach how to make this salad

I’m a fan of a mixed greens salad. I like the idea of buying a bag o' salad mix because I buy more than one type of lettuce for my salad in a more affordable manner, but  the quality of the greens are often more hit than miss.  Bag o' salad mix tend to wilt and spoil quickly.

My friends at The Balancing Act asked me if I wanted to try working with Tanimura & Antle Artisan Lettuce. As a lover of real food and fresh vegetables, I was leaning toward a yes but with caution given my bag o’ lettuce woes.

  

Then The Balancing Act told me that they are pairing with  Tanimura &Antle to bring more fresh fruits and vegetables to the school lunch rooms by working with the United Fresh Foundation's Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools campaign, and CPMA’s Freggie’s Children’s programs and the School Nutrition Association (SNA)  I fully support initiatives that move kids away from the type of food I grew up with – dinner from a box and vegetables from a can – bleach! I wasn't sure what to expect from Tanimura & Antle, but if it gets one kid to realize fresh vegetables won't kill them, then I'll do it for the kiddos. 

Three Five Dollar Real Food Dinners

This Saturday is Slow Food USA’s Slow Food $5 Challenge.  What does that mean?

Slow Food USA encourages people to eat and prepare food that is good, clean, and fair. To skip the prepared meal in a box stuff and focus on cooking real vegetables and proteins. Slow Food is issuing a challenge to make a real food for $5.00 because so many people think it is easier and cheaper to eat off a fast food dollar menu than it is to make a dinner with whole food ingredients at home. 

That falls in line what I do here at Lazy Budget Chef.

I had many digestive issues and took a bunch of prescriptions to make sure everything did what it was supposed to do without giving me horrible and constant cases of heartburn.

In an attempt to reduce our budget to afford all of those medicines plus the expenses newlyweds tend to have when starting their careers, Husband and I experimented with cooking dried beans since they are a good source of protein. Moreover, did I mention, cheap?

Very Raspberry Scones

When Husband lived in New York, his favorite breakfast was a cup of coffee and a scone. He doesn’t eat scones often at home. He always orders them when we visit The City.

For Husband’s birthday, I thought it would be nice to make him scones instead of a birthday cake. Don’t get me wrong, we like a slice of cake on our birthdays. What we do not like is the temptation to dive head first into the rest of the birthday cake after the birthday is done.

Not that I would know anything about that.

I want to do something special with Husband’s birthday scones. Think. Think. Think.

My New (to Me) Canning Equipment!

I got over my fear of canning and canned spiced blueberry jam. Now that I know canning jam doesn't take all day or bushels of fruit I want to do more of it. I looked into buying some of the equipment many of you agreed I didn't absolutely need to can food but will make the job easier and is nice to have.

After not winning it at the drawing at The Easton Farmers Market (waaah!) I bought the Ball Home Canning Discovery kit because I wanted something to keep the full jars of jam from flopping around in my stockpot while they cooked/processed/did the thing that makes sure you don't kill people with botulism. It's 10 bucks, comes with three jars (I need those too), and the silicone basket thingy squishes into a drawer when you aren't using it. How perfect for me and my small kitchen!

After I bought it, I mentioned my purchase and recent canning escapades to my mom. She asked me if I could return the Ball Home Canning Discovery Kit. I told I could but didn't want to because I didn't know where she was going with the conversation.