As my generation (X) comes into full adulthood and starts making a noticeable dent in the world, I’ve noticed a trend – a firm rejection of consumerism and the adoption of what I like to call a “Victory Garden Lifestyle”. I feel like a lot of us are returning – going back to making things, making do, being more self-sufficient. More of us are homesteading, sewing, knitting, crocheting, raising chickens, reducing, reusing, recycling, repairing … making things, making do and making better lives for ourselves.
The blogging subject of “Return” for this month’s NaBloPoMo seemed to mesh really well with what I’ve been thinking about along these lines, and in addition to talking about my own return (to these values and to my creative self) I wanted to take a look at some of these Victory Garden Lifeskills.
We’ve started gardening more and one thing I’ve struggled with is preservation. We try to cook as we go to use what we grow (a rhyme, haha! ^_^) but there’s always more than we can use. Now, some I can freeze and some I can dehydrate (I’ve got a dehydrator.) but the next logical step, in my mind is canning. Interestingly enough, I’ve run across two references to canning I thought I’d share.
Firstly, check out this awesome video about Classie Parker I found browsing Etsy the other day. Have you seen this bit of awesomeness?
There’s a nice little writeup and a canning recipe here on Etsy’s blog.
Soulemama also wrote a great intro to canning I really love. In it she lists helpful books, websites and then adds her own tips and thoughts. I highly recommend it. It also has lots of pretty pictures at the top. XD
I’m looking for more resources – if I find something Soulemama didn’t list, I’ll add it here.
UnRavelations 