Preserving with Friends

I was very fortunate to receive a copy of this new DVD, as a person new to preservation. I am excited to learn from their experience and to be able to share with you as I try what they teach. I'm really looking forward to reviewing this new product. Watch for many posts to come regarding food preservation!

If you'd like to meet Harriet, visit the Mother Earth News Fair in Puyallup, June 4-5... this weekend and buy her dvd while you're there!

Click on the picture above to go to their facebook page. If you want to visit the website: Preserve You know you want one of these dvds for your own kitchen library!

Their story...



Small batch Strawberry Jam!



Northwest Edible Life's review of the dvd - click here!

And, for ALL you food lovers... check out this fantastic website! You'll be so glad you did! Just click on the Cooking Up a Story logo below...

Honey as your sweetener!

I was very fortunate to meet beekeeper Karen Bean at The Fremont Market on Mother's Day. I am thrilled that she was there, so I could talk to her about her honey and how she takes care of her hives. She also sells honey from a few other beekeepers in the state of Washington and she's knowledgeable about their practices, as well. I asked her about how to substitute raw honey for agave nectar in recipes. I have used agave nectar in baking, now and again, but when I discovered that I am sensitive to it (and there is great debate about how healthy agave nectar is and its affect on people's health) I decided to no longer use it. That said, newly published gluten-free cupcake/dessert cookbooks are using agave nectar exclusively. Ugh. Thus my quest began...

Today, Karen posted her research on her blog Brookfield Farm: Bees & Honey Blog, which I love reading.

To read her specific post about How to Use Honey to replace other sweeteners, click on the photo above. *I purchased the last jar of her honey that day at the market!
(Her bees are busy making more...)