Right now, you can save over 40% at Amazon on the All-American 30-Quart Pressure Cooker/Canner that I use.  This 30-quart model holds 19 pint or 14 quart jars to speed your canning projects along. It’s the perfect Mother’s Day gift to yourself!

I gained some insight this week on how we can help each other by sharing our preparedness knowledge.  I received a call from Brian Grobman, a staff member for the Anderson show (as in Anderson Cooper, *gasp*), who interviewed me about food storage and preparedness. Shortly into the call, I realized that a) a family with 5 kids is shocking to our friends in the East and b) there is much that we can share with each other to become more prepared for the unexpected. Brian explained that Anderson would be doing a segment with the Doomsday Preppers cast, and was looking for  a person who could share preparedness information that everyday people could relate to. Basic, practical food storage and emergency preparedness tips.

In our community of food storage bloggers, sometimes we forget that much of our country is just starting out in this process. As fun as it is to share tips on vacuum sealing and how to store large amounts of food in smaller spaces, sometimes we need the reminder that many people just need to hear how to prep a 72-hour kit and store some water. I thoroughly enjoyed my call with Brian, and later with his colleague Katya, chatting about food storage.  I didn’t end up flying to New York to participate in the show with the Doomsday Prepper cast. Alas, they chose Betsy of survivallady.com, who did a wonderful job sharing preparedness tips.  (I’m honored to see that she has included All About Food Storage in her blogroll. Thanks, Betsy!)

Anderson Doomsday Preppers Segment

I love that Doomsday Preppers is drawing attention to the benefits of food storage and preparedness, and that these skills of self-reliance are becoming mainstream. My husband quips that the new pick up line may become, “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be in a bomb shelter with than you!” Awww…

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43221576/ns/business-consumer_news/?GT1=43001

I found it scary initially, but then thought, “Isn’t this why we’re trying to be diligent about preparedness?”  I still feel faith instead of fear will keep us fed.  Be consistent and organized with planning your food storage, and continue to improve your supply week by week.

Photo from Taste of Home

Fresh peaches are my favorite fruit. So, after I’ve eaten my fill of the harvest, I like to find some way of preserving that fresh, fruity flavor for the rest of the year.  I think adding homemade items to my food storage is a treat, and I don’t want canning to be a lost art for my children.  We try to make it a family affair so everyone can learn a little pioneer industry! Last year I made peach pie filling and Peachy Vanilla Syrup. This year I combined the fresh peaches with some strawberries from my freezer for Peach Strawberry Freezer Jam. If you’re still enjoying peaches in your area, give this recipe from Taste of Home a try. It’s a definite keeper!

PEACH STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

1 1/4 cups finely chopped peeled peaches

5 cups sugar

3/4 cup water

1 package (1.75 oz.) powdered fruit pectin

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large saucepan, combine the strawberries and the peaches (I used a food processor to dice the fruit into very small pieces, almost pureed).  Add sugar; mix thoroughly and let stand for 10 minutes.

2. In a small saucepan, combine water and pectin. Bring to a boil; boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add to fruit mixture and stir for 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves.

3. Ladle into jars or freezer containers.  Cover and let stand overnight or until set, but not longer than 24 hours. Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or freeze for up to 1 year.

Yield: about 3 1/2 pints (I did 2 batches and got about 12 half-pints)

One week left to enter!

I am picking up 2 cases of peaches and a case of apples tomorrow from my local produce co-op with plans for canning and drying this weekend.  If I run out of steam before the fruit is canned, I may freeze some for smoothies too!  So, it was necessary to reclaim some freezer space.  I still had some cherries in the freezer (red tart and bing) and decided to make another batch of my favorite Cherry Vanilla Syrup.

I consider Cherry Vanilla Syrup one of the very best canning recipes in my collection.  It’s sweet and perfectly spiced, and my grandma (who is a great cook!) raves about it to all the relatives, which makes me feel like some sort of domestic goddess.  I like it best with fluffy pancakes, but it would work well over cheesecake or ice cream too. You can click on the links in this post to see the recipe and whole process for making this syrup (and cherry pie filling) from last year’s post. I consider these types of products the “luxury” items in my food storage, simple pleasures that make everything else taste better.

I canned 15 pints, and will devour the first one with French Toast tomorrow for Saturday morning breakfast!

I’ll post photos and recipes soon!

If you rotate your #10 food storage products, like I do, then you may have found yourself looking for creative uses for your collection of empty #10 cans. (You can’t bring yourself to throw them out, can you?  Me neither!)

I found this clever idea from www.ldsactivitydays.blogspot.com for a Family Home Evening lesson (complete with treat) in a can.  I was going to save this idea for my Christmas blogs, but I thought if I share it now, you can be watching for cake or brownie mixes on sale to include.  They sealed the cans, but I’m thinking you can reuse old cans as well. For gift giving, it would be cute to wrap the can in scrapbook paper and ribbons, etc.

Click HERE for the instructions and links for the lesson.  If you try this fun gift idea, I’d love to hear about the lesson and treats you use, or how you decorate your cans.  Please post your ideas!

It’s a tradition in my household to prepare a fun breakfast for Conference Weekend (mostly because I like breakfast foods and this gives me a reason to make something special).  Unlike some people, I don’t think pumpkin recipes are just for the Fall months, so last weekend I tried this tasty recipe for Pumpkin Blender Wheat Waffles  from Everyday Food Storage. Instead of serving with the Caramel Syrup as suggested, I topped ours with some homemade apple pie filling , and of course a dollop of whipped cream. So delicious!

Canned pumpkin is one of my favorite food storage items.  It’s very nutritious and works so well in countless comforting recipes.  Don’t wait until Fall to enjoy this yummy waffle recipe.  With whole wheat flour and pumpkin, it makes for a healthy breakfast.  You can serve it with pure maple syrup or agave nectar for an even smarter option.

http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/freshproducestorage.aspx

Dehydrated (freeze-dried) foods are very nutritious. In contrast to their water-packed, canned counterparts, these foods retain much more vitamins and nutritional content. They are excellent for everyday cooking as well as long-term food storage. Freeze dried foods have 98% of their moisture removed, but they retain nearly all of their fresh-food flavor, vitamins and nutrients. Dehydrated foods keep their nutritional value because the vitamins have not been cooked out in the initial process.

Aside from nutrition, dehydrated foods are desirable for food storage because they are so light weight. With pits, peelings, and nearly all of the water removed from these foods, they are very light and convenient to store or take with you in an emergency. They are also economical. Generally, dehydrated foods have double the yield of regular canned food, which makes them a smart buy.

Dried foods, however, do lose nutrients due to the use of heat to dry them. They also become concentrated calories. For example, one cup of fresh apricots contains about 74 calories, while one cup of dehydrated apricots contains more than 4 times that amount: 313 calories! The good news is, dried fruits do retain all of their fiber and iron. Drying foods slowly with a home dehydrator is the best method to retain the most nutrients during drying (much healthier than commercial drying).