On Saturday, I had the urge to can.  The urge would not be denied despite the lack of a whole lot of options to can.  In the end, I decided to raid my neighbor’s rhubarb patch (she gave me permission years ago to take whatever I want).  Rhubarb jam would scratch my canning itch and give me some yummy goods for upcoming food trades.

As usual I wanted to something a little different and consulted my copy of The Flavor Bible and found that rhubarb and mint are good compliments.  It wasn’t a flavor combination that came immediately to my mind, but I did have mint in our herb bed and decided to give it a whirl.  The resulting jam is quite good with just a hint of mint.

Rhubarb Mint Jam

• 2 1/4 Pounds Rhubarb, chopped
• 6 1/2 Cups Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Mint Leaves, loosely packed
• 1 Cup Water
• 1 Package of Powdered Pectin

In a small saucepan combine 1 cup of the sugar, mint leaves and water.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Cover and remove from heat.  Allow to steep for 30 minutes.  Strain, reserving the mint sugar syrup.

In a jam pot, combine the chopped rhubarb and mint sugar syrup.  Cook until the rhubarb is soft.  Stir well and add the pectin.  Boil, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.  Pour in the remaining 5 1/2 cups sugar all at once and boil for another 1 minute.

Pour into sterilized jars and seal.  Process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

I don’t grow much in containers.  We have several gardens of various sizes that contain pretty much everything we want to grow and eat.  That being said, I do love flowers on the porch.  Historically, I haven’t done much in that regard because well, I hate buying annuals and didn’t have much room inside to start my own from seed.  Perennials don’t last through our winter in pots.

With the greenhouse this year, I did start a bunch of flowers mostly marigolds, chamomile, and Calendula.  Over the weekend, I put those things into pots around the porches and walkways.  It’s exciting to see things moving out of the greenhouse and into spots around the homestead.  I can’t wait for everything to bloom and show off their color to us.

With all of these containers in mind, we picked up this metal plant stand at a yard sale.  It was all of $1, and completely irresistible.  It was a grey metal color originally but we coated it with some spray paint we had in the garage.  I can’t tell you how much I love this as a welcome to our front porch.  I do think I need a few other small pots on there and am working on just what should be in those.

What’s going on in your garden this week, container or otherwise?

The thing about simple living, or at least about the way we choose to live simple, is that sometimes it doesn’t appear simple or easy.  It’s rarely simple or easy but it is always exactly the life I want to be living.  I got an email from my aunt who wanted to make sure I was taking time to enjoy life, that I seemed so busy all the time.  I appreciate the sentiment and honestly I do relax and I hope I never give the impression that our simple life is nothing but drudgery and hard work.  Because nothing could be further from the truth.

We spend a lot of time working hard but we also spend a lot of time relaxing and enjoying the life we’ve built, our friends, and our time together.  Please don’t think I don’t ever waste time, because oh my goodness, I do and lots of it.  I spend tons of time crawling around the grass trying to get the perfect shot of dandelions.

I also spend time just walking around the apple tree, inhaling its delicious scent and taking photos of its amazing blooms.  I try to catch photos of the honey and bumble bees too.  I like to think that honey bee is one of ours.

So while the simple life might be hard work occasionally, it’s also full of beauty, love and contentment.  How are you enjoying your simple but not-so-simple life these days?

Some canning and food preservation resources to help and inspire you to eat local because you can:

• Canning Party Invitations, Recipe Cards, & Jar Labels
• Roasted Rhubarb Jam
• The Food Preserver’s Creed
• Chive Vinegar
• Violet Jelly
• Rhubarb Sauce

If you’re joining us in the I Eat Local Because I Can Project – tell us, what have you been up to?  I created a Facebook group for all of us interact, chat, share advice and more.  If you’re not Facebook, no worries, feel free to carry on a conversation in the comments.

My recent favorites:

• The Yard, my newest tumblr addiction.
• Lemony Spring Soup with Peas & Rice
• I’m a Beastie Boys fan from way back so I loved this tribute to MCA: Kids Reenact ‘Sabotage’
• This week’s musical obsession: Alabama Shakes
• Asian Corn & Avocado Salad

As always please feel free to share your favorites in the comments.

The winner of the Tattler Canning Lids Giveaway was the 12th commentor / entrant: Tammy!

This week’s I Eat Local Because I Can comes from Michelle MacKenzie of Green Bean Chronicles.  Michelle lives in the Silicon Valley with her husband, two boys, two cats and five chickens.  She’d love to be a true farm girl, but for now, satisfies herself with urban farming and preserving the harvest.

1) How long have you been canning and how did you learn?

I’ve been canning for 5 or 6 years.  My mother canned jam when I was a child but she couldn’t remember how so I resorted to Internet videos and the Ball Canning Book.

2) Tell us about your canning philosophy.  What inspires and motivates you to practice this art?

Initially, I wanted to try everything – pepper infused this and lavender flavored that.  Now, I just make what we’ll eat.  It can be the most exotic, gourmet thing in the world but if it sits on my shelf for years, it was a waste of resources.

3) What’s the best piece of advice you would give to new or novice canners?  How about advice for the seasoned canner facing burnout?

Make what you will actually use.  If you have a glut of something, by all means can it but only if you’ll use it once it is canned and only if canning is your preferred way of preserving that particular item.  For instance, I find canning tomatoes to be a pain.  Freezing them is much easier, quicker and they taste just as good.  As for burnout, I’ve started trading canned goods with friends to add some diversity to the pantry without the effort.

4) Care to share a favorite canning recipe? 

I go straight-forward and usually just follow recipes on the pectin box or Ball Canning Book.  Also, the Pick Your Own site.

Over the weekend, I made some ricotta.  As usual, I was left with whey and wanted to do something new with it.  I’d had a craving for some rice pudding for a while and figured I’d give it a go with whey instead of milk or cream.  It worked wonderfully, giving the pudding a delightfully tart flavor alongside the sweet and spicy notes.

Chai Spiced Whey Pudding

• 4 Cups Whey (Milk or Milk Alternatives will also work)
• 1 1/2 Cups Rice, cooked (any will do)
• 1/3 Cup Honey
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 3 Green Cardamom Pods
• 2 Whole Star Anise
• 1 Vanilla Bean, split
• 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
• 1/2 Cup Raisins (optional)

Put the cardamom pods and star anise into a tea ball or tie into a muslin spice bag.  Combine everything but the raisins into a medium saucepan.  Over medium heat, simmer the mixture for about 20 minutes or until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  It will thicken as it cools.  Pour into dish or individual containers and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

I think, I’m like most gardeners or at least like most of the gardeners that I know in that I like to talk about the garden – alot.  Honestly, I’m constantly captivated and amazed by not only what I grow but what others grow too.  I want to know what people are doing in their gardens and I want to see the gardens or photos if they live far away.  I’m blessed with a few friends local and far away who indulge me, friends who give tours:

My friend Diana’s peony.  Everything about Diana’s garden is magical and wonderous.  The type of magic that only occurs when someone has been cultivating it for over 20 years.

There are the online friends who live in far away who give me virtual tours of their gardens.  They send emails full of photos and words of pride about their gardens.  I can’t tell you how precious the real life and virtual tours are to me.  These same friends tolerate my endless ramblings about what’s happening in my garden and the latest happenings of our bees.  These friends share advice, triumphs, and heartaches.

These same friends both local and far away share seeds and plants with me too.

Namaste sent me some White Currant Tomato seeds months ago.  They’re doing great in the greenhouse and I’m looking forward to putting them in the garden in a few weeks.  I’m also looking forward to eating and saving seed to keep a piece of her beautiful spirit in my garden for years to come.

Each time I plant or harvest something shared with me from someone else, I feel part of some incredibly blessed web.  I know it sounds so very hippy dippy even to my ears but in the end I am part of this amazing tribe of gardeners and that does indeed make me blessed.

So tell me, what’s happening in your garden?  Feel free to share links to photos, I want to see them.

Later this week, Jeff and I will celebrate 12 years together.  It’s been an amazing 12 years, amazing truly and I so look forward to the next 12 years.  The fact that he’s put up with some of my idiosyncrasies all of these years is a testament to his enduring patience, love, and dedication to the commitment we’ve made.

I have quite a few quirks, I suppose we all do, but when I look at mine from the outside, well let’s just say I realize that idiosyncrasy is putting it mildly.  Living with me means that almost every flat surface has books on it most of the time.

If not books, then journals full of my notes, recipes, dreams, to-do lists and more.

There are generally bottles full of plants and some kind of liquid (alcohol, vinegar, oil, etc.) steeping in an experiment to make tinctures, cordials, oils, vinegars and more.  Some of them work, some of them don’t.

It also means I’ve never met a glass jar that I didn’t love.

Though, Jeff did find those gallon jars at a yard sale for me – 50 cents a piece.  I suppose maybe that’s the trick of surviving 12 years together, we’ve adopted each other’s quirks.  I know I’ve picked up a few of his over the years.  So, rather than question or feel strange about my quirks or get irritated over his, I’m just going to embrace them and him so that the next 12 years is indeed amazing.

About two years ago, I discovered Tattler Canning Lids.  I was so very excited when my first order arrived, that I immediately tested them out and wrote a review.  If you’re not familiar with Tattlers, let me just say that they are reusable canning lids.  They are plastic but they are BPA free.  I think they’re amazing and we use them for all of our canning needs these days.  A few months back they ran an incredible special and we bought 200 lids (100 wide mouth and 100 regular).  They came in bulk, but we store them in those round mailing tubes and it works perfect.

I contacted the folks at Tattler and told them about the I Eat Local Because I Can project and they graciously agreed to give away 1 dozen wide mouth and 1 dozen regular lids and rings to a lucky reader!

The giveaway is now closed!