Fair is Around the Corner...

Fair is coming up and the deadline to submit entries is even sooner. I've been thinking a lot about how I want to enter some jams but the fruit I need still hasn't gone on sale...and I have a new baby.

You see, for the family I married into, fair is a big deal. My husband and his siblings were involved in 4H for years, showing themselves and then becoming project leaders after they were too old to participate. His brother and his father both work for the fair, and you can bet that we will spend almost every day there once it is open.

I enjoy fair season and I'm looking forward to enjoying it a little more this year since I was pregnant last year and all the smells of food bothered me. All I wanted to eat was salad and healthy food, but I was surrounded with fried Twinkies and chocolate dipped bacon. Yuck...

I didn't enter any canned goods last year because I was working a crazy job and planning a wedding, but I want this year to be different! Even if I can't get anything canned in time, I'm telling myself that I could enter the baked goods category with my cinnamon raisin bread and or maybe some cinnamon rolls. Yum! The only thing terrible about baking for fair is that you have to turn it in without getting to eat it yourself (unless you make a double batch :P).

What about you? Is there a fair in your area? Have you ever entered anything?

More Projects!

I haven't blogged much, because I just can't seem to force myself to sit down and sit still long enough to write something. I have had so much extra energy in the second trimester (I'm 21 weeks now) and I figure I better use it to get everything done now before I move into the third trimester! So I've been cleaning--deep cleaning. Opening up cupboards in the kitchen, reorganizing closets, and finally getting to projects that I've put off for too long.

I've also been doing a lot of sewing. I'm working on getting my diaper stash ready:

This is my favorite of the diapers I've made so far. What do you think? Is it a good choice for gender neutral?

Of course, in all of my projects, I always have my little "helpers"

How would I get anything done without them? :P

I'm also planning on using cloth wipes. I've sewn 30 so far and have 20 to go. A friend taught me how to use my serger so now I can finish these super fast! I have quickly fallen in love with serging...

I've also been preparing for the Holidays. We don't have a lot of money to spend on Christmas this year (actually our budget is close to zero), so I'm trying to be creative and make most of our gifts for family and friends. One way I do that is by giving the gift of home-canned apple butter! People love it and it is super cheap if you get the apples on sale.

What projects have you been up to before the Holidays? Leave a link, as I'd love to see --I'm always looking for inspiration!

Using my Canned Apple Pie Filling

It's always fun to use the products you've canned for the first time. It's nerve-wracking at the same time. Did the seal stay? Are the contents okay? These are just a few of the worries of a novice canner, like myself.

Tonight I opened two jars of apple pie filling that I'd made in January to make apple turnovers. 

Cutting in the butter.

I haven't mastered pie crust yet, so I thought turnovers would be easier. I used a simple biscuit recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook and added extra sugar to make for a sweeter dough. 

The seal on the jars were perfect and the contents looked good too. That's always a relief. 

The end result were huge golden brown delicious-tasting turnovers. 

 Yum!

Journey into the Art of Canning

I've been a long-time reader of Patrice Lewis's blog, and it was there that I got my first taste for canning. It looked so homey and old-fashioned. Those who mastered it could be so self-sufficient--growing their own fruits and vegetables and preserving them for years to come. I just had to try it.

So I took the plunge, and purchased the guide Patrice recommended (Putting Food By) and all of the various canning equipment.

First, I made strawberry jam.  Honestly, the first time was an incredibly exhausting amount of work. I was on my feet for hours, perspiring over the steaming pot. I'm sure any experienced canner would have laughed if they'd watched me dash back and forth from the book to the jars, as the thought of killing my loved ones through botulism loomed over my head.

In the end, despite how exhausted I was, it was worth all the work. I beheld the fruits of my labor with pride: Beautiful gleaming jars filled with yummy jam.

In the following months, I made more batches of strawberry jam until I had finally achieved a jam with a flavor and viscosity I was satisfied with. I went on to enter my local fair for the first time with this jam and received an honorable mention.

From there I continued on to variations of jams, and then whole apricots, and most recently apple pie filling. 

I'm still a novice, but I can't wait to delve further into the world of canning. Next item on my canning agenda: choosing a recipe for this year's fair.