Showing posts with label Gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gifts. Show all posts

Saturday, March 31, 2012

One Year Anniversary Giveaway!


One year ago March 29, Canning Granny was born... it's been an amazing year! Two months before, I had read a book that had absolutely nothing to do with canning, One Second After. It made me stop and do some thinking... and I passed it on to my dear husband and he read it, and it made him do some thinking... and so began our quest for more independence, more self-reliance, more sustainability in our lives... we decided to simplify our lives... at the time we were living in town, in an apartment, in a very nice apartment complex... I had grown up and lived most of my life in the country, but had got a new, wonderful job and it was a choice we made... now we were facing a different choice... to get back to a simpler lifestyle... were we ready? 

One of the first things I mentioned to Mr. G was that I'd like to get back to canning... I'd done it all my life, I knew how... it would be a good first step... He responded with, "Well, what do you need to start back?" A pressure canner arrived within a few days... An All American 15.5 quart... it was AWESOME... and I began immediately to can... it was January and there were no fresh vegetables and fruits, so I canned meat, chicken... shrimp... meatloaf... beef stew... and more.

One weekend I was in the kitchen doing my canning thing and Mr. G walked in and gave me a hug and said, "My Little Canning Granny! Hey, you should write a blog... there's your name, Canning Granny." Canning Granny was born as easy as that...

Since then, we've moved BACK to the country, bought a house and a little piece of God's earth, we've planted fruit trees, we've built half a chicken coop with plans for chickens soon, we've purchased a tiller and plowed up the front yard for a garden, we've started planting vegetables... we're honing old skills we haven't used in awhile like sewing, crochet, carpentry, gardening, pruning, and more...and we're learning new skills like herbal medicine and many other DIY projects... there is still LOTS to do, but we are enjoying this life to the fullest... our stress level has dropped and our enjoyment of life has risen... we once took weekends away to just get out of the city... now we're more than content to putter around the house and garden... Life is good!

This past year would NOT have been possible without you wonderful people, our readers... Words simply cannot express my appreciation and gratitude to you... I am humbled and amazed each and every day by your support and trust in me. Thank you is not enough, but Thank You nonetheless...

And as a token of my extreme appreciation, I have made a little something to give to one of you wonderful readers... Here it is... an apron with canning jars appliqued on it... Your very own Canning Granny Apron...I hope you like it. I had fun making it!



And here's what you need to do for a chance to receive this gift...

1. "Like" Canning Granny on Facebook, or if you already do, say so in your comment below.

2. Comment below, say "Happy Anniversary" or "I love you" or whatever you want to say. Please include your first name and last initial, otherwise I won't know who you are... if you are comfortable with sharing your email address in the comment section, include that and I will email you if your name is chosen, otherwise I will announce the winner's name on Facebook.


On Tuesday, April 3, at 7 p.m. (EDT) I will draw a name using random.org and will announce the winner on Facebook... the winner will have 48 hours to respond by emailing me at canninggranny@gmail.com with his/her name and mailing address.

Again, I thank you one and all... 

Let the comments commence!!!! 

Posted by Pamela at 7:59 PM 277 comments
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Thursday, December 15, 2011

It's Give Away Time!

Canning Granny is celebrating achieving over 1,000 (count them... one thousand!) Facebook "Likes" (I'm not sure why they changed "Fans" to "Likes"... fans sounded so much more... well... "fannish!" but I digress)...

Believe me, I would dearly LOVE to send each and every one of you 1,000 plus folks a gift in thanks for your support, friendship, and love... most of you I have never seen in person... but I count each and every one of you as a friend... and some of you as family. So, since I am unable to send everyone a gift I'm gonna give every one of you a chance to receive this token of my extreme appreciation.

Here's how it works...

I couldn't narrow it down to ONE gift... so I will leave it up to the winner to choose ONE of the three below...


First option, since I AM Canning Granny after all... a half-pint jar of  my home canned Habanero Gold jelly (click to see post). This beautiful jelly contains habanero peppers, red peppers, and dried apricots and is delicious with cream cheese on crackers, as a glaze for meat and I'm sure many other yummy things.

OR



Second option, since I have recently picked up my crochet hook and am definitely "hooked" on it again... one of my favorite scarves... this one is made from very soft, very fuzzy multi-colored yarn in fall colors of oranges, browns, greens and creams.

OR


Third option, since I make my own all-natural soaps, lotions, and other bath and beauty products (www.southernheartsoaps.com)... a collection of some of my favorite products... three bars of soap... one honey oatmeal an all natural soap which contains real honey, real oatmeal, and is skin-loving and moisturizing... one Granny's Old-Fashioned Lye Soap which is exactly what it sounds like, a nostalgic tribute to days gone by, unscented, simple, moisturizing, and all natural... one Southern Cook's Coffee Soap... a soap made with real coffee and added coffee grounds that make a great exfoliant... coffee is odor absorbing so this soap is great for the kitchen to remove the odors of onions, fish, garlic, etc. from your hands (YES! it really works!)... also in this little set, I'm including a 6 ounce tube of Clarity Hand and Body Lotion made from avocado butter, cocoa butter, olive oil, with the essential oils of rosemary, lavender, geranium, lemongrass and peppermint which add skin-nourishing properties as well as mental clarity... and last but not least... a tube of peppermint lip balm made with honey, beeswax, olive oil and peppermint essential oil.

And what YOU need to do...

...is comment on THIS blog post (below) with your NAME, and which gift you prefer... (1) JELLY (2) SCARF or (3) SOAP SET

On Monday, December 26 at midnight, the give away ends.

Tuesday, December 27, I will put all the names in a wide mouth canning jar and draw the winner out randomly... I will then post the name on the Canning Granny Facebook Page ... the winner will have 48 hours to email me at canninggranny@gmail.com with their Name and Mailing Address. Should I NOT hear from the winner, I will draw another name on Thursday, December 29 and post THAT name on Facebook as well.

I'm so excited!!! Good luck to my wonderful, supportive readers... You are all winners in my book!
Posted by Pamela at 2:14 PM 93 comments
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Friday, November 11, 2011

Giving Canned Foods as Gifts

My boss rarely cooks... she's a wonderful, creative person, a writer, she makes jewelry, decorates wine glasses, refinishes furniture, and many other artistic endeavors... but she doesn't cook much.

She does enjoy food... I took some pickled peaches to share at work soon after I made them and she begged for more... she gobbled up my okra pickles and when I told her I'd been making jalapeno jelly one weekend, she begged for some...

Her birthday arrived recently and I wanted to share some of my canned goods with her... but didn't want to simply bag up a few jars... I wanted to be creative and make it extra special for her, from me... My boss is also a dear friend and mentor... she's more than just a boss.

Here's what I did...

First I decided on the combination of jars of goodies to share... of course, there would be pickled peaches... she had put in that request back in the summer and she wanted them for Thanksgiving...

And jalapeno jam... and I had canned a batch of cream cheese last spring, that would go nicely with the jam... on crackers (before you go jumping on me about the fact that "there is no FDA approved way to can cream cheese," I know this... but I did it anyway... sometimes I'm a rebel like that)... Mmmm... crackers!

So, I looked up a recipe for homemade crackers... and made a batch...


1 1/4 cups flour; white, whole wheat, rye*
-
1/2 teaspoon salt
-
2 tablespoons butter, canola oil or olive oil; more as needed
-
4 tablespoons water; add more as needed
-
1 teaspoon seasoning such as chili powder, dried herbs etc (optional)
Container: baking sheet
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes









Directions
  • Preheat oven to 400° F.
  • Mix together well, preferably in a food processor, 1 cup of the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and oil or butter ( use smaller amount for crisper crackers, or a larger amount for a richer flavor). Add 3 tablespoons water and mix well. Gradually add more water, mixing after each addition, until mixture forms a compact ball. If it seems too sticky to handle, add more flour.
  • Sprinkle a work surface (or a baking sheet-sized piece of parchment paper) with some of the remaining flour then press and roll the dough to about 1/8th inch thick. Try to get it fairly uniform. If the dough is too dry to roll out, return it to the food processor and add a little more water. If necessary to prevent sticking, dust your hands and the rolling pin with a little more flour.
  • Put the rolled-out dough on a baking sheet dusted with a little flour (if you've used parchment paper, transfer dough and paper to baking sheet) and bake 10 - 15 minutes, until somewhat brown.
  • Cool and break into pieces. If making several batches, mix another while the first one bakes. You can re-use the parchment paper several times.
I made my crackers using all purpose flour, olive oil, and added cracked black pepper... I cut them with a small, round cookie cutter... they turned out very cute... and tasty! I filled a wide mouth pint canning jar with them.

Cracked Pepper Crackers in a wide mouth canning jar.
I made lid covers from squares of burlap (I was going for an autumn rustic look, burlap was perfect for the task!) and tied them on with hemp twine. I made labels on the computer and printed them on brown kraft paper.

We still have LOTS of brightly colored leaves all over our yard, so I asked my dear sweet DH if he would go pick me up some perfect, brightly colored leaves... that dear man didn't even question why I wanted the leaves... and it was dark outside... but he donned his headband flashlight and went leaf hunting... when he brought them inside... perfect as they were... he then asked, "what are you gonna do with these?" and I hugged him and said, "I love you! You didn't even question my request, you just went." Lord knows I adore that man!

I melted paraffin and dipped the leaves in a thin coating of the wax... and I learned the hard way that you CANNOT melt paraffin in the microwave... it won't melt... double boiler works! The leaves will last forever once they're dipped in the paraffin... they cool and the wax hardens in like 10 seconds.

I began adding my jars to a Kraft brown box with a lid I found at Hobby Lobby... I first put a layer of excelsior in the bottom of the box and made little "nesting hollows" for the four jars.


I added some of my colored, paraffin dipped leaves inside the box for a little fall decoration... and I tossed in a few acorns we had picked up in the yard.


I put the lid on and tied it all up with more of the hemp twine... and more leaves...


Well, needless to say... Mimi (my boss) had a fit over the jars of goodies... and exclaimed over and over again about my thoughtfulness... but she was equally delighted over the packaging... especially the leaves... and carefully gathered them up to take home and use over again in her fall decorating.

Made me feel happy and warm inside to share!
Posted by Pamela at 2:50 PM 17 comments
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