Re-Purposing Canning Jars

Years ago we had a large garden and delighted in the bounty of fresh vegetables. At the end of each growing season, we froze and canned food, enough to last the winter, sometimes longer. Canning meant buying an assortment of jars, sizes varying from half-pint to quart, and that considerable investment took a few summers to get the quantities and variety needed. Just when our jar collection was complete, we moved. In fact, we've moved five times since, and gardens haven't always been available or, if they were, their space was far more limited. So, barring exceptions when seasonal produce goes on sale, we don't can as much anymore. The jars, however, (aside from serving as ballast during our all-too-frequent moves,) remain in good condition. We've simply needed to re-purpose them.

A few years ago, we opened an "economy-size" bag of fried noodles, used what we needed, and then stored the remainder in a plastic container because the bag could not be sealed tightly enough to keep the noodles fresh. However, less than a month later, when we opened that container, the noodles were rancid. They had reacted badly with the plastic and the smell was noxious. Worse, that odour permeated the plastic so thoroughly it transferred to any other food we stored in the container. Eventually, after cleaning it with a variety of odour-eliminating products, without success, we were forced to toss the container. That's when we began using canning jars for storing such foods.

• They seal well enough to keep food fresh.
  
• They offer a better vapour barrier than most plastic containers – stored foods like sugar or salt or household products like bath salts can clump easily when exposed to the slightest humidity.
  
• They don't take on flavours or absorb odours like most plastics do
  

This latter realization saved hubby's lunch. He loves to take home-made yogurt to work for a snack, but the plastic containers he used presented problems. First of all, they leaked. Despite having tight-fitting lids, yogurt still managed to seep out. Secondly, those plastic containers had taken on flavours from leftovers, and those savoury tastes were undesirable seasoning for yogurt. Having just performed our little experiment with fried noodles, I suggested using half-pint jars for his purpose. They worked so well, hubby's used them ever since and for a variety of snacks from canned peaches to nuts. Now, his snacks tastes as they should and the lids don't leak. He no longer finds the rest of his lunch coated in yogurt or syrup. Hubby tells me the glass container actually keeps food cooler than plastic did. Bonus.

It was when I saw hubby placing the first jar in his lunchbox that a childhood memory flashed through my mind. At one school my sister attended, there was a unique lunch option. Children brought jars of food from home, marked with their name and classroom. These were collected early, reheated in the school's kitchen, and then returned to the classroom at lunch hour. Instead of packing sandwiches every day, children could enjoy a variety of meals. Since hubby was getting bored with sandwiches, I used this idea for his lunch. First, we had to find a lunchbox heater – it looks like a small cooler, but plugs into a vehicle's cigarette lighter and heats to 300º F. Once we had that small appliance, hubby began enjoying leftover stews, soups and casseroles. Instead of the usual sealer lid, however, I replaced it a small square of aluminum foil and then put the screw-on lid over that. When lunchtime nears, hubby need only poke a few holes in the aluminum foil, place it in the heater and half an hour later, hot lunch is ready. I've used this same method for home lunches, too. Instead of the lunchbox heater, though, I place the jar in a pot of hot water and let it simmer about ten minutes. Jars also take up less of a footprint in the fridge than one large container of leftovers simply because they can be stacked.

There is one drawback to using canning jars. The sealer lids are now coated with Bisphenol-A. If you're lucky enough to find glass lids and rubber rings you can avoid contact with this harmful chemical. We've never found them. However, most of the foods we store never come in contact with the lid. For foods that do, a barrier of wax paper or aluminum foil can prevent direct contact.

One of the handiest applications for jars I've seen (while watching a favourite do-it-yourself show,) used half-pint jars. The handyman nailed lids (the sealer lid with its screw-top fastener) to a board, about an inch separating each, and then mounted the board above his work-bench. Then, he put various nuts, bolts, and screws into separate jars and screwed those onto the lids. The clear glass allowed him to easily identify the hardware he needed, and they were conveniently located yet out of his work area. No more rummaging through dilapidated boxes, or finicky storage containers searching for the necessary item. I haven't yet tried this, but am planning a "spice rack" with a couple modifications to this idea.

Canning Jars, re-purposed

Sealers, because the glass is inert and they have such a good seal, also make good storage containers for toxic items like shoe-polishing rags or paint thinner. No doubt there are many uses for canning jars I haven't yet discovered but, now that we've begun looking for them, the possibilities seem endless. The jars have, once again, become assets, not just ballast.

How about you? Do you re-purpose canning jars? Please leave a comment and share your ideas.

Season of Discount-ment

Some people go crazy for shoe sales. For others, it's garage sales. Me? I'm drawn to stationery sales like Dorothy to Oz – books and pens and gizmos, oh my! The urge to run down stationery aisles, gleefully scooping supplies into my shopping basket, is almost irresistible.

I was hooked on my very first shopping excursion for grade-school supplies (too many years ago to mention.) Coming home with a horde of unsharpened pencils, pristine notebooks, and unspoiled paraphernalia was, to me, fabulous bounty. Even now, decades later, whenever August arrives and stationery specials begin I'm as gleeful as a kid at Christmas. My children are grown, raising children of their own, and still these specials excite me! Without the incurable condition known as frugality, I'd surely run amok, ravaging our budget procuring multi-coloured sticky notes, nifty journals, gel pens, and handy-dandy what-cha-ma-call-its.

But there's no point in denying need. I used to avoid stationery stores simply because I could "fall off the wagon" and our budget might suffer for it. The problem with this approach was, eventually any home office requires a few essentials. Avoidance wasn't preparing me for ultimate temptation. Then I began writing and a genuine need arose for pens, journals, envelopes, printer ink and paper, and, yes, multi-coloured sticky notes – the usual tools of the craft. Somehow, I had to control the compulsiveness.

Seasonal shopping rescued me. Once I began saving for August, basing those savings on previous years' spending, then buying necessary office supplies became guilt-free. Like any impulse-shopper, I learned to control it by making a list, and buying items only on the list – no in-store additions! That said, I don't just buy one journal; I buy five or six – enough to last a year, and the savings equate to getting one (sometimes two, depending on the sale) free. I don't buy a couple pens; I buy a box. Half the box is usually free due to seasonal savings. I don't buy one ream of printer paper; I get a box of ten reams, on sale, paying nearly half the price per ream and getting enough to last approximately two years (or longer.) Each year the shopping list changes – things like staples or paper clips last years – but, the monetary preparation and planned excursions eliminated stationery shopping as a threat to monthly budgets.

Back-to-school specials introduced me to seasonal shopping and I was a quick convert. If it could conquer my stationery addiction, what astonishing deeds might it perform on other expenses? Soon, I was shopping seasonally for all the non-monthly, household necessities. A little money, set aside each month, is saved for linens, for household maintenance, for kitchen utensils, for small appliances...the list goes on. Now, when the "White Sales" happen in May, there's money for new sheets or towels. In March, we have funds available when gardening supplies go on sale. We even put aside a monthly stipend for gift giving, which comes in handy in January, when holiday goodies get marked down. Often, we don't use all the money we've salted away, but that just leaves extra for either the purchase of better quality goods, or kept in reserve for future purchases. Occasionally need – or fabulous pricing – cause over-spending the saved amount...but those small excesses are temporarily absorbed by savings for other categories, and are always recovered within a month.

Of the numerous ways of managing household budget, seasonal shopping produced the greatest stabilizing effect on ours. Instead of allowing the many, varied and irregular expenditures to catch us short, we now have savings for most items we'll inevitably need. And, because money is reserved for various purposes, we are better able to take advantage of sales when they happen. Savings realized at a good sale can be dramatic. So, though we're no richer than before, this capacity to buy what's needed, when sale prices are best, not only provides us with material comforts, it produces peace of mind knowing we are maintaining a realistic budget without using credit. No more month-to-month struggle, feeling overworked just "making ends meet." Somehow work seems less onerous now that home is thriving.

If you're interested in planning your own seasonal shopping schedule, here's a helpful article, by Nikki Willhite, offering information on yearly sales and when they regularly occur: All Things Frugal: Shopping the Seasonal Sales. It doesn't matter if you're into shoes or linen; there's a prime time, each year, to buy whatever your personal weakness may be. If you're denying need just to control a shopping addiction, take charge by finding its season of discount-ment!

Me? I'll be in a stationery aisle, somewhere, yearly budget in mind and shopping list in hand: the giddy grandma humming the popular ad, "It's the most, wonderful time of the year..." ♪♪♪

Pinching Salt

Recently, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. My doctor prescribed low-dose diuretics, exercise, and a low-sodium diet. Normally, I avoid prescription medicines, but the diuretics – and the exercise – were a must. Only two weeks after that initial appointment, results of implementing just these two recommendations were apparent in significantly reduced blood pressure.

The only remaining challenge – other than finding the early morning motivation to rise and exercise – was in figuring out how to decrease sodium intake. For years now, we've been altering the foods we eat to serve this and other healthful purposes: buying far fewer (if any) pre-packaged foods, mixes, sauces, stock, etc.; quitting soda consumption altogether; and very seldom buying junk foods (potato chips, fast foods, etc.) Most of what we eat is made "from scratch" and we often make recipe substitutions (or alterations) to reduce sodium, trans- and hydrolyzed-vegetable fats and sugar. There are few components of our diet that we haven't tweaked to make healthier. Even boiling water for pasta is much less saline than it once was.

So, where hadn't we adjusted sodium intake? After thoroughly examining our diet, I found the one area we hadn't touched: the salt shaker. And its use makes actual intake so much harder to gauge. Just how much salt is sprinkled to pre-season meat? Just how much is added on the dinner plate?

Hoping to consume less sodium, I considered switching to a commercial brand of seasoning salt. However, when I researched the available products, I became discouraged. Each brand contained some ingredient we avoid. One label seemed misleading, too. A popular brand contains sugar but, rather than list that carbohydrate on the nutritional label, it omits that category altogether.

Instead, I decided to make our own, and found a very tasty recipe online (About.com: Seasoned Salt recipe). The recipe suggests garlic and celery salts, but I used garlic powder and celery seeds. Even with these adjustments, the mixture is still 75% sodium. However, that's 25% less than regular table salt and, since we're now measuring the use of this substitute, we're consuming much less added sodium than ever before. Each "smidgen" (1/32 teaspoon) contains approximately 55 mg of sodium. General recommendations for daily sodium intake are between 2 and 3 grams (2000-3000 mg), so each smidgen is equivalent to 2.75% of the lower suggested amount. I went a step further and halved the amount of salt used in the recipe, effectively decreasing those percentages while still delivering a delicious flavour profile.

Flavour is, after all, the reason the salt shaker was being used. This mixture (even the 37.5% sodium blend) packs a huge flavour-punch! Wherever possible, it now replaces regular salt in daily cooking and makes sodium-reduced meals unusually delectable. Better yet, unlike commercial brands, this home-made seasoned salt contains: no MSG; no sugar; no flavour- or colour-enhancers; no fillers (like corn starch), no hydrolyzed vegetable protein, no lecithin (of which hubby is very sensitive), and, no anti-clumping chemicals (such as tricalcium sulphate.) Another benefit of preparing home-made seasonings isn't, perhaps, immediately apparent. The recent, massive recall of pre-packaged spice blends was stark illustration of other possible and uncontrollable health risks in consuming commercial blends. None of the whole and powdered spices we use in this concoction were involved in that recall.

Now that I've tried this mixture, I'm (almost) happy for the diagnosis that prompted its discovery. It tastes so good that hubby is now using it, too. A startling result as he once used the salt shaker with abandon. This seasoning, though intended only for my welfare, is also reducing hubby's sodium intake...no nagging required!

Adventures in Geo-Caching

Last weekend, hubby and I set out upon our very first geo-caching adventure. What a blast! A Sunday drive and hike has never been so much fun...even though it meant rising pre-dawn so we could get our trekking done before the worst heat of the day.


We had been looking for some other purpose for our hikes aside from foraging. Then we discovered geo-caching in this region. If you haven't heard of this activity before, it's a treasure hunt. Cache boxes are hidden in various places and it's up to you, the hiker/mountain-biker/adventurer, to find them. GPS navigation is most often used, but some regions offer traditional positioning clues – directions to the location providing compass headings and pace measurements. Once the cache is found, you sign the cache log book and take a site-sticker for your record of sites visited. While you're at it, check out some of the other people who were there before you. Geo-caching is a global activity, so you may discover entries by visiting hikers from faraway lands. The cache-boxes contain nothing of any substantial value, but inside you'll likely find trinkets left behind by other hikers. You can take one IF you leave a trinket of your own in its place. No food, though, as it attracts animals.


By far, the greatest reward is quality time spent with loved ones. But there are other intangible treasures: the discovery of new places, the nuggets of learning gleaned from local legends, and a bounty of exercise in exploration. Bring a picnic lunch and your prize can include some much-coveted relaxation gilded by a dazzling vista.

A day away from holding down the couch couldn't be better spent! And, it's FREE! The only cost is fuel and, depending how far your chosen cache sites are, that is relatively inexpensive compared to other activities. A field guide is sold locally, but we downloaded and printed relevant pages, free of charge, off the Internet site.


Here in "Gold Country" caches are distributed widely and near sites of interest. Our local field guide (Gold Country Geo-Tourism) not only supplies GPS co-ordinates and "letterbox clues" to each location, it also provides interesting synopses, providing historical and anecdotal information for each site. The sites themselves are divided into various categories: Pioneers & Early Settlers; Gravesites & Mystical Places; Geological Wonders; Historic Churches; and, Views & Vistas. Some sites are clustered in close proximity to each other, while others are singularly placed and take you farther afield. Once stickers for twenty-four sites are collected, we can send away for a souvenir-prize pin. Who knows? Some day it might just end up traded in a geo-cache in some other part of the world.


On our first expedition, we hunted for two caches. We don't own a GPS, so we followed the "letterbox clues" and thought it was very entertaining. The first cache, up Scottie Creek road, we found with relative ease. The second one, at Downing Lake Park, eluded us. But the hike wasn't wasted. Our circuitous route took us to new and beautiful places, and we took every opportunity to forage a little as we hiked through those newly discovered territories. Hubby also scouted promising hunting areas which he'll likely return to in the fall. As the blistering summer sun climbed the sky, we meandered back via a lonely country back road, arriving home thoroughly sated – body mind, and spirit – with 84 pictures of stunning natural beauty as proof of our first journey.


Most geo-cache guides are posted on the Internet so, if you're looking for inexpensive adventures, quests which guide you in a more intimate exploration of your region, check out local geo-caching opportunities. You're sure to discover your own priceless treasures!

Update: Odour Takes a Powder

Back in January I posted a blog about an easy home-made deodorant. At the end of that post, I mentioned I was working to find a comparable liquid form for summer. After some research and a few test trials, those results are now ready to share.

The first concoction I researched was another simple recipe consisting of one tablespoon of alum dissolved in one cup of warm water and (optionally) scented with a drop or spritz of a favourite perfume or cologne. Ammonium alum is available at most compound pharmacies, and is intended for topical use. Its price was reasonable: $4.49 (Can) for 125 grams, which is enough for eight (nearly nine) preparations, each supplying eight ounces of liquid deodorant. It seemed a great option until I began researching the ammonium alum. This double sulfate, also known as ammonium aluminum sulphate, is made from aluminum hydroxide, sulfuric acid, and ammonium sulfate. Though this chemical is said to be non-toxic, I was concerned when I read the words "aluminum hydroxide." That mineral is used in the production of aluminum chloride, a common ingredient in commercial deodorants and the one which has been linked to Alzheimer's, breast cancer and respiratory problems. I'm certainly no chemist, but I was reluctant to use this fluid for the same reason I avoid commercial brands.

Next I checked out a cream deodorant. It involves a little more processing, but it's still a relatively simple recipe using common ingredients. To prepare it, mix equal parts of baking soda, petroleum jelly and talcum powder (I substituted corn starch) in a double-boiler and dissolve the mixture over low heat, stirring frequently until a smooth cream develops. Put the preparation in a container – preferably glass – with a tight-fitting lid. This cream is applied by hand so, to avoid its contamination, I prepared small batches. The cream works effectively; however its greatest drawback was the oily residue it left on clothing. This stain proved resistant to laundering and, for this reason, I don't recommend it. Why ruin clothes with oil stains? There's no frugality in that.

In continuing my research for a home-made liquid deodorant, I performed experiments with water and baking soda. The usual bicarbonate effect happened though, and when the bubbling activity subsided, all that was left was an insoluble mass of soda sunk to the bottom of the water. Subsequently, I tried a mixture of equal parts baking soda and glycerine. This resulted in a loose cream which could be applied by hand but, while it worked effectively, the skin felt too sticky for comfort.

Perhaps one of the most intriguing formula I discovered was a deodorant tea, which works from the inside out. The recipe calls for a mix of equal quantities of sage leaves, parsley, alfalfa, and melilot (also known as sweet clover.) This herbaceous mixture will deteriorate in light and so should be made in small quantities and then stored in an opaque container. To prepare the tea, brew ½ to 2 teaspoons of the mix in ½ cup hot water and steep a few minutes. The instructions did not specify ingesting daily, only "regularly." I presume its use is dependent on one's personal need.

The tea got me thinking, though. If these herbs and plants can have a deodorizing effect, then the reverse must also be true: some foods, drinks and spices must contribute to body odour. From personal experience, I can attest that consuming certain foods – beef, fried foods, alcoholic beverages, and spices and herbs such as curry or garlic – does indeed produce unsavoury body odours. Even the strongest commercial deodorants only mask their (often foul) emanations. So, I have begun to take note of various foods which produce those unpleasant results, and now eat them only occasionally.

Ultimately, I ended up back at the beginning. The original powder formula – equal parts baking soda and corn starch – remains my favourite. And, I needn't have been concerned about "powdery armpits." This deodorant, it turns out, disappears very quickly after application, to become as invisible as any commercial brand. Unlike those store-bought deodorants, however, this powder, if it ends up on clothing, is easily brushed off or laundered out. Its cost – only pennies per bi-weekly batch – also makes it a thrifty choice for budget-conscious households.

So, with all the experimentation behind me, I'm back to using the original powder preparation and am pleased to report my underarms are tank-top friendly.

Have you got a home-preparation I haven't tried? If so, I'd like to hear about it. Please leave a comment to share your formula and observations.

Flower Power

This sixties' slogan, used to express passive resistance, perfectly describes the organic-garden flower. Flowers in these gardens are more than mere eye-candy. Companioned with other plants, they are part of a seemingly innocuous force working diligently to create a holistic environment.

For me, the most delightful things about certain flowers are their culinary prospects! Sweet or spicy, mild or bold flavoured, flowers add colourful zing and exotic flair to any plate. Just be certain the flowers come from a safe environment. Foraging is fine, but don't use plants found along a busy highway where exhaust fumes contaminate them, or city parks where chemical treatments are frequently applied. If you use pesticides or herbicides in the garden, then, for goodness sake, don't eat your daisies!

Some edible flowers have the brilliant ability to repel garden pests, too. Anise Hyssop keeps cabbage moths away, and its flowers add a delicate licorice flavour to dishes. Nasturtiums add vibrant colour and pepper to salads but, in the garden, aphids and squash bugs avoid them. Calendula or marigolds, poster-children for passive pest resistance, repel mosquitoes, moles, tomato horn worms and bean beetles, to name a few. Edible flowers beautify the garden while defending against most garden nibblers...all except the gardener who enjoys their spice and colour on the dinner plate.

Not all flowers are repellent to pests; some just taste good. Alliums lend a mild oniony-garlic flavour to the breakfast scramble. A salad gets a colourful pop and flavourful zing with a few violets or rose petals Edible flowers, whether mild, sweet, peppery, savoury or bitter, take an everyday dish and elevate it to the extraordinary. Some flowers, such as squash blossoms, will even stand up to cooking. Others, like hibiscus blooms, are best when brewed into teas. Many edible flowers are those of the edible herbs, including basil, chervil, cilantro, dill, fennel, mint, oregano, rosemary and sage. These herbal flowers, though tasting similar, are more delicately flavoured than the leaves or seeds.

The paradox of garden flowers is their ability to either attract or repel. Flowers like delphiniums or honeysuckle attract pollinators like hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. The poisonous delphinium should never be eaten, but the beautiful creatures they attract are necessary to any natural habitat. Those critters do little to control harmful pests, though. For that purpose there are flowers, such as those in the daisy family, which attract the innocuous ladybug, who then dines on destructive mites and aphids. Asters or black-eyed Susans attract lacewings which gobble aphids and caterpillars. Sunflowers attract insect eating birds. Sweet smelling peonies will attract predators of root-eaters such as grubs. So, by strategically placing certain flowers among vegetables and herbs, gardens can flourish without using pesticides.

The third quality of the flower power trifecta is their nutritional and medicinal properties. The effects of some flowers are subtle, while others can be very potent. For this reason, it's advisable to thoroughly research the flowers you plan to consume to better understand their active properties and applications. Some can be ingested while others are used only topically. Your research may prove surprising: Echinacea is commonly known to have medicinal properties, but did you know day lily tea is also therapeutic? It's surprising the number of common flowers and herbs – and some weeds, too – which have healing and/or soothing qualities. There are even flowers higher in anti-oxidant vitamins (like Vitamin C) than commonly eaten fruits and vegetables.

So liberate your flowers from their ornamental status. Put them to work in your garden and kitchen. Their passive resistance to pests of all stripes will at least reduce or at best eliminate the need for pesticides. Then, while enjoying their floral beauty, you can count your savings, dine on the fruits of their labour, and perhaps even attain healing. Now that's flower power!

Wild Thing, I Think I Love You

Foraging is seasonal eating at its most primal. It's also a gastronomic dividend for hiking the wilderness. Not only can foraging provide fresh foods at their peak, those foods (if sold commercially), sell for premium prices. Fine dining restaurants pay top dollar for morel mushrooms, fresh brook trout, tender ramps, or wild strawberries. So, for the eager forager, a day's hike and exploration can yield culinary gold.

Fishing and/or hunting provide one of the costliest items for many grocery budgets: meat for the table (or freezer.) Licensing and fuel costs can be off-set by the successful enthusiast who brings home a catch of fish, a brace of fowl, or fresh game. But, these activities aren't for everyone.

For those who don't hunt, nor enjoy flaying the water for fish, there are other foods to forage which don't require a gun, rod or license. Wild vegetables like onions, leeks (ramps), dandelions (roots, greens and flowers,) pigweed (also known as Lamb's Quarters), fiddlehead ferns, horseradish and skunk cabbage are all exotic ingredients which bring powerful flavour profiles to the larder. Various berries and nuts grow in different regions, and are available from spring through fall. Mushrooms, too, have a range of seasons and locales, though you'll want to use extreme caution when picking the wild varieties. Know exactly which mushrooms you're picking – if you don't, they're not worth the poisoning risk. Spruce buds, rose-hips, and other herbage and flowers, fresh or dried, can be used in tasty and nutritious teas and tisanes, or as cooking ingredients. Some have medicinal properties so you'll want to carefully research your foraged foods to be sure of their effects. Wild honey and honeycomb are rare and golden treasures, but only for adventurous scavengers who don't suffer anaphylaxis.

Most local governments (provincial, state, and regional) offer informational web-sites on native foods, where they can be legally gathered, how to properly identify them, when they are in season, and what their ideal environs are. Here's a web-site I stumbled upon (Herbal Odyssey) which offers several books by Jim Meuninck on foraging and other related topics, and provides links to comprehensive information on a wide variety of edible plants. Once the research is done, you can mark your calendar with the various scavenging opportunities you've discovered for your area.

So, if you enjoy the wilderness, enjoy getting out into the back country for a hike, try foraging during your next outdoor adventure. Not every scavenging hunt will meet with success, but when you do find forage, you'll bring home some very exclusive culinary delights for your pantry.