This weekend was an exercise in extremes for me. I spent all of Saturday engaged in the intensity of teaching. This activity took place in the classroom at the US Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C., where I set up for two classes (wrangling 25 pounds of cooked beets and 50 pounds of raw carrots), taught for four hours, and then cleaned and packed up again.
Sunday, in comparison, was blessedly slow. We slept late, made pancakes, visited Scott’s mom, and took ourselves out for dinner. I also snuck away for an hour to take a walk with a dear friend. It was good.
I didn’t get a links and winners post up last night because somehow, I didn’t manage to collect any links last week (it’s rare, but does occasionally happen). So instead, I thought I’d drop in with a few updates and those Anolon Vesta braiser winners this morning. Here are the updates, in convenient list form.
- I’m teaching a class in Carlisle, PA Tuesday evening. If you’re out that way, it’s still not too late to register. The class is from 6:30 – 8:30 pm and costs $15. Contact Deb Yorlets at 717-574-2217 to sign up.
- There is still space in my Omega Institute (in Rhinebeck, NY) workshop at the end of the month. It’s August 28-30 and will be an immersive weekend of food preservation. If you want to join me, you can find all the details here.
- My friend Joy and I launched a new podcast last week. Called Local Mouthful, it’s a half hour show devoted to food in Philadelphia and beyond. In the first episode, we talked about turkey burgers, Joy’s Dry July, and homemade pizza. You can listen here and subscribe here.
- I’m going to be in Spokane August 20-23, hanging out with my husband as he attends Sasquan. I was thinking about trying to organize a canning meet-up while I’m in town. If you live in the Spokane region and would be interested in such a thing, leave a comment!
The winners of the Anolon Vesta 5-Quart Cast Iron Braiser are #79/Joy and #694/Alyson. Congratulations, ladies! To all of you who didn’t win, I will have another giveaway up later today, so stay tuned for that.
The drawer in the top photo is great! Did it belong to a Farmer’s Market vendor?
I took that picture last summer at a farmers market in Brunswick, Maine! I loved the blueberries and coveted the drawer.
You’re going to be in Spokane?! I’m so excited! I don’t care if we necessarily can, but I’d love to see you/get coffee or tea/whatever. Email me or I’ll track you down on IG and swap numbers…
Hi, what will you class be on in Carlisle? Anything specific? Thanks
Sorry just saw on your events page, Jam.
I live very close to Spokane. All the women in my family love your books! Would love a chance to meet you!
I like to visit Spokane and esp green bluff for peaches and early apples at this time of year.I also like to can and am enjoying your books. I made the figs in whiskey recently and am thinking of making the paprika orange tomato jam, pickled pumpkin and plums with star anise. Can you use juice from a fresh squeezed lemon or does it have to be bottled lemon juice to be safe?
Whether you can use fresh or bottled lemon juice depends on the recipe. If you are using the lemon juice to balance the flavor, you can use fresh squeezed. If you’re using it to increase the acid content of the recipe, you need to use bottled. In the case of the plum star anise jam, it’s fine to use fresh because the plums already contain enough acid to be safe for canning on their own. However, when you make the orange tomato jam, you need to use bottled because tomatoes need an extra boost of consistent acid for the recipe to be safe for canning in a boiling water bath.