Planning for the holidays
By Staff
Suzanne Langcuster
Franklin County Times
It won't be long before we will be planning for the holidays.
I'll bet many of you have already started planning what you will serve and how you can conserve time.
When you plan ahead it takes some of that pressure away from you so you will be more fit to enjoy your family and friends.
The army has a great saying; "Proper planning prevents poor performance."
One of the best things you can do ahead is to can or freeze food. If you haven't done this before, you can't believe how much it can help.
Most families have members who enjoy pickles, relishes, or tasty homemade jams and jellies.
You can also can pie fillings to help you make a quick desert. Some cakes and pies are very easy to freeze, which makes it very convenient for you.
When you have your families home for the holidays, that is the time to bring out your homemade jams and jellies for breakfast meals or a quick snack.
Our grandchildren love dill pickles for in between meal eating. I have already put up dill pickles for them.
They always notice them when they walk in the kitchen.
If you haven't canned jellies or jams before you might want to use Sure-Jell. It clearly tells you how to prepare your jars and caps. If you have a dishwasher they are great for sterilizing your jars.
Sure-Jell can be found in the grocery store near the canning items. I hope you will try some of the canned foods on our recipe page this week.
Check through the recipes you would like to make and make a list of the ingredients you will need before you head to the grocery.
If you are making jellies and jams you will want to stock up on sugar.
If you are like me, I have to make more than one trip almost always forgetting the garlic for our pickles.
Many of the jar lids now are very colorful. When you get your beautiful contents in the jars it makes a pretty sight.
It also makes us grateful for fruit to can, cucumbers for pickles, and recipes that have already been tried and proven to help you have a taste of summer all year long.
Suzanne Langcuster is a weekly food columnist for The Franklin County Times.
