I’m a little bit embarrassed to admit this, but I’ve had two copies of this book in a pile on my desk for nearly a year and a half. I’m not sure what kept me from looking at it more closely, but those two copies got shuffled to the very bottom of a large stack and there they stayed. It wasn’t until Scott and I decided to do a bit of cleaning out recently that I finally sat down and took a look at The Fresh Girl’s Guide to Easy Canning and Preserving
Once I sat down with it, I was annoyed. With myself. I’d had this terrific book sitting around my apartment since September 2010 and hadn’t made anything from it or shared it with you guys.
The primary reason I’m so delighted to have this book in my canning library is for its pressure canning section. There are a number of books out there that will help you invent delicious jams, jellies, pickles, chutneys and other high acid preserves. These are useful books and I reference a great number of them regularly. However, the thing so many canning books seem to leave out is an in-depth section on pressure canning.
This book is different. It includes a substantial pressure canning section. You’ll find recipes for things like roasted tomato sauce, chicken and corn stew, borscht, minestrone and even ropa vieja. If you want to start filling your pantry with pressure canned, shelf stable soups, stews and sauces, this is a book you should check out.
It also comes with a DVD, should you be the type who learns best by watching. I’ve not viewed it myself, but I’m sure it might be helpful to some.
At the beginning of this post, I mentioned that I had two copies of this book. That’s because I was sent one to keep and one to give away to a Food in Jars reader. So let’s do that. Here’s what to do for a chance to win.
- To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post and share your favorite wintertime meal. Whether you cook breakfast for dinner, pull homemade soup from the freezer or have the wherewithal to make a meat sauce from scratch on a Wednesday, I want to hear about it.
- Comments will close at 11:59 pm eastern time on Friday, February 3, 2012. Winner will be chosen at random (using random.org) and will be posted to the blog on Saturday, February 4, 2012.
- Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents.
- One entry/comment per person, please.
Disclosure: As stated before, I was sent two copies of this book, one to review and one to give away. All opinions remain my own.
 |
![[Your name]'s gallery on Punk Domestics](http://www.punkdomestics.com/sites/default/files/badges/GalleryBadge200.gif)
I love making beef stew in the winter. TheKitchn has a wonderful beef, mushroom and barley stew that is *delicious* and easy to make. I added carrots and parsnips the last time I made it and it was perfect.
I’m going crazy for potato-leek soup this year (made with homemade veggie stock, of course). It’s so easy, I don’t know why I didn’t start making my own years ago!
Lately I have been all about Pasta E Fagoli!
We LOVE soup of any kind in this house–minestrone, steak soup, chicken noodle, beef stew, chili…in the winter, I love to mix some of the veggies that we picked fresh in the summer. Helps us get through until we can have our garden again!
My favorite winter meal is most deifinitely my husband’s chili. So simple just canned beans, our homegrown & canned tomatoes, our homegrown & pickled jalepenos, garlic, chili powder, and the venison hubby got hunting. I’ve been known to eat it morning, noon, and night until the whole pot is gone.
Soup! Hands down. When it gets cold I love to make soup. Recently I have been making tomato soup and trying to find just the right recipe. Hoping to put tomatos this summer for soup.
All kinds of soup and lasagna. This sounds like a great book!
I’m a vegetarian chili girl. I love soups and chilis loaded with veggies and as many home preserved goodies as I can squeeze in!
roasted root vegetable gratin!
Penne with chicken sausage and a light tomato cream sauce. We found the recipe a few years ago (under the title “Lazy Creamy Penne”) in a reader recipe contest at The Kitchn. Definitely a favorite easy weeknight winter meal!
Really enjoying Kale in my winter soups. New cooking ideas are always welcome! Thanks for all you share!
I really need a great book like this.. I hope I win…thanks
the book looks lovely as does my favorite winter meal which is pot roast and I use the barefoot contessa’s recipe. Really great.
Beef stew with mashed potatoes.
I like to make a classic boeuf bourginone, throw in a whole bottle of good red wine and let it simmer until the meat is falling apart.
Marisa, nothing would make me happier than to wow everyone with my most clever and enjoyed-by-everyone winter recipe…something plucked off my pantry shelf and warmed with love, releasing such an unforgettable aroma that all nine of our kids come running in with their bowls at the ready.
Sadly, my growing, canning and overall cooking skills are just now being discovered as I hit 45. Poor kids. But better late than never, and I am able to make one heck of a glorious orange habanero marmalade now, so I’m on the right track.
I’m excitedly waiting to see if I’m chosen for this neat book you’ve reviewed, but if I’m not, I will surely go pick one up for myself. I can use all the help I can get! <3
Shannon
On a cold winter snowy day a feast of chicken pot pie is one of our house favs.
I admit, my favorite cold weather meal is tomato soup and grilled cheese
[...] winner is commenter #163, Jason Sandeman. He’s also known as the Well Done Chef and he said, “My favorite by far [...]