Preserving Mother Nature's Bounty

The Art of Canning and Preserving Local

Santa Barbara's semi-tropical climate and numerous micro-climates provides the perfect

temperature for bountiful produce, fruit and vegetables of an amazing variety! 

And although Mother Nature continues to provideall year around, we have all become

more interested in having our foods remain in a less processed state.

The best way to insure that our food isn't processed with unpronouncable ingredients,

and to leave a smaller carbon footprint is by becoming a Locavore (one who consumes

 local foods as much as possible).

We have numerous fruit trees and quite a large vegetable garden.  And then there

are our amazing Farmers' Markets...7 days a week! We can only

consume a limited amount of this goodness, so I have rediscovered the Art of

Putting Up our bounty. For the last three summers I have been making jams,

vegetable sauces, canning peaches and apricots and even making liqeuers

with our fruits. 

I saw an article in our local Newspress about Cindy Shipp who has taken the

Art of  Canning and Preserving to a higher level.  Mentioned was a demonstration

Cindy was giving at the Whole Foods Store. Cindy's demo was incredibly

well attended.  Are we all Martha Stewart wannabees? 

a peek into Cindy's pantry

Cindy's Blog:  SBCanning.com has several thousand followers from all over

the country! It got so big that she took her blog to facebook!  The tips and recipes

that are shared are worth checking.  Hers is one of the most comprehensive Blogs

I have ever seen!  Oh did I mention that Cindy's day job is as an IT manager!!! 

cranberry pear lemon jam made in Cindy's kitchen

 I am one of the fortunate 8 ladies who were invited to attend

a canning class in Cindy's kitchen!  If you think shopping for shoes is fun...

you have no idea how fun an afternoon in Cindy's kitchen can be!

cranberry Chutney

For Cindy's Blog SBCanning.com:  click here

To see Cindy's class schedule at Fairview Gardens click here