Prize winner has been drawn on 08/27/10. Go to anotherkindofdrew.com  to see the results!

Hey y’all!

It’s been a while since our last post. But, the good friends of ours at anotherkindofdrew.com set atop Odom’s Idle Acres are extending a helping hand to those of you who may have wanted to start your very own food canning projects for your families.

Canning is the most effective way to capture the essence of summer of our gardens throughout the non-growing season most of us endure during the seasonal changes our regions go through. If you’re not a home gardener, or as Drew calls it a “Gonzo Gardener”, you can still take part in this old fashioned way of life that is gaining more and more popularity as the new day comes. Many of us have local farms within 50 miles of our homes where we can purchase every facet and more needed to have great food in our homes throughout the year. Just by simply making a purchase we are essentially supporting our local agriculture which is making a very strong come back. Not to mention the deals you WILL score there. Check out our most recent post regarding CSA/PYO Local Farms. Here, you will find links complete with Southeastern Virginia’s farm names, location information, & lists of what they carry and specialize in. You can also sign up for e-mail newsletters to get the freshest info. on the freshest of crops your area offers.

Anotherkindofdrew.com is having a special “Give-Away” sporting the Ball Bluebook-Guide to Preserving. Not only does this “ace in the hole” teach every facet of canning, it also focuses on preserving through and through. From freezing, pressure canning, hot water bath canning, & drying, this guide has it all. And anotherkindofdrew.com is giving it away for FREE! No strings, no catch, & no gimmicks. Just take a stop by Drew and Pan’s website, answer a couple questions, and voila!, you have a chance at your first canning experience with easy to read instructions and colorful illustrations and pictures. He’s even offering up your very first recipe featuring “Dilly Beans.”
Heck, these folks even have short and concise “webisodes” starring your very own Andrew Odom documenting just how easy and FUN this can be.
Take a look at how our family has adopted this family fun process.

Take a dig through all their categories ranging from photography production and media relations to gardening and homesteading.

If you have enjoyed this posting, please check out our other categories(although some are still in start-up mode) and take the time after reading this to register with the Scissors and Drumsticks site. It only takes a minute, and you will recieve automatic updates directly from this site.

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anotherkindofdrew.com

Earlier this year our good buddy Drew Odom over at anotherkindofdrew.com did a write up on a local CSA in his state which prompted me to do the same for Hampton Roads, VA.

I know most of us would rather make a quick jaunt to the local grocery to pick up garden and preserved/canned items, but if we just took a few extra minutes from our lives and drove a little further we would find a plethora of good eats and great people doing the work necessary to provide sustainable items to our communities. Most folks think when they stop by a local “farm stand” there should be this large 300 acre farm behind it filled with farm animals and such. What is a farm? Drew can tell ya. On the contrary, these family farmers generally operate on a much smaller scale of farm. Some use as little as 3-5 acres, and use it well. These farms have family members and hired help as well as volunteers who just plum enjoy working the soil and having conversations with whoever decides to stop in and make a supporting purchase.

Shopping by way of CSA is the most definite way of getting the freshest produce for your family at its peak freshness along with supporting your local agriculture and the farms which participate. Most charge an annual up-front payment from the consumer and in turn provide said consumer with a weekly basket/box with fresh, organic, locally grown produce. You don’t have to be a part of the CSA to make purchases however, you can still just pop on in, pick what you like, and pay for what you get. There are also many restaurants in your local area who participate in the CSA. Click the Buy Fresh Buy Local Hampton Roads hyper link below for the listing of CSA/PYO’s and participating restaurants serving locally grown products in the paragraph below.

Our family went on a local trip and found good deals, fresh food, and calloused hands. We first stopped at Cullipher Farm Market(CSA) in Pungo. Here we found anything from fresh corn and taters to apple butter and “Dilly Beans.” If you’ve never had Dilly Beans, you need to go pick up a jar. The misses behind the counter was as helpful as can be. She took her time and answered every question we threw in front of her. She even gave us a printed copy of the Buy Fresh Buy Local Flyer which I keep electronically in my favorites. This is definitely a great CSA to stop by. We scored 17.2lbs of grape tomatoes which we froze half and pickled the other, a 30lb. box of canning tomatoes for $10.00 each which we used for making tomato puree, stewed tomatoes, and salsa, Total cost=$20.00

Our next stop was a little deeper into Pungo at Bright’s Farm. This is one of those honor system stands in front of the Bright family home. We scored six straight-neck squash for $2.00, dozen ears of corn for $4.00, and four huge Vidalia onions for $1.00/each. Total cost=$10.00. We chopped and froze the squash and corn, and used the onions for immediate dishes and salsa.

We then ventured further south to Knott’s Island, NC. This may sound like a lot of traveling, but we don’t live too far from the Carolina line. I took the family across the Marsh Causeway and followed the roads to Martin Vineyard(PYO) where grapes, apples, and peaches are plentiful and fresh for the picking. Martin Vineyard is also a winery which produces not only grape, but peach wine made with the fruit of their labors straight from their orchards and vineyards. Stop in at one of eastern Va. Beach’s chain grocery stores or take a trip to capture the essence of this vineyard in a bottle. We scored 1 bushel of fresh picked peaches for $24.00. The price was a little high, but the quality was top-notch. We quartered and canned half the score, and made “Peach Butter” with the remainder. If you’ve had apple butter, then you will love peach butter.

Follow the hyper-links in this writing and start your own map to locally grown freshness and goodness.
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