Hank and I drove to Charlottesville, Virginia, this weekend to get out of the DC area.  I was born in Charlottesville so it's always nice to go back.  We first drove up to the apple orchard on top of Carter Mountain (on the same road to Monticello).  The view is spectacular, and the apples aren't bad either. We brought home some Galas and a bag of early Fujis.  Yum.  I also picked up a bottle of honey from the Golden Angels Apiary.  It's Thistle Honey and has such a wonderful distinct flavor.  I've been trying to reach someone at their home to see if I might buy a bucket full for a better price than the $18.00 I paid for the 16 oz. jar.  But I had to try it. Bulk honey runs a lot cheaper at anywhere from $3.50 up per pound.  I guess the price also depends on how long you've been dealing with your honey man, as I call him :)

I just wanted to remind you all that it's apple time and there are many lovely places to go for pick-your-own.  Whatever state you live in, you can Google Pick Your Own Virginia, or West Virginia, or whatever state. You should find a good selection of dedicated farmers and growers happy to sell you fresh apples, cider, and whatever else is available from their farm.

I have a delicious recipe for a caramel chocolate dip that goes well with nice crisp tart apples.  Can't wait to break it out again.  You can use whatever amounts you like, but I start with the caramel chews - a bag full. Unwrap the plastic and melt them in a double boiler with some milk or cream, enough to make it smooth and creamy. You can also microwave but cover it with cellophane and only go a couple minutes at a time. Add chocolate chips and more cream as needed until you get the consistency you like.  Try dipping a piece of apple.  If it doesn't cover quickly and smoothly, add more milk or cream.  Last of all you add chopped pecans and, oh my goodness, you will think you are in hog heaven, because once you taste it, you will go hog wild!!! The dip can be put in a jar or plastic container and refrigerated for a very long time.  Each time you heat it up, you will want to add a little more milk to make it smooth.

I also put up 21 jars of zucchini relish which I have longed to do for the last year.  I ran out last summer and my chicken salad is not the same without it.  If you are interested, let me know and I will post the recipe.  There are also some good recipes online.

Have a great week!  It's good to be back after not writing for some time.  Check out your local farmers market for some lovely produce.

More to come.

Unsafe Medicines

I attended a conference in Washington, D.C., the end of October presented by Partnership for Safe Medicines which was an informative session on the risks of purchasing medicines online.  In my blog, I've talked a lot about the beauty of online buying for preparedness, but I would never advise buying your medicines online without consulting the proper authorities to let you know if your medicines are coming from a reliable source.

I have a family member who, because of the extremely high cost of one particular

Ordering In Bulk

If you find an item that you know others may want/need, it pays to research online and find a distributor or manufacturer who will sell to you in bulk at a better price. One example is when I needed a wheat grinder. I did my research and ended up with a distributor in Australia (love the internet!)  He said he would cut my price by at least $60.00 for each grinder with an order of 10.  I think we actually ended up with even a better cut when we ordered 13 grinders in the first order and then placed a second order for the same price for 4 more grinders.  The distributor listed me as a distributor and gave me a huge discount on orders for the rest of the year.  I do this for fun, not for profit, so any discount passed on to me was passed on to my friends.

Tomatoes!

I had just about given up on canning tomatoes this year until my good friend, Donna, mentioned we should try to find some.  So we went online and found a great farm out toward Winchester, Virginia, (about an hour West of where we live) that had a few bushels left.  I love farm markets that are right on the farm - the ones that have a small store where you can buy fresh ice cream with the fruit of the season,  milk and vegetables, and other specialties!  Also, it may be a good place to look for small quantities of honey - like the little squeeze bears!

There's More To My Pantry Than Food: What's In Your First Aid Kit?

On several occasions over the last year I have been prompted to refresh my first aid kit and to add a few items that I know would make a difference in taking care of injuries and wounds.  I took care of my Mom for 8 years and I learned a lot about wound care and about some remarkable products for healing.  I also learned that I don't have to go to the ER every time I cut myself.  Some of my dear friends will laugh as they remember when I just about cut my thumb off at Girls Camp while using my machete and trying to show off in front of the girls with my culinary skills!

White Food Storage Pails (or buckets)

There was a time when I put all of my long-term storage in No. 10 cans, and I still use them when I have time to go to the cannery.  I also like the metal bags because the sealer machine is portable and I can set it up on my kitchen table.  But if I'm actively using a product that I have stored, like wheat or flour or whatever it is that you have on your shelf and use a lot, I go for the big white plastic pails that will take the "Gamma Seal" lid.  You can look up Gamma Seal online and you'll see what they look like. Not all pails will take the Gamma Seal so make sure you check out what you purchase first.  It gets expensive purchasing cans and bags that you will just turn around and open up within a month or two, so if you have a product you like and use a lot, think about the pails or buckets.  The reason I like the Gamma Seal is that it gives you a twist-off lid that opens and closes very easily.  I hate having to pry off a sealed lid with my fingers.  I have a tool I now use for lid removal, but that's even hard sometimes.  You can get a lid remover from a hardware store, a paint store, or online.

You can purchase 4.5, 5 and 6-gallon buckets from most preparedness stores or companies.  I think Wheat Montana, Emergency Essentials (Utah), Montana Wheat (not the same as Wheat Montana), maybe Dutch Valley in Pennsylvania, and other stores.  (Let me know if you have a favorite store I can add to my list.)  The older I get, the more I select the smaller buckets. You can also look online these days and purchase buckets on Ebay or direct from the factory.  If you need a bucket in a hurry, go to your local pastry shop or your grocery store where they have a bakery.  If you chose this route, you'll most likely have to clean your bucket out.  I would not get buckets that were used for icing or oily products.  Go for the ones with jellies or fruits and give them a good cleaning - even set them out in the sunshine for a bit.  I sometimes wash it down with a little baking soda to help remove odor.  Remember that whatever scent is in the bucket when you store your goods will permeate through the food item over time.  Trust me, you won't like it.

If you are not sure if your bucket is food safe, look on the bottom and get the company name and the number on the bucket.  Call the company or check online.  I had some small buckets that I checked out today online.  I simply wrote the question, "Is the ______ bucket food safe.  Right away, I found three sites that told me they were not food safe containers and quoted their reliable sources.  You never want to store your food in containers that are not designated food safe. It's not about the seal or bugs getting in, it's about what the plastic contains that might be harmful if it leaches into your stored food. It is possible to purchase plastic liners made especially for putting inside buckets for dry goods.  That is an alternative or even an added protection to help keep rodents and bugs out of your stored foods.

This is why I buy my honey straight from the beekeeper!

http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2011-09-07/honey-laundering

You should listen to the link above on honey-laundering.

10 years ago I went in search for bulk honey for a group order.  I found a business that carried my state brand and thought it would be a great source for local honey.  I had a whole group of my friends with me and we swarmed in to see what we could buy.  We found several items to take home to sample before