Produce Pricing

This is the one time of year I feel like a 1 on a scale of 0 to 10 of the Domestic Diva ratings . . . usually it's a 0. Anyway, it's canning season and I love it. Right now, there is tons of corn and tomatoes and whatever else in your area, and it's fresh, tasty and sometimes cheap! My sister-in-law asked about tomatoes at a farmer's market one year when they were sparse & got a deal on the less than perfect tomatoes - apparently, she thought they were pretty fabulous AND they were discounted. My friend who owns a farm offers a discount when you preorder a certain number of ears of corn for freezing. We have friends with an overabundance of some things and some who had poor crops of some of their favorites, so we tend to share with them, too.

If you're uncertain about canning and/or freezing, take a leap and ask. My farmer friend has her favorite storage recipes (and the easy ones) on her web site, and the people who grow the food are happy to help you figure out how to prepare and preserve it. The companies that sell pectin for jams are very interested in serving you and have support lines (seriously) for your questions. If you'd rather not deal with a live person, there's always the internet. I'll be looking online for some interesting new options.

Canning jars aren't too expensive and are available at most grocery stores. You can sometimes save a little bit by getting them at garage sales and charity sales - I always look for them.

As you're doing this, don't worry about having too much. I give them as thank you gifts to neighbors who help out, as a hostess gift when we are invited to someone's house, etc. Another of my sisters-in-law will almost cry if I buy her a gift. Seriously, all she wants is jam. This year, we gave her 4 jars and didn't buy anything - she thought it was the best birthday present ever . . . They make great teacher gifts (do they really need another not pad or apple-themed thing anyway?) and jam can make cheap ice cream taste better than a high end ice cream shop . . . think about the possibilities this month, which tends to have fewer kids' activities and availability of ingredients!