Kitchen Jam

I got my first seed catalog in the mail this week – and two days later, my first Food Preservation Workshop notice of the season from Kathleen Quinn-Jacobs at IthaCan.

IthaCan is a is a web-based social network through which home food preservers in Tompkins County organize food preserving events and share information. I’m in Syracuse, NY – not Ithaca – but the group is only about an hour down Rt. 81 from me…45 minutes if I can go the back way and the weather doesn’t take a nasty February turn.

IthaCan has an online forum, members participated in last year’s Canning Across America Canvolution, and the group is kicking 2010 off with a Feb. 24th Home Preserving Workshop. The workshop runs from 6 ‐ 9 p.m. at the Varna Community Center, 943 Dryden Rd (Rte 366) in Varna, NY. Registration is $5 at the door, or interested central New York preservers can join the IthaCan community and register online.

On workshop night, each participant will be able to work on skill-building in two areas (canning, cellering, drying or fermentation.) Registration will help the organizers plan, so if you intend to walk in on workshop night, just give the group a heads-up. A little planning always makes canning (and drying, cellaring and fermentation) go more smoothly!

First seed catalogs, now a canning workshop. I don’t care if there’s six inches of snow on the ground – spring is on the way to central NY! I’m so excited about this workshop that I shared it at Kristen’s Food Renegade blog in her Feb. 12th Fight Back Friday blog carnival. I’ve read the Food Renegade for a few weeks, but this is the first time I’ve been able to share a post in the carnival. Make sure to visit some of the other FBF carnival posts – I’ve already made a list of some of the entries I need to investigate (Apple Cauliflower Soup and Bacon-Egg Muffins both sound terrific!)

Speaking of spring – I know it’s been awhile between posts. I haven’t stopped kitchen improve during my posting hiatus, but I have been busy with some other projects – researching my February canning entry for the Tigress’s Can Jam, among other things. This month’s CanJam theme is carrots, which is a real challenge for me. And no, it won’t be marmalade. I admit it – after four micro-batches of roasted lemon marmalade, I’m a little marmaladed out.

I’ve been tied up with some work projects – writing almost non-stop. And I started copywriting/editing for a new venture – I’m the Syracuse Dog Training columnist at the online local edition of Examiner.com. It always takes more time to get a new page up and running than anyone plans (including me), but I’m in a groove now and I’ll be back to multi-tasking and multi-posting this week. Meanwhile, if you’re inclined to check out central New York dog events and dog training tips, please click early and click often. Full disclosure: my Examiner gig is how I make the cash to cover my hosting account and in turn, Kitchen Jam.

But back to my original jam – if you want to learn how to can, cellar, dry or ferment your 2010 harvest, you’ll want to put IthaCan’s Food Preserving Workshop on your calendar for Feb. 24th. Jam on!