Lehman’s Country Life

The flowerbeds are bright with colors that paint a pallet of brilliance for us to enjoy as we rush hither, thither and beyond.  Just for a moment, stop and absorb the beauty around and may it nourish your soul.

As the colors may revive our spirits, the vegetables that are planted will soon be ready to nourish our bodies.  Be sure to check out the web site at the University of Georgia to see the National Center for Home Food Preservation (www.ugs.edu/nchfp ).  They have many tested recipes and answers to commonly asked questions.  If you have a gauge style pressure canner, check with your local Extension Office to see if they will be doing any classes or testing calibration this season.  Canners need to be checked on a yearly bases to assure their accuracy as you are doing home canning.

How’s your food budget doing, during these difficult times?  Growing a few things might be a way to stretch your food dollars and encourage children to learn in the process.  Patio and container gardens can easily provide lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, and even zucchini or cucumbers if you desire.  These gardens are easy to grow and provide great learning opportunities for children.
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Spring has blessed us with some warm days, gentle rains and beautiful colors to enjoy. The days are slipping by and summer activities will be here before we know it. What are your plans for summer? Hopefully the calendar has been marked for a few days of vacation or family fun days. Having something to look forward to is important for adults and children. The planning, saving and anticipation is part of the journey, as is the feeling of fulfillment after the event is over.

As a parent, trying to keep a routine is important. It provides structure and helps children and adults be productive. Brainstorm with your family, what kind of chores can be done through the day or in the evening? Who wants to do what? What can we do when the work is done? The short term things that need daily and weekly attention are a great way to get the kids involved and moving. It is also a great way to improve family communication and relationships, being together doesn’t have to be all fun, working is a wonderful way to share your values and listen to your children.
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Spring is looking better than ever after the cold winter we had.  I’m so ready for the color, the warmth and the time to be outside.  We know that there may still be some windy, chilly days ahead and to avoid the ’spring fever’ grumbling, here are a few ideas to engage children in fun learning activities.

• Have a picnic outside if it’s nice, inside if it’s not.  Grab a couple of books, a blanket and enjoy a relaxing lunch on the floor.  Make it a color picnic if you wish, and incorporate all the foods, clothes, and walk looking for items of a specific color.
• Rice or beans are a great sensory items for children to play with in a small tote or container.  Place it on a tablecloth or sheet for easy clean up and allow them to pour, fill, dump and measure with different containers.
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This year it seems everyone has money on their minds. In order to make the most of yours, a spending plan will help you pay the bills and realize your goals. How do you start? Here’s some steps to take to begin. Realize that it’s a plan and if you don’t follow it the first time, keep trying till you succeed. In the end, you will be glad you did.

Here are some other tips to make managing money in your home a little easier:
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As we see the snowflakes fall and feel the winter weather take hold, I hope that you can take advantage of some family time together. Sometimes it’s hard after all the preparation for the holidays to get back into the swing of things for the new year. As we enter into the winter months sometimes it’s hard to have something to look forward to. Here are some ideas that might spark an interest and you may consider during your winter evenings at home.
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October is Work and Family month, and as a working mom some days are easier than others to get a nutritious meal on the table that works with everyone’s schedules. This is the time of year I love to pull out the crockpot and get a main dish going in the morning so  when I get home at night all I need to do is add a salad or side dish and we are ready to eat.

Soups and stews are a great way to lower fat in your diet, extend the protein and save money! Recipes can easily be altered to include more vegetables and less meat and not lose flavor. In addition, high fiber items like barley, couscous and dried lentils can be included to increase the nutritive value. Remember, to make your dish as healthy as possible, refrigerate the finished soup overnight in a shallow container (no more that 3 inches deep) which will cause the fat to rise to the surface and solidify, making it easy to remove the unwanted fat.
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Dear Readers,
It’s almost time for back to school! Whether you are relaxing together or working together, time spent with your children talking and listening, is essential when they are young so that as they grow up, they feel they can still come and talk to you about the everyday things (plus the really important decisions they must make). Make sure you take time to hear about their day, any challenges they’ve had and support to get their homework done. Work on building a good routine these first couple of weeks and the rest of the year will go much smoother.

One of the things I look forward to this time of year is working together in food preservation. Breaking beans, husking corn and picking tomatoes have been a regular task done by my mother, my aunt and myself. It’s a lot of work and I appreciate more each year the time and effort that many of you spend to enjoy your results when the snow is flying. I’ve received several calls on tomatoes, specifically on salsa recipes, and thought you might enjoy the following information I found from a co-worker in Huron County, Ohio, Deb Angell.

Tomatoes have long been recognized as a fairly good source of vitamin C and they contain a smidgen of beta carotene. But until recently, we didn’t realize the antioxidants that make them a favored commodity for fighting many diseases. Experts urge people to eat more tomatoes and tomato products, at least 5 servings per week. The key is lycopene and you get the best results from this anitioxidant when it is heated or cooked to release its best form.
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Summer is a great time for gatherings with family and friends. As you head for the picnic basket, grill and cooler, I would like to remind you of the following tips from USDA to keep your food safe and your family healthy to enjoy the summer activities.

• When planning your grocery list, put the perishable items last to buy at the grocery and quickly transport to home.
• Thaw meat and poultry in the refrigerator….NOT ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER!! If your meat is still partially frozen when you’re ready to leave, no problem. Just cook it a bit longer at the picnic. (To avoid charbroiling or burning items, place foil on the grill rack.)
• Cook everything thoroughly. Hamburger patties, pork chops, and ribs should be cooked until all the pink is gone, and poultry until there is no red in the joints. Use a meat thermometer to be sure. When in doubt, cook it a bit longer.
• Take what you know about kitchen cleanliness out to the grill. If there’s no water available, take your own or use wet wipes to thoroughly clean your hands before working with food. Keep bacteria on raw meat and poultry from spreading. Wash your hands again after working with raw meat or poultry and before handling other food.
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By the end of this month, many gardens are coming right along. Before you

Black Granny Ware Canner

know it, plants will share the bounty of the summer and you’ll be knee-deep in zucchini or green beans. What do you plan to do with the extra that you can’t eat or enjoy at the moment? Preserve your extra produce for use in the fall and winter! Whether you freeze, can or dry your food depends upon the space and equipment you have available and what your personal preferences happen to be. This article will focus on the safety issues and canning basics.
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It’s been a long winter and it’s so exciting to see the trees begin to bud and the flowers pop through the earth. When the girls were younger we used to put up “things to look for in spring” like birds, bugs, flowers and other signs that yes, it’s truly spring. It’s also time to begin planning for what the garden will hold, how much I need to plant to get the yield I might need for my family and friends.

Home food preservation is a strong practice in our community and valued as a tradition in many families. The planning, planting, tending, harvesting and preserving have come to mean many hours of family time together, working and enjoying the fruits of the yield. In the 2002 edition of the Ball Blue Book, there is a wonderful chart to help guide the planning process. It details the number of plants to purchase or plant for what yield. Another chart below  indicates the number of vegetables needed for a family of four, served how many times a week and then a final number of quarts that need to be preserved to achieve this goal. On the Ball web site (freshpreserving.com) under preserving guides they have similar planning charts to help us plan in greater detail the size and scope of our spring planting.
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