To Can or Not to Can? You May Have Few Questions.

When I was younger I remember canning summer harvests with my grandmother.  I remember tons of tomatoes, pecks of peaches, spicy salsa, gallons of green beans... You get it. A lot of produce went into beautiful Mason Jars and then we got to chow down on it all year long.

Returning from the trip down memory lane. I don't really remember recipes or cautionary tales of Clostridium Botulinum more lovingly known as BOTULISM! Oh yeah! The big B! But seriously botulism is terrible and has horrendous side effects and isn't a hard thing to can if you don't follow tested recipes, instructions, and safety guides to the letter. So enter "The National Center for Home Food Preservation!!! This nifty site allows you to look up the stringent safety guidelines for canning at a very basic level. I purchased my first canning book "The Ball Blue Book Guide to Home Food Preserving" I feel like it's a solid foundational canning book with many tested and confirmed recipes.

Hi ya'll

Welcome to our Unexpected Homestead!!!  This is going to be a blog/record of our triumphs and failures as brand new homesteaders. I grew up riding horses, hunting, covered in dirt, and working on our farm in Tennessee. We raised our own beef, pork, chickens, and a huge garden; however it's been a while. It's the kind of life some people were born to live and even though it's been quite some time since I've lived this way it never left my system.My husband was raised in Tampa, Florida and has always wanted to farm and be self sufficient and now that we have found each other we are taking the initiative together. Come join us on our Unexpected Homestead Adventure!