Wisdom From Grandma

I received a lot of Grandma’s gadgets over the years, including a meat grinder. It looked a little scary, so I tucked it back in the corner of the pantry and pretended I didn’t have it. However, I’ve discovered that grinding your own meats and grains is a great way to get fresher, healthier and, often, cheaper food. Now, I don’t have a grain mill yet and I don’t use my scary grinder from Grandma very often. (In fact, I think I only used it the one time, when I ground up ham for deviled ham sandwiches. They were good, but it wasn’t fun to do.)

What I have been doing, though, is keeping an eye out for great sales on organic meat. Then, I pick up that bargain roast and ask the butcher to grind it up for me. Instead of getting a bunch of nasty scraps noone in their right mind would eat until they are ground up, I get pure ground beef.

I am looking for a good sale on a grain mill, but, from what I’ve been reading, the key is to get a mill with a lot of steel and very little plastic so that it lasts for centuries. (Or at least longer than a week!) From everything I’ve heard and all the reviews I’ve looked at, there is one clear winner in the grain mill department – the Country Living Grain Mill. It also is pretty pricey. The second favorite seems to be the Lehman’s Best Grain Mill, which is about half the price. I think I’ll get the Lehman’s model for my use.

When Grandma put up fruit and vegetables for the winter months, canning jars and other canning supplies were easy to find. All the local general stores carried products to help preserve all that garden produce. Now, it can be a bit more challenging to find the supplies you need to can your summer harvest. I’ve put together this shopping list of favorite canning supplies so you can easily find what you need.

Ball Wide-Mouth Mason Canning Jar 1 Qt., Case of 12 – Ball is a classic. I have many heirloom jars that Ball made back in the late 1800′s.
– These jars are perfect for canning tomatoes.
Ball Home Canning Kit-This kit includes everything you need to start canning except the veggies
Ball Regular Dome Canning Jar Lid, Box of 12 – You can use jars over and over, but you’ll need to use new lids each time.
Ball Fruit Jell Liquid Pectin – Most jelly recipes call for pectin.
Ball® Complete Book of Home Preservation 400 delicious and creative recipes for today – This book is a great reference for people who want to can a wide variety of fruits and veggies.