The Importance of Buying Safe Healthy Food

From our House

There are increasing concerns about the quality of our food supply that is available in the local grocery stores.  Is Organically grown food better than the standard grocery store offering?  We have been growing more and more of our own food and it is all organic, in that we do not spray or fertilize with toxic sprays or supplements.  I am careful about which soil additives I use.  If I can find manures that come from animals fed non-GMO grains I choose those first otherwise I have my own compost piles that are composed of kitchen leftovers and yard and garden leftovers.  There are no meat products in my compost piles.
The following link is from the Food Revolution Network.  These guys really know what is going on with our food supplies and are fighting tooth and toenail for better quality control and truthful labeling.  This is a good article on Organic Foods.

http://www.foodrevolution.org/blog/is-organic-better/

Follow up to Septembers Post on Fall Gardening

It has been a great fall here in the Ozarks, with plenty of sunshine as well as adequate rainfall.  Lettuce, spinach, onions, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower are growing well along with mustard and turnip greens.

 Roses are still blooming although not as much as  earlier and marigolds are still as pretty as ever.  We are still getting a few ripe tomatoes and my sister says  that she has made some great green tomato salsa and pickles.  Can't wait to try them.
Pat is making pear butter today with pears from a neighbors tree.  This is the second batch and really worth the work.  I suspect some homemade biscuits will show off the pear butter as well as anything I could say.  Here's hoping your fall is great and as pretty as ours.


PEAR BUTTER RECIPE
Ingredients:

Pears (40 medium-sized or 50 small)
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Preparation:

1. Peel, core and chop pears. Then, puree in a blender.
2. Put the pear puree, sugar and spices into a crock pot (4 quarts or larger), and set on high.
3. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half.
To Can: Ladle the pear butter into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/2-inch of headspace. Then, run a spatula or bubble remover tool around the inside edge of the jar to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims clean; top with a boiled lid; secure the band, and process in a boiling water bath – 20 minutes for pints, 25 minutes for quarts. Place the jars on a towel, and allow them to cool overnight. Then, test the jars for a good seal in the morning (press down on the lid; and if the lid doesn't pop back, the jar is sealed). Refrigerate any jars that did not seal.

To Freeze: Ladle the pear butter into clean, freezer jars, leaving 1/2-inch of headpace in pint jars and 1-inch of headspace in quart jars. Seal the jars, and allow to cool completely before freezing.

Yield: 4 pints or 2 quarts