Originally uploaded by Range Kleen

Home canning has come back to the mainstream. Many home chefs are canning gourmet versions of common foods, saving the bounty from a garden, and making gifts for friends and family.
If you are thinking of doing some canning for the first time, or scaling up your operation, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Take advantage of farmer’s markets and sales on in-season produce. Right now, berries are at their peak. Jam is an obvious choice, how about also making some cans of blueberry pie filling to keep ready for a quick weeknight dessert? Tomatoes are also in season. If you are making a batch of your family’s famous tomato sauce, make the batch a bit bigger and can some to enjoy later.

• Home canned goods make great gifts: housewarmings, hostess gifts, holidays, reunions, gift baskets and more. Make some signature flavors and keep them on hand, your friends and family will appreciate that your gift is practical, healthy and made with love. But, watch out! You may get more requests than you can handle!

• When making big batches, it can be difficult to keep an even temperature with your heating element weighted down on the stove. The heat builds up underneath and can also cause discoloration to the stovetop. We make a  Canning Kit http://www.rangekleen.com/index.php?cPath=16_35_384 with a taller, sturdier element and deeper drip pan to eliminate these problems.

Also, check out our canning recipes at www.rangekleen.com

http://www.rangekleen.com/recipes.php?pID=5&category=Canning&submit=View+Recipes)

Originally uploaded by Range Kleen

A little something that you might think about when you are on the go: you can use an insulated bottle to keep things hot as well as cool. Not just for drinks, we make wide-mouth food jars in a variety of materials and sizes. The expanded opening is perfect for hot food: stews, curry, stir-fry, pasta… dishes that are easy to cook at home in a single pot are perfect to eat on the go, and the insulation of a food jar will keep them hot and ready. Or, pack a cool dessert like parfait to finish your picnic. You’ll save money, reduce waste in landfills, and you can control the calories!

Ziploc bags are a very handy household tool, which can be used for plenty of things other than using to pack your sandwich in. Here are a few ways the Ziploc bag can makes things a little easier.

1. Tired of lighting candles just to have the wax drip on your table cloth. Use a Ziploc bag for removing gum or wax. Just simply fill the Ziploc bag with ice and rub the spot until the gum or wax has hardened. When the gum has hardened you will need to break the pieces up with a hard object and the wax will easily peel off with the assistance of a spatula.

2. When making meatloaf or cookies and the recipe calls for you to knead or mix with your hands, no need to get your hands all messy just cover your hands with Ziploc bags like a glove. This will make mixing ingredients less messy.

3. Create your own frosting dispenser. Cut the corner off of a Ziploc bag to be able to squeeze frosting out of.

4. Packing on the go. If you don’t have time to get bubble wrap for your sacred items just simply take a straw and slide it into a Ziploc bag sealing the surrounding area, blow air until the Ziploc bag fills up. Once you get enough air filled in the bag seal the rest of it. This creates cushion for special items you don’t want to get smashed.

5. Store your favorite homemade soups. Every recipe usually has tons of leftovers. So why not put your leftover soup in a sealed Ziploc bag, then place bag in freezer.

Originally uploaded by Sephari

Olive Oil Isn’t Just For Cooking!

There are many different uses for olive oil.
1. Open a door without the squeak, all you have to do is pour the olive oil on a cloth or paper towel swipe the hinges of the door.

2. Want a closer shave; try using olive oil instead of shaving cream. Not only does it allow you have a closer shave it fills in rough spots in the surface of your skin to make your skin look shiny. Always make sure to rinse after using.

3. Need a quick fix to remove yesterday’s makeup, just a few dabs and apply washcloth to rinse face.

4. Dry cuticles no more, put on the base of your nails and let the oil act as a moisturizer.

5. If you like to burn candles a lot try coating the candle holder with olive oil. When you burn the candle the wax will be easier to remove.

6. Do you have a favorite pair of jeans and the zipper constantly gets stuck, try using a very small amount by apply with a q-tip. That should do the trick.

7. Just like Grandmas…..of course last but not least Olive Oil is great for pre-seasoning your Range Kleen cast iron pieces.
The instructions are easy: coat the inside of your pan evenly with a paper towel, put in oven at 350 Degrees, bake for 1 hour, let piece cool. Repeat process three times total. This will help food not stick for at least 3 months.

Originally uploaded by antsypantsy

Do you ever use the weekend to catch up on sleep you’ve missed during the week? Although it is good to get plenty of rest you must do it on a regular basis. By waking up at different times during the weekend you are throwing your internal clock off which causes you to drag come Monday morning. You must stay consistent when going to sleep and when waking up or you will constantly be battling your body.

You are not the only one affected if you do not get enough sleep, it affects the people that are around you also. If you operate machinery it would be better for everyone’s safety if you take the time to sleep. When you’re tired your reaction time is off. Have you ever caught yourself day dreaming while you are driving, and when you realize that you went through a stop light you think to yourself “I wonder what color that stop light was”? That definitely is not a good thing.

The first step to a good nights sleep is to make sure your room is dark, cool, quiet and that your bedding, mattress or pillows aren’t the problem. If you are still having problems getting good nights sleep you may want to try one or all of the following:

1. Taking a walk. Exercise is great for wearing your body out but in a healthy way, it is best to exercise at least 3 hours before your scheduled bed time.

2. Avoid consuming food and drinks that contain caffeine. You should also avoid alcoholic beverages at least two hours before going to bed.

3. If you have a telephone or computer on in your bedroom be sure to turn the phone down and put your computer on the sleep mode that way it will still be on but not active until you activate it. To make things easier turn both electronics off.

4. Relax by reading. Reading a few chapters can make anyone sleepy, unless it’s a really good book then it might be best to try doing other things like enjoying a glass a milk while watching T.V. or movie.