#marisa mcclellan

“Waltz” with Marisa McClellan

Marisa McClellan, cookbook author and the writer behind the popular canning blog Food in Jars, joins Scott (to whom she is married) to discuss “Waltz” (DS9S6E11). Gul Dukat and Sisko are stranded on a remote planet. They eat some soup. They fiddle with a beacon. They argue a lot (sometimes with hallucinations). Dukat spirals completely into madness. A light hearted romp of an episode that will…

Are You As Passionate for Pumpkin As I Am?

Posted by Judy Moon

This is the time of year when it’s all about pumpkin. Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin latte, Great Pumpkin Smoothie *link to blog post, pumpkin body scrubs, pumpkin pie – you get the picture. Don’t get me wrong, this girl loves her pumpkin, as my mantle shows, but sometimes I prefer it in a more savory way.

I was super excited to find this recipe a while ago on the Food in Jarswe…

You guys know how I'm all enamored of DIY and bartering with your neighbors and making your neighborhood your actual community? I know, I'm so on trend right now! The latest cookbook to cater to our 21st century homesteading obsessions is Marisa McClellan's Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round, and I want it SO BAD.

Bay Area Bites has an interview with McClellan that features her recipes for apricot jam and pickled okra, as well as dates when she'll be signing books and holding canning classes in the Bay Area. She sounds appealingly pragmatic, and I really wish I could attend one of these events. Maybe you can? I'm totally making refrigerator pickles this weekend. They don't sound any more complicated that cold-brewed coffee, which I drink constantly now that it's warm in the suburbs. And with all the extra storage room (closets! garages! attics!) there's no reason not to put up a bunch of delicious summer produce for savoring during the leaner months. Not that it's ever lean in California, but we do have growing seasons.

What do you think? Are you creating your own Little Apartment on the Prairie? Or is all this for us deluded, un(der)employed suckers? Who even has the time to make jam out of everything except people who don't have jobs? I have some time for it, but that's because the only other thing I do is work, and I don't have kids or fun to take up my time. Just a new kitchen project every weekend. And canning seems practical! Think of all the homespun sack-garments I'll be able to trade for my strawberry jam and spicy bread-and-butter pickles!

here is my favorite shot from the august issue of philadelphia magazine w/ marisa mcclellan of food in jars.  her canning creations are insane.  i am still drooling over the strawberry vanilla jam she gave me (devoured in just a few days).  interested in taking a canning class with food in jars?  so am i.