To save is to serve

It's canning week over as a Latte' with Ott, A. I'm all in! I'll try to stick to canning posts all week. So, today, since I don't yet know how she's organized the week and if there are themes, etc... I'm just sharing this book.

Here's a good buy, although it was was really free. I found this little gem while paper recycling this week. It's a copy of the Ball Blue Book. If you're a canner or from a family of canners, you know the Ball blue book.

This particular one is circa 1943. Maybe you don't know this particular one. It was 10 cents then. I think they are just $6-8 now.

It has some lovely photos. This is so me in my canning pantry!


There are several little handwritten recipes from friends. Here is Flora Tinius' pepper relish which was received October 19, 1946.

There are some interesting recipes. Should you need to preserve your frog legs and can't find a recipe, here you are:

There are all these little handwritten notes. How many quarts the different sizes of crates made. She also recorded that in 1944 she put away 270 quarts. The next year is was only 250 quarts.


My favorite page is the back page, which reads:

To Save is to serve
Home-makers can food because it is pleasant, convenient, economical, and healthful to have a well stocked pantry in time of peace. In time of war, home canning must be done so that all may be well nourished. All surplus fruit, vegetables and meats must be saved by canning for every jar of home canned food will be needed by you, your children, your neighbors, and your nation. Today the Stars and Stripes fly over a land of freedom. We can, we will, keep it so, if we remember that the wages of waste are high and that saving on the Home Front bring victory on the Battle Front.

Apparently, our Nation is depending on us. Come on homemakers lets get canning!

Slightly off topic... Look at what we picked this week. It from the same vine as this mystery vegetable... which, I did say at the time tasted like a pumpkin. Could it be that my neighbors are growing pumpkins and we are getting a funky cross pollination?

Unfortunately, Our real pumpkin vines don't seem like they are doing well and this vine was damaged during some tilling this weekend in preparation for the fall seeds. This might be our only 'pumpkin' from the garden this year.