The Canning Kitchen Cookbook's Strawberry Rhubarb Jam and Giveaway! (Giveaway Closed)

When I was a kid, my Mom could do anything.

She could outsew Sergio Valente's top seamstress, jimmy an electrical situation faster than MacGyver could round up the ball point pen and paper clip needed for the job, and grow roses fit to make the Queen herself shed a royal tear.

But the kitchen? This is where Mom truly excelled. My memory bank is filled with memories of her in the kitchen. Not only do these nostalgic recollections consist of her cooking and baking, but most are of her standing at the counter for hours, canning everything from jam to spaghetti sauce while listening to Hall and Oates or REO Speedwagon.

From the time I can remember, Mom (and Grandma) would harvest the bounty of her garden so we could enjoy the flavours of summer long into the cold, miserable winters. She'd take several trips down into the cobweb-infested, dragon-breathing, ghost haunting basement and lug countless boxes of dusty canning jars back up the wooden, creaky stairs. Disassembling them one by one, she'd inspect as she went before plunging them into hot, soapy water. She'd scrub the jars clean and sterilize them in boiling water in a stockpot that was big as the stove itself. This process alone took a million years. As a kid, I lost interest pretty fast.

We were never on hand to help her until she had all the fruits prepared for their vacuumed-sealed holiday. Tomatoes mercilessly stained her shirt; berries did the same to her hard working fingers. We'd constantly steal sliced peaches from the bowl and fight over who got to drink the little bit of juice that was left over at the bottom. When Mom had enough of the bickering, she'd take the bowl and drink it for herself, rendering us speechless.

Despite the fact I loved eating those juicy peaches for dessert in the middle of January and was (secretly) so grateful for the thousand other jars that lined the shelf with summer's goodness, canning was a daunting, time-consuming task and one I never wanted to do as long as I lived. Why would I want to can if I could buy the same stuff in a jar at the store? 

Well friends, I'll tell you why. It's the feeling of accomplishment; a sense of pride, if you will. Taking one thing and turning it into something completely different with your very own hands, knowing exactly what's going into the product. Unfortunately, I didn't appreciate any of it as I do today.

Canning has very quickly become a new favourite hobby of mine. Trust me, that's saying something. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't have another go on my own years ago, despite friends telling me how easy it really is. It's funny what a thirty-something-year-old brain remembers and how damn stubborn I really am.

And I have this cookbook to thank.

The Canning Kitchen Cookbook - 101 Simple Small Batch Recipes by Amy Bronee of Family Feedbag, reminded me how amazing the canning movement really was, is, and needs to be. It brought back so many memories for me - scratch that, it FLOODED my brain with memories, some that actually brought tears to my eyes and left me pining for the days when I would stay outside until the streetlights came on.

What I adore about this cookbook is how Amy debunks many of the archaic canning myths. Long gone are the days of sanitizing and baking the jars in a hot oven before even getting started. In fact, I made this jam in one hour from beginning to end - ONE HOUR, you guys! Do you know how incredible that is? My kids were eating crackers with my jam - jam that I made with my OWN HANDS that night. It gave me bubbles in my belly and a single tear down my cheek like a bad 80s hairband music video.

Best of all, Amy's recipes are all mouthwatering - and so EASY. If you can use a knife, timer, and stove, you've already succeeded. Honestly friends, this book deserves to be in your cookbook arsenal. With 101 recipes, you'll be spoiled for choice.

Amy B, this cookbook is incredible. As a fellow food blogger, I'm so incredibly proud of you and I'm so happy you took the leap of faith and published The Canning Kitchen. You've made some long forgotten memories very special for me again. The tradition my Mom desperately hoped wouldn't die not only didn't, but flourished even more than she could have ever hoped for. I'm looking forward to making new canning memories with my littles and one day, I hope they look back as I did with not only a cheeky twinkle in their eye, but with fonder memories of the process than I did.

And that alone is worth its weight in off-season strawberries.

XO

It's giveaway time! Want to try your hand at canning? I'm giving one lucky reader a chance to win a gorgeous copy of The Canning Kitchen. Just follow the Rafflecopter prompt below and you're on your way.

*FRIENDS! If you miss out on this opportunity, I implore you to come back and visit later this month as some very special people and I have yet another INCREDIBLE giveaway featuring The Canning Kitchen. Trust me, you will NOT, NOT, NOT want to miss it! 

Please check out these other talented bloggers all week long as they share their experiences with The Canning Kitchen. (Please know some links won't be available until Friday, August 14th. I will update them as they go live).

Janice of Kitchen Heal Soul meets Sweet Thai Chilli Chutney
Bridget of Bridget's Green Kitchen meets Apple Butter
Megan of Food Whine meets Strawberry Jam
Anita of The Organic Experiment meets Zesty Pizza Sauce
Jeanine Of Faithfully Gluten Free meets Pink Lemonade Jam
Tiffany of Eating Niagara meets Blueberry Lime Jam
Julie of Try Small Things meets Thick Cut Orange Marmalade
Kelly of KellyNeil.com meets Hot Dog Relish
Michelle of The Tiffin Box meets Sour Evans Cherry Jam

a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway is open to all legal residents of Canada who have reached the age of majority at the time of the contest in the province or territory in which they reside. Void in Quebec. 

Winner must answer a skill-testing question. 

No purchase necessary to enter. 

Giveaway will run from Tuesday, August 11, 2015 to Sunday, August 16, 2015. Winner will be contacted via email and displayed on Rafflecopter widget. Email address will never be given out to any third party or anyone for that matter.

Dislosure: I was given a complimentary copy of this cookbook by the lovely folks over at Penguin Random House Canada Limited. As anything and everything I review, all opinions and views are completely my own. I will never endorse anything I don't love, use, or believe in and will always give my honest opinion regardless.