Meet My Friend, Ruth

If you enjoyed yesterday's video, Canning with Linda. Then you should meet my other friend, Ruth. Ruth Macy teaches us how to make homemade Apple Butter outside. Ruth is famous for her apple butter at the annual Heritage Folk Festival here in Sulphur Springs, Texas. For the longest time, I just knew her as the Apple Butter Lady.

Meet Ruth.

Meet My Friend, Linda

I met Linda T. through my dear friend, Kim. Kim said we would get along great and I just HAD to meet her. So she hooked us on a blind date phone call and the rest was left to me and Linda. Linda has YEARS and YEARS of experience "puttin'up" food. I have none, zilch, zip, notta. So see, we're perfect for each other already.

I asked Linda if she would teach me about canning and allow me into her home to video her canning whatever came out of her garden. She said, "uh, okay?"

I knew what she was really thinkin'. 'I'm agreeing to let some complete stranger into my home with a video camera. Probably one of those internet lurkin' food porn freaks. Great.'

I'm just kidding. Anyhoo.

I have experience and wisdom on canning and preserving caught on video. I thought it best to bust it up into short segments, unless you want the whole 4 hours straight up? I didn't think so. As I get more and more edited down into quick videos, I will post it here.

This first clip is an overall of the process of canning relish. Don't expect an exact recipe here. Just appreciate the work involved. Watch how easy she makes it look.

Great Cooks County Fair

With all the wonderful folks in one place over at Great Cooks Community.com (GCC), we couldn’t help stir up something new and fun for our community.

Our good friend, Lisa Rohner of ChefMomCooks has stepped up to be our GCC Food Events Coordinator. We are thrilled to have her experience, creative style, and enthusiasm leading us to a whole new level of fun and fellowship.

The Great Cooks County Fair (GCCF) will begin by sponsoring one food event each month. Participants will have an opportunity to show off their delicious home cooking, rally their friends and family to vote for their recipe entry, promote their homeblogs (if they're food bloggers), and win a prize or award ribbon! But that’s not all folks…

As Great Cooks Community members, we will show our support to our fellow food bloggers by using our favorite social bookmarking sites, such as Stumble Upon, del.icio.us, etc. to promote the 1st, 2nd, 3rd place winner’s winning recipes posted on the winner’s homeblog (if they're food bloggers).

Think about this my food blogging friends… Today, we have 177 members in our community. Imagine 177 people Stumbling your blog! Consider the amount of traffic. I sure hope the winner's servers can handle the load.

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO RIGHT NOW

First, go join the Great Cooks County Fair Group.

Second, go read the rules for participation. VERY IMPORTANT STEP HERE.

Third, go back to your homeblog(s) and write a post about this terrific new food event taking off! Tell your readers they don’t need a blog to post a recipe or vote for your recipe entry. They just need to be a member of Great Cooks Community.

Spread the word on every food forum you hang out on, other food community networks, Facebook, Stumble the Great Cooks County Fair group page, email every food lover you know.

FOR HEAVENS SAKES- DO NOT SPAM JUST EVERYONE YOU KNOW. Remember this is a food community, we want to enrich it with folks who have a serious interest in cooking, baking, preserving food, food photography, food writers, recipe swappers. It's VERY IMPORTANT that we keep the comfort and joys of membership a positive experience for all.

There are opportunities to become Hosts and Moderators for the Great Cooks County Fair food events. Please contact Lisa Rohner, the GCC Food Events Planner, from her Great Cooks page.
We look forward to seeing everyone participating and coming together for all the awesome fellowship, recipes, encouragement and traffic building opportunities.

Have FUN!