Ashley English's Blog, page 17

Drop It Like It's Hot

Because, it is!
FRIENDS! For reasons that I know nothing about, my "Canning & Preserving" book is now a mere $9.77 on Amazon! I have no idea how long this sale will last, but that's over half-off the cover price.
I've you've been on the fence about taking the plunge and picking up a copy, there's clearly no better time than now to do so!!!

The River Cottage Meat Book (+Giveaway!!!)

I cannot declare quite enough my admiration for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. I've written about him on here before, gushing, fawning and otherwise sustainable-crushing on him. Based in the U.K., Hugh is an advocate for so very many of the things near and dear to my heart, including land sharing, sustainable agriculture, and preparing wholesome, delicious foods to share with loved ones.

Have Trowel, Will Dig

Here's a quick peek at our fall garden. I took it this morning, on the little hill that runs alongside the way up to the chicken coop (you can see my tiny helper in tow; he was in the Ergo, hence the odd angle of the photo).
Last weekend, our friends Faryn and Eli and their little tot Milo came over and helped us plant a mess of garden starts. We put in: lots of lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower,

Go, Nanny, Go!!

Happy birthday to my maternal grandmother, Ruby Marie Ingram. "Nanny" turned a young 86 today! Huxley and I spent the day with she and my mom, enjoying a grand lunch at the Switzerland Cafe (Hubs and I usually pronounce the tiny town's name as 'Lil Switzerland, like it's a Dr. Dre production), shopping at Books & Beans next door, and then swinging back into Burnsville (where they both live, about

This Just In...

Short notice, I know, but I was asked just a little bit earlier today if I'd like to be on Martha Stewart's Sirius XM program "Morning Living" tomorrow. I'll be chatting about canning the end-of-summer bounty around 8:30 a.m.-ish.

Tune in and check it out!

*Even if you don't have a subscription to Sirius, you can listen to the show via a trial subscription. For details, go here.

The Canning Queen of the Desert

The Canning Queen of the Desert from Etsy on Vimeo.
Check out this video sent to me today by one of the producers of Etsy. It's on Classie Parker (AMAZING NAME, yes???!!!), an urban farmer and canning instructor toughing it out in the wilds of NYC.

She's a joy to watch. I especially love when she proclaims "Canning is sexy, baby!" Given that I've been sweating something fierce in my kitchen

Mary Jane's Farm Food Day

It's coming up, folks! In just three weeks from today, I'll be in St. Paul, Minnesota, teaching a class on making, and canning, jam as part of Mary Jane's Farm Food Day at The Creative Connection Event.
Hope to see some of you there! Hubs and Huxley are coming, too. I've never been to Minnesota before, so if any of you have suggestions for places to visit or eat at for the fellas while I'm at

Custom Canning Label Contest

Want to try your hand at winning some beautiful custom-printed labels to festoon your canned goods with? Well, then, head over to Felix Doolittle, a stationary purveyor in Massachusettes.
I received an email yesterday from Jena of the lovely blog Modish, giving me a head's up about the contest. The gist of it is, send Felix a jar of something sweet that you've canned and he, along with chef

Guest Post: Nesting Ground

Happy Friday, everyone! East Coast friends, are you batting down the hatches, getting ready for Irene? Having witnessed several hurricanes firsthand, I speak from experience when I say: get stocked up on water (lots of it!), a radio-powered battery, food for all of your pets, canned foods for yourself and fill up the bath tub in order to have water for flushing the toilet. Oh, and don't try to

Wednesdays, With A.J.

Hi friends! I'm chatting with A.J. today over at the cheekily titled Hand Jobs For the Home.
Come for the interview, stick around for the great recipes, witty banter and helpful domestic tips (plus, A.J. sports some great specs and has fabulous personal style; we've become quite the emailing/blog-loving buddies!).
Enjoy!