Sherri Brooks Vinton

What is it about growing and preserving your own food that makes it worth the time and trouble? Author Barbara Pleasant can think of a few answers. Back in 2010, Melissa A. Click from the University of Missouri and Ronit Ridberg from Tufts University published their examination of why people grow and preserve their own food. Their results showed complex motives, but food activism was a recurrent theme.

Preserve the sweet taste of summer. Make the most of this simple yet powerful preservation technique with expert advice from Whole-Fed Homestead creator and Freeze Fresh author Crystal Schmidt. When I’m buying (or picking!) peaches to preserve, I always look for freestone types because the pit comes out easily when the peach is cut in half. Clingstone peaches have pits that hold on tightly to the peach flesh.

I admit it: I was a quirky kid. In addition to being among the pickiest of picky eaters in my entire elementary school and beyond—I also loved school (even homework), and I looked forward to bedtime. But as a mother and as a Certified Dreamwork Professional who listens to parents talk about their problems getting their kids to turn off their games and get ready for bed, I get it: Back-to-school and bedtime are two things kids generally want to avoid.