Cookbooks/ Giveaway

Crunchy Dill Pickleville: The Canning Kitchen Cookbook Giveaway

I have ridiculously fond memories of pickles from my childhood.

And not just because I found myself in one regularly.

The Canning Kitchen Cookbook Giveaway - She Eats

Growing up, there were always pickles. Always.

At home in the too-cold, too-creaky basement that housed both my mother’s shelves of canned goodies as well as the furnace that made too many weird noises for it to be safe to spend much time down there.

During the cold Winter months I’d sprint down the stairs, whip open the basement door, flick on the light and retrieve a jar of whatever she needed that day – preserved peaches, chunky applesauce, soft B.C. cherries, or crunchy pickles. The jars were endless and signified the bounty – and love – we cultivated from our tiny backyard garden.

That is until the garden was torn up to park the camper.

And then Mom relied on the markets in our cow-tipping, bumper-skiing, sleepy 5000 person town.

The Canning Kitchen Cookbook Giveaway - She Eats

Growing up, there were always pickles. Always.

At my Grandparent’s house where the couches were stiff but the arms of my Grandmother were warm and soft and very loving. Their house always smelled a little like plastic, a little like old and a little like chocolate chip cookies. I haven’t been back to Alberta in over a decade but both my Grandma and Grandpa are still alive so I’m going to assume it still does.

When I was a kid, we trekked to enjoyed every major holiday at someone’s house. All 30+ of us from all corners of our family. The Grandparents, the Aunts, the Uncles, the Cousins, the Second Cousins, the friends of Cousins, the dogs, the cats, and of course, my Mom, my Dad, my brother and I. And the most memorable ones were at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.

The Canning Kitchen Cookbook Giveaway - She Eats

And Grandma had a pickle dish.

I think everyone has this dish in their family. Crystal. Heavy. And lots of little compartments so you can have a veritable smorgasbord of pickles on the table at any time, none having to bump uglies with another. Think of it like little individual pickle ghettos. But tastier.

Our family had a distinct preference for homemade beet pickles, crunchy dill pickles and bread and butter pickles with those little florets of cauliflower in them.

Nothing fancy, nothing extravagant. But they always tasted like home.

They were always the first thing on the dinner table. I’d sneak one as an Aunt mashed the potatoes. And as Dad carved the turkey. And as Mom poured everybody milk or water. And as Grandma stood watch over everything – making sure all the dishes got to the table at the same time.

Needless to say, child-me got my paws slapped by more than one adult in that kitchen on more than one occasion. And yet, I kept going back for more.

Growing up, there were always pickles. Always.

The Canning Kitchen Cookbook Giveaway - Kitsilano Farmers Market - She Eats

And now, there’s pickles in my adulting life too.

It’s no secret that one of my secret single behaviours was to eat pickles naked in the kitchen after a night of imbibing too many long island iced teas. Crunchy, refreshing, delicious pickles.

But now I’ve taken up pickling on my own. Partly because it’s way fecking cheaper than buying them from the grocery store, partly because they simply taste better when made from farm fresh cucumbers and partly because there’s something so innately historic and social about passing the canning skills down through the generations.

I find it all very rustic. Very therapeutic. Very connected. Very delicious. And very badass.

My Grandma – who is pretty much a ground-zero badass in every way possible – gave me my first canning equipment. A water bath canner, some tongs and a few jars.

Which I promptly stored in the laundry room and didn’t touch for 4 years.

But since then, I’ve become an avid proponent of putting up. Recently Mom bequeathed to me a ridiculous amount of jars and lids and rings, many of which are pint sized.

The Canning Kitchen Cookbook Giveaway - She Eats

So, when presented with that kind of arsenal, what else is a girl to do but make crunchy dill pickles?

I’ve more or less winged it recipe-wise for most of my canning endeavors. But this time around, I turned to my gal Amy Bronee for guidance.

And I’m hot dang pickling glad I did! I’m now the proud muncher of some damn good pickles.

Which brings me to the purpose of this post – and likely what you’ve been oh so patiently waiting for me to get to. The giveaway.

The Canning Kitchen Cookbook Giveaway - She Eats

Amy’s best-selling cookbook, The Canning Kitchen: 101 Simple Small Batch Recipes blends the traditions of home preserving with the tastes of the modern home cook (aka helps you be self-sufficiently badass). You’ll likely know Amy from her blog, Family Feedbag. And if you don’t, you should. Get over there. Say hi to her. Make some of her delicious recipes. But first, enter below to win one mother of a prize!

That’s right my friends. Today we have an autographed copy of Amy’s new book in our possession AND a $100 gift card to Canadian Tire for the winner to purchase everything they need to start canning!

// Check out the other 9 drool worthy creations by the Canning Kitchen Giveaway bloggers: //

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:

* Contest open to Canadian mailing addresses only and who have reached the age of majority in the province, state or territory in which they reside.

MANDATORY: Simply leave a comment below and tell me what you’re canning (or want to can) this year!

BE SURE to click the widget options below for both mandatory and optional entries because you can’t be entered to win if the widget doesn’t know you’ve done it! Your email address is ONLY used to contact you if you’ve won, not for any other purpose, and is never made public.

Giveaway closes Wednesday, September 2, 2015.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Penguin Random House Limited DID provide me a review copy at no cost. Regardless, I only recommend, giveaway or share products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. All opinions, words and information here are entirely accurate and a reflection of my true experience and were not influenced, in any way, by the above mentioned products or companies. Opinions and views are my own. Because that’s how I roll, yo. I’ve never been one to shut my mouth – I’m not going to start now.

  • Dana Wilson
    August 26, 2015 at 7:22 AM

    I have just started canning and I am in love! So far I have done dill pickles, next on the list are jalapeños and radishes.

  • Mary
    August 26, 2015 at 8:31 AM

    I’m hoping to make what has always been referred to in my family as “Chili Sauce”. It’s a combo of tomatoes, apples, onions celery amongst other veggies and spices. The only commercial product that comes close (and that’s really stretching it) would be habitat’s ChowChow.

  • Nicole P
    August 26, 2015 at 9:53 AM

    I’ve already canned peaches like crazy. But I’d really love to try pickles after reading your post 🙂

  • Rachel
    August 26, 2015 at 1:23 PM

    Yum! I love canning and I’m always looking for small batch recipes to try at home. Can’t wait to read this book.
    Rachel recently published…You Can Recycle That: ShinglesMy Profile

  • Gail Garden
    August 26, 2015 at 2:46 PM

    I’m looking forward to cherry jam this coming weekend and then dilly beans and pickles in September!

  • Francine
    August 26, 2015 at 4:48 PM

    I’ve only ever done pickles, but would love to try jam

  • Melissa Greco
    August 26, 2015 at 5:03 PM

    I’m looking forward to canning tomatoes

  • Chelsea @ Chelsea's Healthy Kitchen
    August 26, 2015 at 5:27 PM

    I LOVED reading about your childhood stories about pickles! Also your story about sprinting down to the basement made me laugh becuase I used to always do that too to fetch canned tomatoes. Except the cold storage room scared the living daylights out of me because there were like 1 foot long centipedes in there (okay, not really, but that’s what I thought as a kid haha).

    Reading about everyone’s experiences makes me want to make EVERYTHING from that book! I need to invest in a proper canner first though haha.
    Chelsea @ Chelsea’s Healthy Kitchen recently published…Cookbook Review: The Canning KitchenMy Profile

  • Tanya
    August 26, 2015 at 6:08 PM

    The blueberry marmalade sounds amazing!!!

  • Jacqueline Gum
    August 27, 2015 at 4:13 AM

    OMG I LOVE pickles! Just reading this made my mouth water!!! Wish I had a kitchen where I could can. Remember from the days on the farm… the BEST!
    Jacqueline Gum recently published…Equality… Where’s The Justice?My Profile

  • Becky
    August 27, 2015 at 4:53 AM

    I’m more than curious to hear how you get your dills to stay crunchy – that is a hard task to accomplish.
    I’m a huge canner and even bigger pickler. I’m on my third half bushel of peaches in the last three weeks – I made duck sauce (from Put ’em up! Fruit), peach salsa, pickled peaches, pies, ice cream and more. This past weekend I made curried squash pickles and pickled okra. Oh, and tomatoes. Coming up next are green bean pickles and bread & butter pickles and more tomatoes. Lots more tomatoes.
    Becky recently published…Fun with peppers.My Profile

  • Cheri
    August 27, 2015 at 5:48 AM

    I love canning -specifically salsas and chutneys, but I’m going to attempt pickles for the first time this weekend. Wish me luck!

  • Jeri
    August 27, 2015 at 11:22 AM

    I wish I had a Canadian address so I could enter the drawing! I’ve never canned before, but my sister and best friend does. My friend pickles all sort of food, but if I was going to can, pickles would be the first thing I try.
    Jeri recently published…#AuthorInterview: Jacqueline GumMy Profile

  • Kristen @ The Endless Meal
    August 27, 2015 at 11:33 AM

    This is such a seriously awesome giveaway! I absolutely love canning and pickling all of summer’s treasures and would so love to learn more. 🙂

  • Kristen @ The Endless Meal
    August 27, 2015 at 11:35 AM

    This is such a seriously awesome giveaway! I absolutely love canning and pickling all of summer’s treasures and would so love to learn more. 🙂

  • Jennifer
    August 27, 2015 at 7:09 PM

    I’d love to pickle some beets – one of my faves! I don’t have any canning gear of my own, so this would be great to win.

  • Teresa
    August 28, 2015 at 12:09 AM

    I’ve been expanding my canning repertoire this summer, going beyond the traditional recipes I learned from my mother and from some of the old standard canning manuals. This book sounds like it’s right up my alley.
    Teresa recently published…Cherry Crumb Tart – A Baking Chez Moi Catch UpMy Profile

  • Angie
    August 28, 2015 at 7:36 PM

    Boozy cherries baby!

  • LJ Stubbs
    August 30, 2015 at 8:01 AM

    A taste of summer all year round!

  • Debra H
    August 30, 2015 at 1:54 PM

    I ran out to buy “The Canning Kitchen” – love it! I now have new jam recipes and looking at the pickle options.

  • Emma L
    August 31, 2015 at 9:03 AM

    I’d love to try making some pickles this year. We also harvested a ton of grapes, so we might make some grape jelly!

  • Amy Ruth
    August 31, 2015 at 9:12 AM

    Aw man, Canadians only?? Bummer. Love your posts!

  • Erin MacGregor
    August 31, 2015 at 10:35 AM

    So far this year I’ve done Strawberry Freezer Jam and Strawberry-rhubarb jam. On the agenda is Coronation grape jelly and I’m going to try apple butter for the first time! That’s a lot sweet stuff I just realized – need to think of something to pickle, too.

  • Michelle Genttner
    August 31, 2015 at 10:42 AM

    I’ve already pickled asparagus and cauliflower this year, but I’d love to do some icicle pickles – it’s been too long!

  • Sharon watt
    August 31, 2015 at 2:54 PM

    Beets! I love the earthiness of beets. I finished the last jar from my stash a few weeks ago and can’t wait to make more. Store-bought just aren’t as good!

  • Brittany L
    September 1, 2015 at 9:21 AM

    Just finished a batch of vanilla bean cherries a couple weeks ago with local cherries. It was my first attempt without my father’s help. He introduced me to canning and showed me how. I’m addicted to it.

  • Lindsey McDowell
    September 1, 2015 at 2:24 PM

    Tried canning peaches for the first time this summer. YUM. Would love to do pears next or maybe pickles 🙂

  • joey armstrong
    September 1, 2015 at 3:11 PM

    hopefully i will find the time to can pickles this year, yet! i canned pickles last year and gave too many away, not enough for myself. 😉 canned tomatoes are quite useful, too.

  • Reagan Kindrachuk
    September 1, 2015 at 3:40 PM

    We are moving into a new house this week and I can’t wait to use the new kitchen to can all sorts of goodies! Pickles, chutney and salsas!

  • Heather Gardiner
    September 1, 2015 at 5:09 PM

    I need to do pickles (so many cucumbers!) and can some tomatoes as well. I’d also really love to make some jam but that might need to wait until next year.
    Heather Gardiner recently published…Hiking Big WhiteMy Profile

  • Shari Johnston
    September 1, 2015 at 5:14 PM

    I’m canning everything I can get my hands on! Jalapeño jam, rhubarb chutney, bourbon vanilla peaches, tomatillo salsa, blackberry port jam, dill pickles… I need to put up a good enough stash to get us through six or seven months of winter!

    Love your pickle story. Fantastic pictures, as well.
    Shari Johnston recently published…Forty Foods for Forty YearsMy Profile

  • Erin H
    September 1, 2015 at 5:16 PM

    I’ve actually never canned, but would LOVE to start! My mother in law makes some awesome dill pickles, so maybe I’ll start with those.

  • peachie
    September 1, 2015 at 5:58 PM

    I’ve never picked up skill of canning and want to try canning peaches

  • Linda
    September 1, 2015 at 6:28 PM

    Going to can tomatoes this Fall. Never canned before but decided to give it a try. Planning on going to the farmer’s market to get a bushel of roma tomotoes & give it a try. Like to cook from scratch & will appraise it in the winter months. Thank you for the chance….:)

  • Sarah
    September 1, 2015 at 7:21 PM

    I’m a dill pickle maker too. Your story of the holiday table and pickle dish made me smile because I relate. But pickles…we make too many and give them as gifts. Or eat them all ourselves.
    Sarah recently published…Son of Magazine Challenge: September PlanningMy Profile

  • Laura
    September 1, 2015 at 8:00 PM

    I’ve already canned pickles and relish this year. Hoping to do some jam soon! And maybe salsa. I’m always looking for great new recipes.

  • Kallee
    September 1, 2015 at 8:56 PM

    Peaches! I can’t get enough peaches this season. Mmmm.

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