Preservation Link Roundup 2/5/10

If you're interested in some good ideas for organizing your cabinets and spices while "Taking Stock," Serious Eats has a collection of suggestions (Weekend Cook and Tell Round Up: Catastrophic Cupboard Cleanup).

Cut Out + Keep has step-by-step instructions for turning any photo you have into a canning label (for the top of the can - on the disposable lid) using Microsoft Word (Canning Labels). Too bad I'm too cheap (and devoted to open source) to use Word; I prefer OpenOffice. I'll have to check to see whether I can do the same with OpenOffice.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Wisconsin's governor has signed into law a bill that will let home canners sell their goods at farmers' markets and the like without a professional kitchen license, so long as they sell less than $5,000 of goods a year (Wis. Gov Signs Martial Arts, Canning Bills).

Vermont's Burlington Free Press reported on a fund raiser to support local food for food shelters and schools - a "Souper Bowl" featuring soups made from local ingredients (Mad River Localvore's Souper Bowl Benefits Community). Not only is this a clever idea, but some of participants used canned and frozen ingredients in order to stay local in the middle of winter:

Like the local butternut squash and roasted peppers Flanagan also used, many ingredients had been pulled from freezers or canning jars, a reminder that it helps to plan when eating locally through the winter. Harwood Union High School’s chicken and corn chowder was made with local Neill Farm corn husked and shucked by the girls’ soccer team last fall as a community service and team-building project, said Paul Morris, food service director.