Agree - PA has a great extension service and they will be able to direct you to the nearest certification class. Some travel may be required as Master Certification classes are usually offered only by the state university although that varies from state to state - just as the requirements for certification do. EX: Our state requires entry level classes be successfully completed prior to applying for the Master cert program and re-cert classes are required each 3 years to keep the certification. would be willing to teach a beginner class in Food Preservation Good luck but since I don't know anything about your canning background or experience, please keep in mind that it is a big responsibility and not one to be undertaken casually. I only say this because there are already far too many sources of inaccurate and even unsafe information out there on canning so you will need to be prepared to deal with more than just the basics. A review of some of the questions we get here is a good example of what I mean. ;) Dave

For everyones information: Here is the streight scoop on Alan Kupular, from the Fedco Seeds website: Alan Kapuler As a child growing up in Brooklyn, Kapuler was twinly obsessed with orchids and baseball, equally able to reel off lifetime home run statistics or botanical names of obscure flowers. At age 15 he won the Westinghouse National Science Talent Search for his experiments testing the effects of a mutagenic chemical on his beloved orchids. He entered Yale at 16, the youngest student in his class of 1,000 and graduated first in his class. His undergraduate honors thesis earned him the highest grade Yale had ever bestowed and was eventually published in the Journal of Molecular Biology. After earning his doctorate in molecular biology at prestigious Rockefeller University he worked with world expert on nucleic acids A.M. Michelson and apprenticed at the lab of future Nobel Prize winner Howard Temin. Those were heady days of discoveries in his field. He looks back with awe at that time "when the structure of the genetic code was being discovered...it was the greatest self-revelation about our common unity with all organisms. They were the mystery of the ages, and we were uncovering those secrets." Yet Kapuler, dismayed by colleagues who were producing lethal viruses for the U.S. government, suddenly left his fast-track career at the University of Connecticut and headed for the west coast with his dog, green van and $1,000. "I had to find my beloved wife and my kids and a life that had a heart." He found Linda Sylvester in Oregon. Together they lived in poverty and he started saving seeds because he was too poor to buy them, eventually collecting more than 6,000 varieties and founding Peace Seeds which later merged with Seeds of Change. Currently he serves as Director of Research for Seeds of Change. His recent breeding work focuses on developing increased amino acid concentration as a way of increasing the nutritional value of food plants. Kapuler once characterized his Peace Seeds catalog as a "Manual for conserving the plant gene-pool of planet Earth." Using computer-generated bubble diagrams he calls "kingrams," he laid out his catalogs in a biological format that shows how groupings of plants are connected to each other. Inspired by the work of Danish biologist Rolf Dahlgren, these maps have given Kapuler a sense of direction in his preservation work, pinpointing whats really rare and needs growing. To Kapuler, "Heritage seeds are essential to our heart chakra." They are important not just because they produce a high quality crop or grow fast, but because they carry the message of the people. They are important for the same reason life is important. "We are involved in a process of passing on a heritage of liveness..." The problem is not hybrids but "ownership of life." Hybridizing, an "essential form of innovation," does not go far enough. The next step is to make open-pollinated lines that stabilize the varieties. Rather than owning them, we must return them to the public domain, giving amateurs access to the gene pool and opportunities to develop new plants. Much of KapulerÂs work has centered on de-hybridizing hybrids, taking that next step to create an equivalent open-pollinated variety. Among his successes are True Platinum, an open-pollinated version of Platinum Lady sweet corn, Summer Sun, an open-pollinated form of hybrid patty pan Sunburst and Swan Lake, a development from the hybrid melon Swan. Through the Seeds of Change catalog, he has popularized a number of heirloom varieties including Elephant Head Amaranth and Hutterite Soup Bean (which heÂd been collecting for 16 years and never tasted until a chance blizzard marooned him and put him in the mood for a hearty bean soup). Like many who came of age in the turbulent sixties, Kapuler could justifiably echo the Grateful DeadÂs anthem, "What a long, strange trip itÂs been." Kapuler seems to have weathered it as well as any of us. Fedco Seeds, PO Box 520, Waterville, ME 04903 (207) 873-7333 So how you know! Len

Annie, here you go. I personally never use beefsteak tomatoes like the recipe states. I find the better the tomatoes I use the better the marmalade. My favorite is brandywine. Also I find the result is better (and quicker) if you use high heat and stir constantly. This could also be why my yield is always much higher. -Robin Tomato orange marmalade Active time: 40 min Start to finish: 1 day Makes 3 (1/2-pint) jars. 3 lb ripe beefsteak tomatoes, peeled and chopped, reserving any juices 3 cups sugar 2 juice oranges, quartered, seeded, and sliced crosswise 1/8 inch thick 1 lemon, quartered, seeded, and sliced crosswise 1/8 inch thick 1/8 teaspoon salt Special equipment: 3 (1/2-pint) canning jars (optional) with lids and screw bands; a wide 5- to 6-quart heavy pot (at least 9 1/2 inches in diameter) If desired, sterilize jars, lids, and screw bands. Chill 2 small plates (for testing marmalade). Cook all ingredients, including reserved juices from tomatoes, in pot over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until sugar is dissolved, about 6 minutes. Simmer, stirring frequently as marmalade thickens (to prevent scorching) and adjusting heat as needed, until marmalade tests done, 50 minutes to 1 1/4 hours. Begin testing for doneness after 50 minutes: Drop a spoonful of marmalade on a chilled plate, then tilt; it should remain in a mound and not run (if necessary, remove pot of marmalade from heat while testing). If not processing, cool marmalade, uncovered, then chill in an airtight container (preferably glass). If processing, drain jars upside down on a clean kitchen towel 1 minute, then invert. Ladle marmalade into jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at top. Run a thin knife between marmalade and jar to eliminate air bubbles. Seal, process, and store filled jars (and boil marmalade in jars 10 minutes). Let marmalade stand in jars at least 1 day for flavors to develop. Cooks' note: Â Marmalade keeps, chilled, 3 weeks.

Well, today was really nice. Lunch was from CPK. Thai chicken salad, a chinese salad, bolognese pasta with chicken, spinach pasta with light cream sauce, and spaghetti with meat sauce. Then the cookies! There were so many, and all so good! I only tried three varieties, an almond bark, chocolate espresso cookie, and cheesecake cookie. We brought a lot home, and the kids are looking forward to tasting them. We will do the scratch offs tonight. I've attached the link to the photos below, I am wearing a red sweater with black scarf, and have blonde hair. Near the end of the photos, I'm holding up my lottery tickets. Just click on Laurie's Cookie Swap photos. Thanks so much for your support! Here is a link that might be useful: cookie swap photos