Yes I do dry strawberries. I have about 5 kerr jars worth. I dehydrate them the same way I do all the other fruit. Just slice and put on dehydrator. Make sure that there is skin on the sides but not covering the top or the bottom. The strawberries are really good.

Hey, guys! Long time no post. I didn't have a very good year for tomatoes, which form the backbone of my canning season, so I've been feeling a bit bummed. By the time I realized I wasn't going to get enough to can all the tomato stuff I wanted for the year, it was too late to buy a bunch at a decent price. I did buy a few late ones at an exhorbitant price just to be sure I could put up some of everything, but I also caved and BOUGHT six jars of Classico sauce when it was on a great sale last week. Felt like I had to look both ways to be sure nobody spotted me, LOL! I did put up lots an lots of applesauce. I usually do some, but this year our usual local orchard was hit by hail in August, with the result that they had fewer first-quality apples and lots and lots of seconds at $5 for a half-bushel, so I'm on my second half-bushel of mixed seconds for sauce. HOWEVER, I've done more freezing of veggies than ever before---this is my first full harvest season since I got my FoodSaver vacuum sealer! I didn't count it all, but I put up - strawberries (some plain and some with a little local honey) - corn---LOTS! - sweet peppers---I bought a 3/4 bushel and roasted about half, sliced & froze the other half in raw strips - squash---winter squash is practically free around here by November, and we got three ENORMOUS ones a few weeks ago; these I just processed this weekend, so I can tell you that I froze - 12 cups of puree (two more cups in the fridge to use this week) - 12 cups of raw cubes - 4 cups of partially cooked cubes (I found different opinions on whether it should be cooked partially first, including on threads here, so I did some of each and will see what I think). Boy, there was a lot of orange in my kitchen by the end of the session! I also didn't have any zucchini/summer squash this year---usually I'm freezing oodles of zucchini bread for winter breakfasts---so now I'm working on filling what room is left in the freezer with other fruit quick breads. So far I've found a banana muffin recipe I really like, and am experimenting with various apple breads, coffee cakes, and muffins. I made some squash muffins, and they're not bad, but I think I can do better. That's all. Just wanted to pop in and say hi and tell y'all what I've been up to! Happy harvesting, Zabby P.S. Dumbear, that green onion relish sounds excellent! I'll try it next year!

One other item that I have found extremely useful - a pot hanger on the wall over my butcher block table. As my kitchen is so small, there isn't room for an island table with a pot hanger, but the wall opposite my working area serves the purpose of the lack of extra storage cupboards. It has 12 hooks to serve a variety of pots, fry pans, sieves, hand mixer, oft-used utensils, etc. On top - a shelf catches other seldom used utensils. This allows more room in my tiny kitchen cupboards for the rest of my usual baking dishes. As Linda Lou mentioned in her post, having mats on the floor where most of the work is being done, helps tremendously also. I bought 4 heavy-duty rubber mats decorative - from Home Depot) to lay end-to-end on this area, and it saves a lot of wear and tear on the feet and legs during heavy canning times. Also easy to pick up, clean with the hose, and they are ready to go again. Just my 2 c's. Bejay

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