Click on any image for a slideshow of canning mania chez Spooning…

Our friends at Tasting Table, the daily newsletter that covers food events in your city and trends and treats nationwide, is currently holding a “Taste of Tasting Table” sweepstakes, giving away a different prize every day to a lucky reader (or new member). The prizes were curated by the Tasting Table editors based on their favorite goodies featured in the newsletter. (I entered today to win a summer grilling package from Brooklyn Cured.) I’m honored that a mid-century Franciscan tea cup set from the SpooningShop is among the prizes on offer. You must enter on September 1 for a chance to win this particular prize–but they all look pretty tempting so you can’t lose. (Well, you can actually. But it’s certainly worth a shot!)

When: September 1, 2011

Where: You must be a Facebook user to participate. Click here, then “like” Tasting Table and enter for your chance to WIN!

Until it closed the doors of its Los Angeles factory in 1962, Bauer Pottery produced some of the 20th century’s most beautiful dishes and pots, in vibrant colors and sleek modern designs. Their quality and artfulness (I am especially fond of the American Modern line, designed by Russel Wright. I even have some available at SpooningShop!) make vintage Bauer some of the priciest and most collectible vintage dishware around.  And that’s because the good stuff is scarce.

Lucky for us, about ten years ago, Bauer relaunched, and has been recreating their vintage treasures at a factory in Highland–70 miles east of downtown Los Angeles–and selling them through their website, at select retailers and at their showroom sales held a few times a year near Glendale. The September 10-11 sale is their last one until December, so take this opportunity to stock up on gorgeous dishes–at a discount–for everyone on your gift list. (I sincerely hope that I’m on that list. Put me down for a tea pot.)

When: September 10-11, 2011
10am-5pm/10am-4pm

Where: 3051 Rosslyn St. in Los Angeles

Sign up for Bauer news and sales updates at bauerpottery.com

Happy Can-it-Forward Day everyone! In honor of Ball’s national day of food preservation awareness (I encourage you to check out Ball’s recipes and live streaming canning demos from Seattle’s Pike Place.), Spooning is giving away a handy Home Canning Discovery Kit to the winner of our recipe competition. The prize goes to Jake Peters of Los Angeles, via Wisconsin, where he was lucky enough to harvest rhubarb and pick raspberries this summer. (The berries pictured here are his haul from Blue Vista Farm in Batfield, WI) This scrumptious jam is the results. Congratulations Jake!

For this recipe, he says “I used rhubarb I had blanched and frozen because as it turns out, rhubarb and raspberries are not ripe at the same time.  Defrosting rhubarb creates a good amount of rhubarb water/juice, which happens to make delicious cocktails (like with the rhubarb water, some mashed raspberries, a small amount of pineapple juice, lots of ice and lots of rum).”

Makes about 8 8-ounce jars of jam Read on… »