What’s the elevation where you live? It might be higher than you think. Much of the so-called “flat” Midwest, for example, is actually more than 1,000 feet above sea level, and altitudes can vary within a community. Check your altitude online or with your county extension office before you begin your canning projects. Then adjust your processing times as indicated in this article. Home Canning Altitude Adjustments for Blanching Foods and Sterilizing Jars For blanching, add one minute if you live 5,000 feet or more above sea level....

2 lightly beaten eggs ⅔ cup beef broth 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 cup sourdough bread cubes ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 tablespoon yellow mustard 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon black pepper ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper 1 pound ground beef sirloin 1 pound ground beef chuck 1 medium green sweet pepper, chopped ½ of a medium onion, chopped Topping: ½ cup ketchup 2 tablespoon packed brown sugar 2 teaspoon cider vinegar

Stuffing Addition Options: Stir 2 medium cored and chopped apples into bread cubes. 2) Omit 1 cup of the celery and substitute 2 cups sliced mushrooms. Cook mushrooms with the celery in Step 1, above. 3) Stir one 15-ounce can chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped, into bread cubes. 4) Stir 1 cup cooked wild rice into bread cubes. Bread options: Here are some of our favorite types of bread to use in our old-fashioned stuffing (choose one): white or wheat bread, corn bread, focaccia bread, Italian bread, multigrain bread, and sourdough bread

2 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or cider vinegar ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Test Kitchen Tip: To toast curls of fresh coconut, spread them in a single layer in a shallow baking pan and bake for 5 to 10 minutes at 350°F. Buy It: Nordic Ware Jubilee Bundt Pan (Target)

Test Kitchen Tip: Bring these cupcakes in an insulated carrier, then take them out at dessert so the heat doesn’t make the frosting go bad.

3 tablespoon whipping cream 1 ½ ounce chopped bittersweet or milk chocolate

1 ½ cup flour ¼ teaspoon salt 6 tablespoon shortening Water

Plants for Creating the Easy-Care Summer Garden Plan 3 Catmint (Nepeta × faassenii): Zones 4-9 2 Daylily (Hemerocallis ‘Johnny One Note’): Zones 3-10 1 Bearded iris (Iris ‘Immortality’): Zones 4-9 2 Perennial geranium (Geranium Rozanne): Zones 5-9 2 Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ‘Merlot’): Zones 3-9 2 Blazing star (Liatris spicata ‘Kobold’): Zones 4-9 1 Yarrow (Achillea millefolium ‘Summerwine’): Zones 3-10 3 Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicfolia): Zones 4-9 2 Perennial sunflower (Helianthus multiflorus ‘Flore Pleno’): Zones 4-9 2 Feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora): Zones 4-9...

Tips for Planting Bare-Root Roses If bare roots arrive before you’re ready to plant, or before the ground thaws, it’s important to protect them until you can get them in the ground. As long as the roots stay moist, they’ll be fine for a day or two. Open any plastic wrapping around the roots, and refresh them in a bucket of water if you’ll plant within 12 hours. Otherwise, sprinkle the roots with water and leave them wrapped in plastic for a day or two....

Poaching pan directions: Lightly grease each cup of an egg-poaching pan. Place poacher cups over the pan of boiling water (water should not touch bottoms of cups); reduce heat to simmering. Break an egg into a measuring cup. Carefully slide egg into a poacher cup. Repeat with the remaining eggs. Cover and cook for 4 to 6 minutes or until the whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken but are not hard....