Wednesday Links and a GIVEAWAY!!!!

GIVEAWAY!

So, as you know I've started canning with the hopes of canning a lot of the harvest from my garden this summer. So. In hopes of spreading the gospel of home preserving, I am giving away some starter canning supplies from Ball. 

I will be giving away the Ball Canning Discovery Kit. This 6 piece kit gives you all the tools to start canning using your existing kitchenware. It includes everything you need to start canning for the first time and step by step instructions.

I will also be giving away a copy of The Ball Complete Guide to Home Preserving. I picked this up this weekend and it is a completely idiot-proof guide to all types of home preserving. There are step by step guides WITH PHOTOS for making each type of recipe. If you feel hesitant or nervous about canning, this book will help you do it right.

So how can these wonderful items be yours? 

1. Leave a comment telling me if you've tried canning and what you make or would like to make with these items
2. Like Gen Y Foodie on Facebook, or, if you already do, let me know in the comments
3. Share on Facebook: I just entered a giveaway to win Ball home canning supplies from Gen Y Foodie. http://www.generationyfoodie.com/2012/06/thursday-links-and-giveaway.html
4. Follow me on Twitter, of, if you already do, let me know in the comments
5. Tweet the following: I just entered the @Ballcanning #Giveaway from @genyfoodie!

OFFICIAL RULES:

Open to residents of United States and Canada only. Giveaway closes on Wednesday 6/29 at 5pm EST.

And now onto the links!

First I want to spend ten seconds bragging about my amazing little bro Jeff. He returned from Russia on Monday, where he spent the last three weeks building sports and playground facilities at a school in rural Russia with his charity Students Helping Children Across Borders.

Not only did he start his own charity, but his built this project from the ground up, spending the last nine months organizing and fund-raising. He connected with some people from Suzdal, Russia and put this whole thing together ... in Russian! In recognition of these efforts, he won the Katherine W. Davis Peace Prize (learn more here). The most impressive part of all of this? He did it all HIMSELF while playing Division I college ice hockey and keeping a full college course load.

As you can tell, I am so proud of this guy. He kept an amazing blog about his time in Suzdal and his project. My personal favorite post, however, is about his attempt to make some pizza for his host family. You can read this hilarious story here.

Dessert Round Up: 

Since I'm not a baker and don't make many desserts, I like to live vicariously through all my amazing food blogger friends. Here are some of my favorite desserts of the week. Go check out these talented bloggers and their yummy recipes.

• Black Forest Cheesecake from Kim at Cravings of a Lunatic
• Tiramisu Bread at Baker Street
• Watermelon Ice pops from Kelly at Eat Yourself Skinny
• Chocolate Bacon cookies at Simply Scratch

Healthy Links:

• Can ginseng fight fatigue? - NYT
• The 12 dirtiest types of produce - make sure to scrub these! - CNN
• Natural remedies for mosquito bites! - HuffPo