Canning and Preserving
Apple Kiwi Kirsch Jelly
How to make natural pectin jelly. Although I make cases of jam every year, I seldom make jelly. Jelly is made from juice and needs pectin to set. Not many fruits have enough pectin of their own and require adding boxed pectin. Boxed pectin sets up too firm for me and gives me an upset […]
Keep Herbs Fresh with Ultra-Violet Glass
Infinity Jars™ keep herbs fresh and flavorful. It’s time again to start planning this year’s herb garden. Herbs are the perfect plants if you don’t have much garden space or if you want a low-maintenance garden. Most herbs grow quickly, can be added to salads and entrées when fresh, and can be frozen or dried […]
Infinity Jars for Flavored Oils
Ultra-violet glass helps preserve high quality oils and vinegars. Recently the good folks over at Infinity Jars™ asked if I was interested in doing a product review. It was perfect timing as I was planning to make some flavored cooking oils, and needed an appropriate bottle for storage. They kindly shipped a couple of samples […]
All About Marmalade
Cure winter’s gloomy days with sunny citrus marmalade I fell in love with marmalade when very young. Probably because it combined two of my favorite things; oranges and English culture. That’s what happens when you are a child who reads too many stories about queens getting their heads lopped off and lovesick damsels roaming the […]
Kumquat Vanilla Marmalade
Snowed in? Make marmalade! Here in the Mid-Columbia we are suffering through the worst winter in decades. It started snowing in early December and hasn’t stopped. Let me rephrase that – it didn’t stop until the other day when it started showering down freezing rain instead! Monday brought another half-inch of fluffy, white snow. On […]
Gift Baskets for People Who Like to Can and Preserve
Making your own personalized gift baskets is like a fun treasure hunt. We pull together special items for each recipient, stuff them into a basket or other appropriate container, and wait for the kudos to roll in! Making a gift basket is like putting together a Christmas stocking; always the most fun (and the most […]
How to Label Your Home Canned Creations
Don’t forget to label your homemade jams, jellies and other treats for safe gift-giving. A few years ago my mother-in-law bought us a jar of homemade onion relish at the local harvest fair. The relish certainly looked festive, but we didn’t dare eat it. Why? Because we knew nothing about it except that it was […]
Everything You Need to Know About Pickling
Ok, maybe not everything, but enough to fill your pantry! Now is the time to clean up the garden and get the pickling done. If you have never made pickles before, you are in for a nice surprise. Canning pickles is an easy project that allows more creativity than the same-old, same-old grocery pickle aisle […]
Spiced Apple Rings
Nostalgic for some tasty, old-fashioned treats? Start with spiced, candied apple rings. If you grew up in the 1950’s or 60’s you may fondly remember spiced apple rings. In an age when boxed spaghetti and sauce and brightly colored Kool-Aid® (with cyclamates!) were de rigueur, spiced apple rings held a special place, served with Sunday […]
Pickled Skinny Beans
Skinny, purple filet beans are fun to grow and make an unusual pickle. Growing French Beans I have been growing these skinny purple beans for a few years now. Like most backyard green beans, they are easy to grow and quite prolific, so you get a lot of food for little work. But because they […]
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