Love to give homemade gifts, but don’t have time for a lot of last-minute baking? Well, that’s where canning can come in really handy! Over the past few years, I’ve started doing a lot of canning and preserving throughout the summer. One reason is that I love to save the best of each season to…
The holidays are officially here. I can attest to that based solely on the crowds at the mall on Friday! While I do enjoy going shopping on Black Friday with my mom each year, I never seem to finish up all of my Christmas shopping. This year, I barely made a dent in my list. Since I…
Thanksgiving is just a few short weeks away… 2 weeks and 1 day to be exact, but don’t panic. It will be OK! As I mentioned last Friday, I’m hosting Thanksgiving this year. So, I’ve had Thanksgiving on the brain for a few weeks already! If you read my blog regularly, you know that I…
Earlier this year, I picked up a copy of the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. I immediately became somewhat obsessed with making homemade mustard. At the time, though, I was busy with canning all of the fresh fruits and veggies that were in season. I was busy making jams, salsas, and pickles. So, I…
Every year around this time I start to regret planting a jalapeño pepper plant in my garden. You see, I seem to have quite the knack for growing jalapeño peppers in my garden. In the spring, I think, “Oh, it will be so great to have fresh jalapeños from the garden!” And, when those first…
In my canning fury a few weeks ago, one of the new recipes I tried was a recipe for hot pepper jam. I wasn’t entirely sure what to think… Jalapeño peppers in a sweet jam? I was skeptical. But, I had tasted a few similar recipes at the farmers market a few weeks earlier, so I figured…
I have a furry kitchen helper… If you read my blog regularly, you’ve met her before. Her name is Yellowdog, and she’s a yellow lab (real creative, right?). But, she’s not your regular yellow lab… She loves veggies. I grew up in a family that always had dogs – big dogs. Over the years, I…
At the risk of receiving hate mail and nasty comments, let me be honest with you for a moment. I really don’t enjoy summer. I am not a hot weather girl, and I prefer to stay cool in the shade. I am much happier in the cooler (even cold!) months of the year when I…
You may remember that I picked 20 pounds of peaches last weekend. Yes, it may have been a bit excessive on my part, but deep down, I enjoy a bit of excessiveness in the kitchen… Especially when it comes to fresh, local produce! I knew that if I picked 20 pounds of peaches, I would…
Over the weekend, my mom and I went peach picking at a local orchard. There’s just something very satisfying about picking your own fruit, and it definitely couldn’t be any fresher! I managed to pick 20 pounds of peaches in no time at all, knowing that I wanted to do some canning over the weekend, and…
