We’re dealing with some health issues, hence posting is light. I’ll fill y’all in when there is some resolution. In the meantime, find some sour cherries. These are the best preserves ever. If I could only eat one jam for the rest of my life, this would be it. Sour cherry preserves kick the...
Read more →Roasted beets are my favorite. Earthy, sweet, and purple, my favorite color! Pickled beets are my grandmother’s favorite. Last year my mother made them for her and this year I decided to do the same. I shared that I was pickling on twitter and discovered that my friend Susan of Travels with Pirates also...
Read more →My aunt Deb picked and delivered a large box of pears from her farm. We ate some fresh, but soon the pears begged to be preserved before they rotted. My thoughts turned to pear sauce and pear butter, but I have a large store of applesauce already in the pantry and I’m not sure...
Read more →If you, like me, endeavor to make jelly, the following lessons are helpful to keep in mind: 1. You will have more waste seeds, stems, skins than volume of juice remaining after stewing and food milling fruit. 2. You will want to clarify the juice by pressing it through a chinois. 3. When that...
Read more →Local Matters has declared the next seven days Local Foods Week. They have arranged a plethora of local food activities including a Market to Market ride going on now. Alex, Lil, and I have tickets for the Jeni’s Tour Tuesday and I’m trying to figure out how to catch Brother’s Drake Meadery at one...
Read more →This crate of jars was given to me by my mother who received it from my paternal grandmother. What does this look like to you? Trash? To me, it was a box full of potential. I know Grandma Joyce is a collector of stuff. Out of the box of miscellaneous jars, I decided not...
Read more →In Canning Week 2010 day 3, I share a bit about canning vegetables. View a lesson on pectin and recipe for peach jam from earlier in the week. Tomorrow I’ll discuss pickles. The massive harvests are starting, and they aren’t limited to sweet fruits. Something has to be done with mountains of tomatoes, corn,...
Read more →Canning week continues today with a recipe for fruit jam. Yesterday I discussed pectin. Tomorrow, we’ll delve into vegetable canning. Peaches are in season in Ohio and many other places across the country. Farmers markets and CSA baskets are overflowing with these fuzz covered wonders. The sweet juiciness of a peach is hard to...
Read more →Harvest season is almost upon us. Vegetables and fruits which are just now surprising us with their ripe sweetness will soon be piling in from the garden, the CSA, or the farmers market. Make the most of the bounty by putting up stores for the winter. I will lead two basic canning workshops this...
Read more →On Friday I made rhubarb jam. The day before, reporter John Ross raised an eyebrow when I told him I love canning. He’s writing an Alive & Unedited piece about me that will be in the June 3 issue of Columbus Alive! It’s true. It pleases my soul to take an in-season about-to-spoil fruit...
Read more →