I’m a huge fan of being able to combine form and function in my garden (and life overall). If something can be both attractive and useful, that’s a huge win to me!
Continue reading Scented Geranium & Apple Jelly (No Added Pectin)
The irony does not escape me that I write recipes for other people to follow, while I seldom follow anyone else’s. Hopefully no one takes it personally. I don’t always follow my own, either.
Continue reading Pomegranate-Apple Jelly (No Pectin Added)
There are few things from the kitchen as pretty as a perfectly set jar of sparkling, jewel-toned jelly. However, those “less attractive” jars of jam deserve some love, too.
Continue reading Pomegranate Jam
As I have added more recipes for making jams and jellies, I began to realize I was repeating myself. A lot. I already do that as a teacher all day long. It’s not fun.
Continue reading Jam & Jelly Making Basics
Several years ago we planted a Morello cherry tree in our garden. I was a little disappointed to later realize that it would never grow much bigger than 7 to 8 feet tall… until we started pulling in more cherries than I could figure out what to do with.
Continue reading Sour Cherry Jam (No Added Pectin)
I have three varieties of plum trees in my yard. The earliest to ripen is the Santa Rosa. They look and smell so luscious, and then you bite into one. PUCKER!!!
Continue reading Plum Jam (No Added Pectin)
One of my fondest childhood memories is going into my grandparents’ back yard looking for ripe blackberries on their vine. In December. Kind of didn’t understand plants back then. Continue reading Old-Fashioned Seedless Blackberry Jam (No Pectin Added)
I have come to embrace the fact that so much of what I make is often in response to having food on the verge of giving up on the world. The thought of wasting food becomes a great motivator to get off my behind and go do something about it.
Continue reading Orange Marmalade
When was the last time you saw something like basil jelly in the grocery store? I never have, but I know it exists because my mom would make it from scratch. That’s the wonderful thing about making your own goodies is that you get to have so many options available to you.
Really, sometimes there’s no school like old school. I’m pretty darned sure the settlers didn’t have a box of pectin in the back of the wagon. They just used fruit, water, and sugar. That’s it. They relied on natural sources of pectin and just a slight bit of patience. No food colors, no gelling enhancers.
Continue reading Apple Pectin Jams & Jellies
Mostly Greek 