When it comes to canning, my eyes are definitely bigger than my stomach regarding how much jam, etc. my household can consume in a given year. If you are a home canner then you may suffer from the same insatiable desire to put all the bounty of summer into jars that you can get your hands on. I am slowly getting myself under control since I have a few years under my belt now and I know what my family likes and what sits in the cupboard. We don’t eat much bread in this house and when I do have […]
Notes from my Freshman Canning Summer
Preserving is addictive. I started canning with a rhubarb jam that I had been thinking of and before I knew it I was ordering pound after pound of rhubarb from Bailey’s. When strawberry season hit, I knew I was in trouble. I made so much jam last summer that I sold a lot of it at a Christmas craft and jewelry get together that my mom held at the end of November. I remember being in the kitchen sweating over my stove berating myself about why I have bought so much fruit and then ordering more the next day. I […]
Crème Fraiche & Brown Sugar Scones
I really wanted something to eat my jam with. I was content with just toast but I left a brand new store-bought loaf on the edge of the counter before I went out and guess who got it? George just couldn’t help himself and pulled it off the counter. I was very disappointed to discover that Buffy also got in on the action and likely ate much more of the bread than Georgie. She was hiding under the bed when I got home, consumed with guilt and likely a sore belly. BTW – you don’t want to know how I […]
Rhubarb Vanilla Bean Jam
This rhubarb jam is probably one of the best things that has ever come out of my kitchen. My husband, always my biggest fan, said that it is the best jam he has ever tasted. While it was cooking my house smelled amazing. If I had a clue how, I would bottle the scent or make scented candles out of it. The idea for this jam has been rattling around my head since last summer after I made what I guess would be called stewed rhubarb that I put on plain yogurt. I was pretty darn nervous about making proper […]