I'm a lazy canner you guys... I adore canning and especially love surveying the pretty rows of brightly colored jars when I'm finished, but you can bet that if I can safely take a "shortcut," I will. Take my home-canned applesauce for example. The vast majority of applesauce recipes insist you peel the apples first. But if you're me, you simply quarter them, core them, and toss them in the pot, peels and all. (And if you have a food ...Continue Reading
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Rustic Pear Tart with Cream and Spice
Confession time: If I have to choose between a sinfully rich chocolate dessert and a fruit dessert, I usually pick the chocolate. Scandalous, I know... It's not that I don't enjoy fruit desserts, because I do, (especially my homemade peach pie!), but chocolate will always hold a special place in my heart. Especially when it's combined with some sort of cream. I mean, can you really compete with that? However. The tables may have ...Continue Reading
Old-Fashioned Peach Butter Recipe
I'm a slow learner sometimes... I've been canning for quite a while now, yet I always seem to inadvertently mop my floors right before starting a new canning project. (And mind you--mopping does NOT happen frequently at my house!) It's like I subconsciously can't help it. This week, it was peach butter. Of all the things you can preserve, peaches are one of the stickiest, and I proceeded to splash that sticky peach puree ...Continue Reading
How to Can Pickled Beets
I have beets coming out of my ears right now, so this is timely information! If you plan to use a water bath canner to preserve your beets, pickling is an important part of the process. (Otherwise, you'll need to use a pressure canner, since beets are a low-acid food.) I love this tutorial from Annie at Montana Homesteader--especially since it doesn't require a bunch of sugar--beets are plenty sweet on their own! My name is Annie ...Continue Reading
70+ Homestead Hacks: Life Hacks for Homesteading
If there's one thing I've learned about homestead/farmer folk... ...it's that you guys are a ingenious bunch (especially when it involves baling twine or duct tape!) I'm all about conserving time whenever possible, and I'm always on the look-out for a good homestead hack to add to my collection. What’s a “Homestead Hack?” Good question. Here is how Wikipedia explains it: “Life hacking refers to any productivity trick, shortcut, ...Continue Reading