Pioneer Woman at Heart

Sharing another blog draft.  I guess I had plans to make another batch of this jelly, but never did.  I used to make it for gifting family and friends.  The first time making this jelly, was back in August of 2013.  There used to be a link to a free online recipe for this, and since then, the link no longer works. It's actually called Balsamic Vinegar-Ruby Port Jelly , from Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications (2013). I did not do a lot of searching online, but I did see this magazine for sale on ebay and other locations, including an ebook option.   The same magazine also contains a recipe for strawberry margarita jam, that is so good!  It's not reduced sugar, but it is also great for gifting (or for yourself). It is a magazine, but I cannot remember where I picked it up either.  If you search on Bing for the jelly recipe it comes up, but not on Google Chrome (as of this post anyway). The jelly is great for snacking, as in an ap...

The process of this spring jelly is so intriguing.  It starts out the color of this (above). Wild Violet Jelly 2 cups freshly picked wild violets 2 cups of water, boiled Place violets in a quart canning jar and pour boiling water over it.  Seal with the canning lid, allow to cool, and refrigerate overnight. Day 2 Strain the violets from the liquid and add juice of one lemon or 3 Tbsp. of organic/non-gmo lemon juice.  Pour liquid into a steel pan and add 1 pkg. powdered pectin and bring to a boil. Add:  4 cups of sugar, bring to a boil and boil 1 minute. Power into sterilized jars, wipe rims, add lids and rims and place in canner pot to boil for 15 minutes.  (1/2 inch head space) Cool for 24 hours. Yield:  approx. 4 - 1/2 pint jars or 8 4oz. jars. (3rd time I made this, I squeezed the liquid from the violets, getting 1 more 1/2 pint jar of jelly. Note:  I break this up into 2 days, since it takes a bit of time to pick all those vio...

Preserving continues....   I started the early morning (yesterday) by canning one batch of habanero-apricot jelly with some of the habanero peppers.   We enjoy this jam on biscuits, rolls, crackers with cream cheese, on meats etc. It comes in handy for family/friend gatherings for appetizers and snacks.

I couldn't hold myself back any longer.   I mean why not?  Hubby is still fixing his truck, so the tree(s) still stands. I found this recipe by purchasing a discarded library book at a library book sale. You never know what you'll find at one. And a note:  I do not go looking for recipes like this one, they seem to find me.  And I really enjoy making them, and trying them.  I've been making this one for four years now.

I recently mentioned our Queen Anne's Lace Jelly , and thought I'd share my Nature Journal.  

The nail polish on my nails is no longer there.  I'm back to the garden and more preserving again.  It will be a treat when I get the next break, but wood splitting is about to take over too. Hubby and I were at the Farmer's market a while back, and he told me he wanted to buy "Root beer" jelly.  I looked at him and cringed.  I really should be roasting more pie pumpkins, pulling more out of the garden, and so forth.  I knew he wanted me to make it vs. him buy it, so I did.   Well, I decided that if I made this, that there would be a consolation prize for me.  Hm.  Maybe a new purse perhaps?  I'll have to think on that and get back with Hubby on that "prize" but I needed to make the jelly first.  The first challenge was . . .

 (Winston, playing under the rug during a snowstorm) I don't know if you remember or not, but last winter (before last Christmas) we found this cat in one of our barns - declawed, neutered, and the best behaved, loving cat I ever met. Unfortunately, with 3 indoor cats already, and two that are males, spraying was a huge problem.  Unable to find a home for him myself, he went to a shelter about 1 hour away. I don't think I even blogged about it either.  It was just a sad moment for me.

I recently made a jam with cantaloupe fruit and vanilla bean.  This jam has such an interesting combination of flavors, I had to try it.  If I were to make this again, I would can it in 4 oz. jars, and give as gifts, or sell for $4.00 for the small jar.  In the end, I did not get 3 - 1/2 pints, but 2 1/2.  I followed the recipe exactly, but if you are interested, there is one on-line  -

I'm back, and a day ea rly.  The tu lips are blooming and we have beaut iful colors surrounding the front porch - pink, purple, red, and white.   My break from blogging gave me more time to work o n our "extreme" house cle an ing.  I got all the windows washed and cleaned of winter mil dew, washed all the curtains, a few walls, and boots are put away.   I spent time cleaning out my clo set (holds my crafts supplies, so you can imag ine how packed in it is) , and tidying up and dusted.  I also go t work do ne in the gardens. Here's what else I got accomplished : I finished the brightly colored tablet cover.  I t was too short for my youngest da u ghter's tablet, so it went to my 1 3 year-old.  Ho we ver, I w ill still make her one.  I just won't make these for s ale.  The y will make great gifting ideas though.  The pattern is on Sugar n'Cream ( http://www.sugarncream.com/search.php?pspt=o...

I ma k e C innamon Cider Jelly every fall.  I typi cally give this away for gifts versus selling it. Cinnamon Cider Jelly 4 cups apple cider 1 / 2 cup cinnamon im perials (red hot cand ies) 1 box pow dered pecti n (1-3/4 oz) 4 1/2 cups granulated sugar     Add cider, cinnamon candies, and pow dered pecti n to a 6-8 quart stainless steel pan. Heat and stir on high, until it reaches a ro lling bo il. Add sugar, and stir on high until it reaches a rolling boil .  Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and skim.   Pour into steril ized, hot jars,  wipe jars with a clean wet tow el, and add lids and rims.   Place jars into canning pot .  Pro cess for 10 minutes. Remove from cann er and place on towel lined counter/table.  Let sit for 24 hours.  Place any jars that hav e not sealed into the ref rigerator. Yield:  Approximately 7 half pint jars. For Candy Apple Jelly , simply use organic, unsw eeten...

With more watermelons in the garden, I decided to experiment with new recipes.  We grew heirloom watermelons, so they are full of seeds.

Well, if you have been wondering where I've been..... I canned a second new recipe for salsa.  I canned 4 pints of Fiesta Salsa .  This is delicious too.  I found the recipe on-line.  In place of the chili pepper, I used green pepper, and used 1/2 cup combined jalapeno and cayenne peppers.  Yum!  There are many recipes on that site if you are seeking for recipes for canning or for other tomato recipes. I canned another 3 1/2 quarts of seasoned tomato sauce.  This is tedious work - chopping 23 pounds of tomatoes.  Thanks to my sauce maker, I don't have to peel, remove seeds, etc. prior to heating it all up first. I dehydrated another quart jar of potatoes, some kale and Parmesan cheese. I canned 4 half pints of homemade ketchup.  This took another 10 lbs. of tomatoes. I canned another 4 half pints of Pepper Jelly (a mix of green peppers jalapeno and cayenne peppers). I finally dug up some of the sweet potatoes, but still hav...

If you are wondering if I've been keeping up with my own family as well as items to sell, I have on some things, but not so much on jelly and jam.  We go through many jars during the winter, due to kids packing school lunches.    I canned 2 batches (6 pints and 4 1/2) pints of blueberry jelly, but that's not enough for my family for the winter.  These jars will be gone all too soon.  I am told now, that they prefer blueberry over grape. This year I was lucky to get 20 lbs. of blueberries this late.  They are out mid-July around here, and next year I will have to be more prepared.  We really need double that amount.  I blanched and froze 3 quart bags of tomatoes, with the help of my 15 year-old.  Canned 20 - 1/2 pint jars of Peach Jam. Canned 4 more pints of Sweet Pickle Relish. Canned 6 pints of our first canned salsa. The last two years I have made "fridge" salsa. This recipe was the Jalapeno Salsa recip...

I woke up Tuesday morning with a stuffy nose.  Not good.  I had trouble sleeping on account of congestion.  I was up early to drink my honey/ACV/water mix, hoping to prevent it from getting worse. I spent the day canning more Queen Anne's Lace Jelly.  I plan to give samples out at the next Farmer's Market day.  I was told that we can give them out, and I several people interested in trying it.  I was disappointed to see the color more yellow than pink this time.  I think it has to do with the amount of purple centers in the flower that I put in. I canned more sweet pickle relish too.  Long day for sure. In between that, I cooked up 7 pounds of ground beef for homemade sloppy joes. The weather is much cooler at nights here.  I am yearning to go camping. All but two of my zucchini plants died - squash bugs!  They are on my heirloom baking pumpkins now.  I spray every day with a natural spray, and even dust with ...

We've been experimenting with new cucumber recipes, and tried this cold pasta salad.  It's great with onion or with radishes.

Blanched and froze 40 cups of sweet corn. Staked 20 more tomato plants. Froze 7 cups of shredded zucchini. Canned 4 more pints of Sweat Pickle Relish. Dug up 2 rows of red potatoes. Number of eggs we got in June: 121 Baked up some beet chips for the first time every.  Delicious!  A bit of olive oil and sea salt.  These were amazing.  Now I have to buy a mandolin.  Otherwise, these won't bake evenly and some will burn. I used Martha Stewart's recipe for reference on temperature etc. Spent days and days weeding out all the flower, herb, and vegetable/fruit gardens.  Weeds, weeds, and more weeds. Purchased 12 wooden fence posts for the new goat pen. The 4-1/2 pints of apricot-jalapeno jelly that I made are half gone already.  Hubby loves it so much I am down to 2 jars.  I hope I get more peppers after the next rain. I need to can more to sell. Planted 4 more loofah seeds.  I'm taking a chance and tryin...