Pioneer Woman at Heart

  I had a request to share the final wild violet jelly after it was processed and made, and I am finally getting the photos together to share that.   I apologize for the delay. 2 cups of wild violets with 2 cups of boiling water poured over them to infuse).  I was told to let it sit up to 24 hours, but I have let my infusion stay in the fridge after that for up to 3 days.  Strain the flowers from the liquid. Add juice of one organic lemon.  The mixture turns from a blue-ish color to a more pink color. Add the liquid to a pot on the stove, and add one box of powdered pectin.  Stir and bring to a boil. Don't forget to get canning pot ready and prepare jars and lids. Once it comes to a boil, add 4 cups of sugar and bring to a hard boil for 1 minute. Fill jars with 1/4 inch head space, wipe rims, add lids and I put my jars in a water bath for 15 minutes.  The recipe I was shared, did not have a water bath time, but most jelly recipes say 10 minutes. T...

  I've been keeping an eye out for spring wild violets.  They make the most delicious jelly, and the color is so pretty (and different, which makes it great for gifting).   Rain continues here, so we may see wild violets earlier, but with snow in the forecast for today, we may not see them until next month. Are you seeing wild violets yet? If you have wild violets growing, or you are able to forage for them, you can read about the first time (May 2, 2018 is the day I picked the violets) I made this jelly on this blogpost (link) .  It's not only a delicious and beautiful jelly, it smells wonderful while you are making it.  The next year I canned it, I used the 4 oz jars for gifting.  You do need to pack your cups when measuring the violets.  The less you have, the lighter the color and less of flavor.   (photo from The Crochet Crowd - they are currently working up a pattern/diagram) It's been so refreshing to walk into our living room and...

  Wednesday's sunrise started out pretty nice, although they said clouds would move in.  I was slow to start the day, but put on some dance music and got to work. Breakfast ended up a sage sausage/asparagus bake with some home grown basil, garlic, and kale.  I added a bit of freshly grated parmesan cheese too. I canned  jars of wild violet jelly .  I am so glad I picked the violets when I did.  Snow showers are expected today.  Wild violets are medicinal as well as making a delicious jelly.  I have a yard full of the white/purple ones too, but haven't picked any. Wild violet jelly is a very fun process. Violets are picked and steeped.  The color turns to a beautiful blue color.  Once the liquid is strained, and lemon juice added, it turns into a beautiful pink.  It smells wonderful and tastes even better.  A once a year jelly.

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...

My homestead has a somewhat good amount of wild violets.   I was itching to pick some wild purple violets, for my "new" jelly to try this year.  I've never made it and we had a very busy weekend.  So...I picked the violets....