Kitchen Archives - Page 2 of 4

Making Crab Apple Juice for Pectin

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There are several varieties of crab apples. Most people do not use the ornamental crab apples because they are so small and tedious to use, but since we had them we thought we would not let them go to waste. Last year we tried making a batch of crab apple juice. I thought it was tasty, but everyone else thought it was just way too tart. Since it was not going to be a preferred beverage in our house, we decided to try making it unsweetened this year and store it to be used for its pectin for later use in making other jams and jellies where pectin needs to be added.
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How to Make Crab Apple Jelly | Canning Crab Apple Jelly

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Jon and I are on vacation from work this week and decided to try our hand once again at making crab apple jelly. Last year was our first attempt at any jelly and it was a fail. Then we made it in November so we were worried that the crab apples were too far gone on the tree this year. There were more overly brown and rotten crab apples than in November, but still the tree was loaded down and Jon was able to pick about 1.5 gallons of crab apples from our ornamental crab apple tree.

There are tons of varieties of crab apples. Most people do not use the ornamental crab apples because they are so small and tedious to use, but they are perfectly edible and since we had them we thought we would put them to use.
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Recipe: No Bake Cookies

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Here is a recipe for a chocolate staple at our house. We have a bit of a sweet tooth when it comes to chocolate. Rather than spending a few dollars on chocolate snacks every time we go to the store, we started making No Bake Cookies. Some people may call them Peanut Butter Delights or Preacher Cookies, but I have always called them No Bake Cookies, and I was proven right when Ann brought a pack home from the store a few years ago only to her dismay to realize they said “No Bake Cookies” right on the label.

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Witch Fingers for Halloween Party

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Recently, I was trying to find a neat spooky treat to make for a soccer Halloween party. I found a couple of ideas on pinterest to try. As sometimes happens some of the ideas did not turn out as easy and cute as it looked on pinterest. However, I did have much success making witch fingers. So, when Sarah and I decided to make them again yesterday for our family Monster Mash Halloween party I thought I would take some pictures of the process.

We started with vanilla white chocolate squares. I used the store brand for Candy Quick. I have tried melting chocolate and white chocolate in a double boiler, but it can be tricky. I do find that working with the microwave to melt the white chocolate is so much easier. It comes in a tray that you can just melt the squares in.
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Pressure Canning Black Eyed Peas and Crowder Peas

How to Pressure Can Crowder and Blackeyed Peas

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A crowder pea is any variety of cowpea bearing pods with closely spaced (crowded) seed (peas). Last year, we grew Top-Pick Crowder Peas and saved some seeds and planted them this year.

We love crowder peas. They are our favorite, but we also planted blackeyed peas as well. Both are in the cowpea family. This method below will work for any variety of crowder pea, blackeyed pea, purple hull peas, etc.

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DIY: Inexpensive Easy Drying Rack

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Not long ago, my better half decided that we needed a drying rack when she was inspired by Magnolia Holler’s Herb Drying Rack. It would come in handy for drying our garlic and our winter bulblets. Being frugal (read: cheap) we settled on a rather inexpensive design.

We started with an adjustable window screen.

Photo Credit Google

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Bacon Wrapped Squash | Squash Pan Fried in Bacon

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Are you trying to find new and inventive ways for cooking your bountiful supply of squash, then give bacon wrapped squash a try! Sometimes with a bumper crop you start to get tired of eating the same old thing over and over again. This was the year for squash. Anything with bacon must be good, right?

It is so simple and a real nice change of pace with the squash.
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How To Make Chicken Broth

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What super-food can you make for pennies, maybe even for free? Chicken broth is healthy, very simple to make, and supports your immune system. And did I say it’s inexpensive?

Whenever I make chicken for dinner – at least once a week – I remove the bones and put them in zippered freezer bags. The bags go right into the freezer.

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Putting Up Food on the Homestead

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The Importance of Preservation

I grew up learning the value of preserving food for the winter and hard times. Our family grew a big garden each year and canned or froze the extra for later. We visited pick your own farms or combed the fields for wild apple trees to harvest fruit to stock our pantry. I continue to put away produce for my own family now that I’m a wife and mother. I want to make sure there is plenty of food in our house in case a snowstorm closes the roads or price increases put the basic necessities out of our price range. Besides that, I get a real sense of satisfaction when I pull jars of my own home canned foods out of storage and make a meal entirely from foods I preserved!
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Making Blackberry Jam

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We were pleasantly surprised this year by the size and amount of blackberries we picked from our 2 blackberry canes that we planted last year. I made a couple of blackberry cobblers with some of the harvest. We picked the rest as they came in a little at a time and put them in the freezer. We also picked a few wild blackberries from our rural property and froze them. The blackberries from our thornless canes are substantially larger than the wild blackberries, but we are thankful for them all. It is ok to pick a few of your berries a little early before they have completely ripened (with just a touch of red in them) if you intend to use them for jam. The tart red blackberries have more pectin and will aid in the jam setting up. Still the majority of our berries were fully ripe when picked. All total I believe we froze about 4 gallons of blackberries.
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