Sitting on some new ideas...

Sorry I haven't been posting much these past few weeks.

I've been kinda' preoccupied.

I'm busy keeping some new ideas warm, working on creative projects outside the home, and doing plenty of preserving & recipe-writing in my favorite place in the world...my kitchen.

Hopefully you won't have to wait much longer to see the results. My goal is to roll out the new website by the summer, because after that I'll be scrambling around my kitchen, preserving everything & anything that pops up in my garden. Until then, I'll keep on cluckin' over on my Facebook page, which is updated throughout the day. 

Thanks for chicken, I mean, checkin' in here. So glad you did. Wouldn't want you to think I flew the coop!
 

Candied Mandarinquats

Have you ever seen a Mandarinquat?

I hadn't either until the other day when I spotted them at Whole Foods. I wanted to try them, but I knew at $6.99/lb, I wasn't going to buy very many of these gems. 

  Mandarinquats are  a cross between a mandarin and a kumquat. They are an orange, bell-shaped fruit that is larger than a typical kumquat at about two inches long. The peel is very sweet and is eaten along with the tart flesh. 

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Best Way To Store Your Sealed Canning Jars

 First of all, let's hope you're lucky enough to have a special room or closet that is clean, cool, dark and dry. Maybe you even have a temperature-controlled zombie-proof walk-in pantry and a perfectly-cooperative LIFE Magazine-type family to help you put everything up on earthquake-proof shelves while sporting your freshly-coiffed hair, but I think I might be getting carried away with hyphens and hyperbole now, so let's cut to the chase...

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Pear Honey

Have you ever heard of Pear Honey? 

It's an old-fashioned thing. You might be surprised to hear there's no honey involved. The only time bees were needed for this recipe were to pollinate the pears & pineapple, the two main ingredients in Pear Honey.

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It's been a busy summer...

....and it has continues to be a busy fall. It doesn't look like things will slow down over the holidays either.

   My pantry overfloweth, which leaves me bursting with pride. I haven't only been putting up in jars, but drying, curing and fermenting too. It's difficult to take photos and type blogs when my hands are busy prepping, cooking, brining or processing produce, so I haven't been able to post as much content lately as I would like.

   My goal for Spring 2013 is to roll out a new look for my website, with an email subscription service and links to my favorite things. 

    In the meantime, you can always find plenty of my tips, ideas & recipes (usually including helpful step-by-step photos) by clicking on the topics on the right-side of my page. Hopefully I will still be able to post updates when I "can". Pun intended.
 

Preserving Pomegranate Juice

As we near the holidays, I've started seeing beautiful plump ruby-red pomegranates in the produce markets. I really want to take advantage of their freshness and buy a few, but I've always struggled with the messy task of extracting pomegranate-goodness from their pithy pulp.

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Boozy Black Moscato Grapes

If you're a preserver, you're probably always ready to pounce on a bargain. When I saw a small display of gorgeous seedless grapes at my neighborhood grocer for $2.00 per box, I thought it was a misprint. 2 pounds for only two dollars? The sign said "$4.99 off regular pricing/special purchase". I just knew I had to buy some. I had no idea what I would do with them, but I knew a box or two were going home with me. 

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Adorable Autumn DIY Project: Canning Jar Ring Pumpkin

Yesterday was just an average day until the mailman brought me a package. As I searched for a sharp object to cut open the box, I enjoyed that warm & fuzzy feeling I get when I receive an unexpected package and for a few moments have no idea what could be inside the box. I just knew in my heart it was going to be something good.

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The North Mason Coalition Canning Corps is ready, willing and able, and now we're legal too!

I live in Seattle but spend a fair amount of time in Mason County, a picturesque, heavily wooded part of Washington State about an hour northwest of Seattle. This mostly rural county is dotted with lakes, divided by rivers & streams, and has enough saltwater inlets to keep us happily eating a variety of shellfish & seafood all year 'round.

This past March when my husband and I attended the annual NMCCC Crab Feed fundraiser I noticed a little blurb on the paper placemats on our table, looking for people interested in a project called the Coalition Canning Corps.

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Fermenting Veggies

Sneak peek at the magic happening on my balcony right now:

Another use for jam....bake an Italian Jam Crostata!

Photo credit: Chow.com 

Are you like me? 

Do you have trouble saying "no"?

When the gorgeous ruby-red rhubarb stalks started coming up in my garden and the u-pick strawberries are plentiful and the neighbor is giving me a big bag of apricots because she "never liked 'em" but her sister "still brings 'em when she visits", I made jam. Lots of jam. I have trouble saying "no" to a deal involving fruit, especially free, almost-free or inexpensive fruit.

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Why I use Clearjel when making pie filling.

Why use Clearjel instead of cornstarch?

I did a little research online and found a few different reasons amongst regular cooks & canners.

Here are a few reasons people say they use Clearjel instead:

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