Why No New Blog Posts? I'm A Flower Farmer Now.

    But don't worry - I am still preserving like crazy. Not only am I making jams, jellies, pickles and syrups on a regular basis, I am fermenting, curing, candying and dehydrating more than ever.

      I decided to keep paying my monthly dues to keep my site alive, because most of the information included here is timeless and also who knows...I might find the time to post blogs again one of these days. 

     As always, my blog is a labor of love. I don't make money from ads, sponsorships or click bait - which I find so annoying I rarely read anyone else's blogs, no matter how much I adore the person or the topic. 

    Flower farming is very hands-on all year 'round here in zone 8b and it leaves me little time to write on my websites - yes I have more than one! My others are Faraway Flower Farm and Historic Faraway, and I can't find time write now to write on those either! 

You can't find me on Facebook at Learn To Preserve, any longer - on September 1st, 2021, my main Facebook profile was hacked and it took down not only my Learn To Preserve page, but my other 3 pages as well, listed below. I lost the ability to recover them and apparently they were deleted by Facebook. It was pretty disappointing.

If you're on Instagram you can find me on one of my 3 Instagram profiles:

• Faraway Flower Flower
• Historic Faraway
• Brook H Stephens

Or you can find me on Facebook once again, as of January 2022, where I post on my new Facebook page "The Barn Marché" which is a nod to the founders of our property, who started The Bon Marché department stores in Seattle in the late 1800s and who first built a summer home and barn on our property, in 1914. 

I realized I haven't created a blog post since 2014, and it was high time I gave y'all an update.

Thanks for sticking with me,

Brook XO  

Fresh Pineapple, Preserved 5 Ways.

One of my favorite ways to spend time is in the kitchen, challenging myself to preserve one fruit or vegetable in as many different ways possible. It partially stems from my innate desire to be creative, but it's also a result of growing up in a region that offers an abundance of low-cost and often free produce. "Free", as in, friends & neighbors giving me boxes of their garden or orchard bounty in exchange for jam, jelly or pickles. Win/win.

 Pineapple isn't grown in Seattle, of course, but in the darkest days of winter, or on chilly spring days, if I find a good deal on fresh pineapples I might buy 3 or 4 of them and spend a day preserving some of that sweet-sparkly tropical sunshine in a bottle or jar.

Keep in mind - fresh pineapple preserves beautifully. Its natural sugars really shine once they meet heat, and the naturally-present pectin makes it practically fool-proof. (No packets of pectin necessary!) For these reasons, and quite a few more, fresh pineapple is one of my go-to fruits for preserving, any time of the year. 

Apricot~Pineapple Jam

Pineapple Drinking Vinegar

Pineapple Jam

Pineapple-Jalapeño Chutney  

Roasted Pineapple Ketchup

I forget how busy September can be!

If it's September, so much is happening. Some of it planned, like demos, classes, preserving projects and trips.

And some of it unplanned, like plums & pears on my doorstep, packaged beautifully by the generous giver in a vintage Nordstrom hat box. 

If you read my blog, you probably wonder why I haven't been posting new articles on my website very often.

If you follow Learn To Preserve on Facebook, you might have a better idea.

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Vacuum-sealing Freezer Pickles with my FoodSaver

Yes, you heard that right: FREEZER pickles. 

In this case, Sweet & Sour Green Bean Freezer Pickles.

I've made a lot of pickles in my lifetime. In fact, some people refer to me as the "Pickle Princess", though I prefer Pickle QUEEN, thank you very much. Relax...I'm joking!

But let's get serious. A few months ago I heard someone mention freezer pickles and I had to do some investigating. From everything I read, freezer pickles are crispy, crunchy and packed full of flavor, just like you'd expect from a perfect pickle.

The benefit of freezing them?

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Know your Farmer

Know your farmer. 

My farmers' names are George & Michelle. George is 77, and Michelle is, well, younger than her husband. 

I can't tag them on my Learn To Preserve Facebook page because they don't "do Facebook". Their farm is called Summerhill Farms but they don't have a website, so I can't share it with you. Their farm is located on Highway 3 near Oakland Bay in Mason County, Washington. 

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Strawberry Jamtini Video

Growing a Greener World put together this adorable 2 minute video and I couldn't resist sharing. I think I still have the catchy little tune running through my head....

<< Whoops / Video No Longer Available >>

 For the full printable recipe (and another chance to watch this video, because you know you want to) check out this Strawberry Jamtini post.

Pear-Pineapple Jamtini Cocktail

 Every once in a while, when I try to give someone a jar of my homemade jam they say "oh, thanks anyway...but we don't eat much jam at our house. We don't really eat toast." 

In the back of my mind, this is usually followed by a question from me that goes something like this: "What? Pardon me...did you just say you don't. Eat. JAM???"

Being the die-hard jam maker/preserver that I am, I have to suppress the urge to shout "this isn't just a jar of jam! This is a jar of beautiful hand-picked tree-ripened fruit, cooked with organic cane juice sugar and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice!" 
"It's a yogurt topping!"
"A smoothie perker-upper!" 
"A baste for pork tenderloin!"
"And it's my new favorite way to use jam - a cocktail builder!"

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Triple The Fun With Dilly Green Beans

Once upon a time I had a brilliant idea.

Excited by the colors of a bounty of Blue Lake green beans, Royal Burgundy (purple) green beans and Golden Wax beans, my mind wandered to Mardi Gras.....

These colors were similar to the colorful jester hats, masks, beads, feathers, fleur de lis and King cakes that are everywhere in New Orleans, where my middle son lives. 

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Bread & Butter Pickle Slices

Start them off right with ice!

If you'd been following my Facebook page this week, you'd know this image is my current cover photo.
(It probably won't be much longer though...it changes often.)

These are sliced pickling cucumbers, sliced bell peppers and sliced onion, mixed with plenty of ice and just the right amount of pickling salt.
Icing & salting cukes is an important step in making the crunchiest, crispiest Bread & Butter Pickle Slices. What to learn more? Check out this past blog post which shows you the step-by-step process.

I post several times per day on my Facebook page. It is called - just like this website and my Twitter profile - "Learn To Preserve".

On my Facebook page, I try to post things that will help you and inspire you. How about checking it out?

"Learn To Preserve"

See you back here real soon. 

Thanks so much ~

Brook xo 

Pickling Spice Tips

I have a few favorite tips for using and getting the most from your pickling spices. At the end of my post I include a link to pickling spice recipes. Hopefully these tips will save you time, trouble and money.

Problem: You want to flavor your brine, but you don't want to have whole cloves, mustard seeds, bits of bay leaves, star anise, cardamom pods, peppercorns or other seasonings floating around in your jars of pickles.

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Horses Love Marionberries

Do you know about marionberries?

The marionberry was developed at Oregon State University in 1945 by crossing a Chehalem blackberry with a Olallieberry and named after Marion county in Oregon.

The marionberry is sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Blackberries" with a sweet, complex and rich earthy flavor that skirts that edge of bitterness found in many blackberries. Some people say they are seedless, but I don't know if that's technically correct. I do know the seeds are barely detectable when eating the berries, making marionberries almost too good to be true.

They have a short season here in the Pacific NW; they're usually only available in mid-late July. If you are ever lucky enough to find some, open your wallet and buy as many as you can afford. They are perfect for pies and preserves, and freeze beautifully. 

Later that day I shared a handful of marionberries with my mare, Charlee...

...and I think you can plainly see, they passed Charlee's taste test with flying colors!

Do Your Pickles Glow In The Dark?

My friend Elaine posted this on my Facebook page, and it turns out it's true. Yes, I had to do a little research...I was so intrigued!

 

(If you don't believe me, check out the video at the end of this post.)

Elaine and her husband Bill are big fans of my pickles. Every since that weekend they came to visit and I enlisted their help in putting up 50 pounds of Blue Ribbon Dill Pickles, they've been hooked.

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