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Food Preservation/ Recipes/ Uncategorized

Preserving Jalapeños

Jalapeños grow slowly along all summer, but really shine in the later summer into fall. You may end up with a windfall of fresh jalapeño peppers right as your garden gets its first freeze. Here’s a bunch of my favorite ways of preserving jalapeños.

Canning Jalapeños

There are a few ways of safely canning Jalapeños. Basically you can water bath process jalapeños in an acidified form.

Classic Pickled Jalapeño Slices:

These are the classic pickled pepper slices you may enjoy on nachos or many other ways. (Recipe at the end of post.)

Candied Jalapeños:

candied jalapeño

Candied jalapeños are a type of sweet and spicy jalapeño relish. You can find the printable recipe here:

Jalapeño Salsa

Homemade salsa is another way to continue enjoying your jalapeño harvest all through the year.

Smoking and Freezing Jalapeños

Smoked Chipotle Peppers:

Chipotle peppers are smoked fully-ripe (red) jalapeño peppers. You can make homemade chipotles by smoking them 3 hours, then dehydrating them until leathery. They will store best long-term in a bag in the freezer.

Jalapeño Poppers

You can make-ahead Jalapeño poppers by coring them and stuffing them with cream cheese. Dunk in milk and dredge with flour. Dunk in milk and dredge with Panko breadcrumbs. Flash freeze on a sheet pan and store in layers with paper towel in between in an air-tight container or freezer bag. Fry at 365* for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.

Pickled Jalapeños

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These are the classic pickled pepper slices you may enjoy on nachos or many other ways.

Ingredients

  • Fresh jalapeños
  • mustard seeds
  • celery seeds
  • Brine
  • 1/2 C water
  • 1 1/2 C vinegar
  • 1 Tbls canning salt
  • 1 Tbl sugar

Instructions

1

Slice Jalapeños into 1/4 inch rounds.

2

Place brine ingredients in a small pot and bring to a boil.

3

Pack jalapeño slices into pint jars. Each pint of slices can be seasoned with 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, and 1/8th tsp celery seed. Cover slices with the hot brine. Leave 1/2 inch headspace

4

Store in refrigerator or process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes.

Condiments/ Recipes

Candied Jalapeño

candied jalapeño

If you’ve had a great year growing peppers in the garden, or just found a great deal on jalapeños at the farmers’ market or supermarket you need a surefire recipe for preserving jalapeños for the long term so they don’t go bad sitting in your fridge. If you’ve eaten enough fresh in recipes like our jalapeño chicken with plum chutney recipe you may want to try canning jalapeños.

Canning Jalapeño Recipe

There are a few different ways you can preserve jalapeños by canning. Frequently people use their homegrown jalapeños in a batch of salsa to can. You can also can up the classic pickled jalapeños, or a batch of sweet and spicy hot pepper jelly. This candied jalapeño recipe is another great recipe for canning jalapeños.

Candied Jalapeño Recipe

Candied jalapeños are a sweet-savory jalapeño relish to use as a topping or ingredient for festive party foods, or just use to dress up a burger or dog.

If you want to use this recipe as a homemade Christmas food gift, use a combination of red and green jalapeños for the festive Christmas colors. Most supermarket jalapeños will just bee green. If you are growing them at home, just leave them on the vine a little longer and they will begin to turn red. You may be able to find a mix of green and red jalapeños at a farmers’ market as well.

Slice Jalapeños in 1/4inch rounds, set aside.


Slice garlic in thin slices.


Combine vinegar with salt, sugar and garlic, mustard seed, and ground ginger in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.


Add jalapeño slices and lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes, until jalapeños are dark green and have begun to absorb some of the brine.

Spoon jalapeños into jars cover with syrup leaving 1/2 inch headspace.


Wipe rims and add lids and bands. Can be stored in refrigerator up to 3 months.


For long-term storage process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes.

Candied Jalapeño

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A sweet-savory jalapeño relish to use as a topping or ingredient for festive party foods, or just use to dress up a burger or dog.

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds jalapeños
  • 3 cups vinegar, apple cider or white (at least 5% acidity)
  • 2 tsp pickling and canning salt
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 2 tsp. mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 tsp. turmeric (optional)

Instructions

1

Slice Jalapeños in 1/4inch rounds, set aside. Slice garlic in thin slices.

2

Combine vinegar with salt, sugar and spices in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.

3

Add jalapeño slices and lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes, until jalapeños are dark green and have begun to absorb some of the brine.

4

Spoon jalapeños into jars cover with syrup leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

5

Wipe rims and add lids and bands. Can be stored in refrigerator up to 3 months.

6

For long-term storage process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes.

Notes

Use red and green jalapeños for festive Christmas colors. Omit turmeric to avoid yellowish hue

Main Dish/ Recipes

Jalapeño Chicken Recipe With Plum Chutney

I harvested a bumper crop of jalapeños and I have a lot of things I want to make with jalapeños, but the first thing on my list is always this jalapeño chicken recipe with plum chutney.

Jalapeños and plums are both delicious late-summer seasonal produce and I love that this recipe combines them both. These plums are store-bought, but one of these years my plum trees will produce some plums and I can make this more homemade.

Begin by preparing the fruit and vegetables for the Jalapeño Plum chutney. Chutney is the Indian culinary term for a sweet and spicy condiment made of fruits and vegetables, vinegar, spices and sugar. Dice the onion. Remove the seeds and ribs from the Jalapeño to lower the heat (or leave them in if you prefer) and dice finely. (I always use gloves to work with jalapeños, I have sensitive skin.)

Grate fresh ginger. You can also substitute fresh ginger with 1/2 the amount of dried, ground ginger. Dice the plums in 1/4 inch dice.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a preheated saucepan on medium-highalong with the onion and jalapeño. Allow that to cook for about 3 minutes, or until softened.

Add the plums, ginger, sugar, vinegar, and curry powder. Bring the chutney ingredients to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the plums are softened and the liquid is slightly thickened.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the chicken is opaque throughout and nicely browned, about 5 minutes per side.

Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate. Add any chicken juices to the chutney and serve chicken with a spoonful of chutney on top.

Enjoy this spicy/sweet chicken perfect for late summer or early fall.

 

Jalapeño Chicken With Plum Chutney

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Dinner
By Jeanette Merrill Serves: 4

Jalapeños and plums are both delicious late-summer seasonal produce and this recipe combines them beautifully.

Ingredients

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
  • Salt and ground pepper
  • 3 Tbl olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion
  • 1/2 jalapeno
  • 3-4 red plums
  • 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 Tbl apple cider vinegar
  • 3/4 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp fresh ginger

Instructions

1

Begin by preparing the fruit and vegetables for the Jalapeño Plum chutney. Chutney is the Indian culinary term for a sweet and spicy condiment made of fruits and vegetables, vinegar, spices and sugar. Dice the onion. Remove the seeds and ribs from the Jalapeño to lower the heat (or leave them in if you prefer) and dice finely. (I always use gloves to work with jalapeños, I have sensitive skin.)

2

Grate fresh ginger. You can also substitute fresh ginger with 1/2 the amount of dried, ground ginger. Dice the plums in 1/4 inch dice.

3

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a preheated saucepan on medium-high along with the onion and jalapeño. Allow that to cook for about 3 minutes, or until softened.

4

Add the plums, ginger, sugar, vinegar, and curry powder. Bring the chutney ingredients to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the plums are softened and the liquid is slightly syrupy.

5

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the chicken is opaque throughout and nicely browned, about 5 minutes per side.

6

Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate. Add any chicken juices to the chutney and serve chicken with a spoonful of chutney on top.

Notes

To save on dishes you could cook the chicken first and set aside to rest. Then cook the chutney right in the same pan with the chicken juices.

Condiments/ Recipes/ Uncategorized

Fall Apple Recipe – Apple Butter

Apple butter on Pancakes

Our friend had an abundance of apples to share from her trees, and she invited us over to pick our fill. We still have quite a bit of apple sauce canned from last fall so I wanted to do something different. I remembered that we hardly made any apple butter last fall (We skipped our annual apple butter festival) so that is the inspiration we needed to make this simple apple recipe.

Apple butter is a great fun fall treat. It’s almost like a spreadable apple pie filling. We love it just on toast, but we have made it into apple butter cinnamon rolls before as well. Serve it on a cheese board or smothering the top of a baked brie cheese!

Making apple butter is very straightforward. You can make it completely to taste and you can can up any extras for your long term storage.

Core and chop apples. Peel them as well, if you do not have a strainer.

Use a mix of sweet ant tart apples for the best flavor.

Add a 1/2 inch of water to the bottom of the pan. Cook apples on low with the lid on for a few hours until soft. You can do this in a roaster pan, crock pot or on the stovetop.

You should be able to easily mash an apple chunk with the back of a spoon.

Put apples through a saucer, strainer or food mill, puree with an immersion blender, or mash with a potato masher.

The product you are left with should be plain apple sauce.

Return apple sauce to a slow cooker or a pot over low heat. Add sugar and spices, vinegar and lemon juice.

Cook for 4-6 hours until spreadable consistency (without excess liquid) is reached–stirring occasionally to keep from scorching.

You may check to see if a mounded spoonful stays mounded when cool. Or see if a spoonful on a plate stays in a mound or if liquid seeps out around the edges. If it does– continue cooking down longer.

Apple butter can be canned for long storage. Pour hot butter into sterile half-pint or pint jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Process 5 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Quart jars are processed for 10 minutes and need not be presterilized.

Spiced Apple Butter

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Apple butter is a great fun fall treat. It's almost like a spreadable apple pie filling. Delicious just on toast. Or serve it on a cheese board or smothering the top of a baked brie cheese!

Ingredients

  • Mix of apples to make puree -around 5lbs
  • for each 3 quarts of apple puree***
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp allspice
  • 2 dashes ground cloves
  • 2 T apple cider vinegar
  • 2 T lemon juice

Instructions

1

Core and chop apples. Peel as well, if you do not have a strainer.

2

Add a 1/2 inch of water to the bottom of the pan. Cook apples on low with the lid on for a few hours until soft. You can do this in a roaster pan, crock pot or on the stovetop.

3

Put apples through a saucer, puree with an immersion blender, or mash with a potato masher.

4

Return apple sauce to a slow cooker or a pot on low heat. Add sugar and spices, and vinegar and lemon juice.

5

Cook for 4-6 hours until spreadable consistency (without excess liquid) is reached--stirring occasionally to keep from scorching.

Notes

Makes 5-6 pints. Apple butter can be canned for long storage. Pour hot butter into sterile half-pint or pint jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Process 5 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Quart jars are processed for 10 minutes and need not be presterilized.

Main Dish/ Recipes/ Side Dish/ Uncategorized

Green Beans with Potatoes and Smoked Sausage

Southern Style Green Beans

I was looking for a main dish green bean recipe to use a lot of home grown green beans. We wanted to do more than have a side serving of buttered green beans with the rest of our meal.

The green beans are doing amazingly this year and we’ve been picking basketful after basketful.

Dice half a medium onion. Heat fat or oil in the bottom of a medium-sized pan (that has a lid) over medium heat. Sauté onions in fat until they begin to soften, about 4 minutes.

Add 2 cloves minced Garlic and 1 smoked sausage cut into 1/2 inch rounds. Cook until sausage rounds begin to get some brown color.


Add 2 cups green beans cut in 2 inch pieces and cook 2 minutes to blister skin.

Add chicken broth and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with lid and cook until green beans and potatoes are soft–about 20 minutes.

Smoked sausage can be replaced with bacon. If doing so, you can cook bacon and onions together with no additional oil.
Any variety of potatoes may be used, even russet, but small waxy potatoes will hold their shape better.

Green Beans with Potatoes and Smoked Sausage

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By Jeanette Merrill Serves: 8
Prep Time: 40 minutes

A classic southern side dish hearty enough for the main course

Ingredients

  • Fat/Oil
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Smoked Sausage, cut into 1/2 inch rounds
  • 2 cups green beans, cut in 2 inch pieces
  • 3 cups gold potatoes, washed, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 cup chicken broth

Instructions

1

Heat fat in the bottom of a medium-sized pan (that has a lid) over medium heat.

2

Sauté onions in fat until they begin to soften, about 4 minutes.

3

Add Garlic and smoked sausage. Cook until sausage rounds begin to get some brown color.

4

Add green beans and cook 2 minutes to blister skin.

5

Add chicken broth and potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with lid and cook until green beans and potatoes are soft--about 20 minutes.

Notes

Smoked sausage can be substituted with bacon. If doing so, cook bacon and onions together with no additional oil. Any variety of potatoes may be used, but small waxy potatoes will hold their shape better.

Dessert/ Recipes/ Uncategorized

Mulberry Crumble Bars

Mulberry Crumb Bars

Mulberries are a surprise luxury that many people overlook.

Don’t be too distracted with the birds making a mess of the mulberries in your yard to realize that they are a wonderful resource for jams and delicious baked goods like these mulberry crumble bars.

When mulberries are ripe they will fall easily into your hand as you grab them. Many people harvest mulberries by laying a sheet out on the ground and shaking the branches of the tree to let the ripe berries fall.

Unlike thimble-shaped raspberries, mulberries retain their small stem. You do not need to worry about removing the stem, you can eat it just like you can eat the seeds of mulberries and raspberries.

If you prefer, you can use a food mill to remove the seeds and stems, but you will need significantly more berries.

Crumble bars are a favorite treat we like to make with raspberries, but mulberries are a great berry to use in crumb bars instead when they are in abundance.

mulberry crumble Ingredients

Begin by macerating the mulberries. This means mixing them with sugar to bring out some of the juices. We will also add corn starch and flour to thicken the juices as they cook.

If you have previously made some, you can substitute this set of ingredients with mulberry jam.

mulberry crumble ingredients

Next, make the crumble base by cutting the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter.

Press two-thirds of the crumble mixture into the base of a 9×13 pan. set the remaining one-third aside.

Spread out the berry mixture over the bottom crust. Crumble the remaining dry mixture over the top. Bake, cool, and enjoy!

mulberry crumble bars

I grew up in the southwest and was not familiar with mulberry trees, but my husband knew them and we would forage for them.

Our new farm has a number of large mulberry trees, but there are also small sprouted trees all over our property. we have moved a bunch to make a windbreak. So we will be in the mulberries for a long time into our farm’s future!

mulberry dessert

Mulberry Crumble Bars

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Dessert
By Jeanette Merrill
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 40 minutes Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • Mulberry Filling
  • 3 Cups fresh mulberries
  • 2 T granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • juice of one lemon
  • Crumble Layer
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cups melted butter
  • 3 cups rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar (loosely packed)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2

Place mulberries in a medium bowl, mix berries with sugar, flour, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Set aside.

3

Mix the flour, butter, oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt together into a crumbly mixture. Press two thirds of the crumble into the bottom of a 9×13 pan lined with parchment paper.

4

Pour the mulberries and accumulated juices over the bottom crust. Spread into a single layer. Sprinkle the top with remaining crumble mixture. Bake for 40 minutes.

5

Cool before slicing into bars.

Notes

Store up to one week in airtight container. Mulberries may be replaced with raspberries or any berry combination.

Beverages

Homemade Chai Bubble Milk “Tea” Recipe (Tea-Free)

Chai milk boba bubble tea

I love fun drinks. When I heard of bubble tea, or boba tea I was definitely intrigued. But I don’t drink tea made from tea leaves, so I knew I would have to make a homemade version if I wanted to try it.

I’m using chai spiced milk in place of the milk tea. Essentially I use all the spices in chai infused in milk, but I don’t add any tea leaves or tea powder. This chai spiced milk is also awesome for making hot cocoa as well, by the way.

The “bubbles” or boba are actually made from large pearl tapioca (amazon affiliate link-I may earn a small commission). Mine are large pearl, with the only ingredient being tapioca. If you find something different use the instructions for cooking on your particular package.

Large pearl tapioca

If you can only find small pearl tapioca you can still use it. You just don’t need the extra large milkshake or smoothie straws (amazon affiliate link–I may earn a small commission). You will be able to drink it with normal sized straws.

Start by getting your tapioca cooking. Cook for 30 minutes, then remove from the heat and let sit 30 minutes . Then rinse. Test the boba to see if they are done. If you have extra-large tapioca you may need to repeat this boiling a second time. The boba should be chewy, not mushy and they do not have to be clear all the way through to be “done.”

Make brown sugar syrup and stir the boba into it to sit an absorbent flavor and dark color.

brown sugar syrup tapioca

Crush chai spices to infuse better. Or you can use powdered spices if you want. Split vanilla bean. Add to 2 cups water and simmer 15 minutes. Add 2 C milk and cook 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Allow to cool.

chai spices

Split boba between cups. Swirl boba syrup around in the cups up the sides. This will create a swirly design on the sides of the cup when you add the milk. It’s what they do at bubble milk tea shops!

pouring chai milk bubble tea

Add a scoop of ice. Pour in milk.

Serve immediately with a milkshake straw. You can cut the tip of the straw at an angle to allow the boba to slide into the straw easier. Enjoy!

The tapioca, once-cooked, is best used the same day for the best texture.

Make the chai-spiced milk early enough in advance to cool it down before layering your drink.

Chai Bubble Milk Tea Recipe (No Tea)

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Beverages
Serves: 8
Total Time: 1.5 hour

Bubble tea is a fun drink from Taiwan that gives you the experience of chewy bubbles in your drink.

Ingredients

  • Brown Sugar Bobas
  • 1 C white pearl tapioca
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons molasses
  • Chai-Spiced Milk
  • 6 cardamom pods
  • 4 whole black peppercorns
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 2-inch piece of crystallized ginger
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 whole allspice
  • 1 star anise
  • ½ vanilla bean, sliced down the middle
  • dash nutmeg
  • ½ pinch of fennel seeds
  • 2 C milk
  • 1/2 C sugar

Instructions

1

Cook tapioca in 16 Cups water for 30 minutes, then remove from the heat and let sit 30 minutes. Rinse. Test the "boba" to see if they are done. If you have extra-large tapioca you may need to repeat this boiling a second time. The boba should be chewy, not mushy and they do not have to be clear all the way through to be "done."

2

Make brown sugar syrup by mixing 2 tablespoons water with the brown sugar and molasses and stir the boba into it. Set aside to absorb flavor and dark color.

3

Crush chai spices to infuse better. Split vanilla bean. Add to 2 cups water and simmer 15 minutes. Add milk and sugar and cook 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and strain. Allow to cool.

4

Split boba between 8 8-oz cups. Swirl boba syrup around in the cups up the sides. This will create a swirly design on the sides of the cup when you add the milk.

5

Add a scoop of ice. Pour in milk--divide between the 8 cups.

6

Serve immediately with a milkshake straw. Enjoy!

Notes

You can cut the tip of the straw at an angle to allow the boba to slide into the straw easier. You can use powdered spices if you want.

Dessert/ Recipes

Chewy Molasses Cookies with Molasses Buttercream

Fall has arrived in our neck of the woods. So we love to make our favorite fall cookies.

I love pumpkin spice as much as the next girl. But molasses is another fall flavor that is great to really lean into this time of year.

These molasses cookies have crisp edges, but are nice and chewy on the inside. The creamy molasses buttercream frosting is a great addition to take these cookies to the next level, but is not strictly necessary.

Enjoy these cookies with a steaming mug of spiced cider and enjoy the best of what the fall season has to offer.

Molasses Cookies with Molasses Buttercream

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dessert
By Jeanette Serves: 3 doz
Prep Time: 15 Cooking Time: 11-13 mins

Chewy molasses cookies with crispy edges, chewy middle and creamy molasses buttercream frosting on top.

Ingredients

  • COOKIE
  • 1 ½ cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup light unsulfured molasses
  • FROSTING
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
  • 2 Tablespoons light unsulfured molasses
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2

In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter together. Beat in egg, then molasses, until smooth.

3

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

4

Gradually add flour mixture until a nice dough forms.

5

Drop by tablespoonful onto baking sheets covered in parchment. Leave plenty of space between as cookies will spread in the oven.

6

Bake until edges start to darken, 11 to 13 minutes

7

Make molasses buttercream by beating butter with molasses until they are combined. Gradually add in powdered sugar, and mix until smooth and spreadable.

Notes

If you don't have any brown sugar, just substitute with white sugar and add one more tablespoon molasses to the dough. The cookies are delicious on their own without the buttercream as well.

Condiments/ Edible Flowers/ Recipes

Wild Violet Jelly Recipe

Sometimes when I see or read an idea, I know instantly: I will do that.  I latch on to it and become determined to make it happen.  That’s how it was for me when I first heard of wildflower jelly.

Last year I made dandelion jelly first, but was sad to have missed the wild violet season. This year I was determined to make the violet jelly, so I did that first.

I have a growing collection of edible flower recipes which I will share this summer as the flowers come in season.

The jelly has a sweet floral fragrance and taste. Not very strong. But very beautiful.

The common blue violet has grown as a “weed” in our lawns in Utah, Kansas, and Indiana. The leaves are dark green, heart-shaped and toothed. There are five violet-colored petals that are irregular in a group of two and three. The blossom hangs off of a crook at the top of the stem.

Make sure you are confident in identifying the common blue violet before picking some blossoms. Always make sure you are harvesting from an area that is not sprayed or treated with any chemicals.

Gather 2 cups of blue violets. Pour 2 cups boiling water over the blossoms to steep them like tea. Steep blossoms in water overnight. 

Strain the blossoms out by pouring water into a second container through a floursack towel to keep out all the dirt. (See what got left behind?)

The violet water is a deep blue color, but when you add lemon juice (the acidity is necessary to preserve the jelly) it turns a bright fuchsia color.

Add water if needed to make 2 cups.  Add lemon juice. 

Follow directions for your pectin. For example my directions stated: Add pectin to juice.  Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve.  Add sugar, return to rolling boil, and boil for one minute exactly.  Ladle into jars and process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.  (Makes 12 4oz jars)

Wild Violet Jelly

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A sweet fuchsia-colored jelly made from wild common blue violet blossoms.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups violet blossoms, stems removed
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • juice of one lemon
  • 1 package pectin (I used sure-jel for these)
  • 4 cups sugar

Instructions

1

Steep blossoms in water overnight. Strain out the blossoms. Add water if needed to make 2 cups. Add lemon juice. Follow directions for your pectin–my instructions were: Add pectin to juice. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve. Add sugar, return to rolling boil, and boil for one minute exactly. Ladle into jars and process in water bath canner for 10 minutes. (Makes 12 4oz jars)

Honey Sweetened Violet Jelly

I experimented with using honey instead of white sugar to make the jelly.  I use Pomona’s Pectin. I used one cup of the violet water and followed the directions in Pomona’s for a basic jelly.  It was 1T lemon juice; 1/4 cup honey; 1 tsp of the calcium water (that comes with the Pomona’s Pectin); and 1 tsp of pectin. (Makes 3 4oz jars)

Next time I will use a little bit more pectin because it was a pretty loose set, and I may add a bit more honey–it was a very mellow jelly.  It definitely has some floral hints to it and I could taste the honey.  Obviously the jelly was more cloudy from the honey.

Main Dish/ Recipes/ Side Dish

Ham Fried Rice

My kids always eat fried rice and never complain about it. It comes together really quickly and easily for a fast weeknight dinner. And you can actually switch out the meat and vegetables to use the things you have on hand.

Fried rice can be made vegetarian without any meat. It can also be made including almost any kind of meat–fresh or preserved. Ham or shrimp are common, but chicken and beef are popular as well. Fried rice is traditionally made with leftover vegetables. It almost always includes onions, but can also include peas, mushrooms, carrots or many other vegetables.

I intentionally buy a ham larger than our family needs for one meal, so that I can use the leftovers for recipes like this.

I like to make fried rice using the leftover chunk of ham on the end of the ham bone that was not spiral sliced so I get nice cubes of ham. But you could use ham slices chopped up as well. (If you want to know what to do with the ham bone, check out this recipe!).

Slice ham into half inch cubes.

Slice 2-3 green onions into quarter inch slices. (Have you ever tried regrowing green onions from the root ends? It actually works pretty well.)

Set aside the green slices for garnish.

Crack four eggs into a bowl. Whisk eggs.

Add 2 tbs olive oil in the pan and 2tsp toasted sesame seed oil to wok or cast-iron skillet. Heat up until oil shimmers.

Add the ham and the onion to the skillet along with frozen peas and sauté those up for a minute. Next add the rice.

It’s best to use cooked and cooled rice. If it isn’t fully cooled down then fried rice will end up a little more gummy. But in a pinch you can still use it.

Then then I add a splash of soy sauce for a little salty flavor.

Finally, pour in the egg. Immediately start stirring the rice. The idea is to get every grain of rice coated with a little bit of egg. After stirring, let it sit for a minute to cook on the bottom and then stir it again.

When there is no more uncooked egg, remove from heat. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and with some green onions.

Serve along with potstickers or just enjoy fried rice as a main dish itself. 

Ham Fried Rice

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Main Dish
Serves: 6
Prep Time: 40 Cooking Time: 20 Total Time: 1 hour

A delicious family-friendly recipe to use up extra ham.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup rice
  • 1 cup cubed ham
  • 2-3 green onions
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp toasted sesame oil

Instructions

1

Cook rice your preferred way. Fluff rice, allow to cool.

2

Slice ham into half inch cubes. Slice green onions into quarter inch slices. Set aside the green slices for garnish. Crack eggs into a bowl. Whisk eggs.

3

Add olive oil and toasted sesame seed oil into wok or cast iron skillet. Heat up until oil shimmers. Add the ham and the onion for the skillet along with frozen peas and sauté those up for a few minutes until the onions soften. Next add the rice. Then pour soy sauce over the rice, stir.

4

Finally, pour in the egg. Immediately start stirring the rice. After stirring, let it sit for a minute to cook on the bottom and then stir it again. When there is no more uncooked egg, remove from heat.

5

Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and with some green onions.

Notes

Serve along with potstickers or just enjoy fried rice as a main dish itself.