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Mint Syrup & Rhubarb Mojitos

This project started out as an attempt to preserve spring herbs. When I first started my garden, years ago, I was working with this bare hillside covered with brush and weeds.   I didn’t really have any experience with garden planning and made some strange choices, once of which was to plant a whole bunch…

Make This Now: Tomato Jam

I haven’t posted many jam recipes recently.  Mostly, I hate writing down recipes.  Then, I end up feeling like I really prefer simple jams anyway and that the magic isn’t really about my recipe so much as the fruit itself.   Great jam isn’t because of my recipe, it’s because of the farmer/mother nature/ the…

Citrus-Quince Marmalade with Fresh Rosemary

I’ve been having a bit of trouble finding inspiration for preserves this winter.  I went a whole month without canning a single thing, which I think has to be a record since I started canning.  I realized that the reason this had happened is that I started getting my fruit sourcing really dialed in last…

Brandied Cocktail Cherries

I’m crazy about these cherries. They’re so dark and elegant, with a touch of brandy and vanilla bean. They were inspired by these great looking brandied cocktail cherries that Aimee from Homemade Trade suggested to me.  I didn’t change the recipe much– mostly I just canned it to make it shelf stable instead of something for…

Chocolate Plum Jam

It is 108 degrees outside right now. You know that feeling when you get into a hot car that’s been sitting in the sun? I feel like that, except there is no engine to start, no windows to roll down, and no air conditioning to turn on. I am just finding my zen place instead….

Quince Slices in White Wine Syrup

Last month, I came to grips with the fact that I really just don’t like quince.  I think they taste like eating roses, and not in a good way.  The problem is that I still have two bushels of quince sitting in the pantry looking a little worse for wear and I really hate wasting…

Citrus Marmalade

I adore pomelos. I think the scent of a ripe pomelo is absolutely intoxicating. Truthfully, they’re in the kind of the same category as glitter and sparkly things for me, meaning that if I walk past them at a market, I get distracted like a little kid, forget what I was doing, and wander over…

Ginger Orange Smoked Salmon Tacos with Avocado Tomatillo Salsa and Roasted Sweet Meat Pumpkin

I’m about to embark on a few weeks of travels, which somehow means that I’ve actually planned in advance and finished the April Charcutepalooza challenge a whole week early. By this point of the Meat Festivities, I pretty much sit next to the computer like a crazy person waiting for the next month’s challenge to be announced….

Allium Blossom Vinegar

Allium Blossom Vinegar JULY 6, 2012 ~ CAROLINE Over the last couple weeks, we’ve been harvesting all of our alliums from the garden.  One of my beds of red onions had started shooting up flower stalks before I got to it, and after seeing the chive blossom vinegar from Food In Jars last year,  I thought I would…

Elderflower Sun Cordial For Elderflower Cocktails

I am an elderflower fiend. If I’m at a fancy bar that has signature cocktails and there’s anything with elderflower liqueur, I’m instantly sold. Usually on more than one of them, since St. Germain is delicious even on pancakes. The unfortunate part is that I usually can only find these lovely drinks at really fancy places, which…