Adventures in local food: Growing & Preserving
Tips for Storing produce and food
Months ago, when I was shopping for blood oranges and oysters at the Allemany Farmers Market, I ran into these beauties: Fresh olives! I couldn’t believe it, and grabbed a huge bag of them. Olives are so delicious, and the thought of curing my own was majorly exciting. Of course, I had literally no experience…
I was going to make jam to sell at the farmers market with these pears. Local bartlett pears are one of my absolute favorite fruits to work with — they’re just so juicy. So sweet. I love them. I started eating a few fresh and then said screw it, I’ve gotta stash away a bunch…
Cranberries are one of the things that make me buy non-local fruit. I just can’t not do it. I love them. I want to put them in everything I make. The pears are local! They’re from my friend’s farm in Potter Valley! I drove all the way over there by myself way out into the boonies out…
Have you ever been in that awkward social situation where you’ve bragged to some random person that you know how to sew your own dresses, you make a pot of coq au vin that tastes better than Julia’s, you have a whole garden of award winning rose bushes, and that you make the best jar of peach…
Welcome to my shiny new blog! I hope that you keep reading and maybe try out a few of the recipes and projects that will be appearing here. Check back often- 2011 should be a pretty action-packed year. Anyway, enough with the introductions, time to make some marmalade! So, Reader, since we’re just getting to know…
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…
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…
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…
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….
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…
