Spiced Cranapple Butter

The flavors of fall. Apples and cranberries. I was recently thumbing through my Ball Canning recipe book and found a recipe for Cranapple Butter. Immediately, I was in heaven! Cranberries and Apples combined to make a spreadable butter. M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m! After a quick trip to town, I was peeling apples and cooking down my yummy butter.

Feels Like Fall

It FEELS like fall is here! YAY! My absolute FAVORITE time of the year! This cooler weather is not supposed to last long though. Back up to the 90's by the end of the week. I really want to take advantage of this weather, so what am I doing today?

I'm Not Getting Much Knitting Done....

I haven't mentioned any knitting projects for quite awhile now. I have been doing some knitting. Although, it is pretty limited. Right now, I'm working on this Crazy Magic Cowl by Susan Ashcroft. I've been knitting it in Lionbrand's  self-striping yarn - Amazing.

Spicy Garlic Dills

 

I'm still doing a bunch of pickling. I did another batch of Pickled Peppers the other day. I also did a couple batches of pickled cucumbers. The first batch is based on a Baby Kosher Dill recipe from Summer in a Jar by Andrea Chesman.

 

Pickled Peppers

It's that time of year.....canning season! Okay, okay....if you've read some of my posts, you probably know I do some canning all year long. I guess I should re-phrase that by saying NOW is the perfect time to take advantage of the abundance of fresh produce available (either from your garden or local growers).

What I'm Working On & Reading......

One of the best things hubby and I did last year (2014) was get our local library cards. I don't know why we hadn't done that before. But. we hadn't. We've really been enjoying all the books and CDs we've been checking out. Last week I found these two gems to check out. Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissof and Canning and Preserving Without Sugar by Norma M. MacRae, R.D.

Canning Tomatoes

I've spent the last couple of days canning tomatoes. I so enjoy the whole process of taking fresh picked tomatoes and turning them into canned goods that we will enjoy all winter long. There's just something very satisfying about this.

Spiced Cranberry Jam

 

It's our first snowy day of the season. I decided I wanted to make up some of this yummy sounding Cranberry jam from The Self Sufficient Home Acre. I thought it would be a nice addition to the gift baskets we make for our neighbors. I also thought it would be very good to substitute the cranberry jam for the apple butter in these Apple Butter Bars. I hope to try this, but, I've gotta get the cranberry jam made first!

A Rainy, Blustery Fall Day

The weather was like this today. Actually, it was worse than this. I just didn't go out when it was pouring down rain or when the wind was gusting. I had a whole list of garden chores I wanted to get done. Irises to divide. A tree that needed planting. Weeding. Cleaning up the vegetable garden. Oh well! It seemed like a good day to stay in and get some inside stuff done!

Canning Berries

Last fall, I canned the blackberries I picked. I usually freeze them. I was running low on freezer space though, and canning seemed like a good alternative. It was the PERFECT solution! When I needed berries for a recipe, I just opened a jar, drained, and I was ready to go. No thawing. No chiseling the frozen berries apart because I FORGOT to thaw. I LOVED it! There's really nothing like opening a jar of fruit on a winter day. It's like getting a tiny taste of summer.