Make your own grape jam!

One of my favorite things to make instead of buy is grape jam! I grow concord grapes and there is just no comparing the flavor from homemade jam to store bought. It's one of the simpler canning recipes out there, though it can be a bit tedious at first.

Grape jam is probably the only preserve I make every single year! It's also one of the simplest preserves to make. All you really need is grapes, sugar, water and lemon juice.

First you separate the grapes and cook them apart, then strain, blend and combine and cook again. That's it!

It's also really easy to water bath can grape jam, so if you're new to canning...it's a great way to get started without investing a ton of money.

13 Ways To Sneak Some Extra Fruits And Vegetables In Your Family’s Diets

I write a lot about growing your own vegetables, fruits and herbs. I grow my own for many reasons but mostly because they are cleaner and healthier for you than the stuff sold in stores. Plus it's just easier to pick what you need for dinner from the yard than to drive to the store! As a bonus, when your kids help to grow the produce, they tend to be more willing to eat it! 

I make it a point to grow at least one new thing every year and the kids are always willing to try it! In the last few years we've grown cucamelons, glass gem popcorn, 4 different colors of tomatoes, huckleberries, ground cherries, purple green beans, purple carrots, kohlrabi, white egg eggplant and more!

It makes sense to get the kids involved in growing the foods they eat. I mean, if you can get the kids to willingly eat broccoli then you don't have to try to sneak it into their diets. If they're not willing though, that's when things get a little tricky. 

We all know that we should be eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Unfortunately should and do are two very different things, aren’t they? Sometimes it is just not easy to get them all in there, especially with picky kids or cooking from the garden. 

I mean, if you've gardened for any length of time you know all the zucchini comes in for like 2 weeks then nothing! Right? Cherry tomatoes are pretty spread out during the season, but how many days in a row can you eat those? This makes it difficult to have a varied diet without getting sick of the crop of the week. So we’ll just have to get creative. 

Grilling Your Garden harvest

Now that your garden is finally producing (why does it take so long, right?) I'm sure you're eating fresh fruits and vegetables all-the-time! While it is totally awesome, it doesn't take long till I'm thinking "steamed zucchini again?" Thankfully there are lots of ways to prepare fresh veggies and cooking them on the grill is one of my favorite methods.

Not only are grilled veggies delicious, but it doesn't require cooking in the house...so no heating up the kitchen cooking dinner! That's always a plus on hot days. Plus grilled fruits are actually quite amazing for dessert.

Grilling is the perfect way to cook fruits and vegetables because there is minimal loss of nutrients and the flavors don't get watered down or masked by cooking methods.

The best dehydrator recipes to preserve the harvest (and a fruit roll recipe!)

As summer winds down so does the garden. Now all that's really left to do is battle the occasional pest and harvest, harvest, harvest! If you're like me you have fresh fruit and veggies absolutely everywhere!

Preserving food is kinda my thing so I did a lot of canning and freezing this year. I mean A LOT! I wouldn't want all that lovely garden produce to go to waste after all. Just when I was at my wit's end for places to put more canned jellies, sauces and pickles...I remembered the dehydrator!

I've had this dehydrator for a few years but haven't used it much for food. I use it constantly for herbs and flowers but food? Nope. I have like 3 things I make in it. Which is really silly because dehydrated food takes up much less space to store it then preserving food using any other method!

I only have a few dehydrator recipes myself but luckily, I know the right people! So I called in the big guns and asked my favorite homestead bloggers what their best dehydrator recipes were. While I was waiting, I grabbed some peaches and whipped up a batch of homemade fruit roll ups in the dehydrator.

Cucamelon Salad, lightly marinated and easy!

After I wrote about how to grow cucamelons a few weeks back, I received several messages through email and social media asking for recipes. Cucamelons (Mexican sour gherkins) can be prepared in the same way as cucumbers but I haven't been able to find many recipes specifically for cucamelons. That's ok, that just means I needed to create some!

So far, my favorite way to prepare cucamelons is mini dill pickles or in a marinated salad. I loosely based this salad on my Almost Famous Cucumber Salad recipe, but decided to add more color and variety. There are so many wonderful vegetables in season right now, I just have to take advantage of all the colors and flavors.

How to make chive blossom butter

I just love the chive flowers when they appear! Maybe it's because they're purple and purple flowers are my favorite. Or maybe it's because they're one of the few edible blooms that I grow.

I'm not sure why I love chive blossoms so much, but I do know that as soon as I see them opening I get a sense of urgency to use them all and quickly!

Like many flowers, chive blossoms drop seed when they die off. Unfortunately it seems like ALL the seeds grow the next year.

I didn't harvest my chive blossoms exactly once. I was overrun with mini chive clumps the next year. Never again!

I have been making chive blossom vinegar for a few years now but this was my first time using chive blossoms to make a compound butter.

It's very simple to make and only uses a few ingredients, but it is heavenly on fresh bread! The chive blossoms add just a hint of chive flavor.

End of the harvest spiral veggie dinner

It's always with a heavy heart that I pick the last few veggies from the garden. This year an impending frost ended gardening season sooner then I'd liked (and a crazy work schedule that prevented me from getting things covered in time) 

So as I grabbed the last few items from the garden I decided to make the best of it and create a "Summers End" veggie dish using the last zucchini, kale, basil and some carrots that definitely would have liked to grow longer! 

I use a spirilizer for the zucchini in this dish because it cuts the zucchini into fine strips that resemble pasta. You could actually use zucchini like pasta noodles when it's cut like this. It holds up really well as long as it's not over cooked! At this point in the year I'm about over zucchini so anything that sort of disguises it is great for me!

Almost-Famous Cucumber Salad

If your garden is anything like mine your probably have cucumbers coming out of your ears right about now! I love eating cucumbers plain, in garden salads or just sprinkled with a little bit of seasoned salt.

When I have company over though, It's time to make some of my famous cucumber salad. 

This cucumber salad is a little different then anything I've had before. It's lighter and more flavorful. Everyone asks for this recipe and it's really quite simple.

There are only 4 ingredients....and the surprise is the type of vinegar I use! 

I would love to say this is my own recipe but I got it years ago when I worked for a little restaurant in Pittsburgh.

I tweaked it a bit (took out the preservatives and extra salt) added an herb or two, and made it as simple as possible.

Ok, so maybe it is my recipe now. lol