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.

Make your own Apple Butter!

As the harvest rolls in from the garden (and farmers market) it quickly becomes apparent that we just cannot consume all these fruits and vegetables right now! Some things are very simple to freeze for later but others need a bit more processing for long term storage. Like apples. Every year I make apple butter to use up some of the excess apples before they go bad.

Apple butter is the very first thing I ever canned as it is one of the simplest preserves to make. All you really need is apples, sugar, lemon juice and some spices. It's pretty much an applesauce that's been cooked down to a thick preserve.

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

How to keep your produce fresh longer

Gardening is an amazing way to get fresh produce for very cheap but it has one downfall, everything is ready at the same time! We quickly go from 1 tomato finally being ripe to 3 boxes full and leaving extras on our neighbors porches. We're not even gonna talk about zucchini! Unfortunately produce spoils so we either have to use it up, put it up or help extend it's freshness longer.

When I first got into the real world I was surprised that my roommate kept things in the refrigerator like potatoes, onions and tomatoes. My grandparents had always kept those on the counter or in a potato bin and that's the way I thought it was supposed to be. Turns out my gardener grandpap knew exactly what he was doing.

Certain fruits and vegetables do better in the cold and others do better at room temp. For instance, many people think that refrigerating tomatoes makes they ripen slower, which is sorta true but it also weakens their flavor if kept under 55°F. This creates mealy tomatoes that you don't want to eat anyway. For this reason you never put a tomato in the refrigerator unless it's already ripe.

Of course other fruits and vegetables will go bad really quickly if left on the counter. So how do you store fresh produce for optimum freshness and taste?

Easiest way to preserve hot peppers

Ok, so in reality this is probably the easiest way to preserve any type of pepper, but since I mostly preserve hot peppers every year I'm going to focus on those! Why do I preserve so many hot peppers, you ask? Well, it's because I don't like them...so 'we' certainly can't eat them all during the growing season. 

My husband loves hot peppers though and by preserving them when their growing at their peak in summer, he has plenty for his pastas, pizzas and sandwiches all winter long. Plus, saving our own peppers means we don't have to pay a premium price for fresh peppers in winter! (I love that part!)

The easiest way to preserve peppers is to simply clean, chop and freeze them. Not only is it a super simple method for preserving hot peppers, but they hold up great to freezing and do not lose any color or flavor when thawed.

How to puree a pumpkin

The garden is wrapping up and one of the last harvests of the year is pumpkins! I originally grew pumpkins for both decorations and jack o' lanterns but sadly most didn't grow large enough for carving. (thanks to the deer that snacked on my garden, ugh!) I planted Connecticut field pumpkins. They are an heirloom variety that can be used for cooking but can still get quite large.

I wanted to grow this variety for it's versatility. I was hopeful that one pack of seeds would provide me with both baking and Halloween pumpkins plus some large ones to use for chicken feed. Hopefully next year! 

For this season though, I ended up with lots of small to medium sized pumpkins. 

I was pretty excited to make pumpkin puree from my own pumpkins. I've made pumpkin puree before, but it was from a store bought pumpkin labeled 'pie pumpkins'. 

With the dozens of pumpkin varieties out there I somehow thought those would be different, better...sweeter. 

The good news is, they're not! My pumpkin puree turned out exactly the same as when I use a specific 'pie pumpkin'.

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.

Why you need a potato & onion storage bin

This is absolutely the most awesome gift I have been given in years! This is a wooden potato and onion storage bin used for long term food storage of root vegetables. I keep it in my kitchen so it's close by when I'm cooking. 

I have no idea how old this potato and onion bin is or where it originally was purchased. Sadly, it was the item chosen for us from a relatives estate last summer. I have to admit that it was a perfect choice for us! I think of our beloved Nunny every single time I use it and it matches the decor here perfectly.