In my search for the perfect sourdough bread I found this amazing recipe for fluffy sourdough biscuits. This is a great recipe for people who are gluten intolerant like my husband seems to be. The reason is that you really don't work the dough much at all and the gluten doesn't have a chance to develop.  I am also exploring some no knead bread recipes that he might be able to eat. But for now I would like to share this great recipe I discovered with you because fresh hot jelly biscuits just can't be beat in the comfort food department!  I have tested it out now making 4 batches and every one is perfect.  It is not as hard as the recipe sounds. As long as you follow the directions every time you should get consistent results.  For me it is the first biscuit recipe I have ever had success with so I am thrilled! ( recipe source: NorthwestSourdough.com blog.) The trick for this recipe is to have everything ready in each bowl and be prepared to work quickly once you...

Well last year about this time, I posted a red hot valentines jelly recipe for you sweethearts out there. This year I wanted to be different and I found this unusual strawberry jam recipe that features the hot sweet flavor combination of strawberries and chipotle chiles.  I bet you could substitute your favorite hot pepper and get similar results but this one calls for the adobo chipotles.  Serve your sweetie breakfast in bed with this hot sweet treat on their favorite bread for a great start to a Valentines day to remember. Make it now and be ready!  Hot Sweet Strawberry Jam Ingredients    * 6 cups strawberries    * 7 oz can chipotle chiles in adobo (use less for milder flavor * 6.5 cups sugar * 1/4 cup lemon juice   * 1 package powdered pectin   Directions 1. Pulse process the chiles and berries in a food processor  being careful not to over process, you want some pieces of berry 2. Pour the berry mix, lemon juice, and pecti...

As if we needed an excuse to eat jelly, January has offered up the perfect reason! Yep, I just found out that January is Wheat Bread Month, all month!  So you know what to do!   Break out the jars of summer goodness you canned and toast up some wheat bread!  Slather that puppy with butter and your favorite flavor of jam or jelly and celebrate the Wheat Bread!  The best part about this news is that each day in January is an excuse to have a new flavor! lol... What's that you say?  you don't have any jelly canned up?   Well here is your home remedy!  An easy apple jelly recipe to make so that you won't have to eat plain wheat bread this month. 😜    Easy Two Ingredient Apple Jelly Ingredients 4–6 cups apple juice (about 6 pounds of apples) 3 cups honey or 4–6 cups of sugar Instructions Juice your apples: Wash apples and remove the stems, any damaged areas and blossom ends.  Cut into quarters or slices with peels on.  (you n...

I know this is pumpkin spice and cranberry season, but since you'll probably be drinking pumpkin spice coffee, tea and cocoa and eating pumpkin pie, cranberry flavored ice cream, pumpkin cake and cranberry muffins... do you really want pumpkin jam or cranberry jelly on your toast or biscuits too? Yeah, me either!  What I was thinking was is that now would be a great time to can up small jars of preserves to give as gifts for Christmas this year.  So I searched out this Christmas Marmalade recipe that really sounds colorful and tasty.  It calls for candied cherries (maraschinos) which add a beautiful red speckled touch.  You could substitute half of the red cherries for the green colored ones to make it even more festive!  Think how lovely these little jars will look with the lids wrapped with pretty paper and ribbon and how special this tasty gift will be for those you give to knowing that it is homemade with love by you!    So what are you waiting for...

This month I wanted to share either a persimmon recipe or a quince recipe.  Well, after much thought and research on recipes for persimmon jelly here is what I learned. If you don't happen to have a persimmon tree in your yard or the woods nearby, they are not readily available.  If and when you can find them for sale, they are also expensive. Another thing I learned is that persimmons are persnickety and only taste good if you find them fully ripened, but if not ripe they can have a strong pucker power. Yikes! So with all this in mind and the fact that I like to share recipes with you that you can actually make and enjoy, I opted for the quince jelly recipe.   Here is what I learned about quinces. They are much easier to find at the local produce market. They look somewhat like a pear but have a texture like a hard apple. You can't eat them raw but they make a lovely pink jelly that has a delicate flavor with hints of apple and rose because they are related to both....

So here is your October canning plan list of seasonal fruits and the good news is that it is not as short a list as you might expect.  I was actually surprised by how many fruits are in season in the month of October.  apples (make apple butter !) beets (okay, not a fruit but check out this jam recipe !) blackberries (Check out my cool label for blackberry jam ! ) crabapples cranberries pears persimmons plums peppers pumpkin quince   I can see from this list that I will have plenty of new recipe ideas to be posting for you during the coming winter months!  But for my next October recipe I think I will be looking for something out of the ordinary like persimmon or quince jelly.   Stay tuned for that coming soon!   But in the meantime, here is a great cranberry chutney recipe to hold you over. This stuff will add the perfect finishing touch to your upcoming turkey dinner on Thanksgiving day!   This recipe has lots of ingredients and it certainl...

So it is September and harvest season is winding down, but there are still plenty of options for canning this month. Many of the items on the list have been on previous lists as well, such as apples and peaches, but now it is late season varieties that are ready instead of the early ones.  There are also classic late summer/early fall goodies like pumpkin, pears and carrots. Carrots? you say... Yes carrots!  If you plug carrots into the search box above you will find the carrot marmalade recipe I posted back in February only I bet it tastes so much better with garden fresh carrots!  So here's a list of 10 fruits for September canning.  Apples Blackberries Carrots Peaches Pears Peppers Pumpkin Raspberry Squash Tomatoes Since I have always made an effort to share unusual recipes on this blog, for the bonus recipe this month I want to add squash jelly to the list. You may not have been aware that you could make jelly out of squash so make sure to add it as another tool ...

As promised in my last post the recipe for this month is a combo of two of the most tasty fruits of the month of August!  It is not a hard recipe so that even gardeners who are pretty busy this time of year might have the time to make a small batch. If you have a rhubarb patch and need new ideas to go with your rhubarb pie recipes, why not try this one and see if it becomes a family favorite?   Pineapple Rhubarb Jam   Ingredients: Two 8 oz cans crushed pineapple in juice, do not drain! Four cups prepared fruit of rhubarb (about 2 lb. fully ripe rhubarb) One tsp. fresh lemon juice One box Fruit Pectin  1/2 tsp. butter or margarine Six cups sugar  A few drops red food coloring (optional)    Directions:  Drain pineapple and reserve the juice.  Add enough water to reserved juice to measure one cup.  Finely chop unpeeled rhubarb; place in large saucepan.  Stir in pineapple juice.  Bring to boil then reduce the...

This post is all about summer in a jar!  Now is the time to capture the taste of summer and keep it in a jar until some damp and dreary winter day when you need a lift in your spirits. Then you can open a jar of this beautiful summer flavor and spread it on some toast or a biscuit and feel like you can make it another day!  Wow, how dramatic but it seriously does help. So go grab some watermelon while it is in season and make a batch of jelly.  Note: There is controversy as to whether it is safe to water bath can watermelon. Women have been doing it for decades and the acidifying is the same for this recipe as it would be for watermelon pickles so I feel it is safe, but if you are not confident about it then you can store your batch in the refrigerator even after canning just to have peace of mind. Watermelon Jelly Yield: 5 half pint jars This jelly can take up to a week to gel... patience is needed.  You might also need a food thermometer. ...

So you planted some tomatoes but you just can't wait for them to ripen. Here is a recipe to help you enjoy some garden fresh tomato flavor while you wait for the red.  This recipe is also perfect in the fall when you know that first frost is coming but you still have green tomatoes on the vine. It will add some variety to your green tomato menu along side of your bread and butter green cherry tomato pickles and your fried green tomatoes. Green Tomato Marmalade Yield: 6-7 half pint jars 2 oranges 1 lemon 1 cup water 4 pounds (about 9 cups) green tomatoes, cut into small pieces 5 cups sugar 1/4 cup minced crystallized ginger Instructions  Remove the top layer of rind from the oranges and lemon with a vegetable peeler, being careful not to remove any of the bitter, white pith. Sliver the rind and set it aside while you segment the oranges and lemons.   Boil the slivered rind in 1 cup water for 5 minutes in a small saucepan. Drain and rinse. Core ...

Well from May to August is cherry season and seems a great reason to share this exciting recipe for honey cherry chutney! It is easy to make and will add some cherry zing to your table. If you have the jelly blues, chutney is great way to use fresh fruit and keep it interesting. It is like a spicy, savory cross between tart relish and sweet jam that you can use as a condiment at any meal not just breakfast. Cherry chutney goes well with pork, turkey and chicken and little half pint jars make great gifts! So here is how to make it... Spiced Honey Cherry Chutney yield 4-5 pints or 9-10 half pints Ingredients 4 lbs cherries pitted and halved 1 1/2- C onion chopped 1 to 1 1/2- C honey to taste 1 3/4- C apple cider vinegar 1 C raisins chopped 3 large cloves garlic minced 1 lemon or lime zested and juiced 2 T freshly grated ginger or 1 T dry ginger 1 T dry mustard 2 t to 1 T salt start with the 2 tsp. and taste test at end of cooking 1/2 to 2 tsp red pepper flakes t...

It has been some time since I thought about peaches but summer is here and fresh peaches are right around the corner!  Whether you grow your own or buy them from a pick your own orchard or even from a farmers market, making peach preserves is a great way to store up some summer flavor to bright a long cold winter day! Today I am sharing a less well known type of peach preserves. You have heard of apple butter, but did you know you can make peach butter?  Yes! you can! (pun intended).  And here is a great old fashioned recipe for you to try! For this recipe, you will want to decide how many pints you can make with the amount of peaches you have ahead of time.  You will need roughly one pound of fruit for each pint you want to make. Ingredients: One pound fresh peaches per pint  sweetener to taste, either sugar or honey optional:  add a teaspoon of cinnamon for each pound of fruit Directions: Remove the pits from your peaches and cut them into qua...

Summer in Oklahoma means lots and lots of wild sand plums.  We have so many of these bushes on our 10 acres of land and the wildlife love them. Once several years ago when we were still homesteading that land, I attempted to make jelly from wild sand plums.  I had heard that it could be done with just the fruit, sugar and water. Well either I did something wrong or that recipe was wrong. It never jelled. But the good news is that it still made a delicious syrup for pancakes! What I would have given then to have this recipe. As soon as the plums start to ripen this year, I intend to give it another shot. I was rummaging through old recipe forums and found this one that I want to try. When I read the first ingredient I realized what may have gone wrong for me so long ago. It calls for part of the fruit to be under ripe. All the plums I was using then were well ripened.  I had not heard of this before so I am very curious to see if this is the key. Of course this rec...

So I discovered this recipe on an obscure recipe sharing site. Some guy named Ed shared it and one of the people who made it says it is ... "Real jelly, not the gelatinized stuff other recipes call coffee jelly - this is something to use with PB&J. Not an easy recipe for the preciseness of measuring and rigor of following instructions. It's got to be done this way or it will not work, at least by my experience it will not work. Experience and/or knowledge of canning is required if the jelly is to be stored at room temperature.Observe the precautions, or keep all the jelly in the refrigerator"  Well, I figure if you are reading this, you have a working knowledge of jelly making and canning. If you are a first time canner I recommend you make a few easier recipes to get some experience and then come back to this one later. That way you can store it on the shelf and not have to eat coffee jelly every day for the next 6 months to keep it from spoiling. Ed's Re...

I've been designing a lot of things with lemon patterns at my Zazzle stores lately and it has really gotten me in the mood for some lemony goodness.  So when I tripped across this recipe I knew I had to share it.  The spring of 2020 has been the longest spring I can ever remember in my 58 years of life and it is not over yet. But maybe this summery recipe will add cheer to our taste buds while it helps us hang on through another few weeks of the new social distancing we are having to endure. I can't wait to try this one! Let me know if you did and how you liked it.  Honey Lemon Jelly Ingredients: 2-1/2 cups honey 3/4 cup lemon juice 6 tablespoons grated lemon zest 1 pouch (3 ounces) liquid fruit pectin Directions:   In large non reactive pan, combine honey, lemon juice and zest.  Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly.  Stir in pectin.  Continue to boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from...

With the current events in the world caused by the Covid-19 outbreak and so many people facing uncertain times while also being confined to their homes, I have been searching out recipes that can be made on the cheap. I found many of them from the era of the great depression when moms had to get creative in how to feed their families on limited funds and supplies, and in addition to this one, I intend to share more of them in future posts. Canning is a great sheltering at home pass time that will keep you busy and at the same time provide you with delicious tasty treats to enjoy now and later. Biscuits and jelly is a classic comfort food and easy to make and we can all use some extra comfort right about now! In my search for budget recipes I ran across this unusual jelly that sounds delicious and thrifty!  Corn cob jelly!  So when you have a meal with corn on the cob save those cobs and try your hand at this recipe that is reported to taste like honey.  Whether you...

Well winter is still trying to linger here in Oklahoma and I am still in the root vegetable mindset, so since we ate lunch at an amazing Italian bistro yesterday, I still have a craving for garlic and onions! I ran across this tasty sounding recipe for onion and garlic jelly, that I have high on my to do list!  I adapted one ingredient from the original recipe though.  It called for course ground black pepper and at our house we always use red pepper flakes and powder instead of black pepper. You could go with the original if you prefer but once you have tasted red pepper powder with it's sweet heat, you will wonder why you ever used black pepper! I grind my own from dried Anaheim chili pods. Yum!  But I digress! Back to garlic and onions! Not only are they tasty and exciting but they are also so good for you! They are both chock full of vitamins and also have probiotic properties that help keep your gut healthy. So this sweet spicy treat is one we can indulge in with...

Summer is fast approaching and I have two prolific rose bushes in my yard that make me smile just by how beautiful the flowers are. Sometimes when I am out there dead heading them I look at those rose hips left behind and think I really should harvest them and use them for something. So I was looking for things to make with rosehips and ran across this recipe that I want to try later in the year! Rosehips are the seed pods left behind when the petals fall off the roses. They are about the size of a marble and look like cute little round pouches. They are a great source of vitamin C and people have been using them to make teas, jams and jellies for ages. The best sources for you to harvest  rosehips for making this recipe are either in the wild where no pesticides have been sprayed or in your own backyard from your own pesticide free bushes. If you can't get them from these places then you may need to shop around or a source of dried culinary grade rose hips. A health food store...