At the end of the summer when I had some newly acquired free time I went a little wild canning jams and pickles when I went home to visit Mom & Dad. In a span of 5 days I put up around 80 jars of goodies in the grocery store like pantry my Mom in hiding in her basement. If there is some sort of natural disaster I will use all energy I have to make it home where she is well stocked to hunker down for the end of the world. After spending hours over hot bubbling jam and dicing veggies I figured I had my fill of canning magic. If you haven't noticed I am REALLY into another food blog Food in Jars by a lady who lives in Philadelphia and does a variety of jobs related to canning. Dream Job, If I wasn't going to be a Nurse and could figure out how to make money from canning I would totally do it. Maybe that will be my retirement plan. I never considered canning after the summer, all the harvest is gone. She has opened my eyes to fall preserves and pickles you can't make in the summer. I made quick work of gathering some apples, cranberries and beets. MMMMMMmmmmm!
Quick side story about the apples I snagged. I was planning to hit up Linvilla Orchards to pick some apples but was hoping to find some that were a bit cheaper, and avoid all the crazy families with their kids swarming around the orchard. " MOM! I want to go on a hay ride!" or " JIMMY STOP THROWING APPLES AT YOUR SISTER!" I took a chance and poked around Craigslist to see if any local farmers/people had a surplus of apples. I found a Mom in the suburbs who had a bunch for sale. I drove out to Wynnewood to collect my apples and was greeted by a glamorous soccer mom. Her belt buckle was very flashy, she had a strange fur collar around her camel colored sweater, just too flashy. As I was selecting my apples and putting them on the scale I mentioned I was from VT, and guess who grew up in Rutland... THIS LADY! These apples were from her parents new house in Fort Ann, NY. What are the odds? Now back to canning...
I made an Apple Cranberry Jam from her blog. I pulsed the jam with my immersion blender for a bit to smooth it out a bit, I don't like chunky stuff. This stuff is going to be great for Thanksgiving type sandwiches with turkey and stuffing. I have always wanted to make apple pie filling and there was a really good recipe on Food in Jars but I have had difficulty finding Clear Jel in the grocery store. It's a cornstarch-like product that is safe for canning. I broke down and bought a container from Amazon. It was like magic. I added this powder to my boiling liquid and PRESTO it was all thick and gooey. The woman I bought the apples from said she just adds cornstarch or flour and a bit of cream to her apple pie filling. Lady! Are you crazy? YOU NEED TO FOLLOW A RECIPE! She assured me it was safe to use either of these alternatives because her friend who owns an orchard does this to her canned apple pie filling. Based on her fashion sense I decided to follow a real recipe and add Clear Jel.
After canning up these 2 recipes I still had apples left so I decided to make some Apple Butter, one of Nate's favorite condiments for toast. I make it in the crock pot, another super easy recipe I found on Pinterest.
APPLE BUTTER
From Changing my Destiny
About a dozen apples peeled, cored and cut up
1/2 c. Water
1/4 c. Brown Sugar
1/2 Tbsp. Cinnamon
Mix everything together. Put on low for about 12 hours. If you like it smoother take an immersion blender to it or leave it chunky.
Once made you can leave it in the fridge for a couple of weeks (it will last), freeze it or can it. If you're canning it add hot apple butter to hot jars and process for 15 mins for pint or quart size jars.
After all these sweet apple recipes I busted into another Food in Jars recipe, Pickled Golden Beets. Ahhhh yes! I love beets, I will crack open a can and eat the whole thing in one sitting for a snack. This recipe looks delightful. I have to wait 48 hours before I crack into one of my jars to sample the vinegar goodness.
Here are all the recipes I used for my canning delights
Pickled Golden Beets
Apple Cranberry Jam
Apple Pie Filling
Quick side story about the apples I snagged. I was planning to hit up Linvilla Orchards to pick some apples but was hoping to find some that were a bit cheaper, and avoid all the crazy families with their kids swarming around the orchard. " MOM! I want to go on a hay ride!" or " JIMMY STOP THROWING APPLES AT YOUR SISTER!" I took a chance and poked around Craigslist to see if any local farmers/people had a surplus of apples. I found a Mom in the suburbs who had a bunch for sale. I drove out to Wynnewood to collect my apples and was greeted by a glamorous soccer mom. Her belt buckle was very flashy, she had a strange fur collar around her camel colored sweater, just too flashy. As I was selecting my apples and putting them on the scale I mentioned I was from VT, and guess who grew up in Rutland... THIS LADY! These apples were from her parents new house in Fort Ann, NY. What are the odds? Now back to canning...
I made an Apple Cranberry Jam from her blog. I pulsed the jam with my immersion blender for a bit to smooth it out a bit, I don't like chunky stuff. This stuff is going to be great for Thanksgiving type sandwiches with turkey and stuffing. I have always wanted to make apple pie filling and there was a really good recipe on Food in Jars but I have had difficulty finding Clear Jel in the grocery store. It's a cornstarch-like product that is safe for canning. I broke down and bought a container from Amazon. It was like magic. I added this powder to my boiling liquid and PRESTO it was all thick and gooey. The woman I bought the apples from said she just adds cornstarch or flour and a bit of cream to her apple pie filling. Lady! Are you crazy? YOU NEED TO FOLLOW A RECIPE! She assured me it was safe to use either of these alternatives because her friend who owns an orchard does this to her canned apple pie filling. Based on her fashion sense I decided to follow a real recipe and add Clear Jel.
After canning up these 2 recipes I still had apples left so I decided to make some Apple Butter, one of Nate's favorite condiments for toast. I make it in the crock pot, another super easy recipe I found on Pinterest.
APPLE BUTTER
From Changing my Destiny
About a dozen apples peeled, cored and cut up
1/2 c. Water
1/4 c. Brown Sugar
1/2 Tbsp. Cinnamon
Mix everything together. Put on low for about 12 hours. If you like it smoother take an immersion blender to it or leave it chunky.
Once made you can leave it in the fridge for a couple of weeks (it will last), freeze it or can it. If you're canning it add hot apple butter to hot jars and process for 15 mins for pint or quart size jars.
After all these sweet apple recipes I busted into another Food in Jars recipe, Pickled Golden Beets. Ahhhh yes! I love beets, I will crack open a can and eat the whole thing in one sitting for a snack. This recipe looks delightful. I have to wait 48 hours before I crack into one of my jars to sample the vinegar goodness.
Here are all the recipes I used for my canning delights
Pickled Golden Beets
Apple Cranberry Jam
Apple Pie Filling
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