Here where I live in the mountains of western North Carolina, our home is located just about 30 or so minutes away from the border of upstate South Carolina. And right now, SC peaches are in full swing. Freshly plucked from the tree, these peaches are sweet, juicy and abundant, and I’ve been making sure…
Preserving
A Simple Method for Making Homemade Yogurt
A big jar of homemade yogurt is a convenient thing to keep on hand in the fridge. Yogurt is not only great for snacks and smoothies but is versatile for lots of other cooking and baking purposes, too. It can be used to make baked goods a little lighter, and also as a lower-fat substitute…
The Easiest Homemade Apple Butter
Every year about this time, I make a nice big batch of homemade apple butter. My goal is to have enough jars in my pantry to last me well through fall and winter. It’s delicious on biscuits and toast, of course, but apple butter is also perfect in holiday appetizers, in pumpkin pie, in cheesecake,…
Dehydrated Tomatoes and Tomato Powder
This time of year the hum of the dehydrator is an almost constant in our house. The soothing white noise gives me a feeling of contentment, knowing that my garden goodies are being preserved (it seriously makes me sad to waste any of my hard-earned fruits and vegetables!) At the moment, my dehydrating project is…
Blueberry Lemon Jam
Every summer, I eagerly await the first ripe berries of the season to appear. Frozen berries are fine for the rest of the year, but when they are juicy and fresh, straight from the bush, they are simply heavenly. We always eat some of the berries fresh, and then use the rest for pies and…
Mexican-Spiced Pickled Jalapenos
These Mexican-Spiced Pickled Jalapenos, infused with the flavors of cumin, oregano, cilantro, and lime, are just so easy to whip up. They’re just perfect to stash in the fridge and have on-hand as toppings for tacos, huevos rancheros, chili, or a big batch of nachos on game day. And while I do enjoy fermented jalapeno…