When Life Leaves you in a Jam – Make Pop Tarts. A Food in Jars Mastery Challenge

Almost half a century has past since the carefree Saturday mornings of my childhood but I can still remember the sweet yummy goodness of a pop tart fresh from the toaster like it was yesterday. As Bugs Bunny outsmarted Elmer Fudd on the tv, I would eat my pop tart carefully to avoid burning my lips on the sweet, sticky jam in the center of the pop tart. As part of this month’s challenge at Food in Jars, I had the opportunity to revisit the happy Saturday mornings of my childhood.

Advertisements

Food in Jars Mastery Challenge for January. Lemon Curd with Bonus Lemon Extract

My year got off to an awesome start when I realized that Marisa of Food in Jars was hosting another food preservation challenge. The challenge for the month of January was to create a preserve using citrus. The citrus challenge in 2017 where I attempted to make marmalade didn’t go very well. This year I decided to capture a bit of southern sunshine in a jar of Lemon Curd, instead of revisiting the marmalade disaster.

Frugal Endeavors – the rest of Austober

As October draws to a close, I can feel the world around me relaxing into the long sleep of winter.  We spent this time finishing up a few last minute tasks to prepare ourselves for the slower days of winter. 

Wartime Savory Meat Pie with Mashed Potato Pastry

During the first week living off the ration, I thought I would try my hand at making a meat pie. This was a risky proposition because I have never successfully made a pastry. I have tried countless times and failed each time – until now. I am happy to report that this recipe for pastry using left over mashed potatoes is a winner.

The cost of food – Butter is beautiful, but lard is also lovely. And so are gingersnaps.

Christmas is over for another year.  One of my favorite Christmas activities is Christmas baking but I didn’t do as much this year as I usually would. What slowed me down this year was the cost of ingredients, specifically the cost of butter.

Food in Jars Mastery Challenge – When the stars align: fermenting free milk

Making yogurt!

This month’s Food in Jars Mastery Challenge was all about using fermentation to preserve food. Despite the health benefits provided by fermented foods, I have never really been a fan. At least I wasn’t a fan until I realized that both sour dough bread and yogurt rely on fermentation to develop their unique flavors. And then my neighbour gifted me with a jug of milk that would go bad before she returned from her travels. Clearly the universe was telling me to make yogurt.

Garbage Garden – Fall report and a recipe for pickled red onions

It is fall in my neck of the woods. Time to file my last garbage garden report.