"We Be jaMMin! Muscadines at their prime and apple pie filling jam...

I've longed to can something - anything, for years now and like the cowardly lion, never mustered up the courage to do so.
      I guess I thought it to be beyond the scope of my capabilities and if at 50, I had not already mastered the art, why jump in?

Turns out the black walnut tree out back had a hitch-hiker that I'd not noticed up until this point.

These were purple and not green like the ones on the little bush that he and our kids would eat from every year further down the drive.  They were bursting at the peak of ripeness and for one vine, the abundance was impressive.  Wild Muscadines, who could resist?
   Pluck them I did and ended up with two full quarts.

Thus I was thrust into the world of canning.
Thank you Google.
Hmmm, Muscadines, 2 quarts...

sugar,  (5 cups) recipe called for 6 but we wanted to taste the fruit too...

canning jars, lids and rings

And a water bath canner & strainer

Not so intimidating after all, soo I squeezed each grape's innards into one pan and the skins into another...    One by one, took a while - VERY arduous task.

(that isn't water in with the innards, that is all juice!)

After this was completed (whew)  I put enough water in with the skins to almost cover them but not quite.   And boiled the contents of each pan, the innards for about 15 minutes (at which time we cooled it a little and completely strained out all of the pulp and liquid leaving only the seeds behind.  See the bowl with the spatula?  No seeds ;)

 While doing that, the skins cooked on for a total of about 20 to 25 minutes.

 When tender they were cooled a bit as well and put into a blender on puree for a few pulses.

Then I combined contents of both pots together along with the sugar and cooked down to a nice thicker consistency.
  All that lovely stuff (no picture, sorry - I wanted to get it right into the jars ;)
 went into the waiting jars to about a 1/4" from the top full.
Lids went on clean rims and then the rings (not too tight)

Into simmering water bath which was then brought to a boil, covered and left to boil for at least 10 minutes.

When the timer went off, the jars were lifted out of their bath and they were set to rest on wire cooling (cookie) racks.

All that was left to do (at about one in the morning) - were the sticky pots and utensils

And the next day?

I had the most divine toast with my coffee!

That was quite a night!
Credit:  To learn how to even begin to can Muscadine Jam, we searched You Tube and found a great two part video with excellent step by step instructions here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdBafafqL0E


So I've since made the jam you see in the top picture (and the one just below) which is an apple pie filling jam and I myself love it HOT!  This would be awesome on pancakes, ice cream, oatmeal...
Doing the Homer drool...
I won best in show at the county fair for the one below and 1st place ribbon for the jam above.

Memorial Day cooking and finishing another chalk paint project

So the Macaroni is boiling for Mom's macaroni salad and I've just finished sealing the last coat of chalk paint on this latest project so that I can start weaving a fabric seat.

I bought this at a consignment shop a few weeks back for about 6 dollars.

This little rocker is wider than the average  just under 2 feet tall.
Really it looks like a planter and not something that even a toddler could sit on.
The seat was crusted with years of dust and it was very brittle.

So after stripping and cleaning it, I painted it a pale sunny yellow like one of my earlier ladder back chairs.

Now that the paint and sealer have been applied, it is ready for the new fabric seat.
First however, the cooking must continue ;)

Thanks to all of those who serve and have served to keep our nation free.
Happy Memorial Day!

Memorial Day Cookout: Pulled Chicken

Memorial Day weekend and I'm preparing a few dishes with mothers in mind.
My mother: I'll be making her macaroni salad (recipe to come shortly)
Mother in law: I'll be making her slaw (recipe to come shortly)
and pulled chicken. That one's mine and I'm a mother who's sharing it with you right now.
  Wicked easy (yankee term)

In your crock pot place 2/3 to a whole bag (3lb bag) of frozen skinless, boneless chicken breasts.
3 Tablespoons of Stubbs Hickory Liquid Smoke
2 heaping Tablespoons of minced garlic in olive oil
2 Tablespoons onion powder
2 chicken bullion cubes
and just enough water to cover the chicken.
Set on low and slow cook overnight or for at least 12 hours.
*(if using fresh or unfrozen chicken you can drop that cook time down as needed)

Drain and shred, store covered or serve while warm.
By itself or on a bun, with or without bbq or hot sauce.

If at first you don't succeed...

My first attempt at "Fake Bake" cupcakes further below were very messy (pretty) but messy and ultimately cracked failures when all was said and done.  So I honed my technique a bit and got it "nearly right" - then took a break from making them all together.

Now, as Fall and Winter come wandering up the path, my fancy has been gingerbread.
And I have perfected my techniques and ingredients.
     My first completed batch of scented gingerbread "fake bake" cupcake ornaments...

And below, a sampling of my second batch, with real cinnamon sticks.

Guess what I'll be doing from now until the first frost???

And yes, these are already available in my Etsy store =)

Chalk Painting and Wreaths... Love these Summer Projects

After the cupcake phase, I dabbled in a bit of chalk paint.   Wet my toes (so to speak) painting some bottles, dressed them up and put them on Etsy.
After that I went to making Summer wreaths which were really fun, very fulfilling - albeit extremely time consuming.

Something called me back to the chalk paint.
I don't want to start distressing anything just yet.
It's really that I love the matte finish and texture of chalk paint.

After wrestling with different types of paint and amounts of plaster and lots of experimenting with pastels and bold bright colors, I've finished two vintage ladder back chairs with chalk paint and fabrics...  One I painted a mint green and the other a pale yellow.

    

Before

Gearing up for the next outdoor show and fairs,
I have a pretty good bit of inventory.

The chairs (along with a child's vintage solid walnut school desk and chair set were added to my Square Market Place Store and are available for purchase with local pickup)


These are the bottles I finished.  Everyone picks them up and says "oh how pretty" and then puts them back down.   I don't think at $7.00 each I have them priced too high.  I might have to rethink that though.

And finally, a few of the wreaths - all large, all available through my Etsy store =)

 

 

 

P.S. ....  If you like what you see, put a pin on it ;)