Karen Donnachaidh wrote:I am amazed at the talent I see displayed on this page! I would love to be the recipient of any of these fine wares. Lucky folks.
My humble gift is almost ready to be delivered (tomorrow) to my in-laws at the retirement home. As I posted above, applesauce, sliced pears, grape jelly, cranberry jelly and orange marmalade. The marmalade recipe made exactly 6 half-pints, so I only had a taste when I scraped the pot and licked the spoon. Delicious! But, it looks thin in the jars (moves when you invert the jar). Oh well. Now, I'll make some buttermilk biscuits (mother-in-law's recipe) and it's ready.
When I moved back to IN from CA, as a 65 year old dude who had never cooked much, I learned the canning process all over again. Had to do that as a kid and hated it but it kept us fed through the winters. Learning new with squeaking through the Y2K fiasco I needed to do some prepping. You learn as you go, not just from reading and recipes. I developed an Apple Sauce recipe from an on-line version, one that "I" liked! I have a Niece who not only owned a restaurant, but also made & sold lots of Apple Butter is a very good cook. It was great, but, yuk, apple butter, when you could make apple sauce? It's a no-brainer. I gave the Niece a pint of my apple sauce. She eMailed me for the recipe! And that was one of the best "gifts" I've ever received! :-) So, sometimes gifts can come from very unexpected sources!
Some hints for you: Try a Cranberry/Orange Jam from recipes on-line. Also, instead of Buttermilk Biscuits try making Biscuits from just TWO ingredients from recipes on-line. They come out GREAT with fluffy layers that taste great right out of the oven, split open, and smothered with butter! ENJOY