the tiny homestead

strawberry jam

With any luck, this will be our last year picking strawberries at our local pick-your-own farm. While technically we have a strawberry patch (and a rhubarb patch!) in our very own garden, we are not supposed to harvest any of it the first year. This gives the plants time to grow strong before producing a large crop. Everyday, I pick little strawberry flowers off of each plant. It pains me to do so each time, but I remind myself of what will await me in the years to come if I practice patience now.

This year we gathered two full pecks of strawberries (about twenty pounds). My husband and son did most of the harvesting. Yes! My four year old boy picked with a purpose and gathered about a half of a peck all by himself. He was sure to remind us all "no unripe strawberries" and "the smallest berries are the sweetest!" My daugther mostly enjoyed the scenery and "helped" me pick the other half peck of berries. It was a beautiful day and everyone remained happy - not an easy thing to come by these days!

My husband and I (in between tending to the garden, chickens, and children) spent most of the weekend in the kitchen canning the fruits of our labor. This year it was strawberry balsamic and strawberry rhubarb jam. We used the generic recipe from the Ball website for the strawberry balsamic jam and we used this recipe for the strawberry rhubarb. Both turned out beautifully and will probably be our go to recipes for some time to come. In total we canned about sixty jars which should last for quite a while - if I can manage to stop pouring it over everything in sight!

peach preserves

Continuing our family's journey to learn how to can and preserve food we've grown or collected, last weekend we headed back to the fields in pursuit of peaches. While strawberry picking was a long and hot endeavor, peach picking was decidedly easy and more importantly - fast. Walking in the orchard under the protection of gently bending peach tree branches kept us cool while collecting fruit. As my husband picked, the children and I meandered through the orchard filling our basket with lovely yellow and white peaches. I have to add that when picking with toddlers and preschoolers it's inevitable that a few rotten or way under ripe peaches will end up in your basket.  I have no problem with that though as it makes me so happy to watch them eagerly participate in collecting food for the family. 

After a few days of allowing the peaches to ripen in our kitchen, they were ready to be made into preserves. That's where things get tricky! All around the web, peach preserve recipes call for blanching the peaches first in order to remove the skin. I don't know what kind of peaches those folks are using, but these peaches didn't shed their skins easily (not at all actually). After testing a dozen or so peaches to find the right poaching time to get the skins to come off, I gave up and resorted to my potato peeler which did the job in no time. From then on it was smooth sailing and this morning we had luscious homemade preserves on our toast. I think tonight's batch might include cinnamon. Mmm, spiced peach preserves - my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

plum raspberry oatmeal crisp

Simple. Fresh. Easy.  Three words that epitomize summer cooking at its best.  I love using fresh, local ingredients when the seasons allow and right now it's all about plums and raspberries (both ahead of schedule here in Maryland because of a very warm spring). I was thinking of making something elaborate like a tart or pie, but I have neither the time nor the energy for making pastry dough and assembling the dessert.  So, I settled on a  crisp - yes!  Easy to make, lots of payoff, and very little work for me.  I simply modified the Martha Stewart recipe for a plum oatmeal crisp found here by adding raspberries and adding a 1/4 tsp of cinnamon to the crisp mixture.  I really don't think you can make a crisp or a crumble without cinnamon, but that's just my opinion.  Try it out, I think you'll like it - enjoy!

strawberries for jam

On Sunday, we spent half of the day in a local strawberry field.  This was the first time we have ever harvested our own berries as a family.   I admit, I was a little worried about how two small children would do in the middle of a hot, wide open field - but they surprised me once again!  They ran, picked, frolicked, ate, and played!  I'm convinced that children, being so instinctively connected to the earth, thrive in nature. Mine certainly do much to this tired mama's delight.

Later that day, my husband and I got to the task at hand - making and canning strawberry jam.  This was our first canning adventure and I am pleased to report that it was an amazing success (although we did have some pectin issues in the first batch, but hey, who doesn't need a little compote for their ice cream?). We modified a basic strawberry jam recipe by adding a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar in place of lemon juice. Yummy! You really would be astounded by how much better freshly picked, seasonal fruit tastes.  So, abandon your fears, purchase a canning kit, and find a local u-pick farm.  It's an excellent opportunity for the whole family to participate in bringing food from the farm to the table and beyond. Plus, we have enough preserved strawberry goodness to last until next spring.  Happy picking!

blueberries and flowers

Oh, May!  Our love affair has been long and pleasant.  For me, this is the best time of year.  The chilly days of spring are long in the past and summer has yet to make outdoor living unbearable. The abundance of fruit, vegetables, and flowers coming to our table makes for one very happy (and healthy) family. 

Today, I have blueberry muffins and flowers straight from the garden. I've included my recipe for these very delicious muffins at the end of this post. I hope you like them as much as we do!

Blueberry Muffins

2 cups of flour

1/2 cup of sugar

2 tbsp of rolled oats

1 tsp of cinnamon

3 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of salt

1 cup of milk

1 egg

3 tbsp of melted butter or canola oil

Zest of one lemon

1 cup of blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, grease a muffin pan with butter or oil.

In a large bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl beat together butter (oil), egg, milk, and zest.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold until just blended (please don't over mix or your muffins will be tough).  

Quickly fold in blueberries and spoon batter into the prepared muffin tins.

Bake for 25 minutes

Let cool slightly and enjoy!

*This recipe yields 8 large or 12 medium muffins, so you can either fill each tin to the top for the larger muffins or fill 3/4 of the way for the smaller ones.

violet, sweet violet

Everywhere you look people are writing and talking about violet jam and jelly.  And why not?  'Tis the season for this common edible and quite delicious plant.  It's bountiful here in the northeastern United States from March through May and can be found growing just about anywhere.  Sure, I've picked and eaten it as a quick little snack while playing outside and of course I've tossed it into salads, but I've never actually made it into anything.  So, today the babes and I went violet pickin'!  

We'll be enjoying our almost set up (by we, I mean I - I couldn't wait to dig in) jam with these lovely scones for the rest of this lazy spring afternoon.

Here's the recipe, enjoy!

• 1 1/2 cups wild violet blossoms
• 1 1/2 cups water, divided
• 1 medium lime
• 2 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 (1 3/4 ounce) package dry pectin

Just a quick note, I only had lemons so that's what I used.  Also, I substituted honey for sugar.  I used about 2 cups of honey.

In the food processor or blender combine blossoms, 1/2 cup of water and the juice of the lemon (lime). Process until well blended.  In a saucepan, combine honey (sugar) and remaining water and heat until warm (or sugar dissolves). Add in package of pectin and stir until dissolved.  Add warm mixture to the violet mixture and process for one minute.  Pour into mason jars and let cool.  Cover and refrigerate.