Ow.  Ouch.  Owwie.  Ooooooh.  Oooooch.  Oh it hurts!
I want you to be aware that this recipe is not for the faint of heart or wimpy of tongue.  It is a pure habanero relish.  As in lots and lots of chopped fresh habanero peppers.
Habaneros, for those who do not know, are one of the hottest fresh [...]

A few weeks ago, my mom made the trek out to Michigan to visit her sisters (my aunties) and my Grandma.
One night while Mom and my baby sister were out there, the Shaffer girls (because that’s what they become when they’re all together again) and Grandma gathered around the kitchen table to talk food and [...]

These golden rings of crunchy, flavorful pickled onions are just about the perfect thing for topping salads or roast meat sandwiches,  adding a unique touch and pop of color to buffet spreads and antipasto trays, and accompanying cold meat loaf.  Plus, when you’ve fished the very last onion ring out of the jar, the leftover oniony, [...]

 
I am sure that many of you are aware of Tastespotting, a site that serves to display pictures submitted by other websites; and these are not just ANY pictures–these are pictures selected to meet a certain aesthetic, and they are absolutely beautiful. For those of you not familiar with this resource, you can link with it [...]

Beautiful little green ‘yellow pear’ cherry tomatoes waiting to be pickled…

Because there really is no such thing as a garlic clove that is too big.

 
When I got home from our vacation I didn’t toddle over to our garden immediately.  I started doing laundry furiously.  I don’t mean to say that I was doing it quickly.  [...]

In yesterday’s post I offered the world’s easiest blueberry preservation technique- freezing.  I also promised to provide an overview on how to make blueberry jam.  I’m a gal of my word, so as promised, I put together a primer on making and canning blueberry jam.  First, a couple words of caution:
 

This recipe is specifically for [...]

Yesterday was my first day of the year full of the manic joy that is canning season.  My garden unexpectedly delivered a colander full of pickling cucumbers.  Some of the cucumbers had been doing a good job of hiding and were pretty huge.  My job was clear.  Pickle them while they’re fresh!  The large ones were sliced [...]