Now that you’ve grown some beautiful puma peppers, you can use them to make hot sauce! Puma hot peppers can be used to replace habaneros in most any recipe, keeping in mind that pumas tend to be a bit hotter than habaneros, so the finished product may be spicier. This sauce was created to be…
Learn how to freeze fresh berries, their expected shelf life, and what to expect when using them from the freezer. We’ll cover: alpine strawberries, blackberries, boysenberries, blueberries, elderberries, raspberries, and strawberries! 7 Berries to Freeze Berry season has arrived, and so the harvests begin! There are few things better than a bright bowl of your…
Learn how to turn black pansy flowers into a beautiful jelly. The flavor is light and mildly grape-like! (You can also use this same recipe with any other kind and color of pansy flowers!) Black pansy flowers are just like other pansies, only they’re a very dark purple – so dark that they can appear…
Learn how to make and can honeysuckle jelly. It tastes like the scent of honeysuckle, combined with a light floral sweetness! Picking & Preparation Before you can make jelly, first you’ll need to head out and pick flowers for this recipe! Picking Honeysuckle Flowers For this recipe, you need 2 1/2 cups of honeysuckle blossoms,…
Learn how to turn edible black locust flowers into this delicious jelly that reminds us of the taste of peach! Preparation Flower jellies are fairly straightforward to make. First, you make an infusion, or tea, of the chosen flower and hot water, then cook that flower tea with sugar, lemon juice, and pectin to create…
Learn how to turn violet flowers from your backyard into a delicious homemade jelly that tastes like grape! Picking Violets Violets are often found in gardens and around the edges of houses, forming gorgeous huge patches when left unchecked. Below is a photo of a small part of the large patch growing happily all along…
Learn how to make this easy and delicious jelly using common dandelions growing in your backyard! This recipe uses low sugar needed pectin, to reduce the overall amount of sugar needed, compared to traditional recipes. Picking Dandelions To make dandelion jelly, you’ll first need to pick yourself some dandelions! For a full recipe, you’ll want…
Make a delicious jam using fresh or frozen maypop fruit! It tastes light, tangy, and tropical, and can be stored in your freezer. (No canning required!) Identifying Maypops Maypops are the green, egg-shaped fruits produced by our native passionflower (passiflora incarnata). Be sure to check out our article: Growing & Foraging Passionflower & Maypops to…
Learn how to make delicious autumn olive jelly! The flavor is unique and hard to describe, but we think it tastes somewhat like peach or apricot, with a hint of cherry. Around here, we have acres of invasive plants, including autumn olive, kudzu, Japanese knotweed, oriental bittersweet, and more. It’s a constant effort to keep…
You know that little bottle of paprika powder sitting in your spice cabinet right now? You can grow paprika peppers right in your own garden, and make your own! Growing Paprika Peppers First, you’ll need to grow some peppers. You will want to buy actual paprika pepper seeds to grow for this – look for…
This oven roasted tomato sauce is so flavorful and super simple to make! It’s pretty much the easiest homemade tomato sauce you’ll ever make! No boiling, peeling, or canning involved! You can use any type of tomato, from cherry, to roma, to beefsteak, or a mixture of all kinds. We’ve been enjoying this sauce using…
Make good use of invasive kudzu & turn the blossoms into jelly. Kudzu flower jelly tastes lightly of grape and is delicious! This is a small half-batch recipe. Feel free to double amounts for a regular sized batch, but don’t triple or above since that will affect outcome. Get Ready To make everything easier for…