Applesauce!

In September we had friends visit. It was absolutely gorgeous that weekend and so we decided to go on an apple picking adventure. We live in an area of New York known for apples. We even have a festival every year to celebrate this yummy fruit.

One of our favorite local farms, Critz Farms, offers apple picking. This is a cute family farm that has managed to thrive during a time when family farms have all but died off. They built their farm around families who want a taste of farm life. They offer pick your own crops, cut your own trees, maple syrup tours, an apple cider press, and a petting farm for kids.

We took a wagon ride into their orchard and then wandered the trees searching for a variety that was ripe. Half of the fun was tasting different types of apples. In the end we chose a mix of Macintosh, Macoun, and some Honey Crisp.

They grow what I believe to be dwarf varieties that make picking very easy. After a while our bags were bursting with what turned out to be 23lbs of apples.

With so many apples the only logical thing to do is make applesauce. If you have never made applesauce before you absolutely should! It is so easy you will feel silly that you waited so long to give it a try.

You will need:
12lbs of apples
About an inch of water
Sugar to taste, start with 1.5-3 cups (optional)
Cinnamon (to taste)
4tbsp lemon juice if you plan on water bath canning
A large stock pot
A large mouth funnel (not necessary but with make things easy)
About 8 pint or 4 quart canning jars

After our friends headed home we set to work with the help my mother-in-law. She is crazy fast at peeling apples. Once all of the apples were peeled and sliced we set up a huge pot on the stove. You add just enough water to the sliced apples to keep them from burning and bring it to a boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat and continue cooking.

After a while they will begin foaming and start to break down. Every once in a while you will want to give them a stir and continue cooking.

Once the apples are close to a consistency you like add your sugar and spices (add lemon juice now too). You can even do as we did and jar half of the sauce with less sugar and cinnamon and then add a little more before jarring the rest. That way everyone has sauce to their own taste. I like a lot of cinnamon. I know it is right for me when a few spoonfuls makes me blush :)

Once your sauce is to taste and consistency you can begin filling jars. Make sure your jars are hot so that they will not crack from the rapid temperature change. Leave 1/2 inch headspace. My husband loves to do the jar filling.

Seal your jars, let them cool and then fill your freezer with delicious apple goodness. We will have plenty for this winter. If you wish to can your applesauce you will want to process it in a water bath for 20 minutes and be sure to add the 4tbsp of lemon juice(not optional) to the recipe.

Making Beeswax Candles

A few years ago we began making cookies for Christmas. What began as a few batches to bring to holiday parties became many many batches and tins given to everyone we know. Last year we made the decision to move away from purchased gifts and to make gift baskets containing things we made throughout the year. This year we decided homemade candles would be a great addition to our holiday gift baskets.

During our search for candle making instructions we found these amazing old fashioned tapered candle molds.

After that we knew we wanted to make them from pure, local beeswax. My husband contacted an Apiary we visited over the summer, Johnston's Honey Bee Farm.

They very kindly gave us an amazing deal on 11lbs of beeswax! We also picked up some beautiful honey.

We got all set up an began making our candles.

While Matt set up the wicks I began melting the wax. Cool and slow makes smoother candles with less shrinkage.

Once all of the wax is melted and around 150-160F we poured into our molds.

We had melted enough for some votive candles as well.

They unmolded beautifully and we found that really enjoy making them.

If you are interested in making your own candles I highly recommend this video. Jas. Townsend & Son also sell lovely supplies.

Hello out there :)

I have been tossing around the idea of a blog for about 4 years now. My husband and I have been documenting our baking, soaping, and project adventures with no place to catalog them, and it finally seems like the right time.

I grew up in a farm family; my house laying on the outer pastures of my grandparent's dairy farm. Growing up my mother always made things from scratch. I had never had store bought jelly until I started school. My parents even built our house themselves. I knew when I married I had to marry someone who would appreciate the love and art that goes into making things yourself. Thankfully I found him :)

We have become increasingly interested in making things from scratch; be it bread, candles, or preserves. We also love finding others who are living this way. Fiber artists, apiarists, vegetable farmers and the like fascinate us to the point that we have started seeking out any and all open farms in order to learn more. One day we hope to have a little hobby farm ourselves. I would love to give to my kids what my parent's gave me: a deep appreciation for nature, the feeling that you can do anything you put your mind to, a sense of pride in being able to do for yourself, and finally a desire to pass on knowledge that may otherwise be lost by today's "made from a box" society.

Cherry Bounce

See what we bought in November? How cool is that?! We can now make wine, beer, soda, and fancy liqueurs. It is a 5 gallon carboy which means we can make lots of whatever we choose. Our first project was making Cherry Bounce for holiday gifts. If you haven't heard of it, Cherry Bounce is whiskey that has been infused with cherries, sugar, and spices. This was a very popular drink in colonial days. Supposedly even Martha Washington had her own special recipe.

You will need(scale as needed):
2 quarts Cherries
1 qt Whiskey-Bourbon
3 C sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
1 nutmeg seed
A very large glass container

Combine cherries and sugar. Add to your glass container. Add the whiskey.

Add the spices and swirl to mix thoroughly.

Cover the top and set in a warm, dark place for 4 weeks. Give it a good swirl once a day.
Once the 4 weeks are over and the sugar is completely dissolved it is time to re-bottle. You will want a large measuring cup, a fine mesh strainer, a funnel and your bottles.

Strain the Bounce into your measuring cup and then pour into jars using a funnel. If you want crystal clear cordial then you will want to do a second straining using cheesecloth or coffee filters. This will take a while.

All set to be labeled and given away! You can find the bottles at Specialty Bottle. Oh, and don't toss the leftover cherries. They make a great ice cream topping!

Homemade Vanilla Extract

This is another one of those things that if you haven't made you really should. It takes about 5 minutes to throw together, a few months patience, and pays off big in terms of cost.

It seems that everyone has their own opinions of which alcohol to use for making extract. Some like to use vodka because it produces a very pure vanilla flavor. Some, like us, prefer using rum because it adds a warmth, and richness to the vanilla. Whichever you prefer, you can't go wrong! We like to use an aged, golden rum for our extract. We also have taken to mixing our vanilla beans. This year we bought Uganda Gold beans as well as "B" grade extract beans. You should use at lease some "B" grade beans. These are dryer, less expensive, and perfect for making extract. They are a bit trickier to split but will be worth the effort in flavor.

All you need is:
1 bottle vodka or rum
25-35 vanilla beans depending on your preference
Bottles or jars if you plan on giving some away
A sharp knife
and a cutting board

You will need to remove a small amount of alcohol from your bottle. Make yourself a cocktail :)
After your cocktail wears off very carefully slit your vanilla beans down the middle. If you plan on moving them to smaller jars later on also cut them in half.

Then just toss them into your bottle of booze! Seal the top, and gently shake. Let this sit for at least two months, shaking gently whenever you think of it. After that you may use your vanilla. That is it. Nothing to it at all! If you are like us and accidentally bought waaaay too many beans you may want to bottle some for friends.

For Gifts:
Once your extract has developed for a few months you can easily re-bottle it to give away. Just Pour your extract into a large measuring cup. Shake out all of the pods from the bottom of the bottle. Place a few pods into each bottle/jar you will be filling. Slowly pour(a funnel really helps) your extract into each bottle and close.

Add a label or tag and you are all set for gift giving. In case you were wondering we ordered our bottles from Specialty Bottle. Oh and did I mention the best part? When your supply is getting low just add more alcohol and let it develop again!