It's about that time.......

So, it's canning time again.  We're about to be bombarded with an amazing amount of fresh local produce from our and our friends' orchards and gardens.  I'm super excited as this is one of my favorite times of the year and really gets my creative juices flowing.  First I need to catch up a bit as I've been completely remiss in my posting to the blog.  Now, I'm not going to try to catch up from last November, but I did try some recipes in the last month or so that warrant mentioning. 

It all started with a wonderful find at Home Depot.  The hubby was wandering around grabbing necessary, but boring, items so I found myself in the books and magazines section.  I came across this amazing canning magazine by Homes and Gardens.  It had so many fun new recipes it was a must buy. 

The first adventure from this new resource was fresh corn salsa.  Corn fresh off the ear, tomatoes, onions, jalepenos....goodness.  I think next time I'll make it a little spicier, but it's a great fresh tasting alternative on tacos. 

I like lemons, the hubby has an un-natural obsession with honey.....so, next up is Lemon Honey Jelly.  This led me to realize that I need a new citrus juicer (already purchased) as it was quite a bit of work, but the results are amazing.  We had this on bisuits the other night and it's the perfect combination of sour/sweet lemony goodness.  Definitely making this one again. 



Then came Strawberry Margarita Jam (it has lime and tequila!) that is awesome with huevos rancheros.  It's a nice little detour from traditional strawberry jam. 

And last, but not least, there was cranberry orange spread.  I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out or exactly what I was going to use it for, but it sounded interesting and easy.  I poured it over cream cheese and served with crackers and pita at a girls' night and it got rave reviews, so definitely a keeper. 

Not a bad day's work. :)