The Basics Series - Homemade Apple Sauce Homemade Apple Sauce is one of the first things I remember helping with when I was a kid. Both my Mom and grandmother made applesauce. Often they did it together, and, as the kids it was often our job to squish the apples through the old-fashioned Chinois with the wooden pestle. I don't know what has become of the chinois, but I still have Grandma's pestle. It's handy for all sorts of percussive tasks in the kitchen. Because of that, I admit it is a ... Read More about Homemade Apple Sauce
Condiments
Basil Pesto
Classic Pesto or Basil Pesto? This could be called "Classic Pesto". I'm pretty sure Basil Pesto is the classic combination of ingredients to make this bright and delicious addition to your repertoire of sauces. If your garden is anything like mine, basil is abundant this time of year. I pinch off my basil plants throughout the summer, using the leaves in salads and veggies and pasta dishes. It's prime basil time right now So now, I have some beautiful, compact plants with lots of bright ... Read More about Basil Pesto
Fresh Tomato Vinaigrette
You will love the flavor in this Fresh Tomato Vinaigrette! As I've mentioned in a few recent posts, we've not had the best gardening summer. Regardless, we have plenty of veggies making their way into the house still. It makes for busy days, getting everything preserved for the winter, so that nothing goes to waste. This Fresh Tomato Vinaigrette is the result of a few extra tomatoes lying on the kitchen counter at dinner time. It just makes sense - a vinaigrette is mainly an ... Read More about Fresh Tomato Vinaigrette
Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
Bread and Butter Pickles you don't have to can! When I originally published this recipe, an unbelievable 10 years ago, I was an avowed Bread and Butter Pickle hater. Haters gonna hate, am I right? But not anymore. I changed my tune, I switched horses in mid-stream, and I turned over a new leaf. I can admit when I have been wrong, and I was SO wrong about this. What, you might ask is all of this drama about? It was Bread and Butter Pickles that I disliked. I would have said hated, ... Read More about Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles
Garlic Scape Chimichurri Sauce
The best topping for any steak! We grow a LOT of garlic. We eat a lot of it and sell some, plus it's good for the chickens. That does give us a LOT of Garlic Scapes to deal with though. Garlic scapes are the flower of a garlic plant, and leaving them in place robs the garlic bulb of growth. The plant will put more energy into maturing a flower, which will eventually fling seeds around - nature's way of growing more garlic. Our way is to separate the cloves and plant them, but nature takes a ... Read More about Garlic Scape Chimichurri Sauce
Chive Lemon Vinaigrette
Chive Lemon Vinaigrette is a reboot post, brought up from the archives for a new season. It's a bright fresh addition to springtime menus and if your garden is like mine, this is prime time for chives. I hope you enjoy it! Chives are a most agreeable herb to grow. This Chive Lemon Vinaigrette is only one reason you should grow them, and it's a very compelling reason indeed. Plant chives once - enjoy years of delicious flavor and a pretty plant in the bargain. My current plants ... Read More about Chive Lemon Vinaigrette
Quick Pickled Radishes
It does not get much more seasonal that fresh radishes. We've been enjoying a bumper crop of them this spring. A few springs ago, I shared this Sauteed Radishes with Sea Salt & Lime recipe, that we still enjoy at least a few times each spring. Cooking radishes does something really special, that we never dreamed of till we tried it, so I hope you will check that recipe out too. And I am always happy to eat freshly pulled radishes with just a bit of coarse salt, or sliced very thin and ... Read More about Quick Pickled Radishes
Jalapeno Garlic Dill Pickles
I think this is the busiest time of year for any gardener. As the summer winds down, we have to get everything put up for winter - currently that consists mostly of squishing tons of tomatoes into various jars and running the canner for hours every day. I try to mix of what I am making, so it doesn't become too tedious - today it's crushed tomatoes. But before I move over to the kitchen to get those going, I want to share my fast and easy recipe for these Jalapeno Garlic Dill Pickles. It's a ... Read More about Jalapeno Garlic Dill Pickles
![Homemade Raspberries Preserves [no pectin recipe] from The Creekside Cook](https://thecreeksidecook.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/featured-400x600.jpg)
Raspberry Preserves {no pectin recipe}
It has been a mighty busy summer around here. A good busy though. In addition to having a bigger garden and selling at the Farmer's Market, we found a new church that we are trying, I got into essential oils [okay, that should probably say I became instantly obsessed with essential oils!] and now, any day, we expect to be called suddenly to drive 3 hours south to watch our granddaughter while her little brother gets born! I am trying to get everything from the garden put up for winter in between ... Read More about Raspberry Preserves {no pectin recipe}
Easy Citrus Jam
I'm a little late getting this Easy Citrus Jam posted, but it is definitely not too late to make it yourself! There is still plenty of fresh citrus in the stores this spring, and you can change up what you use to suit what you can find. I wanted to get this posted before I left to spend a week in Arizona with my folks, sister and brothers, but as so often happens, time got away from me and I am not getting to until now. I hope it's right on time for you though! This time of year, you ... Read More about Easy Citrus Jam
Goat Cheese Spread with Tomatoes
We have just wrapped a few weeks of family visits, and it was, as always, a blast! My Mom was here for a couple weeks, and though we were sorry that my Dad didn't feel up to it, we were glad that she was able to come. It was her first time seeing her latest great grandchild, Evelyn. It has been a few years since she was able to see Mark & Anna, so they are like whole new people almost. And in addition to Mom, both the girls and their families, my sister and brother in law were also able ... Read More about Goat Cheese Spread with Tomatoes
Lemon Garlic Salt
It has been a busy couple of weeks here at home. Larry retired at the end of August, and though you might think that would mean we have more time, we actually seem to have less than ever. A lot of things got put off all summer, because we kept saying "We'll have more time in September." Well September is here, and we have to get it all done now. Then the influx of family began, as it does every two years or so, when we try to get as many people together as possible for a nice long visit. That ... Read More about Lemon Garlic Salt