Private JAM PARTY 2 Hour Class

Been wanting to learn to can fruit, make your own jams for christmas or birthday gifts? Now is your chance to learn, in your home, and with friends! Have a Canning Party at your own home.

I teach a 2 hour beginner canning course. We set this up as a group course for you and your friends. (5 people minimum) Classes on Friday night, Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon times. You choose.

In the 2 hours you will learn all the basic of Waterbath canning.... sticking to in season produce. Each person in the class with get to keep one jar from the class as well. Take notes during class, but everyone will get a packet to take home as a refresher w/ extra recipes to try!!! All equipment is brought to site, and we clean up after class. We also meet up with your before so you can get an idea of who we are, and what a fun class this will be.

The class is $25 per person and is due at the time of scheduling. If canceling a class, 50% of deposit is not returned if less then 1 week notice on cancellation. (This is 50% less then the county offers for a similar class.)

Its a fun thing to do with family and friends, and get you ready to have the most creative gifts to give this holiday. Next year we'll have advanced canning classes available we'll be holding in Fuquay for larger groups.

This month's canning class will be apples... Fresh packed canned and caramel apple jam. YUM! Get your best friends together and schedule a class now before we fill up for fall.

This class is only available within 25 miles of Fuquay Varina, NC... this includes locations Cary, Holly Springs, Clayton, Apex, Lillington and small surrounding towns. (If you would like me to travel further for an 'afternoon' only class it can be arranged for any extra trip charge.)

I will schedule a meet up with you to discuss what the course offers and if there is anything extra you'd like included.

We have large group specials, if you have the facility to use for the # you want there. Maybe your church would like to set something up for 30+ members. Please contact me for any ideas you may have!

Foglskitchen@gmail.com

Proud Silkie Mama

Alpha brought us home our first blue ribbon. I now owe him a new girl friend!

It's not fair!

I'm a little bummed... so far I have entered 12 competitions at the NC State Fair and walked away with NADA. (To the best of my knowledge, there is an issue with the jarred goods and when we went to look to see who won, the names were all covered up.) Tomorrow is my last entry... my sweet White Silkie Rooster 'Alpha'. I'm hoping he's my ticket to my last chance at a ribbon! If he wins, I will be buying him a nice new lady to make me blue ribbon chicks!!!!

Go Alpha!!!!!

Just a Wee Bit Tipsy.

Well make sure you're on my Christmas list this year, I'm gifting the naughty to the nice! Back in August, if anyone remembers, I started taking fruits and soaking them in vodka to create our own fruit schnapps to give as gifts. (Link to the original post here: Fruit Liquors )

Today I have used the bottles we've collected, sterilized them, filtered out the fruit (which were yummy from what I tasted), and poured into the bottles to gift. A couple were sweetened with a homemade sugar syrup so they could be drank as a cocktail. The rest are pure fruit and liquor and are great straight up, or as a mixer.

Not that I have a lot of time lately, but I needed the jars the fruit were fermenting in. I do think 7 weeks was plenty though for flavor. Some sites said as much as 4 months... some said only 4 weeks. I would say 2 months is about perfect using pint or  quart jars, which is what we used here.

I must say " DO TRY THIS AT HOME! "

I warned you!

I've been so busy working, getting the garden ready for another attempt at fall planting and getting the jars to the State Fair for competition that I've been neglecting my blog audience. Accept my apologies please?! Give me 2 weeks and I'll be back on the ball... I promise!

P.s. - I transplanted the grape vine cutting into its own bed by our driveway fence last week, its finally big enough to be transplanted. I also planted 70 onion bulbs and 100+ gloves of garlic since Saturday. I have MANY more to go, and getting ready to build another raised bed.

Catching You Up

Sorry I seem to have been away from the blog. My business really picked up for a short time, and that was followed by more apples, pears and grapes that needed jamming. I'm rushing to restock the very little there is left to do this time of year. As you know, the autumn harvest is heavy, but its short!

Next week also happens to be the NC State Fair. This is huge, the whole state and even surrounding states show up for the fair every year. There are tons of competitions to enter.... from canning... to baking... to animals... to produce... ect. So I have decided to enter 8 of my most popular jams, 1 of my favorite salsas, a batch of my most popular biscotti and I'm even entering my favorite rooster Alpha (a white bearded silkie). So I have 4 different days I have to go up to the fair grounds to get my entries in and judged. Plus I need to make time to take my daughter for the rides on one of those days. My neighbor's business is going to be at the fair from open to close the entire length of the fair (Oct 14-24). That means hubby and I will be their animal care takers. They're dogs, cats, chickens and rabbits need feeding.... and I'll have to water their fall crops as well.

This is all just to warn you, if I disappear again... I will probably return with blue ribbons in a couple weeks! :-D

To catch you up whats been going on at the homestead, other then the above preparing of business and competition, I've found after the recent flooding, a few of my lingering tomatoes finally bulked up what was left on them. I got a few ripe ones, some ripening and a bunch of green. 13 lbs of green ones alone (and if you recall, I've pulled out more then 1/2 of the tomato plants that were done last month). So I'm hoping some time in a cardboard box and tissue paper with finish ripening the harvest. If not, we'll be having green tomato chutney to can soon.

If anyone is interested, I still have 3 Black Tailed White Japanese Bantam roosters looking for a good home. Because if they stay here, they're going to be dinner!

Here's also a sneak peek at some of our newest jams that will be available soon... but not all yet ;)

Plum & Sliced Almond Jam

  

Vanilla Pear Butter