Back Yard Jelly

Many years ago I was introduced to violet jelly.  Someone brought it to work and it was a tasty little jelly with the most amazing violet color.  More recently, a local craftswoman I met mentioned she makes the violet jelly and sells it at farmers markets and specialty stores and it demands what I thought to be a rather high price.  The wheels started turning in my head and I thought maybe I should try my hand at making the jelly and if it turned out, maybe I could market "Goodness Grows Farm Violet Jelly."

The April showers have brought a plethora of violets to our yard here at Goodness Grows Farm, so I decided to try my hand at making it.  This little section of yard is what inspired me.  It was dotted with the tiny purple violets that are so pretty but so fleeting.

I did what probably a lot of American farmwives do now a days and I Googled "Violet Jelly."  The first site that came up was Prairielandherbs.com  .

Under their recipe section I found:  Prairie Land Herbs Violet Jelly.

The recipe is as follows:

2 heaping cups of fresh violet petals (see note below) 2 C boiling wter 1/4 C well-strained, clear lemon juice 4 C sugar 3 oz liquid pectin (Certo) NOTE: Look for fully opened flowers, not partially opened buds, for better color and more intense flavor.

Wash petals well, drain and place in heat-proof glass or nonreactive bowl. Pour boiling water over petals and let steep from 30 minutes to 24

hours. It usually takes about two hours for violets. Strain through a fine sieve, reserving the clear, purplish liquid or infusion. If not using

immediately, refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Place jars and lids on rack in pan or stockpot deep enough to cover them with about two inches of water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, keeping the jars hot until ready to fill.

To make the jelly, stir lemon juice and sugar into reserved infusion in a two-quart nonreactive or stainless steel pan. Bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Add the liquid pectin and continue to boil two minutes, skimming any foam that may rise to the surface.

 Ladle quickly into jars to within about 1/8 inch from the top; clean each rim and threads of the jar as it's filled, and place flat lid and ring on each before filling the next.Place the jars in a hot-water canning bath and boil for 10 minutes (or the appropriate time for your area). After canning, carefully check to make sure the lids have all sealed. 

Sealed jars will last up to one year in a cool, dark place. Put any unsealed jelly in the refrigerator. it should keep about three weeks. Makes four or five half-pint jars.

 I photographed this little patch of violets to show you how bountiful it was: 

and how quickly I plucked the heads off the stems and put them in my colander.

This is a little section along my driveway.  This 2' x 4' section was all I needed to pick in order to get a colander full.  I say that with a bit of sarcasm because although it was a very small section, picking violets is very tedious.  I had bribed offered my children money to help me, but they tired quickly.  Clearly they have not received the memo that suspends child labor laws for farm wives trying to force their children to pick violets.

I had several stops and starts to my picking process, so it took me over two hours to complete my task - and since it was a warm day and the violets started to wilt a bit once I plucked the flowery head off the stem, so they began to compact in the colander.  When all was said and done, I had four heaping cupfuls of violets.

As I was picking violets, I noticed the dandelions that are also growing so bountifully in our yard.  The amount of dandelions and the fact that under the violet jelly recipe on the prairielandherbs.com website was a recipe for dandelion jelly had me thinking I would try my hand at dandelion jelly.

 So I also picked a colander full of dandelions.  I rinsed them thoroughly and followed the directions of cutting as much of the green sepals off of the yellow petals.

 I ended up with some green still attached, but overall, my measuring cup looked like this.

 I was quite dubious about the methods, but I followed the recipe.

I boiled the water, placed the thoroughly rinsed petals in jars and poured the boiling water over the petals, capped the jar and let the mix steep for 24 hours.  As you can see, as soon as the boiling water was poured over the petals, the violet color began to seep from the petals - just like tea.

I had enough for two jars of violets and one jar of dandelions.

The violet mixture eventually gets VERY dark.  Like, royal purple dark.  You can see that the violets actually start to lose their pigment and the petals turn white.

The dandelion water gets very dark - almost a dirty honey color.

 After steeping for 24 hours, I lined my mesh colander with cheesecloth and emptied the jars.  The violets were saturated with the water and when I poured the water out, I only had one and a quarter cups of liquid.  I was glad I ended up deciding to use the cheesecloth because I was able to squeeze the remaining liquid from the violets to get the recommended two cups of liquid.

 See how dark the liquid is?

I repeated the process because I was going to double the batch.

I poured the liquid into my cast iron enameled pot and whisked in sugar and lemon juice.

Once the sugar and lemon juice are added to the mixture, the liquid gets lighter in color.

 I also boiled the jars and lids, prepped them and kept them warm to pour in the jelly.

So now is the point in the story where I tell you that while I doubled the liquid portion of the recipe, I forgot to double the sugar and lemon.  I got all the way through of boiling the liquid, adding the pectin, pouring the mix into jars, putting the lids on the jars, boiling the jars for 10 minutes BEFORE I realized I had forgotten to add the extra sugar and lemon juice.

So, what did I do??  I tried looking up a solution on the internet, but didn't find any fast answers, so I poured the liquid all back into the pot, added the sugar and lemon juice, brought it back to a boil and repeated the process.  There was a bit more foam to skim this time, but it all seemed to work out.  The jelly gelled and I had eight jars of jelly instead of just four.

I then cleaned all of my pots, utensils, etc., and repeated the process for the dandelion jelly.  I heeded the advice from the recipe and I added yellow food coloring to get a more yellow color and got a really pretty color.  I do think next time I make the jelly I won't and see how the color turns out.  The only reason I added the food coloring was because I had the sneaky suspicion that my children would be confused when searching for the honey because the colors of the jelly and our natural honey are so similar.

As I was looking at the jars, I remembered the Christmas gift I had received from my sisters.  An embosser from Williams Sonoma.

 The embosser has an engraving plate that says, "Goodness Grows Farm."  To be honest, I'm not sure if the design in the middle is supposed to be an "S" or if it is just a symbol of some sort, but I'll play it off and pretend it is an "S."

The stickers were the perfect size for the lids of the jelly jars.

My dozen jars of jelly.  All in all, the process took me about 3 hours due to jar sterilizing and the mix up with the violet jelly.  However, I am going to look into the dishwasher processing of the jars - where you time your dishwasher cycle to end just as you are ready to pour your jelly into the still warm jars.  From what I have read, it is just as sterile and as easy.  I'm torn about the final processing aspect - whether I need to boil the filled jars the additional 10 minutes or if I can just let them seal on their own.  Most of my jar lids actually "popped" before I even put them in the hot water for final processing, which means it was sealed properly and should not spoil.

Additionally, I am going to break down the cost of making the jelly.  I happened to have lemons on hand, but I am going to investigate purchasing certified organic lemons and sugar to see what the cost for producing an "organic" product would be and if the cost would be worth even trying to sell.  I'm also going to look into getting my kitchen USDA certified so I can sell the jellies at local farmers markets and specialty stores.  Keep you eyes out!

 My second sister graduated from Pitt on Friday with her MBA.  So I packed these jars for her and gave them to her as a little gift.  I told her even if she didn't want to eat them, she could put them on a shelf and they would look pretty.

Now I just have to convince Erik that I need to buy a jelly cabinet to display all my beautiful wares.

Pillowcase dresses

With the warmer weather approaching and spring consignment sales picking up, I am obsessed with finding quick, easy sundresses for Maggie.  Unfortunately, they are priced more than I want to pay for something that is either going to be worn through mud and manure or only as a bathing suit cover up.  So I started searching the web, and came across these "pillowcase dresses."  

The original design for the dress is centuries old I imagine - made literally from old pillowcases.  Ones I saw online are typically made of those charming vintage cases with the lovely embroidery on the open side.   After looking at several sites, I decided I could probably make the dress myself.  And I could do it without a pattern.  

I wanted some color and pattern to my dresses so I headed to JoAnn for a look-see.  I fell in love with HUNDREDS of fabrics.  But I limited myself to just a few this first go round.    I ended up with a watermelon print, a sweet turquoise and celery paisley and I grabbed this strawberry fabric because it has the elasticized top that makes a really cute dress, and would be so easy to make!  I also picked up coordinating green satin ribbon for the straps/neck ties and 

some ribbon and embellishments for coordinating hair bows.

 My pattern choices

 My trusty Brother sewing machine.  I haven't used it in years but she always comes in handy!

 My mom got me this sewing box back when I was planning on a blue and yellow theme for my living room.

 This is my Grammie Foster's sewing basket.  I love the red paisley quilted top.  It is still full of stuff of hers.  I don't know what to do with most of it, but I keep it.  The spools of thread are marked 5 cents!

 This is a dress I picked up at a consignment sale for Maggie for about $2.  I decided to use this dress to fabricate some sort of pattern for the pillowcase dresses.

First I folded the fabric so that it was basically turned inside out.  Right sides facing each other.

 Then I traced around the dress with one of the kids washable markers.

 I measured across the chest of the red dress, then divided the number in half and added another 1/2 inch or so to the measurement for seam allowances.  Then I folded the fabric in half so that the chest portion of the dress was in half,

 then I cut the dress out.

 When you unfold it, it will look like this and the top of the dress is still attached .

 The one yard of allowed me to cut three dresses from that particular fabric.  This will vary depending on the width of your fabric.

 I then took a piece of felt and traced the dress pattern again.  Now when I go to make more dresses, I just have to fold the fabric in half, lay the pattern on top and cut the pattern from the felt.  I did it with felt A) because I had felt lying around and B) I thought felt would be more durable than paper.

 To give some character to the dress, I decided to make the hem in a complimenting pattern.  I cut fabric slightly longer than the length I wanted to achieve, pinned "right' sides together and sewed the hem fabric in place.

 The most difficult part of the task was the arm holes.  Thankfully, I had the red dress to use as a pattern. Many of the designs I saw online suggested using bias tape to finish the arm holes.   I do not know how to use bias tape, so I just folded the arm seams over once about 1/4 of an inch, ironed it well, folded it over again about 1/4 of an inch, then used a zig zag stitch to sew the seam.  It came out looking pretty good if I do say so myself.  Of course, in my focus on figuring out how to make the dress, I forgot to take thorough pictures of my process.

This is the first version of the dress I made.  I didn't add anything to the chest of the dress, just folded down the top of the dress about 1/4 of an inch, ironed it, then folded it over again about 1/2 an inch and sewed it straight across.  Then I took green ribbon, attached a safety pin to one end and threaded it through the front and back "yoke" of the neck.  The ribbon can be tightened to accommodate almost any size.

 The second dress, I folded the green ribbon over the "yoke" of the dress and threaded a gossamer organza ribbon through it.

 The third dress, I got a little fancier and made a "yoke' to match the hem.  It was relatively easy.  Cut the strip of fabric to fit the "yoke," fold in the top and sides about 1/4 of an inch and iron.  Make sure to sew the sides before you fold the entire thing in half because you'll stitch your openings shut!  Fold the fabric in half, iron then fit it close to the top of the yoke and stitch very close making sure you have the patterned fabric inside your complimentary yoke or it will fall apart or miss catching the fabric.

 I found this fabric a few days later at the fabric store and since some of the dresses were for presents, I had to pick this Hello Kitty Easter fabric up for one of the girls as Hello Kitty is one of her favorites!

 I also made coordinating hair accessories for the dresses.  This little number got a cute silver headband with a green flower accent.

 The headband up close.

 This is the watermelon pattern.  I gave it a turquoise yoke, but did not make a matching hem.  This dress I cut a little wider than the others because I wanted it to be shorter  and a little blousier than the others.  I got coordinating celery green leggings to be worn with it, so hopefully, it turned out cute.

I also made a matching headband for it with the little pink and white polka dot flowers.

I'm still experimenting with technique, but overall, it's been a rewarding process.  I'm not sure if I'm saving that much money as fabric is still rather price, but I guess if you factor I'm getting on average two dresses per yard, and I only am spending $3.99 a yard, the dress prices out under $5.  Not bad for a novice seamstress.

Now, here's hoping Maggie likes all the dresses I make!

Pretty little Milkmaid

Last year about this time, I mentioned to my friend, C, that I had seen the most adorable little butter dish in my Country Living magazine.  It was shaped like a little doll.

 I said it was in the Anthropologie catalog so it must be expensive.

Fast forward a few months and Whitaker was born.  After he was born, C gave me this HUGE box.  Inside the box is a smaller box containing the little yellow Milkmaid butter dish.

I was beyond touched, thrilled and so excited.  She told me that she tried to get me the red one, but it was out of stock.  It became a cherished item in my house, and like many cherished (and fragile) items, I did not know what to do with her.  I mean, if you  use her, you run the risk of chipping, or worse, breaking her!  

But, if you don't use her, what's the point of having her?  I mean, of course she looks adorable just sitting around, but in order for people to see her, I have to have her out!  

I did have her sit around for a while, but then I started using her for her intended purpose.  I slapped some butter under her skirt and we've used her for months.  The children were all instructed that she was a precious item and that they MUST be careful with her.  

That is until last Sunday.  Last Sunday, it was just me, Maggie & Whitaker.  I was feeding Whitaker in his high chair and while my back was turned, the go-go gadget arms that only a baby possesses managed to reach the little milkmaid and knock her from the kitchen island onto the floor.  

The carnage was awful.  

I was devastated.  I know she was just a thing, but she represented so much.  In the back of my mind, I imagined that I was going to give this butter dish to Whitaker's wife when she had her first baby.  I'd tell her all about where the dish came from, the importance of C in my life, and how important friendships are once you become mother.   I picked up every piece off the floor and set the pieces to soak in hot water to get the butter off.  I then ran to the computer and went to Anthropologie.com to see if I could buy a replacement.  They were no longer in the catalog.  I google searched every tag that could remotely relate to the dish and still nothing.  I looked at ebay, replacements.com, every non-traditional auction site online.  I even searched craigslist in various large cities in other states.  NOTHING!

With little hope left, I went back to Anthropologie.com and zipped off an email to customer service:

I received a yellow Milkmaid Butter Dish as a gift after I had my last baby.    My son accidentally knocked it off the counter and broke it. Not only is it my most favorite kitchen accessory, it holds great sentimental value and I desperately want to replace it.  Can you help???

Sincerely,

Jennifer Schwalm

Monday morning, around 7:30, I check my email and there in my box is a reply:

Hello Jennifer,

Thank you for your interest in the Milkmaid Butter Dish. This item is currently available. You may place your order by contacting us at 1-800-309-2500. Please refer to item number 973751. Quantities are very limited; to ensure that you receive this item you will want to order as soon as possible. 

If you require additional assistance or have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at service@anthropologie.com.

Please include this email with your reply.

Sincerely,
Amber Hart 
Anthropologie

7:45 AM, I was on the phone with Anthropologie and I ordered TWO new dishes.  One Yellow and one Red!

Thursday, the UPS man showed up at the door with a big box with Anthropologie on the return address.  I knew as soon as the UPS man handed me the big box, something was broken.  You could hear the tinkling of broken porcelain that easily.  I gingerly opened the box and found two smaller boxes inside.  The first box was the yellow Milkmaid.  She was intact.  The obvious conclusion was that the red one was broken.  I still held out a little hope that maybe it wasn't really broken - maybe the packaging wasn't as good and the top was clanking against the bottom.  

 As soon as I opened the lid, I could see the bottom dish was shattered.

 I gingerly pulled it out to see that it was broken in many pieces.

 But the top portion was perfect!  The little milkmaid was in perfect health!

I called Anthropologie's customer service line and explained to the representative what had happened.  She immediately issued a refund and when I asked how I was to ship the broken item back, she said, "Oh, no.  We don't expect it to be returned.  We cannot have broken porcelain going through the mail."    She then proceeded to give me the phone numbers for stores across the country that still had the milkmaid in red in stock.  I could call them and ask them to ship a new one if I so desired.

Since the lid to the little lady was still in perfect condition, I figured I could find a replacement bottom until I remembered to go to the store and buy some porcelain repair glue to see if I could glue the bottom back together.  

I have a small collection of red transfer ware plates that I had started collecting back when I was just out of college and living on my own in a little three level townhouse in Seven Fields.  Blue transfer ware has always been popular, and since I love red, it seemed a natural choice for a "grown up" collection.  Just as I started collecting the red transfer ware, Country Living  magazine featured a huge article on transfer ware in general and the red became a new collectors item.  After that I could rarely get my hands on a saucer for under $20 - prior, I had been picking up actual dinner plates for under that price.  Thus, my collecting of vintage red transfer ware ended.  I still occasionally pick up a new piece at TJ Maxx or Marshalls, but the vintage stuff is out of my price range. 

So, I had a pair of these vintage saucers in the cupboard that I use as serving pieces at different functions.  

I pulled it out and placed the little red milkmaid on top and voilà!

It didn't match up perfectly, but it will work for now.

So now I have two beautiful little ladies to hold my butter.

 The lady in red.

 And her pretty little yellow friend.  

They now sit on top of the refrigerator and I won't make the mistake of leaving them anywhere that could be in reach of Mr. Whitaker.  

The broken pieces are in a box in the closet, waiting for me to remember to pick up some epoxy to fix them.  Although my yellow lady is not the original, I will still be able to look at her and be reminded of my friend C. her thoughtfulness, and the friendship we share,  how our friendship has enriched my life an continues to do so every day and how something as simple as a butter dish can be so much more.  I can eventually pass down the "healthy" yellow milkmaid to Whit's wife, and I'll put the original one back together and continue to cherish the memory it holds for me.  

Following

I don't have time to read a ton of blogs out there even though I would love to with regularity.  I've seen titles for some blogs that crack me up and ones that intrigue me.  I usually take a quick peek at them, but if I don't mark them immediately, I forget what they were and never get back to it.

The ones I do read with regularity, I have listed on my site.  One that was recently launched, I am very excited about, called "Doorposts" which their site describes as, "weekly character-building projects, along with other articles, book reviews, and occasional giveaways. Our goal is to build up parents, encourage Bible-centered parenting, and help you get to know Doorposts and our family better. We also look forward to your comments and input, as we discuss parenting ideas and questions!"


We've used some of their materials at church and I have really enjoyed them.  One that we try to utilize is the :

Brother Offended Checklist

  Based totally on Scripture, this cartoon-illustrated chart-and-book set outlines:

• 9 steps for an offended person to follow
• 5 steps to encourage the offender to confess and forsake his sin
• 10 Scripture-based guidelines for parents when they must assume the role of judge in offenses.
• Examples from lives in the Bible
• What to do with a false witness
• How to discipline a child who takes pleasure in getting another child in trouble

Includes a chart outlining steps for both parties, with Scripture and cartoon drawings, and a 28 page booklet giving further directions, ideas, and verses that apply. The booklet material can easily be incorporated into your family worship time.

Having this around helps us when our instinctual answer is to say "Because I said so!"  

Anyway, Doorposts just launched as Blog, so I wanted to share this in case anyone else was interested.