Cabernet Jelly

Cabarnet Jelly...not your breakfast scone jelly!

Better served with a strong cheddar as an appetizer or even alongside your roast turkey.

3  1/4 cups cabernet
3  1/4 cups sugar
3 oz (85 ml pkg) liquid pectin
3 tbsps lemon juice
1-4 cloves, optional

Tie your cloves (doesn't this 1 clove look lonely!) in a piece of cheese cloth or a coffee filter. Combine wine, lemon juice, pectin and clove pouch in a large pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling remove the clove pouch and whisk in the sugar. Bring back up to a rapid boil for 2-3 minutes or until thermometer reads 220 F which may take a little longer.

Remove from heat and skim off any foam. Pour into sterilized jars. Wipe rims clean and seal.

Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Check seals after 24 hours. If not sealed store in refrigerator.

Makes 10-125ml (4 oz) jars.

Recycled Jeans Gift Bag

Got old jeans hanging around? Of course you do! 
Turn them into unique gift bags. It's easy!

Just cut the bottom of the leg off at the knee. If you are making the bag for a wine bottle just make sure you have enough length for the bottle plus bottom seam and gathered top.

Turn the cut-off inside out and sew a seam for the bottom of the bag. 

Back on good side out, tack on whatever you want to use for a closure. I used twine here but you could use ribbon or cord. Just sew it on at the back a couple of inches below the top of the bag.

I got my husband to drill a hole through some corks and I put the twine through using a darning needle.

Use your imagination for embellishments. I made material scrap flowers and buttons.

And that's it, your bag is ready to hold a bottle of wine or some homemade preserves.

Deco Mesh Christmas Tree

In no time at all you can make a tomato cage Christmas tree like this! It all started when I found a roll of deco mesh at a bargain store for $2.99

But I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. Got a tomato cage, some garland and mini lights....

and started wrapping the tomato cage with the lights securing with twist ties. Then, as I unrolled the mesh, I gathered it into loose bunches and twist tied it to the cage.

Wrapped the garland around in between the rows of mesh

and then added decorations. Actually I just added another garland complete with pine cones and frosted boughs. (Got that at the dollar store!)

Karma thinks it's pretty cute!

Standing the tree in this tall planter was a bit of a challenge, but I finally got the idea to use an old paint pail upside down inside the planter. Then put bungee cords around the bottom of the pail and hooked them up onto the largest ring of the tomato cage to keep it stable. Wrapped black landscaping material around the base of the tree and voilà!

Jalapeno Wontons

Bring on the heat!

8 oz (227g) cream cheese
1  1/2 cups shredded cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, swiss)
1/4 cup mashed avocado
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
2 jalapenos, seeded and finely diced

1 package wonton wrappers
canola oil

Be super careful cutting the jalapenos! As you can see, along with my handy dandy jalapeno corer, I also used rubber gloves to handle the peppers. I used 1 red and 1 green jalapeno and I got rid of all the seeds.  If you like heat leave some seeds in the mix.

Combine the filling ingredients and, depending on the size of your wrappers, put about 1 heaping teaspoon in the center. Brush the edges with water. Fold over to form a triangle and press the edges together. While filling be sure to keep the as yet unused wontons covered so they don't dry out. Same with the finished ones...keep them covered with a dish towel until ready to fry.

Add a few inches of oil to a deep pot or fryer and heat to 375F on your thermometer.

Carefully place just a few wontons in the oil at a time and fry 1 minute per side or until golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined tray.

Makes 52 little appetizers that you can serve right away, or keep in the freezer for later. 

When you need them just pop frozen wontons into a 400F oven for about 15 minutes.

Pineapple Banana Bread

With the first snow on the ground I needed to post something a little tropical.

1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond or coconut extract
1 tbsp poppyseeds
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup well chopped fresh pineapple (well drained, reserve juice)
2 tbsps milk
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup icing sugar
reserved pineapple juice

Cream the butter and sugar together, then add eggs one at a time. Add the extract, poppyseeds, banana, pineapple, milk and coconut. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together and incorporate into the wet mixture. Toss walnuts with 1 tbsp flour and fold into the batter.

Line a 9 X 5" loaf pan with parchment paper or grease well and spoon in the batter. 

Bake at 350F for 1 hour AND 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool then run a knife around the sides and turn out the loaf. Mix enough icing sugar with the reserved juice to be able to drizzle all over the loaf. Sprinkle a few walnuts on top.

Now...pretend it's warm out!

Easy Wine Cork Placemarkers

First snowfall today...got me thinking of Christmas. And these placemarkers. They're so easy to make! The hardest part is drinking the wine to get the corks 😉

For each placemarker you'll need 4 corks. Just plain or use a glue stick and dip the ends in glitter. Then glue gun them together to form a square. You can tie some ribbon around them too. Next use some old greeting cards to cut out whatever shape you like for the actual namecard. Don't forget to glue a back on it too.

Write the name on the card and stick it between the corks. Bon appetit!

Mock Kataifi

This is by no means a replacement for the real thing, but if you want a fake bake Greek-inspired dessert then give this a try!

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
3/4 - 1 cup water
1 or 2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 - 1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
4 muffets or shredded wheat cereal

Start by simmering the sugar, honey, water, cinnamon sticks and lemon juice in a pot for 15 minutes.

Place muffets in a baking dish and pour the hot syrup over top.

Let sit for about 1 hour on the counter, then turn them over and sprinkle chopped walnuts on top. If you want them sopping with syrup just double the syrup recipe and you probably won't have to flip them over. 

With less syrup the muffets stay a little crispy.

"Roasted" Garlic in the Microwave

My daughter asked if we could have garlic mashed potatoes for Christmas dinner this year. I wanted to do a test run today but didn't have the time to roast the garlic.

No problem! Microwave saves the day!

Just slice the top off a head of garlic, place it in a microwave-safe bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add 1  1/2 tbsps of water to the bowl and cover with a saucer.

Microwave on low for 3 minutes, take it out and check softness with a fork. Microwave another 3 minutes then by 1 minute increments until you achieve the desired softness.  You could broil the top if you want a golden roasted garlic but I didn't mind it like this. 

So just squeezed out the cloves and mashed them with the potatoes, a bit of milk and butter.

I may never roast garlic in the oven again!

Easy Small Batch Dill Pickles

When you have a little pickle craving...
This recipe makes just 1 pint and 2 quart jars.

2 lbs small pickling cucumbers
8 cups water
1/4 cup (+ 2 tbsps pickling salt)
1/4 cup and 1/8 cup vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
2 cups water
2 tsps pickling spice 
1/2 tsp mustard seed (per jar)
1/2 tsp dill seed (per jar)

Day one - wash and trim off stems and blossom ends of cucumbers.  Dissolve 1/4 cup salt in 8 cups water.  Submerge cucumbers in salt water for 12 hours. I used a shallow bowl that fit inside my large bowl to hold the cucs down in the water.

Day two - after 12 hours drain but do not rinse the cucumbers.

Using a coffee filter or small piece of cheesecloth, tie up the pickling spice. Mix 2 tbsps salt, vinegar, sugar, 2 cups water and the pickling spice pack and heat to boiling. 

Fill sterilized jars with cucs, fitting in as many as you can, and add the mustard seed and dill to each jar.

Fill jars with the hot brine leaving a 1/4 - 1/2" head space. You may find that you'll need to make more vinegar mix if your jars aren't tightly packed with cucs. Place the lids on top, just finger tight.

Bring a large half-filled pot of water to boil, then add the jars. Top off with boiled kettle water to cover the tops of the jars. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.  

Then carefully remove from water and cool on the counter. Make sure lids have sealed.

If you choose not to process the jars then just keep them in the fridge. They do lose a little crunchiness when processed.

Silky Lemon Lime Pie

Like lemon meringue but creamier with a hint of lime.

1 - 9" pie shell

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp lemon and/or lime zest
pinch salt
2  1/2 cups milk
2 tbsps butter

Meringue:
3 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar


Blind bake pie shell, 450 F for about 8 minutes, and set aside.

Mix sugar and cornstarch together in a large saucepan. Add egg yolks, lemon and lime juices, zest and salt, gently warming. Pour in the milk while whisking and heat to medium high. Continue whisking until filling thickens, about 10-15 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the butter.

Pour into the pre-baked shell and prepare meringue.
Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually adding the sugar and cream of tartar. Continue until stiff peaks form then dollop onto the pie sealing to the pastry edge.

Bake at 425 F for 5 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.