Merry Cranberry Freeze Recipe

I have decided to post some of my favorite recipes over the next month or so. This is a recipe that we usually make for the holidays. This recipe is so easy and it is so delicious. And of course, don't forget to wear your apron.  We have a large assortment of handmade aprons at countrynmore.

One note: I found it easier to grind the berries when they are frozen.

Merry Cranberry Freeze

1 ½ c. sugar

12 oz. cranberries, ground

12 oz. canned crushed pineapple in juice

½ c. walnuts, chopped

½ pint whipping cream

Whip cream till soft peaks form. Set aside. Mix together in bowl; crushed pineapple, cream cheese, and sugar. Fold in cranberries, and whipping cream. Pour into mold and freeze. I usually double up on the whipping cream, but I will leave that up to you.

Sorry for not having pictures. 

Homemade Soup-Low Sodium

Last year, I received a electric pressure cooker. I have made so many things, including this soup. At first, I just added ingredients without measuring. This is basically how I cook. It was so popular, that I made it again. This time, I measured. When I make it again, which will be soon, I will take pictures.

1 pkg. Organic low sodium vegetable broth

2 1/2 c. water

1 c. chopped carrots

1 c. chopped zucchini

1 c. finely chopped broccoli

1 c. dried split peas

1 c. lentils

¼ – ½ c. chopped green onion

½ tsp. Basil

½ tsp. Parsley

½ tsp. Tarragon

2 tsp Vegit mix

pinch sea salt (optional)

Place in the electric pressure cooker and cook (soup option) for 45 minutes.

Homemade Huckleberry Jam

Our oldest son purchased some Huckleberry seeds when he was on a trip to Wyoming. Well, this year the seeds were planted. It produced a nice crop of berries. We had to wait for the berries to turn a mat purple color. There are still some that are not ripe and after this batch was picked, I found out that we have quite a few more to pick.

 These berries have a month or so before they are ready to be picked.

I made a low sugar jam, since we watch our sugar intake.

Merry Christmas everyone!

New Hanging Oven Door Towels at country n more

Well, the new holiday oven door towels are up and Country N' More and there will be more on their way. Some of the hanging oven door towels, are one-of-a-kind. Every year, the oven door towels are purchased for Christmas and birthday gifts. Below are the latest additions to the on line store. We now have 45 different oven door towels to choose from. Of course, we have other themes as well.

Please be sure to check back. New oven door towels coming soon.

New Reversible Cobbler Aprons At www.countrynmore.com

Well, I have been working hard to create these lovely reversible cobbler aprons. Here are the latest aprons that were added to our on line store at countrynmore.com. We now have over 60 aprons to choose from. Perfect for wearing while working in the kitchen, outdoors, crafting, etc.

 Fall and Thanksgiving cobbler apron

 Bird and lilac apron

 Old fashioned town scene and snowman apron

 Dalmatian dog cobbler apron

 Cute cat and kitten apron with poinsettias on reverse side.

Words of encouragement pink ribbon apron

Don't Waste Broccoli Stalks

While many individuals such as myself do not care for broccoli stalks, would rather compost or throw out the stalks.  I for one have chosen a new way to use the raw broccoli stalks. I used to purchase broccoli slaw at the market, but not anymore.

Raw broccoli has nutrition that shouldn't be wasted. According to nutrition facts at nutritiondata.self.com, raw broccoli stalks a good source of Protein, Thiamin, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron and Selenium, and a very good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Manganese.

Since I forgot to take the before picture, I found an image of broccoli stalks here. I wanted to give mention about this blog, She provides great ways to use those unwanted fruit skins, etc.

 We purchase our organic broccoli at the local farmers' market.  We prefer to get just the florets, but that isn't always an option. It doesn't matter really, because I shred the stalks in our food processor.We use the mixture of shredded carrots and broccoli stalks in soups, salads, and many other recipes.

I have been doing this for some time and I thought that I would pass this along to others.

Newly Listed Vintage Style Aprons At countrynmore.com

It is hard to believe that we had aprons that have not been listed on our website at www.countrynmore.com.  I have posted that we added some Fall reversible cobbler aprons, but now we have some vintage style aprons that are new to the website as well. Not to mention that currently, we have a sale on selected vintage style aprons.

Here are some of the newbies on the block. lol

The print on this apron is oh, so, cute.

 Retro flower apron

 Time for Fall

We now have over 50 different reversible cobbler aprons to choose from and 25 vintage style apron. Our reversible cobbler aprons are completely reversible. While some make cobbler aprons that we called lined, our cobbler aprons have two different prints. For our customers who wear a size medium, they can now find a nice selection of aprons to choose from. We still make the custom cobbler aprons as well.

Repost: How To Make A Hoop House That Glides

I thought that I would share this. This was posted on facebook. I thought that it was so cleaver: "How To Make A Hoop House That Glides."

Photo courtesy of farmshow.com

Information can be found at the link above. From the site: Harris is willing to help with information, a complete parts list or even parts ordering. If desired, he will even prepare a hoop house kit to order. I am not sure what it would cost.

New One-Of-A-Kind Fall Reversible Cobbler Apron at Country N' More

Fall is almost here and we have some lovely new reversible cobbler aprons that have just been added to our on line shop. We have just started making some new Christmas cobbler aprons as well.  Look for seasonal canning aprons to show up soon as well. It has been a busy time for us as we get ready for the upcoming holiday season. We have added new oven door towels, which make great Christmas gifts.

When you click on the apron title, you will be able to see the reverse side of the cobbler apron, plus some detailed photos. For now, we will show you the front and backs of our new Fall aprons. These one-of-a-kind aprons, are available in two sizes. The aprons that are not noted as medium or plus, are the same size that we have been making since early 2000. Country N' More has a large customer base. Customers find that not only is the quality of our aprons superb, but the aprons are gorgeous as well.
This same print was used for two different aprons.

The apron above also has the Give Thanks design on the reverse side.

This apron is so colorful and cute as can be.

Grape Jelly, Protecting Apples From Pests.

I must say that I am enjoying the jelly made from our California Rodger's Red grapes. This wild grape is a royal pain when it comes to juicing, as I mentioned in past posts. The juice is sweet and so is the sugar free jelly. This time, I tried to add a little Stevia to the jelly. There are some Stevia sweeteners that I avoid. I found that some had GMO's (genetically modified organisms) added to the sweetener. I use one that is just that-"pure Stevia," without any added ingredients. The jelly tastes like I added sugar.

I also made some batches with just the juice and pectin. Both are equally delicious, since the grapes are sweet just the way they are.

Now, my husband isn't one for eating jelly, but once he had some the homemade jelly, he is hooked.
  Here is just a portion of last year's crop

Then, there is the Cody Moth

 



The Cody moth. Here are some tips. This Cody Moth destroyed a large apple.

Yesterday, I harvested this year's apple crop. The crop this year is much smaller. If the apples didn't get eaten by the squirrels, the cody moth destroyed the others. We put up traps for the Cody moth, so there were fewer apples that were destroyed.

I also harvested our pears. As with the apples, the pears were a delight to the local squirrels. Now, that we have a beehive next to the pear tree, we once again have pears that we can actually eat. Before, I would notice that the pears were disappearing one by one. I learned about the paper bag trick,which prevented the squirrels from taking my precious pears. I had no issues with using the paper bags over the apples. We choose to be organic. Here is another useful technique for protecting those precious apples.

Dog Neck Coolers

I have been asked for some time about making neck coolers for dogs. It has been so hot and I decided to make a version of our neck coolers. I made this sample for our dog, who is finding that the heat this summer is just......too hot. Eventually, I will make them for our on line store, but I am thinking of what to call them.

Here he is modeling his new neck cooler. 

These neck coolers are basically similar to the ones that we made for soldiers, having several pockets with the cooling crystals. What do you think?

On Line Fabric Store at www.countrynmore.com

Many of you may not know it, but Country N' More has a large selection of high quality cotton quilt fabrics. They are perfect for your next sewing project. Customers have made lovely curtains, quilts, and other sewing projects using our fine fabrics. The below Minnie Mouse fabrics are adorable, and they are the latest fabrics that have been added to our on line store. There are hundreds of fabrics to choose from. It is a quilter, crafter and sewer's paradise.

Re-posting a Post- What I Learned After Taking a Homeless Mother Grocery Shopping

I don't know how else to do this, but I wanted to share this with others. This story touched me very deeply and I wanted to pass it along to others. A woman writes about taking a homeless woman shopping.

It is a must read.

Sharon

Grape Harvesting Time-Time For Some Jelly

The grapes are ripe for the picking and we sure have a large crop again this year. As of today, I have plucked over 40 lbs. of grapes and there are still plenty more.

These grapes are the size of blueberries and if you didn't know that they were grapes, you would think that they were blueberries. These grapes are picked at their peak and they are so sweet. After doing this for years, I have found that the best way to juice them, is to use our juicer. I have used other methods, which I have mentioned in the past, but I found that using our juicer is a huge time saver. Some of the grapes will be for juice for drinking, while others will be used to make jelly.

I decided to back to using our juice extractor for juicing these small seeded grapes. It worked well, but I needed to run it through a second time. That did the trick. Today, I am going to make grape jelly.  This will be the first time that I am going to make sugar free. The grapes are very sweet on their own, so this should be very tasty.


Here is my first posting about another process that I tried.

Cool Vintage VW A Must See

This was posted on Twitter and I thought that it was so cool. My grandma used to have one, which was passed on to my step brother. If the VW is un-fixable, why not try this?

Canning Apron Sale

Canning aprons are on sale for only 2 weeks.  So many gorgeous aprons to choose from.  Customers find these aprons to be very comfortable. Here are some of the gorgeous aprons available.  We have Fall and some Christmas aprons. A good time to think ahead.