Will you be Preserving Summer's Bounty?

 Fall is inching closer and closer.  And as tough as it is to let summer go, one of the benefits of this time of the year is the cornucopia of seasonal fruit and veggies bursting at the seams of local farmer's markets. 

In an effort to avoid high sugar, high salt, and other mysterious (and bad for me) additives, I have decided to do some preserving this year. I have to admit, I have been planning on preserving for a while now, but was a bit intimidated by the process.

 I picked up the Art of Preserving by the fine people of Williams-Sonoma.  I recommend this book for newbs to preserving.  It has all the basic recipes and also recipes on how to use what you've made.  Brilliant.  I will do a more thorough review of this book once I've tried more recipes.

I was really pleased to find out that I needed very few specialty utensils and supplies to get started.   Very cheap start up! 

 I started with peach rosemary jam.  This is my first ever attempt at preserving, and it worked out wonderfully.  I used a bit less sugar, so it's a little runny, but SO delicious.  And a lot easier than I thought.

My next project is tomato sauce.  

 I also want to make salsa, apricot jam, plum jam, and apple butter.  

Are you going to be preserving this year?  I would love to swap recipes and tips with you!

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Quick Kitchen Tip: Preventing Fruit Flies

Having fruit flies in the kitchen can be such a pain.  They can be especially bad in the summer months, because they like the heat and the humidity.  But there is a way to prevent them from ever coming into the house in the first place.

When it comes to fruit flies, bananas are your worst enemy, because in the supermarket, fruit flies preferentially lay eggs on bananas.  When you bring your bananas home, the flies hatch, and you have a problem.

The easy solution - rinse your bananas thoroughly when you bring them home from the store.  Voila!  No more pesky flies.