plans for preserving the harvest - 2015

I have been thinking a lot lately about the direction I would Iike to see this blog take in the future. I know I haven't been the best at keeping this space updated these last couple of years but oh how I love this place. Taking a quiet moment out from our busy life here on the farm to write and update has always felt so special to me and I cannot tell you how immensely passionate I am for this life I live out here in the country! Reading a new comment or hearing from readers always makes my day and I want to continue to inspire and share with you all as life continues here at Cosgrove Farms!

My hopes is to have the farmgirl diaries be a hub of farmlife inspiration for you. Whether it be posts about farm life in general, farming operations, the farmhouse, the farm garden, recipes and canning and of course the farms feathered and furry creatures! I would love to hear from you about what you would like to read about more often or even learn!!

This year I really want to preserve more of my own harvest here from the farm garden. I have been going through all of the new seed catalogues with excitement and planning up new plans for a new garden space (more on that soon!) and have been reading through all of the canning cookbooks I purchased in the last few years but have yet to actually preserve from. Then I thought well maybe I could blog about canning as well! But then I was feeling silly thinking, "well how can I write blog posts about canning when I barely put up much of my own?" Sure I make dill pickles every year and my homemade raspberry jam last Summer is still causing cravings..but what about preserving the rest of the harvest? So here's the deal. This year I am going to learn everything I can about putting up the garden..and I am going to share it all with you right here on the blog. Every failure and success..and hopefully there will be more success than not but hey, we've just got to start, right?

So last night I went through my books and marked out my favourite recipes using produce I know we will enjoy. I am not wasting my time on preserving things we won't eat..ain't nobody got time for that!! But what we do have time for are things like: dilly beans, pickled asparagus, vanilla-rhubarb jam with earl grey (!!), salsa, boozy canned peaches, pickled beets, tomato sauce, tomato juice..ack I am so excited!! Below are the cookbooks I will be preserving from (as seen above as well)

Personally, my favourite books are Canning for a new Generation and Food in Jars

My list above of things I will be attempting to make this Summer are recipes found in either of these.

I can't even tell you how excited I am for this year..so many exciting things planned for the horizon!!