Candied Cherry Sauce

  This sauce is really simple to make.The only thing you really have to be careful of is to have the right saucepan-to-sauce ratio because the cherries will produce a lot of bubbles since they are cooked over high-heat and the last thing you want to happen is for it to bubble over and make a big, sticky mess.

  You can serve this sauce over yogurt, ice cream, cake, or blend it into different drinks: the possibilities are endless. When I first made this recipe, I cut it in half since I'm stingy with my ingredients and I wanted to make sure it was a good recipe since I've tried plenty of other recipes that didn't turned out well. And seeing that I made this recipe twice in 1 week, I say that it is definitely a winner! And the end product can last in the fridge for months, though it only lasted 2 weeks in our house before I made another batch. 

Spiced Apricot Jam

  I love fruit, but my favorites are stone fruit: peaches, plums, and apricots. They are juicy, sweet, and perfect during the hot summers. After getting a big box of apricots, I decided to make apricot jam. It's not uncommon for my dad and I to finish off a jar of jam in a week or two so I thought it was a good idea.

  For a few years, I went up to Kansas with my grandparents for harvest in the summer and stayed with the family who farmed the land. Bob, who was like another grandpa to me would always save a small amount of wheat so he could make his homemade wheat bread, which tasted nothing like the stuff you get from the store. One of the guys who worked for Bob had a small patch of land that they had in town to use as a small garden for the neighborhood and his wife made the most amazing peach jam from the peaches she grew and it went perfectly with Bob's homemade bread. I could have lived off that bread and jam for the entire 2 weeks
I was there and still have wanted more.
  I plan of learning more about canning so when it's time for the farmer's markets to open, we can made more spreads, pickle, and preserve summer's best so we can enjoy it all year around.