Some days, you just need to let out your inner Martha. A few weeks ago I was invited to my friend Melissa's canning club. Having never been a canner myself, but always being intrigued by the process, I made sure to clear the day for it.
First, let me tell you - Melissa is the hostess with the mostest! Not only does her fabulous bungalow set the perfect background for a gathering, but the girl knows how to entertain. The guests were lovely, the drinks were flowing, the food was somehow simultaneously simple and over-the-top good and she still managed to be a great canning teacher for us newbies.
On this particular day, the menu consisted of Prosecco Passionfruit (fresh from her backyard garden!) Jam and Brandied Cherries. For the jam, I've had it on toast, on cheese plates and maybe even snuck in a few spoon-fulls of it by itself - it's wonderful. For the cherries, we've so far mixed them into a few Old Fashioned drinks and plan to keep playing around with them in other cocktail recipes. We used the oven to seal the cans and it was so simple once it got going. Thinking I might do a few batches of each for Christmas presents!
Lucky for us, Melissa has graciously shared the recipes with us (end of post) and my friend and uber-talented photographer, Angie, the lady behind the camera at Infatuated Eye Photography, has shared some of her beautiful pics from the day. Thank you ladies, you really are the best!
Enjoy.
