Link Love! Gifts In Jars

My 300-ish square foot apartment is currently overflowing with jars of things. Three types of jam, tomato sauce, two types of liqueur, pickles, pears, and on and on. My general motivation here is not only to have beautiful summer produce throughout the year, but also to have a perfect stash of last minute gifts and treats to share with friends and loved ones during the holiday season. It isn't too late for handmade gifts by any means- and the perks of gifting something that can be both stored, and later eaten once the house is cleared of other holiday sweet things is truly hard to argue. I've also tried to include primarily recipes that don't require any special canning equipment.

- Despite the fact that Washington doesn't actually have a citrus season- it still is citrus season. I'm enamored with the idea of this Chili Mandarin Marmalade with a Spritz of Ginger from Mandolin the Mirthful. She notes its intensity and that it would pair beautifully with crackers and chevre. My kind of lady.

- On that note- this idea of gifting Marinated Goat Cheese is unarguably simple, and absolutely gorgeous. This would make a phenomenal host/ess gift, even when rushed for time.

- Homemade Coffee Liqueur from Food In Jars makes for another well received gift that uses a few straight-forward ingredients. The original recipe notes that it's best when allowed to sit anywhere from three to six weeks- but I've given gifts like this in the past that included a note one when it's best to open. No one has complained.

- Okay, I'm totally cheating on this one. It doesn't come in a jar, it's merely just being served in one. But I cannot get over how obscenely delicious this sounds. I cannot. Jen Altman's Black Spiced Rum Eggnog will be my first attempt at eggnog ever. I will drink it out of a jar, and I will probably not share. You should go ahead and make your own.

-  Bacon Jam. I know. Bacon is played out, and this recipe takes hours to make, and if you want to store it out of the fridge you need a pressure cooker. But I don't care about any of those things. It's bacon, and onions, and maple syrup. And I just don't care.

- I accidentally made myself a big beautiful jar of ginger syrup last year- it was the byproduct of candied ginger, and it was probably one of the best accidents I've had in some time. It makes for some of the best ginger ale I've ever had, and has stored perfectly in my pantry without any issues. Joy the Baker shares her recipe for Homemade Ginger Syrup for Ginger Ale and includes a perfectly simple recipe for ginger ale to tack on as part of a gift.

Are you making any of your gifts this year? What are your favorite homemade treats to give and receive?

Farmers Market Haul

Let's play a little game, yeah?  Take a look at that picture for a minute (click on it twice and blow it up nice and big!)  Look at everything in it, and calculate how much you think each item cost.  Tally that up, keep the number in your head, and then scroll down.  And for the record, this is:

1 huge bunch of basil
1 small bag full of braising greens (not all of it fit in the bowl)
2 Walla Walla sweet onions
2 types of zucchini
2 purple sweet peppers
1 green hot pepper
1 pound of tri-colored green beans (yellow, purple, and well... green)

All of this is organic and locally grown.  All of this is seasonal, picked within the past 24 hours, and all of this I bought three blocks from my house, most of which was directly from the farmers who grew it.

Okay ready to scroll down???

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We spent $11.50.  Eleven dollars, and fifty cents.  I will tell you right now that if we had gone to the grocery store half a mile away and bought all of this, it would have easily cost us close to $20 and the quality would have been far inferior.  If we had bought eggs this week the difference wouldn't have been much different.  One dozen organic, free range, certified humane eggs at the grocery store costs $4.50.  They cost $5 at the farmers market, and I trust those statements far more when I can talk to the farmer face to face.

I know that not every community has access to farmers markets.  If yours does- do you shop there, or elsewhere?  Why or why not?  Bonus points (yeah, I'm counting!): leave me a comment and let me know how much you thought this all cost before you scrolled down!