Good Ole Thanksgiving

Around here, we’ve been talking about Thanksgiving for weeks.   It starts with, “what are you thinking about having on Thanksgiving?” with the grand idea about trying some new recipes.  But when I shared those ideas with the family, everyone tells me, “Okay, but you’ll still make my favorite macaroni and cheese, right?”  So every year, my Thanksgiving table is full of everyone’s favorite dish – fried turkey for Mike, sweet potato casserole and mac & cheese for Hal, a relish tray for my father-in-law, creamed corn for Mikelyn, with a few new recipes thrown in to freshen up the table.

My new addition this year will be the baked ham glaze that I will make with my new Corn Whiskey Pepper Jelly introduced this Fall.  It’s so delicious with its sweet and spicy balance and corn whiskey infused flavor.   Y’all have got to try some! 

Photo taken at the Lauri Jo's Cookoff,
Norman Park Veteran's Day Festival

You know, food is just the bait for Thanksgiving. It’s all about being together with friends and family to give thanks for the many, wonderful blessings we have.  Our hearts are with our military men and women who remain away from their families to protect us and our freedom.  We are so grateful.  

Many beautiful wishes that your Thanksgiving is full of warmth and love, and that you’re bait works, too.

Blessings in your kitchen,

Lauri Jo    

Fresh Produce

It’s hot and dry here in the Deep South, but we’ve been blessed with summer’s beautiful bounty.

In case you didn’t know, our products taste so good because 90 percent of the produce is picked right here from our farm.  What we don’t grow, our local farmers (they’re our friends, too!) provide for us.  Tomatoes (toe-maters), squash, green beans, strawberries, blueberries, cucumbers, peppers and more are picked daily and brought in to wash and start preparing to put away for later enjoyment.

That to me is the nicest pleasure in the cold days of winter, when the colorful garden and flowers are gone.  I open a jar of my fresh salsa, or blueberry jelly and I smell the fresh garden again.  All the warmth, sunshine and fun memories with my kids come rushing back and make me so happy.  And it tastes so darn good too, ya’ll! 

Check out this truck load of freshly picked tomatoes and peppers from our field!  My son, Hal, is helping us load them up so that we can use them in our products!  Excited about this batch!

I Love Canning

Canning is an art in the south.  It’s something I grew up with.  But most people today don’t do it because it’s a lot of work.  I can just about everything... from different kinds of pepper jellies and salsa to pickled okra and asparagus.  

When it turns cold outside later in the year (hard to believe right now because we’ve had 100 degree heat waves!), I love to open a jar of my jelly and smell the freshness of ripe, summer fruit.  Summer comes rushing back and warms me all over! 

So you’re probably reading this thinking, Lauri Jo, what is canning exactly?   What ingredients do I need to can?  How long does it take?  Can I do this in my kitchen? 

 

Steps for Canning Fresh Salsa

1. Pick or Purchase fresh tomatoes (I prefer picking my own.)

2. Wash them off real good.

3. Place them in boiling water for about 15 minutes to loosen the skin.

4. After they are cool enough to handle, peel the skin off and put peeled tomatoes in a separate container.

5. Gather other ingredients such as garlic, salt, onion, jalapeños, tomato paste, and any other    ingredients you choose to put in yours. (Now I mash my tomatoes by hand as I am peeling them, but all of my other ingredients I chop in a food processor.)

6. Place all ingredients into a large boiler.

7. Let the salsa cook for 30 to 40 minutes on a good rolling boil. After about 15 to 20 minutes of cooking. (Take a quick taste to see if you need to add any salt, pepper or garlic.)

8. Fill jars while still hot, screw lid on and turn upside down for sealing.

9. Let cool completely and then ENJOY!!!

Southern Memories

A sweet honeysuckle bush near my house!

If you’re like me, summertime in the south can bring back so many good memories.  To this very day, when I walk by and smell the sweet fragrance of honeysuckle vines, a wonderful memory rushes back to me.  I was around four or five years old when I used to wander between my house and my grandparent’s house (they lived next door.)  The sweetness of the honeysuckle vines filled the air like perfume.   I loved picking one honeysuckle after another and getting a pin-drop of honey to taste out of each one.  Now that I think about it, it was a lot picking for a tiny taste of honey!   But it was just the fun of trying each one, never knowing if the next one was going to give more honey than the last.  Ahhhhh, summertime.  If you have a favorite memory, please share!  It makes me happy to hear the stories. 

Speaking of honey, I want to share an old recipe of mine...  

Touch of Honey Biscuit Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup cold butter
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon honey

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cream of tartar; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in milk and honey just until moistened. Turn onto a floured surface; knead gently 8-10 times.

2.Roll out to 3/4 in. thickness; cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Place 1 in. apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

...And I love to add a touch of honey to my tea... Yum!

Welcome!

My family in Panama City Beach last week
Left to Right: Hal, Me, Mike, Mikelyn

Hi, I’m Lauri Jo. It’s nice to meet you who are reading this. My company is called Lauri Jo’s Southern Style Canning (www.laurijos.com) and lately, some people have been calling me the ‘pepper jelly queen.’ That’s alright. It’s kind of stickin’ to me.

Here’s my story. It all began as a much loved hobby of mine at my high school canning plant. Canning is an art in the south, you know. It’s something I grew up with. But most people today don’t do it because it’s a lot of work – and hot and nasty. After marrying my husband, Mike, I found myself fixin’ holiday gift baskets full of canned goods each year for the customers at his trucking company. Everyone told me the produce and jellies I canned were so good, that I ought to start a canning business!

My interest in canning followed me through my years as a reading and special education schoolteacher and eventually blossomed into a full-blown business.  With a few of my great-grandmother’s recipes, mixed with some of my husband’s and my own, we offer products that have a true Southern taste and are now selling 32 different products to 41 states and counting!  This year at the 2012 Flavor of Georgia food product contest, my Blueberry Pepper Jelly won the People's Choice Award and my Muscadine Jelly won first place at the in the jam, jelly and sauce category.

I’m a southern woman through and through.   I love to do things for my family, help people in the community, cook a down-home style meal, work in the garden, be on just about every committee I can join ‘cause I love people, and I like to make things pretty and enjoyable for everyone.  You just can’t beat Southern tradition and hospitality. It makes us special.  I hope every southern woman out there is passing that down to their daughters and sons.  

Well, that’s a little about me.  Oh!  I almost forgot to tell you about my new blog.   I’m going to give you some great southern menu ideas and recipes (ya’ll are going to love this), ideas for entertaining and backyard family fun, canning tips, and share lots of pictures from our farm – we have produce coming out of our ears!  Summer’s bounty is a true blessing so we can’t waste it.  I’ll give ya’ll ideas on how to preserve produce now to taste and enjoy later when it’s cold outside.    

Signing off, because every day, we strive to “Preserve the South One Jar at a Time” by making fresh, all-natural, farm-picked products with our hands, our hearts, and hard work to share with our families, friends, and fans.   Oh, and feel free to comment anytime – I love hearing from ya’ll!