Easy Homemade Caramel

Today is Andrew's birthday! Later on we are having some family over for pumpkin pie & apple cider floats to celebrate. Fall is his favorite season, so I'm glad he has an October birthday {mine is in March, and typically really gross, cold, wet, weather around here!} Today I am thankful that it is crisp and sunny, and I'm thankful for my husband.

For our get-together later on, Andrew's mom is bringing the pie and I'm in charge of the floats. I got vanilla ice cream, ginger ale, apple cider, and whipped cream for them. Should be tasty! Here is the recipe I used to make caramel {which I plan to drizzle on top of the whipped cream}

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 stick butter

I put everything into a saucepan over medium heat until it all melted. Then I brought it to a boil and set the timer for 10 minutes. You're supposed to let it sit for the full 10 minutes without stirring, but with 4 minutes to go I put my rubber spatula in because I was nervous that it would burn on the bottom. Luckily it wasn't burnt! I reduced the heat a little while it cooked, but kept things hot enough to maintain the bubbling. When the timer went off I slowly stirred it with the spatula, then let it cool before transferring it to a jar. Hopefully it will be tasty on the floats. {And good for apple dipping, too!}

Have a good Sunday, DIYers!

Quick Tomato Sauce for Two

Today - with the help of my MIL - we made homemade tomato sauce! It didn't take long at all, and we got to use ingredients from our very own garden. I've never made sauce before, so I found a basic recipe online and tweaked it to my liking. Can't wait to try it!

// Ingredients

• 30ish ripe Roma tomatoes (I threw in a red beefsteak & one yellow, too)
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped basil

// Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Wash tomatoes. With a paring knife, cut an X in the bottom of each (this makes it easier to peel the skin off). 
2. Add the tomatoes to the water and leave for 30-40 seconds, or until the skin begins to curl & peel.
3. Remove the tomatoes from the pot and rinse in cool water. Peel the skins off and remove the stem area. Pour the water out of the pot. Cut the tomatoes into chunks and place them back into the pot.
4. Add the oil, garlic, salt & basil. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 45 minutes, or until sauce has thickened to desired consistency, stirring occasionally. 
5. Pour into airtight containers and store. Your sauce will last up to 3 days in the refrigerator, or 3 months in the freezer.

Yields 16 oz. {aka the perfect amount of garden fresh sauce for a household of 2!}

Bread & Butter Pickles

Ingredients

+ pickling cucumbers

+ 1 small white onion
+ 2 Tbs salt
+ 1 cup white vinegar
+ 2 cups white sugar
+ 1 Tbs mustard seed
+ 1 Tbs celery seed

This recipe doesn't require processing in boiling water like typical canning. As long as you have some containers with lids, you are good to go. Homegrown cucumbers make this a $0 Project. Here's how I did it:

First, I washed and sliced up the cukes.

Next, the cucumbers went into a pot with the sliced onion and salt.

I set that pot aside and combined vinegar, sugar, mustard seed and celery seed to a saucepan. 

This was heated until the sugar was dissolved. 

Then the liquid was poured over the cukes & onions and placed in the fridge for 24 hours.

The following day I divided the mix into mason jars. I sampled a pickle, and it was crisp, tangy goodness! Jars should be stored in the refrigerator.

Everything tastes better homegrown. Thanks for reading!