My First Batch of Grape Jelly!

 I've been wanting to make grape jelly for years now and i finally built up the courage to attempt it this past long weekend. Thanks to my dear friend Lisa from Girl Can Create and her lovely family Dave and Max, we got a huge tray full of Concord grapes last week. Grown in the neighbourhood and ripe for the picking!

Here are a few pics of my first (and might i add... delicious) attempt at grape jelly. As for the recipe i used this one HERE on cooks.com... but i added 2 steps to the recipe. 1) after picking the grapes let them sit in a cool dark place for 4 days (Thanks for the tip Dave!)... and 2) i squeezed 3 tbsps of fresh lemon juice into the grape juice right before i started adding the sugar (i read that somewhere in another recipe and thought it sounded tasty). 

 Here's the first boil to extract the juice from the grapes. Jars in the background ready to be sterilized.

 Dripping out the grape juice for 2-3 hours. 

I have no patience, so by the end of the 2nd hour i squeezed out the rest.

 Boiling the juice a second time and adding in the massive amounts of sugar.

It looks so glassy and pretty at this point!

 Boiling the filled jars to seal them shut. This part blew my mind. I felt totally pro when i pulled out the jars and the lids were suctioned shut. Science is happening in my kitchen!

This is me sooooo stoked that i'm actually in the middle of making jelly!

 I started with enough grapes to fill one of those black plastic trays that you get at the garden center. I got about 5 cups of juice out of them, which ended up making 8 jars of jelly.

 The most delicious grape jelly i've ever tasted! YUM YUM!

*Lisa & Dave... I've got a jar with your names on it!

Old MacAvril had a farm

I finally brought out my camera to the garden this morning for my first photos of the garden this year! It's my second year working on my garden and it's already starting to surprise and impress.

 I had a spot to fill when i was planting earlier in May and Bess from English Muffin suggested to try corn. OMG, I've never thought i would have so much fun watching corn grow. Everyday it looks bigger and every week some new development happens with the plants. They are truly living and growing sculptures that amaze me every time i look at them!

 I cut the grape vines back like crazy in the spring. I was worried a bit that maybe i cut too far back, because seriously... even after watching a bunch of how to videos i still had no idea what i was doing! But last week little grapeys started popping out and now i can start planning for my wine making party in august!

 Good thing i started to grow Kale this year, because all i crave these days is leafy greens! Kale This... Rapini That... Chop up and sauté the greens, squeeze some lemon juice in, throw in a few hot pepper flakes and some parmasan, then toss with some pasta... it's magic! (and all i've been eating for 2 months!)

...and my first ever radish! Isn't he cute!! He's an organic Watermelon Radish. I bought the seeds from Cubit's Organic Living. Hot dog this radish is spicey!!!

Working in the Garden

I've gotten in the habit this summer of getting up early and working on my garden before getting to work on my crafty business. It's been a great way to wake up my creative juices and get inspired by everything that's growing around me. I don't think there's anything better than getting out in the garden with my fresh cup of coffee and seeing what new veggies have popped up or seeing what's ready to pick.

I've turned into "That Gardner" though... the one who talks to her plants. See the more I talk to a specific plant, the more attention I give it which then in turn produces more goodies. It totally makes a difference so I'm just gonna embrace the crazy... and enjoy my abundance of tasty veggies!


White Eggplants... So so tasty and pretty.


Jalapenos in front of my rose bush. Both have blown my mind with how they just keep growing and producing more and more blossoms!

The Fruits of My Labour!

So I moved. About 3 months ago Frank and I moved into this fantastic beautiful old house in Toronto and it has been a crazy ride. As always the biggest challenge is finding where you packed everything. My camera battery charger has been MIA until this past weekend.... So finally... here they are... some snaps of one of the major highlights of our new place.... our Garden!


I have to admit that this is my first garden so i'm just guessing my way through everything. I think i've been on YouTube more often these past few months watching videos on everything from pruning grape vines, to dead heading rose bushes, to controlling my exploding zucchini plant, to the biggest challenge of dealing with weeds.

As for the weeds I just decided last week that I am giving myself permission to not get too worked up about the weeds. I mean they've been getting their weed on for way longer than I've been doing my Gardening Thing... So enjoy this summer weeders... cuz next summer it's on!


Oh the fruits of my labour... it's pretty amazing to see my fruits and vegetables grow. I just picked my first batch of tomatoes this morning. It's so rewarding.