Preserving, Drying & More
Welcome to the preserving, drying, and more landing page. Below you will find all the ways we preserve homegrown produce. If you are looking for something in particular, please use the search function by clicking the magnifying glass in the top right corner. Thanks for visiting!

Parsley and Walnut Pesto ~ A Recipe from the Winter Herb Garden
What can I make with tons of parsley? Pesto of course! The Basics I used to think of parsley as that typically ignored garnish on dinner plates that never tasted particularly delicious. This belief persisted until I started growing my own parsley. Initially, I decided...

Our Favorite Ways To Use & Preserve Citrus
One of the best parts about gardening in Southern California is the citrus. This time of year there is literally citrus galore---especially in Orange County. I grew up in a neighborhood, not far from where I live now, that used to be an orange grove. In fact, many...

Classic Basil Pesto ~ A Garden Tradition
I love basil. I love growing it, I love eating it, and I love how it smells. Homegrown basil pesto is culinary magic. On our trip to Italy last year, we spent some time learning basic Italian. It turns out that "pesto" comes from the italian word "pestare" which can...

Delicious Fresh Passion Fruit Agua Fresca Recipe
This passion fruit juice is a delicious blend of fresh passion fruit pulp, water, and sugar---a type of agua fresca. Aguas Frescas are very popular in Mexico and Central America, where various fruits are blended with water, sugar, and maybe some lime to create a...

How to Eat Passion Fruit: Processing, Juicing, Storing & Using Fresh Passion Fruit
Last post I discussed How to Grow Passion Fruit, but what happens when you get your hands on some of this tasty tropical fruit? Below I'm sharing how I know my fruit is ripe, how we eat our passion fruit fresh, and how we store our extra harvests long term. How to...

Pickled Red Onions ~ A Quick and Easy Refrigerator Pickle
These pickled red onions are quite possibly my favorite refrigerator pickle of all time. They are a MUST-HAVE on carnitas tacos (don't forget the cotija cheese too) and are equally delicious as a side for grilled steak and potatoes. I'd love to see all the ways you...

How & Why to Freeze Tomatoes: Preserving Your Harvest
Picture this: it's the middle of Summer. Your kitchen counter is overflowing with tomatoes and the harvests just keep coming. You've made sun dried tomatoes, tomato sauce, fresh tomato salads, given away bags to neighbors, and you are just too tired to do anything...

Homemade Lemon Herb Seasoning Mix
This simple seasoning mix is a go-to for roast chicken in our home. The lemon powder is so bright and refreshing that I could also see this being delicious on fish or roasted vegetables. Make sure to do a little taste test so you know how salty it is if you are going...