Homemade Pear Butter giveaway!

It's the first giveaway here at All-Natural Mama. 

A jelly jar full of canned Pear Butter.  Similar to yummy apple butter, but made with local pears and all-natural ingredients.  It's like Autumn in a jar.

To enter, just sign up as a follower of All-Natural Mama.  To do this, just sign-in to your Google account (there is a link in the top right corner of this page), then there will appear a link at the top of this page that says "Follow this Blog".  After signing up as a follower, leave a comment below this posting by clicking on the "Comments" link.  If you're already a follower of this blog, simply leave a comment.

The 12th comment wins!  Can we reach that many?  I'll leave it open for as long as it takes to reach 12.

U.S. residents only, please.  I can't imagine how much it would cost to ship a jar of pear butter overseas.  The all-natural mama is a frugal blog!  :-)

Homemade Grape Juice & Wine

Until this year, I've never tasted a fresh, vine-ripe Concord grape.  I'm glad that changed.  Delicious! 

A friend of my mother-in-law's invited us to pick a few grapes.  I decided to make juice.

After reading the Ball Blue Book canning directions, I thought the authors must be insane.  That much work?!?

So... knowing there had to be an easier way, I turned to my faithful friend for advice.  She grows grapes, makes juice as well as wine, and if there is a shortcut to be had she will know it.

Sure enough, she had some great shortcuts (just toss 'em all in a stockpot with a bit of water, cook, run through a colander and then sugar to taste!).  Before long, the house smelled like a ripe vineyard.  The smell made our mouths water and our cheeks pucker.

I canned some jars of juice and made popsicles for the boys.  Delish.

A couple of weeks later, I received a call that there were more grapes (as well as pears) available at a nearby farm.  Free for the picking. 

I picked a binful.  Now, I mentioned earlier that my friend makes her own wine.  It's really delicious.  As my husband and I have recently decided to attempt brewing our own beer, I thought we should attempt some wine as well.  Why not?!?

So... we bought the wine kit and ingredients, washed & stemmed the grapes, and put it all into the primary fermenter.  We'll need to add the yeast and then monitor it through the winter, sieving it when necessary. With a bit of luck, we'll have some great wine next spring!

Here is my friend's blog showing her wine-making instructions.  Part 1 and Part 2.  Why not try some yourself?  You can make wine from so many things (including dandelions!).  I'm shivering with excitement here!  It's the little things, I tell ya...