The holidays lend me plenty of time to dream.  When I think of my dream house, I imagine its heart to be a huge white farmhouse kitchen.  A flock of copper saucepans clatter from the ceiling and a large rustic bench is laden with the fruits of my organic vege patch.  Of course, I'm there pottering  about with my babies underfoot, baking something homemade and filling.  

Many of us must dream this same dream, because suddenly eating seasonal foods, communal gardens and living off the land is back in vogue.  It could be because people are no longer content to eat without knowing where our food comes from (and sometimes actually knowing how long our fruit has been frozen by the huge supermarket chains is even worse!).  Or maybe because we suspect a connection between rising occurences of headaches, ill health and behavioural problems in our children and long lists of incomprehensible numbers in tiny letters on food labels.   

The somewhat nostalgic idea of "homemade" can be surprisingly simple and fun to do together.  There are as many ways to preserve fruit and veges as there are stars in the sky.  Well, maybe not quite that many, I am prone to exaggeration.  But a lot, nevertheless.  So you can start with a few basic recipes, and then put your own stamp on it, so to speak.  The only rule is to use sterile jars.  You can sterilize empty, clean jars by baking them in an oven at about 110c or 230'F.  Full instructions can be found here, but it is pretty easy.

This recipe makes about 1- 1.5 litres (or 4-6 cups) and will fill 2 preserving jars.