The Wild Jar & Roots

The Wild Jar & Roots Rooted in nature, stirred with intention.

An earthy guide to handmade living—filled with canning, herbs, sourdough, and the joyful chaos of three poodles and one ghost pup named Skylar.

🌿🦌 Slow Sunday vibes call for something hearty simmering on the stove. Today it’s venison tips with rich homemade gravy ...
09/28/2025

🌿🦌 Slow Sunday vibes call for something hearty simmering on the stove. Today it’s venison tips with rich homemade gravy — the kind of meal that makes the whole house smell like comfort. 🍲✨

As we wait with anticipation for the first day of archery season, there’s something grounding about cooking up what last year’s hunt provided. It’s a reminder of patience, respect, and gratitude for the harvest yet to come.

Here’s to slow Sundays, good food, and the promise of new adventures in the woods. 🌲🏹

🍎✨ Apple Jelly Magic ✨🍎There’s something almost spellbound about apples in autumn—how they shift from orchard branches i...
09/27/2025

🍎✨ Apple Jelly Magic ✨🍎

There’s something almost spellbound about apples in autumn—how they shift from orchard branches into jars of golden jelly, catching the last light of the season. Growing up, I remember the kitchen filling with the scent of simmering apples, the steam curling like incense, carrying a promise of sweetness stored away for colder days.

Now, each time I make apple jelly, it feels like bottling sunshine. A little bit of fall, sealed tight, to spread on warm bread or spoon into tea when the frost settles in.

🍯 Apple Jelly Recipe (from whole apples)

4 lbs apples (a mix of tart + sweet works best)

6 cups water

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 package powdered pectin (or 1.75 oz)

4–5 cups sugar (adjust to taste)

Steps

1. Wash apples, then cut into quarters (don’t peel or core—they hold the natural pectin).

2. Place apples in a large pot with water. Simmer about 30–40 minutes, until fruit is soft.

3. Strain through a jelly bag or cheesecloth overnight—don’t squeeze, or the jelly may turn cloudy.

4. Measure 4 cups of the strained apple juice into a clean pot. Add lemon juice and pectin, then bring to a rolling boil.

5. Stir in sugar all at once. Return to a boil, stirring constantly, and let it boil hard for 1 minute.

6. Skim foam if needed, then ladle into hot sterilized jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace.

7. Wipe rims, seal, and process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

✨ Yields about 6 half-pints of glowing autumn in a jar.

Because sometimes, the simplest recipes—straight from the orchard—are the ones that hold the most memory, and the most magic. 🍂

🍂✨ Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Sourdough Bread ✨🍂This is the kind of loaf that makes the house smell like fall and feels like...
09/11/2025

🍂✨ Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Sourdough Bread ✨🍂

This is the kind of loaf that makes the house smell like fall and feels like wrapping yourself in a blanket of leaves. It’s soft, just a little sweet, and every bite is kissed with chocolate and spice.

Here’s how to bring a little autumn magic to your kitchen:

Ingredients

125g active sourdough starter (fed + bubbly)

275g water

200g pure pumpkin purée (not pie filling)

50g brown sugar

10g pumpkin pie spice

500g unbleached bread flour

12g salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Method

1. In a large bowl, mix starter, water, pumpkin purée, and brown sugar until blended.

2. Add flour, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Stir until a rough dough forms.

3. Fold in chocolate chips.

4. Cover and let rest 30 minutes, then perform a few rounds of stretch + folds over the next 2 hours.

5. Bulk ferment at room temperature until the dough is airy and doubled (about 6–8 hours, depending on your kitchen).

6. Shape into a round or oval loaf, place in a floured banneton, cover, and let proof 1–2 hours (or refrigerate overnight).

7. Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C) with a Dutch oven inside.

8. Score the loaf, place it carefully into the hot Dutch oven, cover, and bake 20 minutes.

9. Remove the lid and bake another 20–25 minutes until golden with a crackling crust.

10. Cool completely before slicing (the hardest part ✨).

Best enjoyed warm, with butter melting into each slice, while the autumn wind rattles the windows. 🍁

Sometimes when the house is quiet and the jars are cooling, I swear I hear whispers between the clinks. Maybe it’s just ...
09/10/2025

Sometimes when the house is quiet and the jars are cooling, I swear I hear whispers between the clinks. Maybe it’s just the spirits of the herbs… or maybe Skylar the ghost pup is keeping me company. 🐾🌙

Do you ever feel like someone (or something) lingers with you while you create?

🌿✨ One of the first lessons in preserving the harvest is knowing what belongs in a water bath and what must go into the ...
09/09/2025

🌿✨ One of the first lessons in preserving the harvest is knowing what belongs in a water bath and what must go into the pressure canner. It’s a little like spellwork—use the wrong tool and the whole potion can go wrong.

🥫 Water Bath Canning works its magic with high-acid foods:

Jams, jellies, and fruit butters 🍑

Pickles and relishes 🥒

Tomatoes with added acid 🍅
These don’t need extreme heat—just a bubbling water cauldron to keep them safe and shelf-stable.

🔥 Pressure Canning is for the low-acid treasures of the garden:

Green beans, corn, carrots, potatoes 🥕

Soups, stews, and chili 🌽

Meats, broths, and beans 🫘
Because botulism lurks where the acid is low, we call on the higher heat and pressure to banish it.

Think of it this way: fruits and pickles dance in the water bath, while veggies, meats, and full meals need the deep pressure of the canner.

🍯✨ Canning isn’t just storage—it’s spellbinding preservation. Every jar sealed is a little bit of summer captured, waiting to be opened in the dark of winter.

✨🌿 Slow Sunday 🌿✨Sundays are for simmering pots, bread rising under linen, and herbs drying in the corner of the kitchen...
09/07/2025

✨🌿 Slow Sunday 🌿✨
Sundays are for simmering pots, bread rising under linen, and herbs drying in the corner of the kitchen. A day to breathe, stir, and savor what’s been gathered.

Whether it’s a jar sealing with a gentle pop or the smell of sourdough filling the air, today is a reminder to move slow and root into the little rituals that keep us nourished.

What’s in your pot, jar, or oven today? 🍞🥣✨

✨🍎🍷 Cranberry Apple Juice — Steamer & Canning Magic 🍷🍎✨When the crisp bite of autumn meets the tart brightness of cranbe...
09/05/2025

✨🍎🍷 Cranberry Apple Juice — Steamer & Canning Magic 🍷🍎✨

When the crisp bite of autumn meets the tart brightness of cranberries, something truly enchanting happens in the jar. This juice is like bottling up fall itself — warming, grounding, and just a little wild. Perfect for sipping by candlelight or saving for the coldest winter nights.

🍶 Ingredients:

1 peck (about 10 lbs) apples – sweet/tart mix is best

2–3 lbs fresh cranberries

Sugar (about 1–2 cups per quart of juice, optional)

🫖 Directions (Steam Juicer Method):

1. Wash apples and cranberries. Cut apples into quarters (no need to peel or core).

2. Fill the steam juicer with water per instructions and place fruit in the top basket.

3. Steam until the fruit releases its juice — about 1 hour.

4. Collect the hot juice through the hose and strain into a large pot. Taste and add sugar if desired, stirring until dissolved.

🥫 Canning Steps:

1. Ladle hot juice into sterilized quart or pint jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace.

2. Wipe rims, apply lids and bands.

3. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes (pints) or 20 minutes (quarts). Adjust for altitude if needed.

4. Let jars cool undisturbed — and listen for that sweet pop of a sealed jar!

🍷 The result? A ruby-red juice that’s tart, sweet, and absolutely spellbinding. Pour it warm with a cinnamon stick, or save it for Yule feasts and cozy nights by the fire.

🌿✨ Rebel Canning: Meals in a Jar ✨🌿Not everything about homesteading has to be “by the book.” Sometimes we lean into the...
09/04/2025

🌿✨ Rebel Canning: Meals in a Jar ✨🌿

Not everything about homesteading has to be “by the book.” Sometimes we lean into the old ways, the whispered recipes from grandmothers who didn’t measure a thing and trusted their instincts instead. That’s where rebel canning comes in—canning meals that aren’t always USDA-approved, but have been filling bellies for generations.

Today’s rebel canning spotlight: Beef Stew in a Jar 🥕🥩🥔
A hearty, ready-to-heat meal for those days when life gets busy, the garden still needs tending, and the veil feels a little thinner.

Rebel Beef Stew Recipe (Quart Jars):

1 cup cubed beef (raw, trimmed of fat)

1 cup potatoes, peeled + cubed

½ cup carrots, sliced

½ cup celery, chopped

½ cup onions, diced

1 tsp salt + ½ tsp pepper

Top with beef broth (leaving 1” headspace)

📌 Process in a pressure canner at 90 minutes for quarts.

When the winds howl and the night feels long, just pop open a jar, heat, and serve with a hunk of sourdough. It’s like capturing a hearth fire in glass. 🔮

🌙 Do you rebel can? What’s your go-to meal in a jar?

🌶✨ Hot Pepper Mustard – A Sweet Heat from the Garden ✨🌶Every family has those recipes that sneak their way into traditio...
09/02/2025

🌶✨ Hot Pepper Mustard – A Sweet Heat from the Garden ✨🌶

Every family has those recipes that sneak their way into tradition, and this one is mine. Hot pepper mustard was something I first tried at a neighbor’s kitchen table, spread thick over a piece of homemade bread. I remember the way the sweetness hit first, then the slow burn of peppers followed—it was love at first bite. Now, I make it every year when the garden gives more peppers than we can possibly eat fresh.

It’s the kind of recipe that feels like summer captured in a jar—bright, spicy, a little wild. Perfect for glazing meats, stirring into potato salad, or just dipping a pretzel straight in.

✨ Hot Pepper Mustard Recipe ✨

Ingredients:

20 banana peppers (or a mix of hot and sweet)

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup yellow mustard

½ cup apple cider vinegar

½ cup flour

½ cup water

1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Wash and seed peppers. Blend them until smooth.

2. In a large pot, combine blended peppers, sugar, mustard, vinegar, and salt. Bring to a simmer.

3. Mix flour and water into a slurry, then slowly stir into the pot to thicken.

4. Simmer for 10–15 minutes until glossy and thick.

5. Ladle into hot, sterilized jars. Water bath process for 10 minutes if storing long-term.

Spread it, stir it, gift it—this mustard never lasts long in our pantry.

Would y’all like me to share my favorite ways to use it besides sandwiches? 🌿

🍂✨ September feels like standing with one foot in each world. The garden is still spilling over with summer’s gifts, but...
09/01/2025

🍂✨ September feels like standing with one foot in each world. The garden is still spilling over with summer’s gifts, but the mornings whisper of fall—cool air, golden light, and that first hint of change.

It’s the in-between season… a time to gather, preserve, and prepare while still holding onto the last of summer’s warmth. 🌿🥒🍅

How does September feel to you?

🍂✨ September has arrived, friends.The air is shifting, the gardens are heavy with harvest, and the first whispers of aut...
09/01/2025

🍂✨ September has arrived, friends.
The air is shifting, the gardens are heavy with harvest, and the first whispers of autumn are creeping in. It’s the season of jars clinking on the counter, herbs drying in bundles, and the quiet magic of slowing down to savor what we’ve grown.

What are you most looking forward to this month—crisp mornings, canning days, or maybe stirring up something cozy in the kitchen?

Happy September, may it be full of roots, jars, and a little wild magic. 🌿🍁

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