We went to the Farmer’s Market again.  One of the very best tastes of summer is fresh fruit.  Saving the fruit all year ’round is a gift that jam makers give us, and that’s a skill that I really want to learn. This week’s feature of Tricities Tuesday celebrates the homemade jam offered by the good people at Country Pix.  Owned by Jerry and Shirley Whitt, Country Pix offers fresh produce from their garden to your table for seven months out of the year!  From January through December, you can call to place your order of delicious garden produce, home-canned goods, and more.   Some of the delicious foods available through Country Pix are tomatoes, green beans, peppers, onions, greens, peas, okra, cabbage, squash, and potatoes.  You can also purchase home-canned soups, jams, jellies, chow-chow, green beans, relishes, pickled beets, and apple butter.  I’m completely fascinated with home-canning at the moment and really want to learn how to do it myself.  Until then, I’m perfectly content buying my tasty treats at the Kingsport Farmer’s Market.  

Here’s part of the beautiful bounty that Country Pix recently set up at the Farmer’s Market.  We were wowed by all of it, but it was the Black Raspberry jam that won us over.  It’s a favorite of both my husband and daughter.  Since we haven’t had any berries from our own plants yet, this was an extra special treat for us.  Over buttered biscuits, toast, or on a PB&J sandwich, it’s always delicious.  It was only $4.50 for a filled-to-the-brim jar.  I love knowing that it was made with local fruit and doesn’t have any high-fructose corn syrup in it.  Good old-fashioned jam always hits the spot!  Someday I hope to learn how to make my own so my family can enjoy the fruits of my labor as well.

If you live in the Tricities area, you can place an order with Jerry and Shirley by calling 423. 747. 9659.  Tell them that Savings in Seconds sent you!

This time there was a crafts fair and it was amazing to get to see all of the wonderful creations that were handmade by these skilled artisans.   All of these old trades just amaze me.  The skills that are passed down from mother to daughter or father to son. The things that our grandparents did to survive are now the skills that are considered rustic. For example, how many of us know how to knit anymore?  Be able to really decorate a cake?  Or how to make a quilt?   I never learned those skills, but it’s not too late.  There are lots of ways to teach this old girl some new tricks, and one of them is through Craftsy’s mini-courses.  They offer quick classes on lots of these “old” skills and best of all, these mini-courses are FREE.  Learn how to do Short Rows or Get To Know Your Wool.  You just might get a head start on Christmas gifts this way!

What kind of jam do you like the best?  Is there an “old” skill that you enjoy, or one that you’d like to learn how to do?

This post contains an affiliate link and I received a bonus for posting.  I did not receive samples of the products featured.