Homemade Blackberry & Green Fig Jam Plus Cookies Gift Basket

I love to gift out handmade or homemade gift for the holidays.  We have a huge garden, and we product way more than my family can easy of certain things, like our blackberries and figs.  So each each year I make a batch of blackberry jam, and this year I also made a batch of fig jam with green figs, and I added them to my gift basket.

Here is a video on how I assembled the basket.

I started out by making my altered Pringles cans that can store cookies or other baked goods.  In my can i placed homemade shortbread and the other chocolate covered caramel popcorn.  Yum!!  

Here is a video on how to make these simple but very effective tubes.

I then made my batch of blackberry jam.  We have 2 blackberry bushes in out backyard.  They produce a ton of berries, which come into season in May.  We pick them as they ripen and eat them raw, use them in baked goods (my favorite is blackberry cobbler), and then I freeze a ton to make jam in the winter.

My recipe is super simple - check it out!  I use less sugar since the berries already have so much natural sweetness and I also do not want to take away that fun tart from the berries.

Homemade Blackberry Jam

10 Cups of Frozen Fresh Picked Blackberries (store bought works great too)
7 Cups Sugar
10 Tbsp pectin
Juice of 1 Large Lemon

I throw everything into a large pot and let it come to a boil for about 1 hour stirring quite often so it does not stick to the bottom of the pot.  I then use a immersion blender to whisk it all up.  Some people prefer a potato masher instead.  Pour it into jars.  For me it made 18 with 4 oz jars.  I then gave them a heat bath with the lids on to make them shelf stable.

I also made homemade fig jam, but with green figs.  We were about to have a frost so I had to go out and pick all the product from the garden before it froze.  I went ahead and did the figs too, but they were really green and took a chance I could figure out something to do with them.  It worked, I made some amazing fig jam.

Homemade Green Fig Jam

40 Green Figs - Stems cut off and boiled first

3 Cups Sugar

1/4 cup Ground Cinnamon

3 Tbsp Mulling spices in cheesecloth sachet

1 large Lemon sliced in half and seeded

1 Small Orange Sliced in half and seeded

1) Start of by slicing the stems off the figs and scoring the bottoms of the fruit with an "X".  There will a white sticky liquid that comes out, this is not eatable, but boiling them helps get rid of it from the fruit.  

2) Boil the figs to remove all the white liquid for about 10-15 minutes.  Drain and wash in cool water, clean off any residue from the white liquid.

3) Once cool chop figs into quarters.

4) Add all ingredients to a pot and boil for about an hour.  It will get thick like a paste, if you want it thinner add some water or boil for less time.

5) Remove peels from lemon and orange mulling sachet.

6) Use immersion blender to make it all smoother, or leave it chunky if desired.

This is best over cream cheese or with Brie cheese on a cracker.

I then added labels to each jar that I printed out from my printer and turned into stickers with my Xyron adhesives.  So super simple!

I also added some cute ornaments and a little stamped tag inside the basket with a cute little stamp that I wrote a little note on the back.  I used the Scraperfect Perfect Crafting Pouch on the stamp to stop it from smearing, it is amazing!!

What homemade gift do you give out during the holidays?

Supplies Used

Interested in the supplies I used in this project?  Most are listed below and some are affiliate links, which generates a me little commission (at not extra cost to you at all) when you click on the link and make a purchase.  Affiliate and product disclosure can be found here.

Large Acrylic Block – Brutus Monroe Shop at: SB | BM	Xyron Create-a-Sticker Shop at: SB	Xyron Creative Station Shop at: SB | AZ
Brutus Monroe Stamps Shop at: SB | O	Cardstock Printer Paper Shop at: AZ	Epson Printer Shop at: AZ
PHP 12x12 Christmas Paper Shop at: SB	Chip Can Shop at: AZ	Fiskars Paper Trimmer Shop at: SB | AZ
ScraPerfect Perfect Crafting Pouch Shop at: AZ | O	Prima Chalk Ink Shop at: SB	Xyron 3" Sticker Maker Shop at: SB | AZ
Tombow Twintone Pens Shop at: AZ	Dollar Tree Crinkle Paper Shop at: AZ	DT Christmas Basket Shop at: AZ

Chicken Stock and Washi Tape for the Soul **Eyelet Outlet** w/ recipe and video tutorial

Two of my favorite things to do are crafting and cooking, so why not combine the two together?!?  I made some yummy chicken stock in my crockpot, then used the Eyelet Outlet Washi tape as labels.  I then used the same washi tape for the cute little card when I give some of the chicken stock away to friends and family.

Here is a video tutorial on how to made the labels for the containers, how to make the cards, and the chicken stock recipe!!

Both of these items, the container of homemade chicken broth and the card, could be given as a gift to someone for when they are sick, need a pick me up, or just to let them know you are thinking about them.  So if you are giving a gift you have to have a card to go with it!!

Spring Bubble Brads, Confetti Washi, Bunny Washi, Geometric Washi

Without further ado here is my chicken stock recipe:

Crockpot Chicken Stock

Makes about 16 cups (6 quart crockpot)

Step 1 - Cook your chicken

Ingredients

1 whole chicken

1 onion rough chopped or a handful of green onions (I used green onions from my garden)
1 whole head of garlic smashed

2- 3 Fresh Rosemary stems

2-3 Fresh Thyme Stems

1 lime - cut in half (or lemon)

Salt and pepper chicken

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker: Place onion, garlic, and lime in the bottom of the pot.  Add chicken breast up.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add fresh herbs on top.
2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Enjoy your yummy chicken for dinner!!!

Step 2 - Make the Stock

Ingredients

Bones from the chicken you just cooked

Veggies, Herbs, and lime from above

Carrots

Celery

Peppers

Eggplant

Squash

Greens

Other herbs (sage, parsley, etc)

Any other veggie you have

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker: Place all the bones, skin, small bits of chicken, tendons, neck, etc all in the pot.   Roughly chop the vegetables and herbs and scatter them around the chicken.
2. Cover with water: Add enough water to cover the chicken bones.
3. Cook for at least 8 hours: Set the slow cooker to "low" and cook for at least 8 hours or just overnight.  When you wake in the morning just turn it off to cool.
4. Strain the stock: Set a strainer over a large bow l and pour entire stock through the strainer into the bowl.
5. Store the stock: Divide the stock between several containers and label with washi tape. Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate for up to a week, or freeze for up to 3 months.

Container Supplies
Plastic Storage Containers
Washi Tape - Eyelet Outlet
Marker - Copic

Card Supplies
Card Base - Canvas Corp Brands
Cardstock - Bazzill
Washi Tape - Eyelet Outlet
Brads - Eyelet Outlet
Ink - Prima & Clearsnap
Punch - Marvy
Adhesive -  Tombow
Paper Piercer
Foam mat (mouse pad)

Enjoy!!