Thursday night at Canning Club, we used jelly making machines to make pepper jelly. I'd never even seen a jelly maker before!

While I do NOT plan to add yet another piece of equipment to my kitchen set-up, I do appreciate how this piece simplified the jelly-making process.

At the club meeting, I had a fun idea, though. The recipe we used for pepper jelly called for bell peppers and jalapenos. Both of those types of peppers have been prolific in my garden this year, and I've grown purple varieties of each. How fun would it be to create Purple Pepper Jelly!?

The next day, Girl 2 and I set to work to create a purple jelly. The color turned out beautiful. The jelly was a bit thicker than I'd like, but it was definitely tasty! This was Girl 2's first time to help with a canning project. She seemed to really enjoy it: "Mom, you've got to teach me ALL this stuff! How else will I be able to teach my kids?"

:) That kind of thing really does a mom's heart good.