Amish Apple Butter

One of the best aromas ever is a slow cooker full of apples and spice...there is nothing like it.  Even in the winter, the aroma of simmering Amish Apple Butter is such a crisp fragrance,  It brings back all the warmth of a sunny fall day, even if there is two feet of snow out your window.   My family loves to eat it on crisp toast, pancakes and even on ice cream.  

All you need to make this simple apple butter is a slow cooker and about 10 to 12 large apples.   My favorite kind to use are Jonathon's...they are perfect mixture of firm, sweet, tart and Granny Smiths are my second favorite.   Wash your apples and peel them.  I like to use my old fashioned apple peeler...it does the job in a matter of seconds.  You can find the apple peeler I use on my Amazon shopping page.    

Once the apples are peeled, you can use an apple slicer to slice them into large wedges. Place them in a slow cooker and turn it on to the low setting.

With the slow cooker is full...

• Add two cups of granulated sugar and 1 cup brown sugar,
• Add four tablespoons of apple pie seasoning.  If you can not find apple pie seasoning, mix together cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves to a mixture you like. 
• Add 3 Tablespoons of real Vanilla. (this year we made our own vanilla with Bourbon so it was extra dark and rich).

Put a lid on the slow cooker and cook for eight hours on the low setting.  Stir occasionally to mix the spices and sugars through the mixture. You will have a delicious amount to apple juice that cooks out of the apples over cooking time. When the time is skim off most of the juice and set aside.  Add two tablespoons of real vanilla extract and mix together.  I like to use an immersion blender to blend the chunks up into a half chunky sauce.  If your mixture is still too thin, cook a little longer in the pot.  (It will thicken ever more in the fridge.)

Once your apple butter is done, you can refrigerate it for up to six weeks or freeze it for up two months.  If you want it to last through the winter,  you can process them in a water bath for 20 minutes and they will keep for a year.  You can find the instructions for the water bath process at the Ball Fresh Preserving Site.

Just imagine a spice filled thick sweet and tart apple sauce in one bite...and you will know why we are crazy for this recipe!  I hope you enjoy this as much as we do.  It sure makes the winter mornings smell divine and taste even better!

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Amish Apple Butter

New Autumn Prairie Paint Colors

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."  Albert Camus  

The colors of Autumn have inspired us to add six new colors to the Prairie Paint Collection .  This fall has felt like a second spring and every leaf a flower with the go warm fall light shinning through the leaves in our mountains.  This season has been a dream that we wanted to remember, which led us to create these six gorgeous new colors.  

Old Wine Barrel

Aspen Grove

Acorn Squash

White Linen

Sundance

Sheepskin

Our Prairie Paints are a highly pigmented, thick gel based chalk paint that gives smooth one coat coverage to furniture, interiors, exteriors and of course our barn quilts.  The formula allows for a vintage look to the dried colors and optimal adhesion of our gorgeous Finishing Wax.  The combination of the paints and wax, seal the wood and make your projects so beautiful for years.  

We love these paints and thousands of these little jars have been shipped to our Tweetle Dee friends for the past four years.  We know they are loved because of your sweet messages and pictures of the projects you have used them on.  Thank you to all of you for your support in growing this arm of our business and loving these colors and paints as much as we do.

To thank you for your support we have activated the 10% Thank You code in Our Shop.  Use code ThankYou10 to receive a 10% savings on all your orders through November 11th.

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New Autumn Prairie Paint Colors

Farm and Hive Workshop

This past weekend we had the blessing of traveling up to Farm and Hive in Idaho for a two day Tweetle Dee Workshop.  Susie's farm is such magical piece of heaven. All the little animals greeted us and kept us entertained during our My Heart Belongs to the Wildflowers and our How to Paint a Barn Quilt Class.  

We all had a wonderful weekend celebrating, dreaming and creating together.  Our next Farm and Hive Workshop will be sometime in the spring of '24, so watch for the announcement and get your registration in quickly! 
We have had a few spots open for our upcoming Holiday Workshop on November 4th in Woodland Hills, UT.  This will be our last paint any size barn quilt class.  If you are wanting to paint gifts, a big-beautiful barn quilt or lots of littles, this is the class for you.  Save 20% on your registration by going to Our Shop and use code Workshop20 when you checkout.  
We want to thank Susie and Tyler again for hosting us at their farm and hope to see you again soon at one of our workshops.

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Farm and Hive Workshop

Wilde Bloem Morning Glory Barn Quilt

As the colors change from forest green to amber and crimson, we waited for the last of our Wilde Bloem flowers to bloom.  Late into the season Morning Glory climbed and began to show small buds, each waiting their turn to burst in blue.  Knowing this flower is the last to bloom, and each flower lives for just one day, we found ourselves going out every morning just to see if there was a new bloom.  

The Mo0rning Glory flower represents love, life and mortality.  Lots of symbolism in these beautiful blooms.  The first big blue bloom took my breath away.  All the symbolism made sense to me.  They bloom each morning and spread their petals so wide and always towards the sun, and then by evening, they turn inward and are gone.  Each day, a different one would live for one day.  

I thought so much about this pattern and the remarkable beauty that came and went in one day.  What beauty do I choose to soak in, and share in a day.  The questions in my mind were, what if I had just one day to shine and is one day enough?  I don't think a flower has made my think so much about my worth in a day.  Each morning, I would welcome the new, and go thank them each night.  

In addition to the unique life of the Morning Glory blooms, the leaves are a vibrant green in the shape of hearts.  Maybe that is where the symbol of love comes from.  I love this flower, and can't wait to grow them again next year.  

In the Wilde Bloem garden we celebrate each flower with a barn quilt. pattern, and kit each month.  The last one this year is the Wilde Bloem Morning Glory.  All of our patterns include full color instructions and a How to Paint a Barn Quilt Guide.  They are available as PDF downloads and a paper pattern that we ship.  You will love painting this simple and beautiful pattern. 

Our Wilde Bloem Moring Glory Kits are in The Shop.  Our kits for this collection come with a 12" Farmhouse Planked Wood Canvas, a pattern and the Prairie Paints needed to paint your own beautiful mini-barn quilt.  

In addition to our Wilde Bloem Morning Glory Barn Quilt Kits, we also have a framed large wood barn quilts that are hand painted, stained, sealed and available in four sizes.  These make beautiful additions to your outdoor spaces and your indoor spaces too.  

We hope you love this little Wilde Bloem Moring Glory quilt as much as we have.  If you haven't grown this flower before, I would recommend getting some seeds early spring and begin your starts early so that you have a longer blooming season.  They are late bloomers, but oh so worth it.  

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Wilde Bloem Morning Glory Barn Quilt