“A celebration of the simple life each time a jar is opened.” This was our tagline when we first started making pickles and jams at Happy Girl Kitchen Co. The moment a jar is opened, it makes a pop that can evoke wonderful memories. It takes me back to all the meals that I’ve shared with good friends around beautiful wooden tables. The gorgeous handmade bowls filled with simple and delicious food. The fresh baked bread on the cutting board. Serving simple, homemade food using the best ingredients can be one of the easiest ways to en- rich your everyday life—a life that is pleasing to all of the senses as well as the mind.

Today’s world seems to be moving at a faster and faster pace. We are inundated with information and choice and bombarded with stimulation. So it’s not surprising that I meet so many people who are longing for simplicity—for themselves and for their families.

Preserving your own food can be a great place to begin. The recipes do not have to be complicated, and they can add such depth to your life. Preserving will always give you something to offer. I heard someone say, “You are only as wealthy as that which you can

give away,” and once you start putting food in jars, you will always have something valuable to give.

I have written some very simple recipes for lightly processing fruit and vegetables for you so that you can get inspired to start mak- ing things from scratch. You can get your foot in the door of the sim- ple life and a whole new world will open to you. Your friends will swarm to you like bees to honey.

NOTE: For more reading and inspirations for living a simple existence, I have always referred to authors who are living by example. I recommend reading Living the Good Life by Scott Nearing. Scott and his wife, Helen, left the fast-paced city life for the simple life in rural Ver- mont and have been an inspiration to many. A Handmade Life: In Search of Simplicity by William Coperthwaite is a book that really sums up how making things by hand can simplify your life.

Jordan Champagne is the co-owner and founder of Happy Girl Kitchen Co. She has a passion for preserving the local, organic harvest and loves sharing her secrets at the workshops she teaches across the region.