My story

Hi I’m Aliza. Welcome to my cottage! I’m a mother, preschool teacher, seasoned home cook and passionate preserver. I live in Maryland with my family and my two kitties, Neeko and Finnley.

I’ve always been a nature enthusiast and a country girl at heart. Growing up, there was a small farm in our undeveloped neighborhood in rural northern New Jersey. My mother would give my brother and I two dollars and we would ride our bikes to the farm to get fresh corn and tomatoes. A few miles away there was a much larger farm and my mother always took us there to buy the freshest farm picked produce. Our family’s much anticipated yearly vacation was a trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I was fascinated with the Amish’s simple way of life and the expert way they preserved and canned their foods. Much later, I raised my own family in a small country town and it was there that I developed a passion for preserving the season’s bounty. On our five acre property, I raised honey bees and planted a large garden where I grew my own produce and dried my own herbs both culinary and medicinal. My children enjoyed fresh fruit preserves, jams, honey, pickles, sauces and so much more. Nothing beats opening a jar of the Summer’s bounty on a cold blustery Winter’s day!

As a self-taught canner, I’m fiercely dedicated to providing quality products that are well-tested, shelf stable and have the freshest ingredients. You will see products with global influences as well as products that have been handed down from generation to generation.

I hope you enjoy these products as much as I loved preserving them. It’s a little bit of country straight from the jar.