2 cup crushed strawberries (or any berry)
4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
1 3 oz liquid pectin pouch
2 T lemon juice
Combine crushed strawberries, lemon peel and sugar; let sit for 10 minutes. Add pectin and lemon juice and stir for 3 minutes. Ladle into 1/2 pint containers, leaving 1/2" head space. Seal and label. Let sit at room temperature until set - usually 24 hours or less. Lasts 3 weeks in the fridge or 1 year in the freezer.
Peach Jam: replace with 1 1/2 cup crushed peaches, reduce sugar to 3 1/4 cup, increase lemon juice to 2 1/2 T.
I just finished the last of my freezer jam two sandwiches ago and I miss it already! I made 2 batches of each. It lasted as long as it did because the second batch of each I crushed ahead of time, and it didn't set as well. I'm not really sure about the science, but if I had to guess (and I have already) the water needs to be drawn out by the sugar to enhance the fruit's natural pectin, instead of just seeping out from the cellular damage caused by the crushing. The batch set, but was kind of liquidy - Ian didn't like it so I was forced to eat it myself. Mostly set jam does make a good ice cream topper though.
This recipe was part of our starting effort to try to eat locally and seasonally whenever possible. Since this is a cold climate, in order to eat a nutritional variety in the winter you have to preserve. The strawberries and peaches were purchased from our local farmer's market. The peaches were incredibly cheap because I bought up their batch of "seconds" which means they were on the ground instead of the tree and would bruise up fast, but since I was crushing them I didn't care.
This coming summer we might step into canning, which besides jam, I'm looking forward to pickling. Not only cukes, but I have developed a great fondness for pickled green beans. Certainly I'll continue to freeze - I've already frozen green and jalepeno peppers - by chopping and laying out on a cookie sheet on wax paper. Good enough for cooking, at any rate. If I keep freezing stuff I'm going to need a basement freezer.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Baked Burgers
6 hamburger buns
1 lb ground beef
2 T finely chopped onion
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper
2 cans (8oz?) tomato sauce
Hollow out centers of bun tops. Crumble removed bread and mix with beef, onion, salt, pepper and 1 1/2 cans of sauce. Place bun tops on bottoms and fill hollowed cavity with beef mix. Bake on sheet pan 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Spoon remaining sauce on top of beef and bake another 5 minutes.
This recipe came from an old 1950's magazine; Time or Life or something like that. It was one of those recipe ads. The size of the can for tomato sauce was not specified....I can only imagine they probably only sold one size at the time. Most of the recipes in the magazine in general seemed very....bleeech. This I thought might have some potential, so decided to give it a whirl.
It wasn't awful. While mixing the beef, I could tell then that there was too much liquid. One can of sauce would probably have been plenty. The texture was generally mushy. I imagine this is what happens to meatloaf if you forget to put an egg in it. At the outset, I had been afraid the buns would burn, but really what happened is they toasted and got really hard. I can be kind and say that it was a texture contrast.
I won't be keeping this recipe card. I suppose with some tinkering it could be something different, but for my trouble I'd rather just make Sloppy Joes.
1 lb ground beef
2 T finely chopped onion
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper
2 cans (8oz?) tomato sauce
Hollow out centers of bun tops. Crumble removed bread and mix with beef, onion, salt, pepper and 1 1/2 cans of sauce. Place bun tops on bottoms and fill hollowed cavity with beef mix. Bake on sheet pan 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Spoon remaining sauce on top of beef and bake another 5 minutes.
This recipe came from an old 1950's magazine; Time or Life or something like that. It was one of those recipe ads. The size of the can for tomato sauce was not specified....I can only imagine they probably only sold one size at the time. Most of the recipes in the magazine in general seemed very....bleeech. This I thought might have some potential, so decided to give it a whirl.
It wasn't awful. While mixing the beef, I could tell then that there was too much liquid. One can of sauce would probably have been plenty. The texture was generally mushy. I imagine this is what happens to meatloaf if you forget to put an egg in it. At the outset, I had been afraid the buns would burn, but really what happened is they toasted and got really hard. I can be kind and say that it was a texture contrast.
I won't be keeping this recipe card. I suppose with some tinkering it could be something different, but for my trouble I'd rather just make Sloppy Joes.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Black Bean Lime Chili w/ Couscous
Couscous:
1 cup water
2/3 cup couscous
Chili:
3 T olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 T chili powder
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes (undrained)
1 14.5 oz can black beans (undrained)
1 10 oz can or 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1/2 cup lime juices (approx 3 limes)
1/4 chopped fresh cilantro
Bring water to boil - pour in couscous; stir in and cover. Remove from heat and allow to sit, covered 15 minutes. Heat oil in stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onion until soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add peppers and chili powder and cook another minute. Stir in tomatoes and beans; bring to a simmer and hold 5 minutes. Add chicken and stir in, until heated. Turn off heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro. Fluff couscous with a fork and mix with chili. Makes 4-6 servings.
Another old favorite. This was originally a recipe from a show called Calorie Commando, which took favorite but fattening meals and cut down the fat and calories while still keeping them yummy. Sometimes the recipes were kind of meh, but there was always a neat tip. One tip that isn't used here (or in any of my current stash) is to use low-fat dairy products instead of fat-free. The reasoning, according to the host, is that there isn't much of a caloric difference but fat carries flavor, and the whole point is eating tasty food.
The original recipe called for serving the chili over the couscous, but I like it mixed in. It makes it easier to put in a container to heat later for lunch, and I also think the couscous gets a better chance to absorb the flavors.
1 cup water
2/3 cup couscous
Chili:
3 T olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 T chili powder
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes (undrained)
1 14.5 oz can black beans (undrained)
1 10 oz can or 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1/2 cup lime juices (approx 3 limes)
1/4 chopped fresh cilantro
Bring water to boil - pour in couscous; stir in and cover. Remove from heat and allow to sit, covered 15 minutes. Heat oil in stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat. Cook onion until soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add peppers and chili powder and cook another minute. Stir in tomatoes and beans; bring to a simmer and hold 5 minutes. Add chicken and stir in, until heated. Turn off heat and stir in lime juice and cilantro. Fluff couscous with a fork and mix with chili. Makes 4-6 servings.
Another old favorite. This was originally a recipe from a show called Calorie Commando, which took favorite but fattening meals and cut down the fat and calories while still keeping them yummy. Sometimes the recipes were kind of meh, but there was always a neat tip. One tip that isn't used here (or in any of my current stash) is to use low-fat dairy products instead of fat-free. The reasoning, according to the host, is that there isn't much of a caloric difference but fat carries flavor, and the whole point is eating tasty food.
The original recipe called for serving the chili over the couscous, but I like it mixed in. It makes it easier to put in a container to heat later for lunch, and I also think the couscous gets a better chance to absorb the flavors.
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