There are a lot of blogs out there, mine is just one of them. But I can promise some interior design fun; crafty projects; other interesting tidbits; great recipes; advice; and awesome pictures from the crazy adventure I call life!
Our adventure started with a food mill (or food strainer)....
Can you guess what we put through that food mill???
Juicy and pulpy goodness...
So what are we making? If you guessed Blackberries, and making jam....you are correct! Of course we got all of the ingredients measured out, especially the sugar...cause that has to be dumped in all at once.
And then I got to stir...and stir...
Don't get the baby too close to the stove!
and stir some more
Then the process goes quickly once you add the sugar and bring to a hard rolling boil for 1 minute. Mom and I have developed quite the smooth flowing teamwork that comes with multiple sessions of canning anything....
Filling, wiping, lids, transfer to the boiling water for canning and grabbing another jar and lids...we are like a well oiled machine
We made two whole batches of straight seedless blackberry jam....then were short about a cup for the last batch, so we thawed and threw in some whole raspberries....YUMMO! So it's not seedless, but oh so good!
I have been wanting to attempt scones for a while now. Well attempt them again. I have made them once before but they were savory, and took forever to make. I found a new recipe to try so I got up really early (for me) so I could made a batch fresh before I went to my crochet group at church. I found the recipe online (click here) but wrote it down so it would be easier to make.
My how the time flies. It has been a very long time since I sat down and blogged anything. I meant to, just never did. I have been super busy with subbing, and crocheting (or trying to get stuff crocheted) and taking a LOT of pictures with my new camera, that I have not tried any new recipes. Until today...
Last week I went with my neighbor to Sam's Club. I got a large pack of plums. Who doesn't love a fresh plum? Well my plums just didn't want to stay fresh. And I was not about to eat the seven remaining plums in one sitting. So I spent an hour or so yesterday dicing up the plums, I was not about to just let them go bad...then I bagged them and froze them because I wasn't sure when I would have time to make jam.
Today Mr. Fish and I went to the store and I got the half pint jelly jars, and the 4 oz jelly jars so I could make a LOT of jam.
There is one recipe with several ways you can make it. Each starts out the same, plums and water.
I tried a small batch with anise and honey for sweetener, and the larger batch got cloves and sugar, and I hit it with a teaspoon of vanilla after I removed it from the heat.
The third batch I made Sparkling Grape Jelly. I used the recipe from the Ball website and substituted Grape Juice for the Raspberry Juice.
I am still waiting to see if the Grape sets up, it's my first time making it, and the it tasted divine when I licked the spoon, and the measuring cup, and the funnel...I will give it 24 hours to see if it set up...
The jars are very pretty to look at. Each kind looks different, even between the two kinds of Spiced Plum.
From Left to Right: Spiced Plum (Cloves), Sparkling Grape Jelly, Spiced Plum (Anise)
As soon as spring gets here I'm going to plant some strawberry plants so I can make a different kind of Strawberry jam...Until next time...ENJOY, and create something!
After making my pie last week I ended up with some extra rhubarb. Not quite enough to make jam, but almost. My mom ended up getting some rhubarb from the grocery store so we had enough to make jam.
Before I go into making jam, lets delve into what rhubarb is exactly. Is it a fruit? a vegetable? According to the internet "Rhubarb is usually considered a vegetable. In the United States, however, a New York court decided in 1947 that since it was used in the United States as a fruit, it counted as a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties. A side effect was a reduction on imported rhubarb tariffs, as tariffs were higher for vegetables than fruits." According to almanac.com, "Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable, though it is generally
used as a fruit in desserts and jams. You only eat the stalks, which have a
rich tart flavor. The leaves of this plant are poisonous, so be sure that they
are not ingested. Rhubarb is easy to grow, but needs cool weather to
thrive."It is usually stewed with
sugar or used in pies and desserts.There are also recipes that use it to make savory dishes or you can even
pickle it!
I have already made the pie, which is already completely gone, and now it's time to jam!
The recipe I used is from Kraft. I thought it would really focus on the flavor of the rhubarb, because that is the only flavor in the recipe! So here is my adventure making Rhubarb Jam!
Step 1: Wash the jars, a few more than you think you will need....just to be safe.
Step 2: Place the washed jars in a large pot and bring to a boil to sterilize them...this is also super important!
There is a measuring cup in there too, it is used to ladle the hot jam out to pour into the jars.
Step 3: Get the hot jars out of the boiling water and put them to the side. Don't burn yourself! You will notice in many of the pictures that I am wearing rubber gloves, that is to protect my hands from burns from the steam, water, and hot jam!
Step 4: Weigh and rough cut the rhubarb. The recipe calls for about 2.5 lbs of rhubarb, or 4-1/2 cups prepared, so you have to cook it down before you measure it...so we threw the rough cut pieces into a food processor...made it easier
Step 5: Put the rhubarb and 1 cup of water in a pan and cook it down.
Step 6: Measure out exactly 4-1/2 cups of processed rhubarb, put it in a pot, add the Sure-Jell, and the butter and bring it to a boil stirring constantly!
Step 7: I'm sure after reading the recipe you pre-measured the sugar right? I did!!! And once the pectin part is boiling, dump in the sugar! And bring it back to a boil, and the let it boil for exactly 1 minute!
Step 8: This is a big step, this is the canning step, so there are smaller steps within this step...get a plate to set the jars on, a good funnel, pour hot jam into a sterilized jar until it is 1/4" below the rim, carefully wipe the rim and the rings to make sure there is no jam, place a sterilized lid and ring on the jar, finger tight, place to the side and repeat until you have enough to fill the canner, or in our case a very large stock pot. Bring the water to a low boil and place the jars in the water, leave in for 10 minutes.
Step 9: Very carefully take the jars out of the water after 10 minutes and put on a towel, you will want to listen for the pop....watch my video...
Step 10: Let the jam sit out, undisturbed for 24 hours...then you can put it away, it is shelf stable at this point and does not need refrigeration.
Step 11: Clean up...my LEAST favorite part of the whole process...
At least I have some tasty jam to share and enjoy!
