Strawberry Jam or why Reading is Fundamental

While I can walk into any supermarket here in New England at any time of year and find strawberries in the produce section, I've found the season for local strawberries is about 4 – 6 weeks. Having “cut my teeth” on canning with applesauce, salsa and one very long Sunday in October making grape jelly, I cannot tell you how excited I was when I learned of KevinWest's Basic Strawberry Jam recipe.

Even though I needed to wait a year before trying this recipe, I was grateful to have a recipe for jam which didn't call for as much sugar as fruit. As local strawberry season approached, I reviewed the hard copy I printed the prior year, noting what ingredients I had, needed, as well as which pots, pans and utensils were to be pulled out and used.   

Donning my “canning clothes”, clothes that I don't care if they get dirty or sticky, I went to my local farmer's market and bought strawberries. Following the recipe, I washed and mashed the strawberries, combined them with the other ingredients and canned the end result.

It was only until after the last jar had sealed with its distinctive “pop” sound that I realized the jam consistency was soft-set at room temperature,--as is noted in the recipe. My heart sank as I personally prefer a firmer-set. I also scolded myself for not fully reading the recipe.

Looking at these jars of soft-set jam my mind went to work on how to make a firmer-set jam. It took me 24 hours and having to open every jar of freshly canned jam as well as 3 seasons of local strawberries, testing and refining to bring this recipe to post.

If you like firmer-set jam, similar to what you would find the supermarket, this is a recipe you might want to try.

If you like your jam with a soft-set consistency, then I highly recommend Kevin West's recipe for Basic Strawberry Jam.

Either way, I suggest wearing clothes that can get dirty or sticky.

Strawberries ready to become jam

Strawberry Jam, Firm-set

yield: 1 ½ – 2 pints

2 pounds ripe strawberries (approximately 4 cups diced)

2 ½ cups sugar

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice or 1 ½ tablespoons reconstituted lemon juice)

1 granny smith apple approximately, 2 1/4” - 3” in diameter, peeled grated and pressed

Rinse strawberries and remove their caps. Depending upon size of strawberries and freshness, slice and remove any “over ripe soft spots” (you'll know these when you see them).

Place strawberries in a 3 quart pot and crush with a potato masher or your hands. 

Add sugar and lemon juice to crushed strawberries. Set aside.

Peel granny smith apple and grate using box grater. Squeeze as much excess juice as possible from grated apple. To squeeze the juice, I suggest one thick or two thin paper towel sheets layered atop each other, placing grated apple in center, folding up corners of towel in one hand, and squeezing and twisting paper towel where apple is with the other.

Add grated pressed apple to strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice.  Stir mixture to loosely combine ingredients. 

On small burner on stove top, bring mixture to boil over high heat. Boil and stir constantly on high heat for 10 minutes, skimming off any foam.

Reduce heat to medium, continue to cook and stir for another 10 – 20 minutes. Jam should be a deep ruby red color and be half the amount you started with.

Turn off heat.  If canning, ladle hot jam into prepared ½ pint jars, leaving 1/4” head space. Seal, and process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes.  Unsealed jars should be kept refrigerated.


If not canning, ladle hot jam into clean glass jars with well-fitting lids, leaving 1/4" head space. Cover and place in refrigerator to keep jam from spoiling. Uncanned jam should be good for two weeks if kept refrigerated.


 

 

Strawberry Jam, canned and processed,

ready for eating

Avoiding the hard brown sugar “block”

Page 1 of my thirteenth edition of my Fannie Farmer Cookbook starts with a chapter titled “About the Kitchen”. In these 62 pages contain such things as explanations for pinch and puree, wok and sesame oil, meal planning for dinner parties and picnics. Also in these pages include a description of the different types of sugar used in the cookbook's recipes as well as how to store brown sugar to avoid it hardening to a block and how to soften it if does.

The easiest way to avoid the hard brown sugar “block” is to buy granulated brown sugar, although using this in baking may yield unexpected results. Also, depending upon when I need to buy brown sugar, I may not have the time to go to the local supermarket which stocks this. Many a time I have patiently labored with a butter knife over a large dinner plate scraping brown sugar from the “block” to get the amount required by a recipe. Since I adopted the below several years ago, I have been saved from having to do such.

“Brown sugar should be stored in an airtight container in a cool spot or in the refrigerator. Add to the container a small slice of apple [or apple core] in an open plastic bag; it will keep the sugar soft. If your brown sugar becomes hard, soften it by putting it in a covered bowl with a few drops of water in a warm (200 degree farenheit) oven for about 20 minutes....”  

example of brown sugar stored in 

airtight container with apple core in

a plastic bag

Riced Cauliflower with Lemon Mustard Dressing

According to my 1995 edition of The Nutrition Bible, cauliflower is a member of the cabbage family with a buttery texture, filling nature and mild, almost meaty flavor. It is extremely low in calories and sodium but high in vitamin C and potassium.
 

This is a variation of the cheesy cauliflower bowls recipe I found in the August 2015 edition of Yoga Journal. Several months before finding this recipe, some colleagues and myself were talking about ways to cook cauliflower. One of them mentioned a mustard sauce and the other mentioned riced cauliflower which is cauliflower shredded to look like rice allowing it to be used as a substitute for rice. I find the dressing compliments the flavor of the cauliflower, and the riced cauliflower to be an acceptable less starchy replacement for rice. 

Don't be afraid to either skip the dressing or substitute it with olive oil, butter or your favorite cheese.

12 oz riced cauliflower, frozen recommended

1 cup water

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp spicy brown mustard

1/8 tsp dill

In a 3 quart pot, cook riced cauliflower and water over medium-high heat, stirring periodically. Cauliflower may solidify to frozen block but will thaw as pot is heated. Cook about 15 – 30 minutes until cauliflower is a “soft” rice consistency and water is absorbed. Remove from heat.

In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, mustard and dill to make dressing.
 

Divide cauliflower and dressing equally amongst serving bowls or mix cauliflower with dressing in one bowl and serve. 

Riced Cauliflower with Lemon

Mustard Dressing

Carrot-Walnut Muffins or Cake

For several years I have been trying to reduce my refined sugar intake. As someone who is a self-professed sugar junkie, reducing my sugar intake is the hardest dietary change I've made thus far. Despite my love of sweets, I didn't shy away from modifying existing recipes to be low in refined sugar or trying new recipes which were low in refined sugar.

This recipe falls into the latter category. I found it in the August 2015 edition of Yoga Journal and found the combination of spices, walnuts, unsweetened coconut and carrots, especially carrots from Winter Moon Roots, makes a flavorful cake. Substituting crushed pineapple for unsweetened applesauce doesn't appear to alter the taste nor does making an 8 inch cake versus muffins.

Carrot-Walnut Muffins or Cake

4 eggs

½ cup walnuts, finely ground

½ cup crushed pineapple or ½ cup unsweetened applesauce

¼ cup sugar

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup coconut flour

1 tsp cinnamon

¾ tsp baking powder

¾ tsp baking soda

½ tsp nutmeg

1 cup finely grated carrots (this is about ½ pound of carrots)

¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Place oven rack in middle position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease 8 inch by 8 inch pan.

In a bowl, add eggs, walnuts, pineapple or applesauce, sugar, coconut oil and vanilla extract. Using a hand blender or by hand, beat for 1 minute or until well blended.

In a second bowl, mix coconut flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and nutmeg. Fold into the wet mixture.

Stir in carrots and coconut.

If making muffins, divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake 20-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of a center muffin comes out clean.

If making cake, spread batter evenly in greased 8 inch by 8 inch pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool. Serve. 

carrot-walnut cake

Quick Molasses Whole Wheat or Spelt Bread

Quick Molasses Whole Wheat or Spelt Bread

I originally tried this recipe back in 2007 when I was learning how to make bread using yeast. I was skeptical this would be as good as some of the other yeast-based bread recipes I was trying at the time, like Anadama Bread.

It was better as it did not require yeast, kneading or rising time. It makes one 9” loaf and can be made in under two hours.

I re-visited this recipe earlier this year using Spelt Flour and found it to be moist and sweet. For those unfamiliar, spelt is a whole grain and an ancient species of wheat whose taste I find similar to whole wheat.

As with the majority of my bread recipes, this one comes from my 13th edition of the Fanny Farmer Cookbook which describes this as “Brown as a chestnut, moist, and honest in taste.”

Quick Molasses Whole Wheat or Spelt Bread

yield: (9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf)

½ cup white flour and 2 cups whole-wheat flour OR 2 cups spelt flour OR 2 – 2 ½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt OR ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ cup shortening, melted

1 ½ tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice

1 ½ scant cups milk (dairy or soy)

½ cup molasses

Place the vinegar or lemon juice in the bottom of a 2 cup liquid measuring cup and fill the cup with milk to equal 1 1/2 cups. Set aside to allow milk to “sour”.

Place oven rack in middle position. Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit. Grease 9 inch loaf pan.

In small, microwave safe bowl, melt shortening.

Mix flour(s), baking powder, baking soda, salt in a large bowl, add shortening, sour milk and molasses, and stir until well blended. Spoon into the loaf pan and back for about 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove bread from the pan and cool on a rack. 

bread slices ready for toasting 

or a sandwich

Brown Onions

This was one of my twelve new recipes for 2013 when I received two very large zucchinis from the garden of my mother's girlfriend, Paulette.  At that time, I decided to try a variation of Ruta Kahate's Garlicky Pattypan Squash from Quick Fix Indian as it appeared in the August 2013 edition of Yoga Journal.  

This recipe was also in the August 2013 Yoga Journal and is a nice addition to top either my Garlicky Zucchini Squash or to my Oven Roasted Butternut Squash recipes.

Brown Onions

2 medium-size yellow onions, thinly sliced

½ cup canola oil

In a large saute pan, cook onions in canola oil over medium heat until they turn dark brown and crisp. Drain on paper towels. Serve or cool and store in glass jar or ziploc bag in refrigerator.

Oven Roasted Butternut Squash topped with Brown Onions

Gooey Virginia Peanut Butter Brownies with Chocolate

When I recently pulled out my Apple and Oat Crisp recipe to share, I found this recipe for Peanut Butter Brownies which I would make with a chocolate middle.

Yield: one 8-inch square pan, 9-12 servings

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups light brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

3 eggs

1 ¼ cups flour

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Place oven rack on middle rung. Preheat oven to 325 degrees farenheit. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

Using an electric mixer in a medium bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, salt and vanilla. Add eggs and flour. Beat on high speed for 5 minutes. Spread ½ batter into prepared pan. Spread 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips on top of batter already in pan. Cover chocolate chips with remaining batter.

Bake 45-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with only chocolate on it. Remove from oven. Cool. Cut. Serve. Store any leftovers in air-tight container.