Natural Homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam

Remember this post back here when I talked about how much fruit I had jammed into my new fridge?  Well, as it turns out, we didn't really ever get around to finishing off the strawberries.  So Camille whipped them into this super quick and easy freezer jam while she was here.

Her batch was so quickly eaten that I ran to the farmer's market to get a big basket of strawberries to make more, before they are out of season.  

 
At the same time, I also whipped up a batch of blueberry vanilla chia seed jam from Oh She Glows.  And then made some blueberry oatmeal squares with that, for my parents' visit this weekend.

I used to make various freezer and regular jams, but find that this one, which has no pectin or other preservatives, has a much stronger fruit flavour than any others I've made.  

You basically just pick whatever fruit you want to make jam with, weigh it and then add half of the fruit's weight in sugar.  Pour the sugar over the fruit and let sit overnight in the fridge, so that the fruit will release its juices.

now that's a mountain of sugar!!

Next day, put the fruit/sugar mixture into a big pot and cook over low-medium heat until cooked.  You can check the consistency of the jam by dipping a wooden spoon into it.  When the jam sticks to the spoon at the consistency you want, it is ready.  It will continue to thicken a bit as it cools.

Then you can either fork mash the berries, or use an immersion blender if you prefer a smoother jam, like I do.

See??  Super easy.  I think the whole thing took me maybe 20 minutes for 5 jars of jam (plus the 5 blueberry I also made).

I chose to not process this for canning, as I just don't have the time for that these days.  So I just jarred it and stuffed it in the freezer to have delicious homemade jam throughout the winter.  

Hmmm.... not getting so far on that freezer challenge, huh???

Breakfast Faves

So here goes my first 'faves' post.  And I'm starting with breakfast faves because this is undoubtedly by 'fave' meal of the day.  I am drooling over this post, having, yet again, eaten a bowl of Vector for breakfast this morning.

Excepting a couple of these recipes, most are weekend faves, as they're more time intensive than any normal human would have time to make during the week.  

I haven't included any muffins here, even though many of them are healthy enough to be eaten for breakfast.  There are just so many of them that I'll do a favourite muffins post one day. So here goes...


baked brie, potatoes, ham and eggs: this was my very first post and I didn't even take any pictures... darn... though I have the goal of progressively adding missing pictures and updating some of the uglier pictures.  But that's slow-going, as many of my recipes (even the ones I love) barely get made once a year.  Pitfall of having so many of them. I still highly recommend making this, despite not being able to see a picture of it, as it is delicious.  Perfect for big group brunch gatherings. 

finnish apple pancake: 

steel cut oatmeal: 

fiber-full bran pancakes:

ricotta strawberry breakfast cakes:

banana cinnamon waffles: 

toast with apple cider cinnamon jelly:

green monster smoothie:

healthy(er) homemade breakfast sandwiches:

Apple Cider Cinnamon Jelly

So here we are at my 100th post... wow... 100 recipes in a year. And that doesn't count the recipes I've made and never got around to blogging. Thanks to Steph for the idea. I hope that everyone's enjoying the recipes. I've certainly gotten lots of feedback from people that they're being used and it's nice to be able to just say 'go to my blog' when people ask for recipes instead of having to dig them out and send them each time.

So on to today's recipe...

I decided that while I had the canning materials out from making salsa, that I would also go ahead and make some apple jelly, since I was running out. The worst part of canning (to me, at least), is having to drag everything out. So I set out to can some apple jelly.

This recipe comes from the cookbook The Complete Book of Year-Round Small-Batch Preserving, which I believe is a book that Karen had recommended to me many years back. I've always been tempted to double or triple the recipe, but have been afraid that it wouldn't set properly, so if I've done double batches, I've always prepared them in separate pots. But this year, I figured that, with baby, I no longer have the luxury of taking all that time to make separate batches. So I threw three batches into one pot and set out. Much to my dismay, when I opened a jar a few days after making this, I realized that the jelly hadn't set (sniff, sniff... 3 batches and 6 x 500 mL jars later...). So I'm still without apple jelly, as I didn't have the energy to start all over again at that point (having then, already put all the canning crap away!). Heather and I have decided to use it instead of maple syrup on pancakes and the like (great idea Heather!) so we'll see how that works out. At least I won't have to throw it all away...

In any case, this is a great recipe and is very simple to make (as long as you don't double it!!).

2 1/2 C fresh-pressed apple cider (I use fresh apple juice)
1 stick cinnamon, 4 inches, broken into 4 pieces
3 1/2 C granulated sugar
1 pouch liquid fruit pectin



1. Combine cider and cinnamon pieces in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and boil gently for 5 minutes. Strain cider through several layers of cheesecloth, reserving cinnamon pieces to add to jars. Rinse saucepan.

2. Measure 2 cups cider and return to saucepan; add sugar. Bring to a full boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin, return to a full boil and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

3. Ladle into sterilized jars, add one piece of cinnamon to each jar and leave 1/2 inch headspace. Process for 5 minutes.

Note: I never bother straining the cider through the cheesecloth and just use the full amount of the remaining cider instead of the 2 cups measured out in step 2. Probably because I don't strain it, I get a froth at the top of my jelly, which I just skim off prior to closing the jars, making sure that I respect the headspace indicated.

For instructions on how to can, go to my post of Aug. 3/10 on salsa.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

So I did end up making salsa this week... though I only made two batches since it's so much harder to get things done than it was pre-baby and essentially took me a full day to get each batch. But I did get it done, just with many breaks between each step. I ended up going to Marché de l'Ouest and got a huge box of slightly damaged tomatoes (perfect for cooking with) for only $10. Which got me 18 jars of salsa, plus a few toasted tomato sandwiches.

A tip about how to quickly peel the tomatoes. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Core the tomatoes and cut an x into the bottom of the tomato. Place tomatoes in boiling water for one minute. Remove and let cool. The skin will then easily peel off, starting from the x.

12 C chopped, peeled tomatoes, about 24
3 cans corn
2 cans black beans
1 pkg. Bernardin salsa mix
1 1/4 C cider vinegar
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1. Wash, core, seed and chop tomatoes; drain off excess liquid. Measure 12 cups.



2. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine Bernardin salsa mix and cider vinegar. Add tomatoes, black beans, corn and cilantro; mix well. Bring to a boil; boil gently, uncovered, for 5 minutes.



3. Ladle salsa into a hot jar, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Using a nonmetallic utensil, remove air bubbles. Wipe jar to removing any stickiness. Process for 20 minutes.



Makes about 8-9 500mL jars.



Some tips on canning:

The jars need to be sterilized prior to placing food in them in order to eliminate possible bacterial growth. Wash jars and then place in a 225 degree Farenheit oven for at least 20 minutes. You then spoon the hot salsa into the hot jars, using a canning funnel, if you have one. You then need to get the air bubbles out of the jar prior to sterilizing, again, to prevent bacterial growth. You can buy a kit that has a tool to help get the bubbles out, a funnel, lid lifter, headspace gauge and jar lifter for about $15 at Canadian Tire. Alternatively, you can use a spatula to coax the bubbles to the top.

You then need to measure the headspace for the recipe you are making. Headspace is the unfilled space above the food in a jar and below the lid. This space is needed for expansion of the food as the jars are processed, and for forming a vacuum to preserve the food, once the jars are cooled. Again, you can get a headspace gauge to easily judge how much space to leave (1/2 inch, for this recipe).

The next step is to prepare the snap lids, by placing them in hot, but not boiling water and leaving them there until you use them. Recommendations used to be to boil them for 5 minutes, but they no longer recommend placing them in boiling water. You then place the lids on the cans, using a lid lifter, so that you don't burn your fingers. Then screw on the screw tops just until you meet resistance, being careful not to overtighten. Note that you can reuse the screw tops, but cannot reuse the snap lids. Also, be sure not to tighten the screw top once you have processed the jars, as this can affect the sealing process.

Once the lids are placed, bring water to a boil in a waterbath canner, which is a huge black pot used for canning. These usually come with a canning rack, so that you can get the jars in and out of the boiling water without burning your fingers. You should probably start the water boiling way before you are ready for it, as it takes quite awhile for such a large quantity of water to boil. I often start boiling the water well in advance and then top it up by adding a few kettles full of boiling water.

You need to process the jars while they are still warm, otherwise they will crack when they are placed in the hot water. Alternatively, you can place the jars in the water while it is still cold, but I find that it takes forever for the water to come to a boil this way. You then need to leave the jars in the water for 20 minutes (for this recipe), once it has come to a boil again after placing the cans in it. Also, be sure that the water covers the top of the jars. Once they have been processed long enough, take them out, being careful not to burn yourself as I did this week (as the scab on my stomach proves!).

After the jars have cooled, inspect them to be sure that the snap lids have sealed. If you press on the centre of the lid, it should not pop back up. If it does, you need to reprocess them again in the boiling water so that the lids seal (or alternatively, put that jar in the fridge and use it immediately). And that's it. It all sounds complicated, but it's actually quite easy and lets you enjoy fresh, homemade, delicious salsa year-round.

Chipotle Salsa

My Aunt sent me this recipe, which she made last fall and said was highly recommended. I recently heard that Alanna was dying to get a copy of this recipe, so I figured I'd post it up now. It is taken from the Canadian Living Test Kitchen.

Servings: eight 2-cup (500 mL) jars

250 g jalapeno peppers (about 6)
1 can (7 oz/198 g) chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
16 cups (4 L) coarsely chopped peeled tomatoes (about 7 lb/3.15 kg)
6 cups (1.5 L) chopped seeded Cubanelle, Anaheim or sweetbanana peppers (about 1-3/4 lb/875 g)
4 cups (1 L) chopped onions (about 2 lb/1 kg)
4 cups (1 L) chopped sweet green peppers (about 2 lb/1 kg)
4 cups (1 L) cider vinegar
8 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cans (each 5-1/2 oz/156 mL) tomato paste
1/4 cup (50 mL) granulated sugar
5 tsp (25 mL) salt
2 tsp (10 mL) dried oregano
3/4 cup (175 mL) chopped fresh coriander

1. Wearing rubber gloves, seed, core and finely chop jalapeno peppers to make 1 cup (250 mL).

2. Reserving sauce, remove chipotle peppers; seed if desired and chop.

3. In large heavy nonaluminum stock pot, combine jalapeno peppers, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, tomatoes, Cubanelle peppers, onions, green peppers, vinegar, garlic, tomato paste, sugar, salt and oregano; bring to boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring often, until thickened, 2 to 2-1/4 hours.

4. Add coriander; simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

5. Fill hot 2-cup (500 mL) canning jars, leaving 1/2-inch (1 cm) headspace. Cover with prepared lids. Screw on bands until resistance is met; increase to fingertip tight. Boil in boiling water canner for 20 minutes.