to do or not to do
every now and then i love it when i get to be really lazy and do only what i want to do when i want to do it. today has been one of those days.
it didn't really start this way. actually, i was hoping i could pump everyone up for a hike up to donut falls but my efforts failed which was for the best anyway since the wind is blowing and the rain clouds continue to roll through. maybe next weekend?
my kind of lazy involves baking and blogging. baking a little of this and that and neglecting the house. see here, gavin eating an "oooey gooey bar?" notice the mess around him? a crumbled up napkin, someone's dirty socks, baby wipes. it's only a glimpse of what the rest of our environment looks like today. oh well.
i have a nice list of posts in the works for all of my silent readers (who are you anyway?). for today, i'm going to tell you how excited i am about my first attempt to make strawberry jam. i think it was a success and feel like i should share the recipe because i'm so proud of myself.
my intention was to make two batches so i could share but, two of my 4lb boxes of strawberries went bad way too fast and i'm super bummed about it. the worst part, i'd set them on my kitchen table yesterday while i was working on the first batch and we didn't get home until late last night. they must have fermented and the juice was all over. it stained the table which i am even more bummed about. i might have said a few naughty words.
moving on.
this recipe says it will make 14 half pint jars but i only ended up with 10.5. i also cooked over medium heat as opposed to medium-high because there were several moments it almost boiled over with the burner so hot. i was not about to have a sticky mess all over the stove!
the vanilla looks beautiful mixed in and tastes wonderful too. such a nice addition, see for yourself! i love cooking with vanilla bean.
what else? oh, only one of my jars didn't seal. i don't know if this is a big deal. i just put it in the fridge to be the first jar we eat. we all had it on our toast this morning and all said "yum."
it didn't really start this way. actually, i was hoping i could pump everyone up for a hike up to donut falls but my efforts failed which was for the best anyway since the wind is blowing and the rain clouds continue to roll through. maybe next weekend?
my kind of lazy involves baking and blogging. baking a little of this and that and neglecting the house. see here, gavin eating an "oooey gooey bar?" notice the mess around him? a crumbled up napkin, someone's dirty socks, baby wipes. it's only a glimpse of what the rest of our environment looks like today. oh well.
the kids have been at the neighbors house for way too long (on a sunday. the nerve!) and, it's already 6:00 with nothing in the oven for dinner. here i sit. still being lazy. loving it!!
i have a nice list of posts in the works for all of my silent readers (who are you anyway?). for today, i'm going to tell you how excited i am about my first attempt to make strawberry jam. i think it was a success and feel like i should share the recipe because i'm so proud of myself.
moving on.
this recipe says it will make 14 half pint jars but i only ended up with 10.5. i also cooked over medium heat as opposed to medium-high because there were several moments it almost boiled over with the burner so hot. i was not about to have a sticky mess all over the stove!
the vanilla looks beautiful mixed in and tastes wonderful too. such a nice addition, see for yourself! i love cooking with vanilla bean.
strawberry jam
verbatim via food in jars
10-11 cups of chopped strawberries (preferably macerated with a split vanilla bean and two cups of sugar over night)
5 cups of sugar (this makes 7 cups total)
2 lemons, zested and juiced
2 packets of liquid pectin (that’s one box total)
5 cups of sugar (this makes 7 cups total)
2 lemons, zested and juiced
2 packets of liquid pectin (that’s one box total)
Fill your canning pot 2/3 with water and put on the stove to bring to a boil (I used a large stock pot for this much jam).
Put berries, sugar and lemon zest/juice in a large pot and cook over medium high heat for about fifteen minutes.
You want to really boil the fruit down so that they begin to look syrup-y. If you have an immersion blender, use it at this point to puree some of the fruit. If you don’t, use a blender to puree about half the jam (working in batches, you don’t want hot jam to splash you). Add the blended jam back to the whole fruit jam. Bring to a boil and squeeze in the pectin.
At this point, there will be a bunch of foam on top of the jam. Skim the foam with a large spoon. Let boil for approximately ten minutes more, until the jam looks very syrup-y (when boiling, it should resemble boiling candy).
Lay out your clean jars, you’ll need approximately seven pints or 14 half pint jars. Put your lids in a saucepan of hot water in order to soften the sealing compound. Bring a kettle to a boil now as well, in case you need a bit more boiling water for your canning pot.
Fill the jars. Wipe the rims with the edge of a towel dipped in boiling water. Top with lids and screw on rings. Put a rack or folded towel into the bottom of your canning pot (you don’t want the jars to be in direct contact with the bottom of your pot). Carefully lower the jars into the boiling water. You can stack them one on top of the other if need be.
Process for ten minutes in the boiling water. When time is up, remove the jars from the water and put them on a towel on the counter. They should begin to ping fairly quickly, indicated that they’re sealed. If any of your jars don’t seal, make sure to refrigerate them.
that's all folks! i'll go make dinner now.
Comments