If I Go Visit My Sister...

Did you ever read "If You Give a Pig a Pancake?"  I highly recommend it!  I laugh EVERY time I read it.

My personal version goes like this...If I go to visit my sister, then I'm going to go in Autumn.  If I go in Autumn, then I'm going to visit my favorite apple orchard (Mercier's Orchard in Blue Ridge, Georgia).  If I go to Mercier's, then I'm going to offer to pick up apples for friends, neighbors, and co-workers and buy a couple of bushels for myself.  If I buy apples for myself and my friends, then I'm going to be busy canning apple products for a week when I return.

And so it went again this year.  I visited my sister in mid November, went to Mercier's, bought approximately 10 bushels of apples for friends (only 1 bushel for myself), and was completely overwhelmed 2 days before Thanksgiving, but I still had a few apples to process before I could start my holiday cookin'.

I tried to determine how I got myself into this position again and how I would avoid it happening again?  I could NOT take several days off and drive to visit my sister.  I could NOT buy a bunch of apples if I went.  I could NOT offer to pick up apples for everyone else.  I could NOT can my own applesauce; just buy some Mott's and call it a day.  In the end, I determined that these things make me happy, so I am now okay with getting overwhelmed once in a while.

I did change up my applesauce and apple butter methods and save myself some time there.  (Wash jars and put in water to heat For applesauce, I wash my apples, core them, and cut into chunks (no peeling).  I put the diced apples in the blender and puree, peel and all.  I dump the pureed apples into a heavy bottomed pot and turn the stove on low-medium.  I continue this process until the pot is filled 3/4 full, stirring with each new blender load of pureed apples.  I cook for 30 minutes after the last blender load is added.  I add one or two boxes of Jell-O for extra flavor and sweetness (cherry Jell-o is a favorite).  after stirring in the Jell-O, cook another 15 minutes.  Then ladle the hot applesauce into clean, hot jars.  Place lids and rings on jars.  Water bath for 10 minutes.

And when I open a jar of yummy, homemade applesauce...I want to visit my sister. :)

Happy Canning,
~Leslie

Lighten Up and Laugh!

Have you ever been unbelievably embarrassed?  Have you ever known someone who was so embarrassed, they never returned to a location or faced certain people again?  It is sad when one incident becomes debilitating.  I determined early on that I might as well laugh at myself because eventually (or daily), I will surely do something stupid and embarrassing.

As we had children, I wanted them to be able to recover quickly from errors and blunders.  In our family, we love to tell and retell stories, often the storyteller recounting his or her OWN embarrassing moments.  What has this got to do with canning?  Hang in there with me...I'll get there.

One family favorite involves my daughter, Jessica.  Amber and Jessica determined to make the treasured family dessert, pineapple upside down cake.  All of the ingredients were not in the house, so Amber volunteered to run to the store (and boy were her legs tired...).  When she returned with everything, Jessica announced that to speed up the process, she had baked the cake in Amber's absence.  "Now how do we make that topping?" she asked.  Yeah.  They had to bake a second cake.  Of course, this story comes up almost every time we have pineapple upside down cake.

So Amber's birthday is this week and we had the family dinner tonight.  For my girls, they usually prefer pineapple upside down cake to a frosted cake, so I baked one this morning.  I accidentally opened 2 cans of crushed pineapple and set the extra aside.  Once I had the cake in the oven, I surfed the internet for "pineapple jam," hoping to find a use for the opened pineapple.  Thank you, ColeensRecipes.blogspot.com,  for a simple recipe using canned pineapple (crushed), sugar, and powdered pectin.  In her blog, she casually mentions that she might add a few maraschino next time.

Hmmm, having just put the cake in the oven, the flavor pallet was running through my head.  What would it take to create a pineapple upside down jam?  So I added a few cherries, some brown sugar, and butter extract to the recipe.  YES!  It smelled just like the cake when it was cooking and I think tastes like it, too.  Jessica says that the best part is - if she bakes the cake first again, she can just grab a jar of this to "frost" it!  Ha, ha, ha - I just love that girl!

Here's the recipe from Coleen and then my modified recipe...

Coleen's Crushed Pineapple Jam

 (1) 20 oz can of crushed pineapple
unsweetened pineapple juice
3 cups white sugar
(1) box Sure Jell pectin powder

1. Wash your jam jars and keep jars hot.
2. Place your 2 piece jar lids in boiling water, then turn the heat to low.
3. Measure 3 cups of sugar and set it aside.
4. Add enough pineapple juice to the crushed pineapple, to equal 3¼ cups. One 20 ounce can of un-drained crushed pineapple and one six ounce can of unsweetened pineapple juice equals 3¼ cups.
5. Place the fruit + juice + pectin in a six quart, heavy bottomed saucepan and bring the mixture to a rolling boil over high heat.
6. Add the sugar, all at once, and bring back to a full rolling boil (one that can not be stirred down) stirring constantly. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat and skim off (and discard) any foam that is on the surface of the hot jam.  
7. Ladle hot jam into jars, filling to within ¼" of the top.
8. With a clean, warm, damp cloth, quickly wipe off the rims of the full jars and put the two piece lids on.
9. Process the jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Remove and cool in draft-free location on the counter.


Granny's Pineapple Upside Down Jam

 (1) 20 oz can of crushed pineapple
unsweetened pineapple juice
6 maraschino cherries
1/2 tsp imitation butter extract
2 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
(1) box Sure Jell pectin powder

1. Wash your jam jars and keep jars hot.
2. Place your 2 piece jar lids in boiling water, then turn the heat to low.
3. Measure sugar and brown sugar; set it aside.
4. Add enough pineapple juice to the crushed pineapple, to equal 3¼ cups. One 20 ounce can of undrained crushed pineapple and one six ounce can of unsweetened pineapple juice equals 3¼ cups.
5. Place the fruit, juice, and cherries in blender and pulse to chop cherries and ensure no large bits of pineapple. Pour blender contents, butter extract, and pectin in a six quart, heavy bottomed saucepan and bring the mixture to a rolling boil over high heat.
6. Add the sugar, all at once, and bring back to a full rolling boil (one that can not be stirred down) stirring constantly. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat and skim off (and discard) any foam that is on the surface of the hot jam.  
7. Ladle hot jam into jars, filling to within 1/2" of the top.
8. With a clean, warm, damp cloth, quickly wipe off the rims of the full jars and put the two piece lids on.
9. Process the jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Remove and cool in draft-free location on the counter.


So make a batch of yummy jam
and even if you make a mistake,
Lighten Up - Just Laugh.

Be YOURSELF!

I recently taught a beginner's jelly making class.  I was demonstrating that an easy first attempt at jelly begins with fruit juice.  The first half of making jelly is the washing, peeling, chopping, and cooking down the fruit.  If you want an easy start, begin with juice, and skip immediately to the step of boiling the juice.

We used apple juice (be sure you use 100% juice!), sure jell low-sugar powdered pectin, and white sugar.  These directions came right from the sure jell box.

6 cups 100% apple juice
4 cups white sugar
1 box low-sugar sure jell powdered pectin

Measure 4 cups sugar and set aside. 
Place clean jars and lids in pot of water and heat on high.
Pour 6 cups apple juice into another pot.
Mix 1/4 cup of the measured sugar and box of pectin in small bowl.  Stir mixture into juice. 
When pectin and sugar are dissolved, turn on heat and bring juice to full, rolling boil while stirring constantly.
Pour remaining sugar into juice all at once.  Return to full rolling boil for exactly one minute, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat.  Skim foam off top for clear jelly.
Remove jars from hot water and ladle jelly within 1/2 inch of top of jars.
Place lids and rings on jars and water bath in boiling water for 5 minutes.
Remove processed jelly and let cool (out of draft) overnight.

Do you ever get those Ah Ha moments while you are canning?  I had one after this canning class.  The class was much larger than had been anticipated.  I began to get nervous, which makes me talk faster.  I also covered nervousness in school by being class clown.  So the faster I talked and more nervous I got, the more my class was half instruction/ half stand-up comedy. 


 I believe everyone got the instruction they needed (and some entertainment, too).  Nonetheless, I found myself wishing I was more poised.  I very much admire women who are gracious and do not babble as I do.  Then a woman came to me in the kitchen who had very recently experienced a family tragedy.  She thanked me for the class and told me that she had not wanted to even leave the house that night.  But she had come and really enjoyed herself.



That was my Ah Ha moment.  You can find this thought expressed many ways by many writers.  It isn't new, it isn't profound, but it finally resonated for me.  Be Yourself!  I certainly advocate that for others, but hesitate to allow it for myself.  At that moment I realized that what this lovely woman needed that night was not a gracious, poised teacher.  She needed just what I had to offer.


 

There is nothing wrong with admiring qualities in others or trying to improve yourself.  But remember that sometimes you may be just what the Dr ordered for a person near you - just the way you are!

I hope you enjoy some canning this week.  And more importantly, I hope you are happy being YOU!

~Leslie

Contemporary or Classic?

A little of both, if you please...  I'm working on a line of bakery inspired jams. 

I make the "Carrot Cake Jam" that many people have made and it is delicious.  
 
Carrot Cake Jam

• 1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
• 1 1/2 cups peeled chopped pears
• 1 c coconut
• 1/2 c chopped nuts
• 1 (14 ounce) cans crushed pineapple, undrained
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (scant)
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves (scant)
• 6 cups sugar
• 1 (3 ounce) certo liquid pectin

1. Mix everything BUT sugar and pectin in pan.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Bring down to a simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every once in while.
4. Add pectin and bring to a  boil.
5. Add sugar bring to a rolling boil.
6. Take off heat.
7. Fill hot sterile jars.
8. Put lids on.
9. Water bath for 10 minutes.

 I found a recipe for banana jam, which is also super yummy.  I added chopped pecans and call it my "Banana Bread Jam."  
 
Banana Jam 

• 3 cups white sugar
• 1 cup water
• 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 1/2 cups mashed banana
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 6 half pint canning jars with lids and rings

1. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan; bring to a boil, and boil for 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, mashed banana, and cloves. Reduce heat to low; simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens, about 45 minutes. Strain to remove cloves.
2. Ladle jam into the jars, screw on lids, and water bath 10 minutes.

 
I've seen recipes for "Apple Pie Jam," which I have yet to make.  My sis makes it and it is a favorite of hers.  

APPLE PIE JAM




6 c peeled, chopped tart apple

2 c unsweetened apple juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ c sugar

Juice and grated peel of 1 large lemon

¾ cup raisins

1 pkg No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin

Combine apples, lemon peel and juice in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until apples begin to soften.  Remove from heat and whisk in pectin.  Add raisins and cinnamon.Return mixture to a boil.  Boil 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in sugar.  Skim off foam, if necessary.  Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving ¼ inch headspace.  Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.

My boss put a bug in my bonnet when she asked if there was such a thing as a "gingerbread" jam.  I once saw a recipe that claimed to evoke this flavor, but I've lost it without having made it.  (insert tears)...I will find again...I will.

So this is one of my current trends - bakery inspired flavors for jams.  It's one delicious experiment after another.

The last time I was making a batch of Carrot Cake Jam, my wee babe (6'2" offensive lineman) said, "Mom, this IS a good jam recipe.  But sometimes the best thing in the world is just a delicious classic jam.  So keep trying the new recipes - that's awesome.  But don't ever stop making me  strawberry jam every spring and peach jam every summer."  

I loved getting this reminder from my wise son not to abandon my old classic recipes.  Just like the Girl Scout Brownies like to sing - "Make new friends, but keep the old.  One is silver and the other's gold."

What do you like to can best - Contemporary or Classic?

Granny's Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Bad Labor Day Weekend

Ever have one of those weekends where everything that can go wrong does?  I was practically giddy Friday at work, anticipating a long holiday weekend of canning some favorite recipes.  I had corn "juice" in the freezer and frozen strawberries in the freezer.  For sure, I was going to make some corn cob jelly and strawberry jam.  :)

In high school, I loved the poems of Robert Burns, particularly "To A Mouse."  And the words (anglicized) haunt me still...
"But little Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often awry,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!"

And so went my weekend.  Saturday one thing after another kept coming up and at the end of the day, I had not even begun to can.  I did manage to pick up some lovely cherries and some jalapenos at the market. "No worries," I said to myself - I still have two full days.

Sunday morning there was major communication confusion in the house and I was in a state of frustration.  But by late morning, I was in the kitchen, ready for a little canning therapy.  I put my corn "juice" in the pot, added the pectin, and began to bring it to temperature.  While it was heating up, I began adding water to a pot for heating the jars and water bathing the final product.  The pot doesn't fit under the faucet, so I was filling it quart jarful by quart jarful.  On the last jar of water, I poured it into my pan of corn juice instead of the water bathing pot.  ARGH! Disaster! 




I considered possibilities to remedy the situation, but in the end poured it down the drain (barely holding back the tears).  Undaunted, I immediately went to the freezer and pull out 5 cups of blueberries.  I put them in a pot with the recipe amounts of water and lemon juice.  I chopped up jalapeno peppers and put them in another pot with the recipe amounts of vinegar.  I've made jalapeno/blueberry jelly many times, so this was a no brainer.  Unless this is the weekend you have become the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz (no brain).  I used powdered pectin on auto-pilot without thinking about it.  I should have noticed when the directions told me to add sugar first, then pectin that it called for liquid pectin.  So following the recipe, I made 6 lovely 1/2 pints of jalapeno/blueberry SYRUP!


 
I decided to call it a day and try again Monday.  By golly, I WOULD successfully can something yummy this weekend!  My daughter came over Sunday with these huge, gorgeous brown turkey figs.  So Monday morning I went and bought some figs (as if I didn't already have enough produce to process).  Fig jam CANNOT be messed up and I was in serious need of some canning happiness.  Fortunately, all went well and I ended up with 9 half-pints of yummy Mixed Fruit Fig Jam by late Monday morning.

Encouraged by this success, I made something my friend has been harassing me to try for about a year - Bacon Jam.  It sounded disgusting the first time I heard her say it, but the curiosity grew on me.  So I made Bacon Jam (a pressure canner product, not a water bath product).

 


I modified several recipes, which all asked for these ingredients in varying amounts.  It makes a bacon spread, which was yummy on biscuits with either white cheddar or with grape jam.  It was a big hit at work and I brought home a jar all but licked clean!

Bacon Jam

2 lb bacon

2 lg onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

4 Tbsp brown sugar

2/3 c (decaffeinated) coffee

½ c apple cider vinegar

1/3 c maple syrup

·         Cut bacon in 1” strips. Cook until crisp. Crumble and set aside. Cook onion and garlic in bacon fat until translucent, then drain.  Combine all ingredients in pan.  Simmer until the liquid is reduced. As bacon and onions are spooned into hot, prepared jars, tilt spoon to pour off excess liquid. Cooled jars will have bacon grease solidified in top of jar.  To serve, heat jar (without lid) in microwave for 30 seconds.  Grease is easily removed with a spoon prior to serving.

·
Pressure can in 1/2 pint jars at 10 lbs for 75 minutes.

FYI - My sweet hubby loved the jalapeno/blueberry syrup on jalapeno poppers and drizzled over cornbread.  So Granny's Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Bad Labor Day Weekend turned out okay after all.  No matter how long you can and jam, no matter how many times you've made a recipe - stuff happens.  Try not to get too worked up.  Just pull some more produce out and try again. :)  Happy Canning!

    

 

Old Dogs and Young Pups

Forget what you've heard - old dogs can learn new tricks.  I'm pretty sure that continual learning IS the trick to not getting "old."  

Not that I am very old, mind you. Yeah, the first computer my hubby and I had was in DOS...and I had a crush on Davy Jones and David Cassidy as a young teen (google them if the names are strange)...and I remember mom paying extra to get a private telephone line instead of a party line in one little town where we lived...okay, fine, I really AM getting old.

It is good to appreciate the old ways, but learn the new ones, too. And in the best of both worlds, the old and young are both enriched by teaching to and learning from each other.

This old dog received a lesson tonight from a young pup on how to set up a blog.  Thank you, Marquesas, for your patience and generosity of spirit. 

I will be sharing some food preservation recipes and skills that many consider "old ways."  I anticipate learning from others older and younger than myself and look forward to the journey.  Whether you are experienced at food preservation, a newbie, or just want to get started, I hope you will join me.

~Leslie