Strawberry Jam

Costco had the biggest container of strawberries ever!  I love Costco - time for some strawberry jam.

To begin, I washed the strawberries and cut the top off.  I cut the strawberries into smaller chunks and put them in a sauce pan.

I ended up with about 6 cups of strawberries.  To this I added 3 cups of sugar.  If you read a jelly or jam recipe, it will usually call for more sugar.  I always find that I need to cut the sugar almost in half otherwise it is too sweet.

I added 10 tablespoons of pectin and 2 teaspoons of butter to counteract any foam that might form.

As that cooked, I took my potato masher and helped break the strawberries apart.  I like chunky jam, but I don't want HUGE hunks.

To help avoid a big mess, I use a canning funnel to get the jelly into hot, sterilized jars.  An easy way to sterilize your canning jars is to stick them in the dishwasher and run it.  Make sure your jars are hot when you put the jelly in.  Otherwise, the jars might break.

Leave about 1/4 inch head space from the top of the jar.  Wipe off the rim of the jar to make sure that the lid will seal.  Put the lids in boiling water and put them on top of the jars.

The jelly needs to be processed in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.  After that time, remove the jars and let them cool.  As they cool, the jars will seal.  You will know that they are sealing because you will hear a popping sound.

After the jars are cooled, press your finger on the lid.  If you can press the lid up and down, the lid didn't seal.  Refrigerate that jar and use it first.

Canning is easy and a lost art!  I taught myself how to do this and if I can, you can too!  Enjoy!

Rasberry Jam

Today was shopping heaven:  Costco!  As I strolled through the aisle, I found two huge containers of strawberries and raspberries.  Time for some more jelly!

The first thing I did was wash the raspberries really good.  I put them in a saucepan and got them cooking.  As the raspberries heated up, I took my potato masher and mashed the berries a little.  I like chunky jam but not huge hunks!

I had about a quart of raspberries.  To this I added 2 cups of sugar and 6 tablespoons of pectin.  I also added 1 teaspoon of butter - this helps cut down on the foam.  If foam does appear, simply skim it off the top before putting in jars.

Some people don't like the seeds.  They strain the mixture through a sieve.  For me, I am more annoyed at the time it takes to strain the seeds out.  Seeds are fine with me!

While the raspberries were cooking I put my canning jars and lids in boiling water.  I do this to sterilize the jars and to heat them up so they don't break when I add the hot jelly.

I used a funnel to get the jelly into the jars.  This helps cut down on a big mess!

The jars need to be processed in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, I took the jars out of the canner.  As the jars cool, they will seal themselves shut.  You know when they have sealed because you will hear a popping sound.  When the jars are cooled, press on the lid to make sure they don't give.  If you are able to pop the lid up and down, refrigerate that jar and use it first.



Enjoy!

Aunt Lily's Moon Cake

I have been on a quest, gathering old family recipes.  Thanks to cousin Jo Agrusa for sharing this recipe from my Aunt Lily.

Dad, Aunt Lily and Uncle Vince

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup margarine

5 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

5 egg whites

1/2 cup crushed walnuts

The first thing I did was separate the yolk/whites from 5 eggs.

Don't look too close- I broke one of my yolks!

In my Kitchen Aid mixer (LOVE), mix the sugar, butter, margarine, egg yolks and vanilla.  Beat until combined.  Add flour and baking powder.

Transfer that to another bowl.  Clean out your mixer bowl and switch attachments so you can whip the egg whites.

The egg whites need to be whipped, on high speed, until stiff peaks form.

See how the egg whites "stick" to the attachment?

Next, fold the egg white mixture into the batter.  Spread the batter in a shallow rectangle pan.  Sprinkle crushed walnuts and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Here is where is got tricky for me.  Cousin Jo said that Aunt Lily used to take a shot glass and cut crescent shapes into the cake..........hard for me to visualize but I did my best!  Sprinkle with powdered sugar and you are ready to eat!

Notice the angle of the camera doesn't allow you to see if I cut it correctly!

This cake is light and fluffy.  It isn't too sweet - just right!  Thanks Cousin Jo for sharing this recipe!

Mangia!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms!

I love mushrooms!  For me, there isn't anything better.  Tonight I felt like some creamy soup so I whipped this up!

Ingredients:

1 cup dried mushrooms
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon thyme
2 pounds sliced mushrooms
3 tablespoons flour
1 pint heavy cream
2 teaspoons butter
Olive oil
Salt Pepper

Place the dried mushrooms in 1 1/2 cups water.  Boil for 30 minutes.  Do not discard the broth that the mushrooms are in.  You will use that in the soup.

Heat up your sauce pan.  My favorite pan to use for soups is my dutch oven.  Add a little butter and oil to your heated pan.  Saute the onions and garlic until translucent - about 5 minutes on medium low heat.  Add the bay leaf, rosemary and thyme.  Do not let the onions/garlic brown.  The garlic will turn bitter.

Add the sliced mushrooms. 

When the mushrooms are brown, add salt and pepper.  Stir and then add the flour.  Stir the flour into the mushrooms.  The flour will make the mushrooms very thick.  Slowly add the mushroom broth, stirring constantly.  Add the reconstituted mushrooms.

Let that simmer and thicken - about 15 minutes.  Add cream.  Stir and let simmer for 15 minutes. 

The soup is easy and very flavorful.  Enjoy!  This recipe is listed on Simple Living and Eating!

Smoked Salmon

At the beginning of the summer I bought a smoker.  I've experimented with it and smoked all kinds of meats:  ribs, chicken (my favorite), and pork.  The only thing I haven't tried is fish. 

I love salmon and I thought what would be better than smoking a salmon!

The first thing I did was prepare the smoker.  In the bottom of the smoker I started a charcoal fire.

The next step is to add a layer of flavor.  My smoker has a bowl to put water in.  To this bowl I added garlic, onion, ginger, lemon, and some fresh parsley.

Next, I seasoned the salmon with some spices.  I had a bottle of Boston seafood seasoning.  I sprinkled that on the fish.  I put the salmon on a cedar plank.

The next step is to close the lid and add some wet fruit wood on top of the charcoal fire.  I used cherry wood.

The salmon smoked for 4 hours.  When it was finished I served it on top of pearl couscous.

If you don't have a smoker, get one!  It is such an awesome addition to your kitchen repertoire.!

Meatballs!

When you have spaghetti, there is nothing like a huge meatball to go with it!  My meatball recipe has evolved over the years.  My Nonna used ground beef, ground pork and ground veal.  I am a one stop shopper and my local Schnucks doesn't have ground veal.  Instead I use ground beef and ground salsiccia (Italian sausage).

To begin making my meatballs, I get some stale bread (about 6 slices or 3 rolls), break them into pieces and soak them in milk.  This will keep the meatballs very moist!  As a variation, you can put some ricotta cheese in the meatballs instead of the milk-soaked bread.

Chop up some parsley

Add some chopped onion (3 tablespoons) and garlic (3 cloves).  Add 3 eggs and 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.

Mix all of those ingredients together with the meat.  Roll into 1-2 inch balls and place on a baking sheet.

Bake in the oven on 300 degrees for 30 minutes.  Finish cooking in spaghetti sauce:  http://rediscovermom.blogspot.com/2012/07/meat-sauce.html.  

These meatballs are a meal in itself!  Mangia!

Pulled Pork

One of my favorite kitchen gadgets is my dutch oven.  I love that you can cook on the stove top and then stick it right in the oven.

Here is a great recipe that combines the sweet and spicy:  pulled pork!

Ingredients:

Pork Butt
Can Dr. Pepper
2 Adobo Peppers
1 bottle of Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
Salt
Pepper

Heat the dutch oven on the stove top.  Sprinkle the pork butt with salt and pepper.  When the dutch oven gets hot, pour a little oil.  When that has heated up, put the pork butt in the pot.  Sear both sides of the roast.

While the meat is searing, take two peppers out of the can and chop them up.  These peppers are really spicy.  If you want your pulled pork to have more of a kick, add more peppers.  Stick the peppers that are left in the freezer.

When the pork is seared, add the peppers, Dr. Pepper, and bottle of BBQ sauce.  Stick the dutch oven in the oven and cook at 250 degrees for 6-8 hours.

When the pork is finished you can take two forks and shred the pork.  Serve the pork on buns and add some pickles.

This recipe is very easy and delicious!