Spring Jam

A few things I have learned about jam.
1. Sugar light pectin is better than sugar free pectin because sugar free jam goes bad too quickly. It is also better than regular pectin because there is more fruit than sugar.
2. Follow the directions that come with the pectin
3. Sterilizing jars by popping them in the oven for 10-20 minutes is easier than boiling them

It is a very rainy Spring, which does not bade well for strawberries, nevertheless I was out in the Valley this weekend and did manage to find a muddy farmside stand with a few small bland but still tasty berries. Rhubarb does not seem to mind the rain.

I collected a few of the many glass jars I've been saving all winter to make a batch of Strawberry Rhubarb jam.

I followed the directions that came with my box of certo light (pectin) and made four jars of jam. This cost approximately: $5 strawberries, $1.50 rhubarb, $2 pectin, $1 sugar. So, under $10 for four jars of jam. The last time I bought jam it was close to four dollars for one jar, and who knows where those berries came from.

Summer Garlic Dill Pickles

Technically this is my second pickle post. There was no recipe last time though.

The first time I bought pickling cucumbers this summer I lost most of them to "the slime". The second time I caught them just in time. Why don't any pickle recipes warn that pickling cucumbers in a plastic bag in the bottom of your fridge really only last a couple days max? I don't know but there, this one does!

Next, the basics of pickles:

To make the pickles extra crunchy soak your cucumbers in ice water 2-12 hours before pickling them (i skipped this step)

Juice:
1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon salt per cup of mix (e.g. 1 cup vinegar + 1 cup water = 1 Tablespoon salt)

Other Ingredients:
Dill- plenty
Garlic- even more
Carrot stick- for garnish, if you like (I forgot)
Tumeric- for a bit of color if you want (haven't tried it yet)
Other spices- I'm sure you could experiment but I didn't
Pickling cucumbers (this is a special type of cucumber, crunchier than your average cucumber and can be a bit tricky to find in the city- farmers markets often have them but even then I sort of feel like I just have to buy them when they find me)

Directions
1. Sterilize your jars (though both vinegar and salt are preservatives so if you're lazy and skip this step I doubt a roof will fall on your head, or your crack your pickle jars...) by placing in 200 f oven for 10 minutes

2. Place dill stems, leaves and chopped garlic in bottom of glass jars

3. Sliced, quartered or whole- add pickles to your jars

4. Boil "juice" (vinegar-water-salt)

5. Add hot "juice" to jars

6. Screw on lids

7. Let sit for a week or more. They should keep indefinitely, or at least until "the big quake ".

One last note on jars. You can go out and spend a small fortune on brand new pickling jars. You can also often find them at thrift stores or just use glass jars from just about any food (provided they have a lid that pops when pressed on and are clean).

Beeting my way through life

The life of the Unemployed: Pickling, Baking and Sewing Oh My!

Now that I officially have my Master of Occupational Therapy I'm trying out as many occupations as I've neglected over the past two years as possible- and a few new ones!

I've taken to pickling like a cucumber with dill. I was always a bit intimidated by the thought of soggy over-salted pickles but decided I had to do something with the over-abundance of beats in my fridge last week (thanks to a food co-op I joined this year). Well, beats it seems are a rather easy start. Boil, peal, slice, boil up a bit of beat juice-vinegar-sugar-clove concoction and voila! Just like my ma-in-law! Or almost. So, today, on to Dill pickles. Lots of Garlic. And a bit of carrot for color. They have to sit a week so I can't say how they taste but do they look pretty!

1 week later: soggy with bite!