Mango Heat Jam

Good Monday morning Jammers!  I sure hope you all are enjoying the warmth of these June days.  We have spent a few days on the beach and even more days working the gardens.  The hottest days are upon us and the tomatoes are thriving.  We are hoping we can keep up with their watering needs! I can’t wait to plant some cooler weather varieties soon…it won’t be long.

I celebrated my birthday week before last.  I am an unmentionable forty-something and, so, my twelve year old son thought it would be funny to wrap up some adult diapers for me to open at the party.  Boy, was I red  but, we all had a huge laugh, none bigger than his was though.  I was blessed with tons of friends and family, some great burgers and food along with a wonderful cake.  The cake was a half sheet cake and it was almost demolished (which is unusual with this crowd).   I am a very lucky girl with some outstanding friends and the best family…I was surprised with a new Kindle (and books for it), a food dehydrator, my new pressure canner/cooker (thanks to Mom and Dad), canning goodies (like a new jar lifter, specialty sized/shaped jars, kitchen towels, and a pack of the new dissolvable jar labels) and 5 cases of canning jars.  There were so many gifts, I’ll never list them all…clothes, candy, gorgeous needlework on a new bread basket towel, dinner out, cash.and the list just goes on and on and on… I can’t wait to try something in the pressure cooker.  I’m still nervous about it though…Mom told me when I opened it to remember the bad burns that Mabert had from one, one time.  Sigh.  I WILL conquer my fear…someday soon.

         

Two of my gifts were “new” items to the Ball canning line.  One was the new ergonomic jar lifter.

  I used it today and am SUPER impressed at how easy it is to use one handed.  I am in love with it and can’t believe it took them this long to come out with something like this.  The spring in the hinge makes using it a breeze.  See the link here http://astore.amazon.com/jamfrothehea-20/detail/B004QEAQ4G

The labels were a welcome surprise to my hearth as I had not seen them before. 

They are dissolvable when you wash the jar but have a good adhesive to hold them in place while you enjoy your bounty.  Check them out here http://astore.amazon.com/jamfrothehea-20/detail/B004NGVIIK

My honey stopped by the store last Friday and brought home some mangoes that were on sale, five of them.  I pureed one and made a yummy fruit rollup in the dehydrator.  I took the other four and, just for my honey, made a mango jalapeño jam.  I was going for a sauce, similar to the Jalaberry Sauce, but of course…the powdered pectin that hadn’t been working too good the last few times worked great!  So, instead of sauce I got jam…go figure.    I was able to use the rest of some peppers I had bought a while back and am glad they didn’t go to waste.  We immediately enjoyed a huge serving of this one over some softened cream cheese with those half cracker half pretzel crisps.  It was a heavenly sweet-hot lunch!  I can’t wait to use it as a glaze on some big juicy chicken breasts I have out in the deep freezer.

Mango Heat Jam

4 cups prepared fruit (about 4 large or 5 medium fully ripe mangoes)
4 Jalapeños (I seeded 2 and left 2 intact)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl
1/2 teaspoon butter
1 and 1/3rd packets powdered fruit pectin

                

Preheat canner and prepare jars and lids. Peel and pit mangos. Puree fruit thoroughly, in a blender, one mango at a time adding the peppers with the last mango. Measure exactly 4 cups prepared fruit mixture into a large (6-8 qt) pot. Stir in lemon juice until blended. Stir sugar into fruit mixture in the pot. Bring it to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred down) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in butter and pectin. Return to full rolling boil and boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

        

Remove pan from heat and quickly skim off any foam from the top. Ladle the jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth and add the lids and rings, turning the rings until just finger-tight. Place the jars in the preheated canner and bring canner to a full rolling boil. Process jars for 10 minutes (adjusting according to your altitude, if necessary) then remove canner from heat. Let canner sit for 5 minutes, then, carefully remove hot jars from water with a jar lifter, place them on a towel on the counter and leave them undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals before storing and use within 12 months.

Makes about 7 half pint jars

      

This one is sure to be hidden in the back of the pantry and reserved only for personal use on special occasions.  It is a wonderful blend of mango and jalapeño, sweet yet savory with a smooth pepper flavor. 

Remind me to pull it out the next time you come by, I’d love to share a nibble with all my local Jammers.

Have a great week everyone.  Till next time, Be Blessed and Be Sweet!

Golden Sunshine Jam

G’morning everyone!  We spent the afternoon on the beach yesterday and had a wonderful time.  The Ocean may have taken one of our Frisbees as an offering but returned to us some beautiful things including a gorgeous black porous rock, some interesting slugs in beautiful shells that loved crawling up our hands before we put them back in the water and a great show put on by some crazy dolphins that were busy flapping their tails on top of the water and making some huge splashes.  It was a beautiful day and we had a great time together running, playing and feeding the gulls.  Speaking of the gulls, does anyone know exactly how many different kind of seagulls there are in Northern Florida?  We noticed 3 distinctive types of them, all in one group.  Sounds like a great homeschool research project for a certain 12 year old that I know…cough, cough. 

I had a request for a mango jam and the last time we were at the big Farmer’s Market we scored a good deal on some beautiful fruits, including 4 huge mangoes.  BTW, I checked, and it can be spelled mangoes or mangos, either way is correct.  The vendor let us taste these mangoes and said the whole shipment of them were string free.  I thought these would be perfect for jam since some of them that I have bought in the past can be really stringy and fibrous.  It also helped that she let us taste one right there and you just know they melted in our mouths.  They were juicy and oh-so-sweet.  They were ripe, but not overly ripe, so it allowed me a few days before I had to make my batch.  This one is, like my Ape For Bananas Jam, made specifically for my nephew who has severe food allergies.  I had to modify a basic recipe that I found online to not include any butter.  I hope he is able to enjoy this one, too.

I did some research on mangoes before I made the jam and learned a LOT about them.  Here’s a bit of what I gathered from the web.  Mango trees are indigenous to India and are often used (fruit and leaves) in weddings since it’s considered a symbol of love.  It is the national fruit of India, the Philippines and Pakistan.  The mango is considered the “king” of all fruit, worldwide.  And who would’ve thought that mangoes were related to poison oak and poison ivy!  You can get the same rash from handling green mangoes, even the leaves and sap so, of course, you should NEVER burn the wood from a mango tree.  It will cause serious eye and lung irritation.  Other distant relatives are the pistachio and the cashew.   The skin can cause a rash, like poison oak or ivy, in or on the mouth so it is typically not eaten. 

Since mangoes represent love, it was a perfect jam to make for my nephew.   The result was stunningly beautiful in the jar and the texture was perfectly set.  I have finally succeeded in getting a firm set on something.  I think it may be the 2 full pouches of pectin…I’m on to something here, I just know it.  While I was potting the gorgeous jam all I could keep thinking was “liquid sunshine”, over and over again.  In honor of the pure beauty of this, I am calling it my Golden Sunshine Jam. 

Golden Sunshine Jam

4 cups prepared fruit (about 4 large or 5 medium fully ripe mangoes)
2 Tbsp.  fresh lemon juice
7-1/2 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl
2 pouches Liquid Fruit Pectin

Preheat canner and prepare jars and lids. Peel and pit mangos. Puree fruit thoroughly, in a blender, one mango at a time. Measure exactly 4 cups prepared fruit into a large (6-8 qt) pot. Stir in lemon juice until blended. Stir sugar into fruit mixture in the pot. Bring it to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred down) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin. Return to full rolling boil and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove pan from heat and quickly skim off any foam from the top. Ladle the jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth and add the lids and rings, turning the rings until just finger-tight. Place the jars in the preheated canner and bring canner to a full rolling boil. Process jars for 10 minutes (adjusting according to your altitude, if necessary) then remove canner from heat. Let canner sit for 5 minutes, then, carefully remove hot jars from water with a jar lifter, place them on a towel on the counter and leave them undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals before storing and use within 12 months.

Makes about 9 half pint jars (I did 7 half pints and 1 pint)

My Mabert’s 85th birthday was this week.  I sent her a box that included a jar of the strawberry lime, banana and mango jams that I had made.  She was thrilled to get it and left me the sweetest message last night.  I can’t wait to call her back later and see which one she tried first.  She said she had never had nor seen mango or banana jams.  I was just glad to be sharing with her some of her inspiration and teachings and it filled my heart to send her package to her.  I love you Mabert!

Till next time, Be Blessed and Be Sweet!

Ape For Bananas Jam

Good morning Jammers!  Wow, what a stormy day we had, here in the South, yesterday.  We sure needed the rain, though…both gardens are loving the water, I’m sure.  I don’t remember if I mentioned it but I made a homemade organic garden spray to keep the critters, insects and bugs from munching on my leaves.  It is working great!  My baby leaves were getting chewed but I started using this spray once a week and nothing has touched them since.  It’s my own combination of jalapeños and garlic pureed and steeped in a bit of water, rubbing alcohol and dish detergent.  I am impressed with the formula I created! 

About 10 days ago I decided to have a banana day.  I picked up the half priced, taped, extra ripe, ready to use bananas at the grocery store for .29 cents a pound.

 

I made another batch of my Mojo Bananas Foster Jam…………………………………..……..see (http://jamminfromthehearth.blogspot.com/2010/10/mojo-bananas-foster-jam.html), this time leaving out the butter, increasing the pectin to one and a half pouches of liquid pectin and decreasing the rum extract to 1 teaspoon, in hopes my nephew with extreme food allergies may be able to enjoy it.

     

I also made a new one, especially for him, that is a plain banana jam.  It came out so finger lickin’ good…I know you’ve heard this before, but…I think I have a new favorite jam!  Both batches that day came out so good and are wonderful all by themselves.  Yes, I admit, you can catch me in the fridge with nothing but a jar and a spoon with both of these.  Actually…I’ll be right back!

Mmmmmm, now where was I?  Oh yeah, in honor of my nephew who is 5 years old and has severe multiple food allergies AND in honor of his awesome parents that devote so much to making sure he is healthy and happy, please research and show support for http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/.  I never knew what some families have to go through just to make sure their child lives to see their next birthday.  My heart goes out to these families!  It sickens me to no end to hear someone mock or belittle a child with food allergies.  I know of another family that lost their young daughter a few years ago over peanuts.  Please show your support by simply being informed and most of all, tolerant.  It’s the kharmetic (is that a word?  if not, it should be) thing to do.  You know…”do unto others"…that Golden Rule that is the basis for most religions and/or ethical societies?  You never know what position you will be in some day and how would YOU want to be treated by others?  Be a good example for others, especially our impressionable young ones.  They are simply mirrors of their environment…be what you want them to be.  These kids with food allergies deserve as normal of a childhood as they can get.  I hope my nephew is able to enjoy some of the jam I am making for him.  The only question is in the pectin, but I know his Mom will research and contact the company, if needed, before giving him any.  My fingers are crossed…If not then I will be making him some wonderful peach jam when they come in season without any added pectin.  I’ll call this one, for him, my Ape For Bananas Jam.

Ape For Bananas Jam

10 medium bananas
6 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
1 teaspoon Fruit Fresh ascorbic acid crystals
5 cups sugar
1 and 1/2   3oz pouches liquid pectin

Preheat canner and prepare jars and lids. Thoroughly mash bananas until smooth, I used a hand emulsifier and got beautiful results.  Combine mashed bananas, lemon juice and Fruit Fresh in a large, deep, pot and then add sugar. 

        

Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in pectin and boil for 1 minute.

Remove pan from heat and quickly skim off any foam from the top. Ladle the jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth and add the lids and rings, turning the rings until just finger-tight. Place the jars in the preheated canner and bring canner to a full rolling boil. Process jars for 10 minutes (adjusting according to your altitude, if necessary) then remove canner from heat. Let canner sit for 5 minutes, then, carefully remove hot jars from water with a jar lifter, place them on a towel on the counter and leave them undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals before storing and use within 12 months.

Makes about 8 half pint jars (I did 4 half pints and 2 pints)

This is a shot of both banana batches that day.  I will be giving away limited ones of this for sure…it is a new fridge staple!

Oh yeah, I made my first chocolate cheesecake last week for a dear friend’s birthday.  Maybe I’m not cut out to make cheesecakes…it wasn’t bad BUT it was awful dense and seemed to get better after 2 days in the fridge as opposed to just 24 hours.  Oh well, C'est la vie!

Check back soon for the next post…I picked up some beautiful mangoes at the Farmers Market.  BTW, the Farmers Market (our main one downtown) has been in the news recently in regards to price savings of roughly 50% over all grocery stores since there is no middle-man.  I am a believer and have been going at least every other week.  They are open 7 days a week and the prices are great.  There is a HUGE variety of things and it is so much fresher than the grocery store selection.  Look out for your local markets and see what I mean.

Till next time, Be Blessed and Be Sweet!

Strawberry Vanilla Syrup

Howdy Jammers!  Sorry it’s taken me so long to get this last strawberry batch posted.  We have been super busy here at the cottage with yard and garden work (we have spring fever), plus I wanted to give this last batch as long as I could before giving up any hope for it being anything more than a syrup.  As you can see by the title of this one, syrup is what I got.  It’s thick but still syrupy, none the less.  I don’t want to call it a failed jam, that sounds negative, and would effect the taste of it simply by the forethought that it was failed.  I prefer to simply change the name based on the outcome and give it to someone who will instantly think of it as a perfect “sauce” or “syrup” and will be none the wiser!  It’s a trick that my Mabert taught me…nothing is ever a complete failure and no one has to know it was ever meant to be something different (unless you tell them).  You can also think of it as truly making the best with what you have.  Focus on the positive and never dwell on the negative, she would say. 

I mentioned that I would tell you about my favorite sugar to use in my creations.  It is Domino brand sugar and we buy it by the ten pound bag from the local warehouse style store. It is superfine granulated sugar and the texture is so very fine, almost powdery, but not a true powdered sugar.  It dissolves quickly and thoroughly in everything I use it in from my infamous sweet tea, to powdered drink mixes for the Scouts and now in my jams and jellies.  I never have sugary clumps and it dissolves very quickly, even in cold liquids.  When I first open a new bag I get a nose full of sugar dust, because it is superfine, and all I can think about is how glad I am that I don’t have a candle burning too close to it or that I don’t smoke anymore… Did you know that sugar dust is combustible if exposed to sparks or flame?  Be careful with the sweet stuff…in more ways than one!

Now a few weeks ago, I bought the flat of strawberries and had just enough left for a third batch of jam and decided to try a strawberry vanilla jam which turned out to be a wonderful strawberry vanilla syrup.   When I went to gather my ingredients I could not find my whole vanilla beans and decided to heed my Mabert’s advice…use what you have and make it work, so I pulled out the pure vanilla extract.  I always place a few dabs behind my ears and on my wrists when working with my vanilla, it is such a comforting smell.  I hope you enjoy this syrup and I can’t wait to hear how you end up using it.

Strawberry Vanilla Syrup

4 pints strawberries, hulled and pureed (I used the food processor)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
7 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter
1 pouch liquid pectin

Preheat canner and prepare jars and lids. Combine pureed strawberries, sugar, vanilla and butter in a large, deep pot and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved and mixture can not be stirred down.  Stir in pectin and boil for 1 minute.

Remove pan from heat and quickly skim off any foam from the top. Ladle the syrup into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth and add the lids and rings, turning the rings until just finger-tight. Place the jars in the preheated canner and bring canner to a full rolling boil. Process jars for 10 minutes (adjusting according to your altitude, if necessary) then remove canner from heat. Let canner sit for 5 minutes, then, carefully remove hot jars from water with a jar lifter, place them on a towel on the counter and leave them undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals before storing and use within 12 months.

Makes about 9 half pint jars.  I did 5 half pints and 2 pint jars in my batch.

I am not sure if it was the fact that I pureed the fruit, used the extract instead of the bean or if it was the pectin but I ended up with a beautiful velvety syrup that is perfect over french toast.  I have also stirred it into plain greek style yogurt and even blended it into milk for a fresh frothy treat.  It is fabulous and so much fresher than any store bought syrup I have had.  I love it and hope it turns out just like this next time, too!

I made a new banana jam that I will post next time.  Till then, Be Blessed and Be Sweet!

Jalaberry Sauce

Good Monday morning Jammers!  Hope you all had a fabulous weekend…I did.  Both gardens are fully planted for spring and we are looking forward to an amazing bounty in a few weeks.  The home garden was fun to build, it’s our first year doing one here.  In the past we have container gardened but this will be the first year for an actual bed this size.  We went with a raised bed measuring 6ft. x 15ft and I have spent the last week hauling load after load of dirt from the front yard to the back yard one wheelbarrow load at a time.  We tore up the old sod out front and needed to excavate 5-6 inches of dirt before we replant grass. I have never been so happy to finish a project, whew!  My back is killing me but I have enjoyed building the garden and getting it planted. 

Last weekend, if you recall, I bought a flat of strawberries and made three different varieties of jam.  Well, I think that I have learned something about working with strawberries…I over processed my berries and none of the batches seemed to get a good set.  I read that instead of hand mashing them with a fork you could pulse them in the food processor, which I did, but I over pulsed them.  I had some chunks but all of my jars ended up with a liquidy clear bottom 2/3rds of the jar and the top 1/3rd was fruity.  I am guessing that this had something to do with the soft set results I got.  It worked out fine for the first batch, which was the Refreshing Strawberry Lime Jam, which was a medium set and I will still refer to as a “jam”.  The second batch I did that day was a special request for my sweetie, a strawberry jalapeño blend I came up with.  Let’s put it this way, I have renamed it from “jam” to “sauce” which is perfect for this flavor combination, anyway.  We have gone through 2 jars in a week, if that tells you anything. 

I focused on the intensity aspect of the strawberries, again for this batch, and looked to the jalapeños for protection.  When doing our spring cleaning/cleansing of the house I also wanted to make sure to envision a strong protective bubble around it protecting my hearth and family from any negativity and ugliness that seems to be everywhere in the world right now.  This sauce serves the purpose, for sure!  It’s very powerful.

JalaberrySauce

 

4 pints strawberries, hulled and hand crushed (NOT pureed)
3/4 cup minced jalapeno peppers (about 5 medium, including seeds
                                                                    and veins)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 (2 ounce) package powdered fruit pectin
7 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter

Preheat canner and prepare jars and lids. Combine crushed strawberries, jalapeños, lemon juice and butter in a large, deep pot and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved and mixture can not be stirred down.  Stir in pectin and boil for 1 minute.

        
Remove pan from heat and quickly skim off any foam from the top. Ladle the jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth and add the lids and rings, turning the rings until just finger-tight. Place the jars in the preheated canner and bring canner to a full rolling boil. Process jars for 10 minutes (adjusting according to your altitude, if necessary) then remove canner from heat. Let canner sit for 5 minutes, then, carefully remove hot jars from water with a jar lifter, place them on a towel on the counter and leave them undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals before storing and use within 12 months.

Makes about 9 half pint jars.  I did 5 half pints and 2 pint jars in my batch.

This sauce is so savory and peppery but NOT flaming hot so it doesn’t leave you with a burning throat but does give you a wonderful burst of jalapeño flavor combined with a sweetness that is the perfect combination.  So far it has been used in this house as a glaze for pork chops (not once but twice), a wonderful addition to warmed cream cheese and crackers and was the best sauce we have ever used with fried mozzarella cheese sticks.  We were also brave and used it to dip Jalapeño Poppers in and ……eeekkkk, I just drooled on my keyboard….oh-my-gosh were they incredible!  I would like to figure a way to make a salad dressing with it too…any ideas on how I could make a vinaigrette out of it?  I am also thinking of brushing it on burgers at the last minute next time we grill out.

Enjoy the sauce…remember, jams and jellies are never failures they just morph into something else with another use.  Waste not, want not!

Next time I will talk about my preference for sugar in my jams, butters, jellies and sauces.  I do have a specific brand I prefer to use and I will share why, along with the final strawberry batch.

Till then…Be Blessed and Be Sweet!

Refreshing Strawberry Lime Jam

Good morning Jammers!  Spring is right around the corner, officially, but we have been celebrating early for the past few weeks.  The weather has been gorgeous and in the mid to upper 80’s over the last 3 or 4 weeks.  I’ve got babies in the ground at the community garden and need to harvest out the rest of our cabbage soon.  With the great weather we have had, I decided a trip down to the main Farmers Market, downtown, was in order.  I mean, what better way to honor the warmth of the sun and the beginnings of our seasonal bounty from Mother Earth?  We decided to meet up with some great friends that are seasoned veterans of the Market and headed out early last Saturday morning.  I was very surprised and the variety and prices of everything there.  I picture myself becoming a Market junkie by the time summer arrives.  My goal was strawberries, which are in peak season right now, and peanuts.  I came home with both of them plus a huge bounty of delicious goodies like squash, corn, mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, cucumbers, tiny creamer potatoes, green beans, onions, radishes and even a mango. 

                

We have feasted like royalty these last few days.  I also picked up a bag of limes for one of the jams I wanted to make.  Turns out I only needed a few limes and ended up with a lot left over so today I made a new recipe and it is awesome!  It is a honey limeade and I am in love,  I can’t wait to try it as a margarita base.  I spent all of Saturday with a HUGE pot of raw peanuts smothered with bayou seasoning, salt and red pepper flakes boiling on the stove.  In true Southern form (my Papa would be so proud) I left them boiling all day (almost 7 hours) and they are some of the best I have ever had.  We put them in freezer bags in individual serving packs and will be able to reheat them anytime we want peanuts!  My Papa always had bags of boiled peanuts in the big freezers with the rest of the garden’s bounty and meats.  He and my MaBert had 3 huge freezers that were always stocked in their basement.  There was also a full kitchen down there for canning and shelf after shelf full of mason jars of beans, soups, jams, jellies, pickles, tomatoes and anything else you could think of to can and YES, they grew it all.  I really miss those days of sitting perched on a stool watching her can.  I was her audience as I was always watching her and she was always busy showing and telling me about everything she was doing whether it be gardening, sewing, cooking or canning.  I would just sit by her side for hours on end watching and talking. 

I spent Sunday making three batches of strawberry jams with the flat of perfect berries we picked up. I have to thank my reader, Andrea, for the idea for the first batch, a strawberry lime jam.  It came out perfect and she was right, the flavors are VERY complementary.  The properties of lime are for cleansing and one of the things strawberries are known for is intensity.  Those traits are oh-so fitting for this time of year.  We have spent our inside days, of late, cleaning and purging the house.  Call it spring fever, I suppose, but it's spring and time for some deep cleaning, whether it be flower beds, veggie gardens, closets or cabinets now is the time!  Strawberry lime jam is a perfect representation of our season.  When I first went into the kitchen on Sunday morning to prepare my work area the first thing I did was open the windows.  A dear friend of mine, Trish Telesco, writes that in the kitchen your windows represent vital energy, refreshment and winds of change.  As the cross-breezes played with my recipes on the counter my mind kept thinking about how refreshing it felt and when I started zesting the limes the smell was nothing short of refreshing.  In honor of that sentiment I call this one my Refreshing Strawberry Lime Jam.

Refreshing Strawberry Lime Jam

4 pints strawberries, hulled and crushed
7 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons grated lime peel
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 pouch liquid pectin


Preheat canner and prepare jars and lids. Combine crushed strawberries, lime zest, and lime peel in a large, deep, pot and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved and mixture can not be stirred down.  Quickly stir in pectin and boil for 1 minute.
        
Remove pan from heat and quickly skim off any foam from the top. Ladle the jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth and add the lids and rings, turning the rings until just finger-tight. Place the jars in the preheated canner and bring canner to a full rolling boil. Process jars for 10 minutes (adjusting according to your altitude, if necessary) then remove canner from heat. Let canner sit for 5 minutes, then, carefully remove hot jars from water with a jar lifter, place them on a towel on the counter and leave them undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals before storing and use within 12 months.

Makes about 9 half pint jars.

This jam is my new favorite.  It has a perfect blend of flavors and a very spreadable texture.  I just finished a hot buttermilk biscuit with this jam and it was heavenly.  Thank you Andrea for the inspiration and the suggestion.    Too bad you live so far away or you could come by the Hearth for a visit and some biscuits with jam!  My sweetie has a new favorite and I will share that recipe with you next time.  We enjoyed its heated sweetness last night as a glaze on 2 inch thick boneless porkchops and they were amazing…stay tuned and I will have it up in the next few days.

Till then...Be Blessed and Be Sweet!

Drunken Bacon Jam

Good February Morn, Jammers…Happy Valentine’s Day!  It’s been a while, I know, but we are eagerly awaiting the spring harvest season so we can get back to finding some decent produce around here.  How about you…have you been keeping toasty and busy this winter?  Let me know what you have been into…I have missed you all!  I envisioned myself canning right through the winter but alas the lack of decent produce put a damper on any good recipes so I am patiently waiting on spring and the bounties that will follow the return of the warm weather.

I mentioned to my son, the other day, how much I missed canning and writing about it and we were discussing the weather and crop cycles.  We are both ready to hit the Farmers Market for some sweet succulent goodies.  We went down to our plot at the community organic garden on Saturday and harvested some of our lettuces (tonight is salad night) and a head of our cabbage.  When we were finished we walked over to the Green Market and picked up some beautiful tri-color carrots and broccoli and dinner last night was super fresh and oh-so-yummy.  We used our homemade garlic butter on the cabbage and added a super thick baked pork chop to round out the menu.  We have really loved making our own butter lately and up next will be a honey butter (which would have been mouthwatering on those steamed carrots tonight).  We have our first spring crop seedlings already coming up in my starter trays.  We will have 2 tomato and 2 cucumber varieties, zinnias, zucchini, crookneck squash, green onions, bibb lettuce and some lima beans.  Today at lunch we turned a boneless chicken breast into some yummy seasoned shredded chicken and topped it with a bit of ranch dressing and shredded cheddar as lettuce wraps with the leaves from one of our young iceburg heads that we harvested.  They were the best I have ever had!

             

The last month or so I have seen several postings and articles about a jam and I was not sure how I felt about it.  I mean, it’s not your typical sweet jam, heck…it’s not even a typical fruit jam.  It is considered a refrigerator jam so you don’t actually can it to eat later.  It should be eaten within a week of making it.  Ball makes a special jar for using in freezer and refrigerator jams but I didn’t have any and figured that since it had to be eaten so quickly any of my airtight containers would work…that is IF I decided to make it.  I mentioned it to my son and he about gagged and was (and still is) pretty geeked out by the thought of it.  I mean, bacon jam, really now???  When I mentioned it to my honey and said how our son had reacted I was not prepared for the reaction I got….”oh-my-gosh can you make it NOW”.  A list was made of the ingredients I found on the recipe I got from a Facebook page I follow and within 5 days what was needed was purchased.  Then it began…”are you going to make it today”, “is today the day”, “oh honeyyyy”.  Well, yesterday was, finally, the day.  When I got up I decided to check email before heading to the kitchen and found two other postings from different sources for bacon type jams.  I thought it was kind of ironic so I clicked on them and noticed that they were not all the same recipe!  I had purchased bacon based on the first recipe I saw (which called for 1 1/2 lbs. of thin sliced store brand plain bacon) and here this new recipe called for 1 lb. of thick sliced fruitwood smoked bacon.  The first one did not call for any spices but this one did.  It sounded so much better but I did not have the right bacon and onion type.  So, doing what I do best, I made it my own.  I combined what I liked from 3 of the different recipes and instead of calling mine Burbon Bacon Jam (we did not have any burbon in the house only an unopened 40+ year old bottle of scotch) I renamed it Drunken Bacon Jam.  Talk about the perfect breakfast spread, check this out…

Drunken Bacon Jam

1 1/2 lbs. thin sliced, plain bacon, cut into 1″ pieces
2 medium sweet onions, cut into 1/4″ thick pieces
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch fresh grated nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon dry chipotle pepper powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup brewed coffee
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup premium quality Scotch
1/4 cup maple praline syrup
1 tablespoon hot sauce

                        

In a large skillet over medium high heat cook the bacon pieces until the begin to crisp at the edges but are still soft in the center (in batches), about 1 – 1 1/2 minutes per side. Set aside to drain. Pour all but one tablespoon of the bacon drippings from the pan.

Lower the heat to medium-low and add the onion and brown sugar. Cook until the onions are well caramelized, about twenty minutes. Add the garlic and spices and cook an additional five minutes.

Add the liquid ingredients and the bacon to the pan. Increase the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about two hours. Check the mixture every 30 minutes. If it becomes too dry, add a few tablespoons of water. You will want the final mixture to be moist and very sticky.

     

Let the mixture cool, then, put it into the bowl of a food processor and pulse about 20 - 25 times, or until it reaches your desired consistency. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.  Makes approximately 1 scant pint.

        

Oh my…you have never tasted heaven until you have tasted this!  We love spicy and this sure fits the bill for us.  It has quite a bit of heat that lingers in the back of your throat but not enough to actually burn.  It looks like mince meat but tastes wonderful in comparison.  Last night it was used as a topping for a baked pork chop and we can’t wait to smear some on a crusty piece of toasted baguette.  I’ve heard a lot of talk about bacon doughnuts so maybe as a filling?!?!  I think a dab in the middle of a bowl of hot buttered grits would be delectable (is that a real word?). This is a perfect Valentine’s delicacy, a little naughty but a whole lot nice…sinfully delicious!  This is a new hit and one I would consider marketing it is so divine and unique. 

We are supposed to be 80 degrees by next week and are hoping it will last.  I need to get out and find some strawberries here in the next week or so.  We have crops just starting to come in from our organic farmers at the market and I need to figure out what I want to try this time with them…any ideas or suggestions?  Let me hear from you.

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I hope each one of you has a wonderful day today spending the day doing what you love to be passionate about…whatever it may be, enjoy doing it.  Really love something today, whether it be something yummy or someone yummy, your heart will thank you. 

Join me in counting the days until our spring bounty arrives and know that I will be back full swing sharing what I do.  Till then, Be Blessed and Be Sweet!