Peach Ginger Jam

With the threat of hurricane Irene heading up our way.  Mom, Cindy, Kali and I decided that we should get out Friday in the calm before the storm and pick some peaches at a local farm.  The peaches were at the peak of beauty so I picked a peck of peaches.

Saturday I peeled, sliced and canned some of the peaches in a light syrup.

It started raining, not too heavily late Saturday afternoon, so I decided to start the jam the next day.  To make the light syrup to pack the peaches in, I added 2 1/2 cups of sugar to 7 cups of water, added 2 cinnamon sticks and 1 tbsp of Fruit Fresh to keep the peaches from turning brown, brought it to a boil and then turned off the heat and ladled the hot syrup into the jars packed with peaches.  I processed the sealed jar for 20 minutes in a hot water bath.  All appear to have sealed well.

Sunday the rain and winds really started to pick up so I figured I better get the jam going before we lost electricity.

Peach Ginger Jam

6-7 lbs. of peaches, peeled and chopped.

1 tsp fresh grated ginger

zest and juice of one lemon

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp allspice

Cook down and use a potato masher to mash up the peach pieces.

Add 6 tbsp of fruit pectin and bring to a boil

Add 7 cups of sugar slowly and bring back to a boil for at least one minute.

Test a spoonful on a chilled plate to see if it gels, if not boil for another few minutes and test again.

Fill hot sterilized jars and seal.

Process in a hot water bath for about 10 -15 minutes.

Fortunately I got it all done and the power is still on.

I better go try some on toast (homemade bread) before the power dies.

Plum Jam

Yesterday I was getting ready to celebrate my sister and brother-in-laws 25th Wedding Anniversary, as well as my brother-in-laws birthday.  My brother and nephew were flying in from Albuquerque, NM and my cousin and her new beau were driving up from PA.  All the kids are around as well as my mom so it had to be good.  Since Lobsters were on sale ($4.99/lb!) and I found some steamers for about the same price we decided we had to have a clambake!

I stopped by my local farm stand to grab some fresh picked local corn and the lovely person who worked there was picking through the fruit and pulling out the ‘too ripe’ stuff and asked me if I wanted it.  Absolutely, thinking it was going to be few peaches and a couple of plums.  Next thing I know I am am taking a box load of very ripe plums out to the car, for FREE!

I stuck them in the fridge when I got home but knew I would have to do something quickly with them.  It was going to be hot today, so I got up early and started washing, peeling and chopping up fruit.

Don’t you just love the colors!

Since these were really ripe I dipped them in boiling water for a minute and the skins slid right off.  I pitted and chopped, pitted and chopped.  I dumped them into my big stew pot, added a cup of water and the juice of 2 lemons and let them cook until the fruit started breaking up.

I then strained them into my old chinois and pushed through most of the pulp back into my pot.  I ended up with 11 cups of processed fruit.  Doing the math I mixed together 22 tbsp. of original pectin and one cup of sugar.  Adding sugar to the powdered pectin keeps it from getting lumpy.  I then brought it to a good rolling boil then added 12 cups of sugar, bringing it once again to a rolling boil for several minutes.

I then test at this stage to see if it gels by putting a tea saucer into the freezer to chill.  Once the saucer is chilled I spoon a little of the jam onto it and if it gels it’s ready, if not it goes back on the heat for another 5 minutes.

I am lucky I have a Sanitize option on my dishwasher so I just loaded all the jars and tops in before I started and they were ready to go.

Once they are jarred I then processed them in my canning pot for 6 minutes.  I have to say that I love that ‘pop’ sound the jar tops make when they start to cool, letting me know they are sealed tight.

I just love the color of this jam.  Of course I had to check it out on a piece of toast…. yummy!

Grama Bessie’s Banana Bread

Out of all the banana bread recipes that I have tried, this one is my all time favorite. If you like your banana bread dark and moist, this one is for you too.

Mix together until well incorporated

1 tbsp melted butter

¾ cup light brown sugar

Add 2 eggs one at a time until incorporated.

Add 3 tbsp sour cream

Set aside and sift together into a separate bowl

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups of all purpose flour

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until just incorporated, do not over mix. Then add in 3 very ripe mashed bananas.

Bake in buttered and floured bread pan at 350F for 1 hour.

Let it cool on a rack for 10 minutes, and then remove from the pan. If you can, let it cool for another 20 minutes, but I can never wait.

Welcome

I love to eat and I love to cook, so I thought I would share some of my recipes and ideas here on a blog.

I believe there is nothing better than cooking with love for someone you love and care about and yes, that can cooking for just yourself.  Since I am a single mom to a grown child I am often cooking for just myself and I have slowly learned to cook smaller meals so I am not eating the same leftovers for days on end.

So I hope you enjoy some of my recipes and ideas and I hope you will share some of yours with me.