I am on a quest.
I am on a quest for the best pb & j ever.
To Do List:
1. Make awesome bread
2. Make awesome peanut butter
3. Make awesome jam
One down; two to go. (And yes, this jam really is awesome.)
What's really nice about this jam is that there is only one ingredient; strawberries. I added balsamic vinegar at the end because I like the combo of strawberries and balsamic so I thought that would put this over the top for me. It's just a personal preference, feel free to leave it out. Other than that, no sugar, no pectin, no unpronounceable artificial stuff, not even salt. This is true to the berries.
Homemade Strawberry Jam
Note: I'm think this would work with most berries. I already tried blueberry jam, so I'm pretty sure it would work.
Ingredients
3 baskets of strawberries, hulled and quartered (see note)
balsamic vinegar
Put all your berries in a nice big pot. I sprayed it with nonstick spray for the sake of taking precautions, and I don't think it'll hurt.
Mash the berries with a potato masher until the berries are nice, juicy, and jam-y. (Remember when I used a food processor last time? I didn't want to clean it, so I just didn't use it. I don't think it made it worse or anything, but if you have the overwhelming urge to scrum berry residue off a food processor, have fun!)
Bring it to a boil...
...and keep it there...
...until it's nice and thick like this.
Like I said above, I added balsamic vinegar at the end. If yo don't want to (or just don't have any,) then you can skip this. Easy, right?
So if you did add the vinegar, just heat the jam back up and stir t around for a bit until everything's nice and combined. Yeah, I probably didn't need to turn the heat off, but I would love to hear your feedback if any of you make this.
So I tried it, and it was good. Very good.
But something with the consistency was off, so I whipped out my trust immersion blender (I have a Cuisinart, but I'm not sure what model it is) and whirled away.
Look at how smooth that is!
So this filled a bit more than one 5 oz. jar, so I guessing it makes about 8 oz.
This jam is so natural and lovely. I'm not sure I've ever tasted better. And it was so easy!
Enjoy!
-Kelly M.
HI!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog. It's in the works, but I would be so honored if you'd leave a comment or maybe even read a little. Thanks!
Showing posts with label jam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jam. Show all posts
Monday, July 18, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Strawberry Oat Squares Take 1
Um...
OK, hear me out. I can explain.
So I woke up at 1 pm here. Yeah, that's late, I know. But it's summer and I'm pretty sure it was a weekend when this happened. There's some justification in that, right? (Let's pretend. Please go along with it.)
I made some breakfast (which can take awhile,) I ate it, and then it was 3 pm.
Maybe I do need a better story.
Anyway, this is the truth. So at 3 pm, Mom and I need to go to the grocery store to pick up supplies. We're going to a 4th of July concert with some family friends who are coming to our house at 5 pm, and it's a potluck. I decide I'm going to make brownies based on this recipe. (P.S. Angela, you rock!)
So by the time we get ready and to the grocery store, it's 3:40 pm. We get out at like 4:18 pm, I think. (Which could easily be record time for us at a grocery store.)
We get home, and I dash up to my room and get the receipt from Angela's web site. Oh no.
Did I fail to notice the 1.5 hrs. of chilling time that could not possibly happen when I'm so late so they would be sitting in 90 degree weather?
Of course I did.
Great.
So I spend another 20 minutes routing through the site, so come up with this recipe. Naturally, I would change a few things, but what could go wrong?
I mean, I have 20 minutes before they get here.
I'm only trying a recipe I haven't made before that is supposed to bake for 30 minutes plus cooling time.
Don't say it. I know.
Fiasco-ed Strawberry Oat Squares with Homemade Jam
Adapted from Oh She Glows
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2t baking soda
1/2t salt
1/2 cup stevia (this is what I use)
1/4 cup liquid egg whites (or about 2 actual egg whites)
1 small container of unsweetened/ no sugar added applesauce
2T unsweetened almond milk (click here or here for brands)
1T unsweetened shredded coconut
2 baskets strawberries, chopped
stevia, to taste
Mash strawberries (with a potato masher) until juicy and jammy.
Boil for 10-20 minutes, considering how thick or strong you like your jam. (The longer it cooks, the more it reduces for heightened flavor. At some point, it does stop thickening and start burning, so be careful.)
In my defense, it didn't have any serving utensil some maybe people wanted it, but simply couldn't get it.
I guess you don't have to play along anymore, but you have to admit, it was kinda fun. :)
I took some nice pics of the fireworks, but the Internet is in a bad mood so it would take me a long, long time to upload everything. I plan to do it later in the week.
By the way, I stuck the leftovers in the freezer (and they taste great.) Sometimes I crumble about half of one on my oatmeal.
You guys, my patient readers, are awesome. (I hope I didn't use readers in the plural for nothing.) ;)
Enjoy!
-Kelly M.
OK, hear me out. I can explain.
So I woke up at 1 pm here. Yeah, that's late, I know. But it's summer and I'm pretty sure it was a weekend when this happened. There's some justification in that, right? (Let's pretend. Please go along with it.)
I made some breakfast (which can take awhile,) I ate it, and then it was 3 pm.
Maybe I do need a better story.
Anyway, this is the truth. So at 3 pm, Mom and I need to go to the grocery store to pick up supplies. We're going to a 4th of July concert with some family friends who are coming to our house at 5 pm, and it's a potluck. I decide I'm going to make brownies based on this recipe. (P.S. Angela, you rock!)
So by the time we get ready and to the grocery store, it's 3:40 pm. We get out at like 4:18 pm, I think. (Which could easily be record time for us at a grocery store.)
We get home, and I dash up to my room and get the receipt from Angela's web site. Oh no.
Did I fail to notice the 1.5 hrs. of chilling time that could not possibly happen when I'm so late so they would be sitting in 90 degree weather?
Of course I did.
Great.
So I spend another 20 minutes routing through the site, so come up with this recipe. Naturally, I would change a few things, but what could go wrong?
I mean, I have 20 minutes before they get here.
I'm only trying a recipe I haven't made before that is supposed to bake for 30 minutes plus cooling time.
Don't say it. I know.
Fiasco-ed Strawberry Oat Squares with Homemade Jam
Adapted from Oh She Glows
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2t baking soda
1/2t salt
1/2 cup stevia (this is what I use)
1/4 cup liquid egg whites (or about 2 actual egg whites)
1 small container of unsweetened/ no sugar added applesauce
2T unsweetened almond milk (click here or here for brands)
1T unsweetened shredded coconut
2 baskets strawberries, chopped
stevia, to taste
Mash strawberries (with a potato masher) until juicy and jammy.
Boil for 10-20 minutes, considering how thick or strong you like your jam. (The longer it cooks, the more it reduces for heightened flavor. At some point, it does stop thickening and start burning, so be careful.)
Meanwhile, while dry ingredients exceptt coconut (flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and stevia) in a large bowl. Mix together wet ingredients (egg whites, applesauce, almond milk) into a small to medium bowl. Add wet ingredient to dry ingredients and mix well without over mixing.
| Totally ignore the baking temperature because you're almost out of time. I baked this at 450 degrees, but it clearly should be 350. (Just like the original said you should.) I was told we were late, so I just pulled them out of the oven after 10-15 minutes of baking, and decided to call it a "crisp" instead of "bars." Yeah, okay. It was really underdone, but it was good. I plan to remake the bars and bake them at the correct temperature for the correct amount of time and let you know how it goes. |
In my defense, it didn't have any serving utensil some maybe people wanted it, but simply couldn't get it.
I guess you don't have to play along anymore, but you have to admit, it was kinda fun. :)
I took some nice pics of the fireworks, but the Internet is in a bad mood so it would take me a long, long time to upload everything. I plan to do it later in the week.
By the way, I stuck the leftovers in the freezer (and they taste great.) Sometimes I crumble about half of one on my oatmeal.
You guys, my patient readers, are awesome. (I hope I didn't use readers in the plural for nothing.) ;)
Enjoy!
-Kelly M.
Labels:
baking,
bars,
dessert,
experiment,
jam,
oats,
recipes,
strawberries
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