Strawberry Freezer Jam

Strawberry picking just opened on Friday at our local farm.  My children were especially jazzed about strawberries this year.  I did not buy a single pack of strawberries from Florida or California this year.  I had heard that those two states still use a pesticide that is banned in NY state.  My youngest daughter would come home from class talking about how so and so got to eat strawberries and how come his Mom bought him the strawberries.  I replied that I am sure she did not know otherwise she would not have bought them.  Doesn't that suck!  I am sure there is lots of stuff I don't know that I am inadvertently giving to my kids. There are just so many ways to screw up as a parent- how can you avoid it?

The day we picked these I froze some, made some jam and left some for chowing on.  Talk about fresh!

If you use lite pectin you dont have to add as much sugar and of course you can add Splenda if you want to go that route- I don't.  I also like to do freezer jams when it comes to strawberries.  Although this Margarita Strawberry Preserves is an exception to the rule.

Lite Strawberry Freezer Jam

2 cups water
1 – 1.75 oz. box of No or Low Sugar pectin
Sugar or non-sugar sweetener (to your taste preference)


Clean strawberries. Crush strawberries. Measure out 2 cups strawberries, 1 cup water and add up to 1 to 3 cups of sugar or a non-sugar sweetener (to your taste), if desired. Mix thoroughly and let stand 10 minutes. In a saucepan gradually stir in 1 package of No or Low Sugar pectin into 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Boil 1 minute, at a full rolling boil, over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Pour the hot pectin mixture into the strawberries. Stir for 3 minutes. Ladle jam into jelly jars or some type of freezeable container, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Screw or place lids on tightly. Let jam stand in refrigerator until set, about 24 hours. Store in freezer.

If you use regular pectin you need to do something like this. 

Strawberry Freezer Jam

2 cups crushed strawberries
1 – 1.75 oz. box of No or Low Sugar pectin
2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
4 cups sugar

Clean strawberries. Crush strawberries. Measure out 2 cups strawberries and add sugar and lemon juice.  Mix thoroughly and let stand 10 minutes. In a saucepan gradually stir in 1 package of  dry pectin into 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Boil 1 minute, at a full rolling boil, over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Pour the hot pectin mixture into the strawberries. Stir for 3 minutes. Ladle jam into jelly jars or some type of freezeable container, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Screw or place lids on tightly. Let jam stand in refrigerator until set, about 24 hours. Store in freezer.

If you go no pectin than you will have to use a ton more sugar and have to cook it for long periods of time. 

Anyway you decide, you will be rewarded with some summer goodness in the middle of winter.

Coconut Snowballs

Some more pink.  Hey, what can I say,  I have female children.

Such a busy time of year, the end of school.  Plays, concerts, tours, celebrations, picnics, not to mention graduations and Father's Day.  Its fun stuff but its busy.  My young daughters concert was yesterday.  A Too Te Tah, a too te tah, ah to tee tah tah (click to see what I am talking about if you are not familiar) is completely etched into the far reaches of my brain.  I simply cant stop singing that song.  Its driving me coo coo.  I will say it was utterly fantastic to see my husband and mother, who are completely serious type people being all goofy holding their tongue with their eyes closed singing 'to te tah'!  Absolutely priceless people! SO wish I had a camera.  And me, my friend, my daughter's teacher had me pouring lemonade while the whole auditorium was acting all goofy!  I love her!

Snowball in June?  Yup. catch!

Coconut Snowballs


4 egg whites (1/2 cup)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut oil
zest of one lemon
2 cups cake flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
2/3 cup milk

frosting:

2 egg whites
6 tablespoons cold water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form but not dry.  Set aside in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a mixer or large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.  Let run five minutes.  Add vanilla, coconut oil and lemon zest.

In a medium bowl combine sifted flour and baking powder. Add a third of the flour mixture.  Then add half the milk.  Add another third of the flour mixture and then the other half of the milk.  Finally add the remainder of the flour.  Fold in egg whites to the mixture.

Spoon into greased and floured muffin pan or dome pan.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

In a stainless steel bowl combine egg whites, cold water, cream of tartar and sugar.  Beat until combined.  Place bowl over a saucepan with boiling water or in a bain marie.  COntinue beating for about ten to fifteen minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla.  Let cool.

Once cupcake sand frosting are cool, dip in frosting and then in coconut.  You can color the coconut with food coloring if you like.

Edamame and Rice Salad

Love this kind of meal in the summer.  Minimal heat, maximum flavor, low fuss.  The only problem is that my kids don't get into this kind of meal.  All those colors mixed together- how could I?   

I used some fresh tarragon in this dish.  I have to say that its really what made this dish more flavorful.  In the past if I saw this recipe I might have skipped the tarragon.  Don't skip it.  If you cant find it fresh, you could use tarragon vinegar as a substitute. If you have never tried tarragon, it has a slight anise flavor.  My husband and I really enjoyed it. I definitely want to make it again when I can really load it up with fresh basil and parsley.  No, I didn't have basil in the recipe but it would make a great addition, along with some cherry tomatoes. 

So I have to share what happened the other day.  First I must warn you: Never put your kids in the dryer!
I'll explain why she is in the dryer.  Really, I had a perfectly good reason.  You see my daughter decided to leave a green crayon in her shorts pocket.  It was a washable crayon.  Let me tell you, washable does not mean that it comes off easy from dryer walls after it has melted.  Green - all over my dryer... and my clothes. We cleaned what we could reach.  She helped a lot so she could maybe remember not to stick crayons in her pocket.  I couldn't see the upper wall on the inside.  I had her climb in and wipe there.  I told her that under no uncertain circumstances was she, or her sister, to ever climb in the dryer again. For that time she had a blast, feeling all mischievous for being in there at all. And for your information, Magic Erasers worked perfectly- as soap and water did not.

Edamame and Rice Salad

1 1/2 cups frozen edamame, thawed
2 cups long-grain rice, cooked
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup chives, minced
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon tarragon, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, finely diced

Combine all.  Its delicious as soon as it comes together and equally delicious the next day.

Pink Floyd, Strawberry Cake

I went to pick my daughter up from school and as usual was gabbing with her teachers.  My daughter started singing," Bye Bye Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the Levy".  My daughter's one teacher says she was a teen when that song was released.  My daughter continued to proudly sing, the lines, "and good old boys were drinking whisky and rye, singing this will be the day that I die." They balked at the fact that she knew those lines.  Okay, so sometimes I influence my children in a not so perfect way. You see it goes back a generation.

I had two older brothers, 7 and 9 years my senior, when I was a kid who indoctrinated me into the world of rock and roll.  They taught me about Emerson Lake and Palmer, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Pink Floyd... and on and on it goes.  Frankly I loved it, I thought I was cool.  I still love all those groups.  Sometimes when I listen, I remember sitting on the couch with the music blaring, staring at album covers.

This is a kids cake, 100 percent all the way- color, flavor, sweetness.  My kids loved this cake.  Other adults didn't complain, they ate it.  Me, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 5.  But I'd make it again because its a kid cake all the way!

Another boxed cake recipe...

Double Decker Strawberry Cake

Adapted from the The Cake Mix Doctor

1 package plain white cake mix
1 package strawberry gelatin
4 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup canola oil

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
4 eggs
1/2 cup chopped strawberries with juice

Preheat the oven to 350F. 

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and beat for about a minute.  Scrape down the sides and beat again for two minutes.  Pour into two greased and floured 10 inch pans or 3- 9 inch pans.  Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes.  The sides will begin to pull away from the pan.

I frosted it with cream cheese and butter frosting with some strawberries mixed in.

Sock It To Me Cake

This is an easy cake to prepare.  It tastes wonderful.  I am currently on a boxed cake kick.  Having fun with different recipes.  Its not usually my thing but hey I thought I would give some of these recipes a try. This one is a wonderful coffee cake when you have guests and want something quick to prepare.

SOCK IT TO ME CAKE
Recipe largely adapted from Duncan Hines.

Streusel Filling:

1 pkg Duncan Hines® Moist Deluxe® Butter Golden Cake Mix
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped pecans

Cake:

4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup granulated sugar


Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease and flour 10-inch tube pan or bundt.

For streusel filling, combine 2 tablespoons cake mix, brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl. Stir in pecans. Set aside.

For cake, combine remaining cake mix, eggs, sour cream, oil, water and granulated sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer 4 minutes. Pour two-thirds of batter into pan. Sprinkle with streusel filling.  Carefully spoon remaining batter evenly over filling.

Bake at 375°F for 45 to 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 25 minutes. Flip onto serving dish and let cool completely.

Thai Green Mango Salad

We have been out of town due to a death in the family. It was a strange sort of turn of events that we are trying to recover from at the moment.  It is strange the way a death can bring unresolved issues into the forefront.  Suffice to say that I am so glad to be home.  There is no place like home.

If you have never had green mango, I urge you to give it a try.  It has nice flavor, bordering on sour but in a pleasant way.

Green Mango Salad*

2 green mangoes, julienned
3/4 cup mung bean sprouts
1 purple onion or vidalia, sliced
1 carrot, julienned
1/4 cup cilantro
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon palm sugar, grated
1/4 cup peanuts

Combine all ingredients and chill.

Update:

FYI- Green mango is unripened mango.

Butter Buns

These buns are excellent.  Tender, buttery and delicious.

Not much to say here today.  It seems when the weather gets nice there ten thousand things to do.  Garden, school stuff to wrap up, places to go, yard work- you know how it goes.

Butter Buns
Recipe adapted from this recipe at Cooks.

1 pkg.or 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1/4 c. water
1 c. warm milk
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. melted butter

Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water, 1 teaspoon sugar and let stand a few minutes. In a large bowl or a mixer combine 2 cups flour, milk, butter, salt, sugar and yeast mixture. Beat eggs  and add to mixture.  Add 2 more cups flour and beat very well. Kneading or mixing for about five minutes.  Place in an oiled bowl and cover.  Let rise until about doubled (about one hour). Shape into rolls and let rise again, 30 more minutes. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.