Jamming with strawberries!

I live half a mile from a strawberry grower, Ouki Strawberries. I look forward to their opening day each year in late March, and mourn their closing after Labor Day weekend. But in between opening and closing, I get to enjoy the biggest, sweetest, and prettiest strawberries around. 

Of course, I make jam! This year I picked up a full flat and immediately set about washing and hulling those delicious red berries, flash freezing half for making smoothies, and cooking the other half with sugar and lemon and cinnamon for a delicious jam to enjoy throughout the year, and to share with friends! 

I have improvised over the years, but by now I have a real canner stock pot with a canning rack, plus a wide funnel, and jar lifter, magnetic lid lifter, and tool for knocking downthe bubbles and measuring headspace, and the very best tool... a strawberry huller! I also found some Pioneer Woman brand jar labels that stick well, yet are easy to remove later. 

I also use the strawberries and a variety of other ways, like making strawberry pie. I have also tried dehydrating them in my food dehydrator. Dried strawberries are really dangerous because you can actually eat about a pints worth of strawberries without even thinking about it. I also freeze whole strawberries on a cookie sheet, then put them in a ziplock bag and enjoy them all year long in my smoothies. 

Perfect PB&J

There's nothing better than a perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Creamy peanut butter, lots of sweet, lumpy jam, smeared with a butter base, and the perfect bread. 

My favorite bread is Von's Signature Select Nuts and Grains. It's soft and chewy with crunchy nuts holds up well to the peanut butter and jelly filling. My husband prefers a white bread, either potato bread or buttermilk bread. 

Our preferred peanut butter is Skippy brand and our preferred jam is anything homemade! Since we live a couple blocks from a wonderful strawberry farm, I get fresh strawberries there every year and make a few cases of jam. I love a good fruity, strawberry jam, and I have been experimenting by flavoring my homemade jam with cinnamon or lemon, and most recently, jalapeno. But we recently became taste testers for a friend's homemade jammin' business, so right now we have about 12 different flavors of her wonderful jams in the fridge. I felt obligated to have jam and toast or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich almost everyday. 

Building the sandwich takes a special technique. You have to start with softened butter that you spread on the jam side of the bread. 

Then you put a couple of generous tablespoons of jam on top of the butter. You spread the creamy peanut butter on the other slice of bread, not too thick. Then you put the slices together with all that yummy filling trapped inside the bread. If you're a kid, I'll usually cut it into quarters for you. If you're my husband, I'll cut it in half, but I like mine whole. I like to start at the corners and work my way into the middle of the goodness. You have to chew each bite slowly and savor the perfect combination of flavors. 

Yup, nuthin' better!

Beefy Shepherds Pie

Shepherd's pie is one of my favorite comfort foods... Flavorful ground beef in a rich gravy, vegetables, sauteed onions and garlic, baked in a casserole dish topped with yummy mashed potatoes. Even though it's the end of May, it rained here today! So I thought, why not make a nice comforting shepherd's pie for dinner? And why not use some of that Twisselman Ranch grass fed ground beef that I just bought to stock my freezer with? 

https://www.twisselmanranch.com/mercantile

So I reached into the freezer and got the meat out to defrost and I saw some frozen peas and corn that I figured I'd I can take out to make more room for more good beef! I mean right now my freezer is stuffed! Usually, I chop up all the fresh vegetables to put in my casseroles, but today the frozen ones will do. Of course, I augmented with a nice white onion that I sauteed in the skillet before adding the beef. Then I looked through the fridge and saw some fresh snap peas, so I figured why not dice up those to add a little bit of crunch? Also, there was a few green onions in a little container that I was saving for just something like this. I mean, if you can't clean out the fridge while you're making a casserole, you're doing something wrong. One thing this casserole didn't have added was diced celery. Why? Because my husband hates celery. Weird, I know...

I diced the onion and smashed the garlic to sautee in some avocado oil in the skillet. Then I crumbled in the ground beef and seasoned it with our Big Daddy's BBQ beef seasoning. I noticed as this beef cooked, there was very little liquid coming out -- very lean ground beef! So after the meat was browned, I sprinkled on some flour and stirred in a little beef broth to make a sauce. 

Once that had cook down a little bit, I stirred in the vegetables and let it cook a little while till the snap peas began to soften. This would also be a good time to add in some herb seasoning like parsley, oregano, or marjoram. It didn't look colorful enough for my taste, so I opened up a can of corn and put in half. 

Now Shepherd's Pie can go right in the casserole, but I kind of like it to have a little crust on the bottom to hold it all together. I didn't have any frozen pie crust and I wasn't up to making a pie crust, so I just use some flour tortillas to line the bottom. I poured the meat mixture over the top and then dolloped on the mashed red potatoes. Dinner is ready to put in the oven!

I will bake this casserole for about 45 minutes at 350° until the mashed potatoes start to slightly brown on top and the meat mixture is bubbling. 

California Chicken Bacon Ranch quiche

My husband said he wants more eggs for breakfast. I've been pretty lazy during the last few months not wanting to get up a few minutes early to cook a hot breakfast. Most often will have a smoothie or just some coast of peanut butter or avocado. But a few months eggs then I think this crustless quiche bacon cast iron skillet on Sunday is just the ticket. I'll have a nice hot breakfast today and more slices to reheat during the week for a quick and hearty breakfast.

I came up with this California chicken bacon ranch quiche named after my favorite pizza because I had leftover chicken in the frig and a bag of bacon bits. So I started by caramelizing some white onions in a cast iron skillet with a dab of olive oil. I left the onions get nice and brown with little crispy bits. Then I added some chopped red pepper, a can of diced green chiles, some chopped up leftover chicken, and sliced green onions. Next, I seasoned it with ranch dressing mix and a little of my all purpose Chicken Fixin's seasoning.

I scrambled the six eggs with 2 cups of milk and a couple of tablespoons of flour, added some salt and pepper, and poured that all over the chicken bacon mixture. I topped it with about a cup of shredded cheddar cheese and put it in a preheated 350-degree oven. I set the timer for 45 minutes and let it bake. When the timer went off, I checked it and the eggs looked set, so I pulled it out and let it cool for about 10 minutes before slicing into it. It came out nice and firm and yummy! I topped it with some sour cream and salsa and we had a feast for breakfast!

Dry Canning

My husband and I have been talking for years about being prepared for an emergency. But when this Covid-19 pandemic hit, we found we were pretty low on many staple items for long term supply. In the beginning, I only had a six-pack of paper towels and a 24-pack of toilet paper in the hall closet. I mean, the items we had in the pantry would probably last us two or three months if we had to stretch it. But what we would really feel more comfortable with is having a year's supply of basic food items such as beans, rice, flour, sugar, salt, and water. Also toilet paper, paper towels, and disinfectants.

Anyway, we were soon able to catch up on our supply of toilet paper and paper towels once the grocery stores replenish their inventory. and I will probably never do my weekly grocery shopping again without buying an extra pack toilet paper! But it was time to get serious about food storage. 

I already keep most of my pantry staples in glass mason jars. I have some half gallon jars in which I keep different types of flour, cornmeal, quinoa, oats, white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, etc. I have several types of pasta in the boxes that they come in, but when I open it up, I pour it into a glass storage jar because I don't normally cook a whole box at a time. 

I also have I also have anywhere from 3-6 cans of a variety of soups, beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, tuna, and jars of salad dressing, vinegar, oil, lemon juice, and condiments on hand in my kitchen. So that being said, everything I have stored now could probably keep us going for a couple months. 

So my plan was to buy case lots of items that we use frequently like cans of pinto beans, black beans, refried beans, chili beans, corn, peas, green beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, pineapple, tuna, chicken broth, soup, chili peppers and maybe some other can fruits. Those are the products we use most frequently, and having them available in a 15 ounce can size works for daily meal preparation. 

One of my most recent trip to the store I found a 25 lb bag of white rice $13.49, which happened to be grown and produced in the USA. We are trying to be more aware of where food comes from and have been reading labels more carefully, so I thought this was a good find! 

I bought a six-pack of half gallon size Ball canning jars. The plan was to dry can the rice into the jars and store them in our garage storage cabinets. We figure this amount of rice will probably last us for a year. 

I started by running the new jars through the dishwasher cycle to clean and sterilize them. I let them dry overnight and then fill the jars with the rice from the 25 lb bag. We measured out that one jar would hold 7-1/2 cups of rice. The 25 lb bag actually filled seven half-gallon jars, so I have one jar in my kitchen pantry in 6 to store in the long-term storage. 

Then we put the filled jars into the oven and set it for 225 degrees and let them heat for almost 2 hours. This process is to kill any insects that might be in the rice. 

Then we took out the jars, put the lids on and proceeded to vacuum seal them. You can see in the picture how the divots sucked down and the lids are on tight.

I added some labels with what kind of rice and the date that we sealed them. Now they're ready for the pantry! Next up: black beans, pinto beans, flour, sugar, salt.

Easter dinner for two

During this time of social distancing and no external family gatherings, my husband and I were left at home alone to celebrate Easter. It just felt right to have ham for dinner, but having cooked a spiral ham a few weeks ago, I really didn't feel like going through all that again and having the pots and pans to clean up, et cetera, for us. So I opted to heat up a ham steak, you know, the kind of slab ham that you buy at the grocery store that’s about a quarter of an inch thick. One of those slabs was perfect for dinner for two, especially since we wouldn't be adding any starchy carbohydrates like potatoes or rice to the meal. No hot cross buns, either 😕

Instead, I sliced up some carrots and boiled them until just tender, then drained off the water, then added some butter and a dab of honey. Once the honey was melted into the butter and coated the carrots, I sprinkled on some parsley and salt. I remembered I had some persimmon chutney in the pantry that I had canned last fall. I figured I could reheat some of that to serve with the ham. Then I had the inspiration to open up a can of pineapple to mix in with the chutney, which was reheated in the microwave. 

I ended up with a pretty simple, yet traditional, Easter dinner for two. The best part is, in this house, whoever cooks doesn't have to wash the dishes. My husband is the best! Happy Easter. 🐣🐇🦋🐞🌷🐰🐝🐛

Persimmon chutney recipe from Saveur

https://pin.it/3g5Gu17

Easter brunch needs a casserole

Easter brunch at home

Sheltering at home has really put a damper on Easter get togethers with family. Our family has not got together since March 1st, so just a little over 5 weeks! However, we are blessed to know that everyone is healthy and doing well in spite of this coronavirus pandemic we are weathering. We found a way to see our grandkids yesterday by making a caravan trek out to see the wildflowers and had a well-spaced picnic in the meadow. No hugs, but plenty of smiles. Plus, I got to deliver their Easter baskets to them. 

This morning my husband and I enjoyed a delicious cheesy ham and asparagus quiche baked in a cast iron skillet in the oven. I didn’t use a crust because I'm trying to cut out as much carbs as possible these days. The heat from the cast iron skillet made a kind of “magic” crust around the edge of the quiche as it baked! I used the standard quiche-type recipe using 6 eggs and a cup of milk and two tablespoons of flour. I season the eggs with my chicken fixins seasoning blend, which is kind of all-purpose spice that includes herbs and added some cumin and paprika for a warm kick of flavor. I sauteed a mixture of onion, garlic, and asparagus in the skillet until the asparagus was softened, and topped it with some chopped deli ham and sliced green onions, then added a layer of shredded cheddar cheese and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. I poured the egg mixture over the meat, cheese and vegetables, and sprinkled on three chopped up slices of bacon and some chopped roasted red pepper for color. 

My daughters are sending me pictures of the kids opening their Easter baskets and playing with the little toys they found inside. Then we're going to have a zoom video chat at 11: 00. 

Afterward, I think I'll coerce my husband into going for a nice walk in the sunshine before we come home and make a ham dinner. My plan is to have a ham steak topped with a pineapple chutney paired with a spring salad topped with balsamic-infused strawberries and feta cheese with a honey-sweetened lemon viniagrete.

I included some links for a basic quiche and the strawberry salad. 

https://pin.it/2C60LmH

https://pin.it/3yjHbMg

Happy Easter, everyone!