62 days?!? How about some Apple Butter?

62 days? How on earth has 62 days come and gone without so much as a hint at my blog?

It has been a busy fall at our house. Thankfully, it has also calmed down a great deal. I was tutoring in the evenings twice a week. While the money was nice (really nice, in fact) - I can see now that it just wasn't worth it. My kids still ask me, daily, if when I pick them up we're going home or to meet Dad so I can go tutor. I tell them - EVERY DAY - Mommy isn't tutoring any more. It's like they're traumatized. They jump up and down, whooping their arms, when I announce that Mommy is taking them home. Causes a little bit of remorse, you know?

The children aren't the only one showing signs of neglect. For the first week or so after tutoring ended, my husband told me several times each night: "I'm happy that my wife is back, I was tired of spaghetti." Okay...okay...I get it. Mommy doesn't get to work additional hours. It may not be a "woman's" place - but the home is certainly MY place. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching - and it enriches my daytime. It's just that half the reason that I got into teaching was the schedule. I had forgotten that motivation, and got a little greedy. It's not all bad though - I socked enough money away to get family annual passes to Universal Studios!

Whatever the fall was like, winter is looking better. My house is clean, I'm caught up in my classroom, and I'm finding time back in the kitchen again. Upon urging from my husband, and a few loyal, neglected, readers, I thought I should return here as well. Refreshed, renewed, and ready for THE season!

I have some goodies coming in the weeks ahead - my annual fudge, bar cookies, and this year I will be trying peppermint sticks! I have some tried and true recipes, a few new finds, and some carrots screaming to be made into a cake. But this is all "planned" not created. In other words, there are no drool-worthy photos or treats to share...today.

What I DO have, friends, is apple butter. Yummy, yummy, apple butter - made easy. In a crock pot. Now, the downside is that you do have to devote the day to apple butter making. But, it's low mess, low energy, and high YUM factor!
Got this here.

5 1/2 pounds Granny smith apples
4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger

First, prepare the apples. Loyal readers will remember my list from awhile back. I got an item on my list early - in preparation for Thanksgiving pie making. The peeler/slicer/corer made quick work of most of the apples. I just had to run a knife through the slices for a good chop. It was a pretty rough cut, I didn't take too much time chopping the slices - and they were not in pretty, uniform pieces.

Then, in a BIG bowl, mix everything above together. I found two clean hands worked best for this job.

In a crock pot (no small ones, a medium to large), set on high for one hour. Then on low for 9 - 11 hours. Stir occasionally, more as the apples break down. Over time, you will see the mixture go from apple pieces, to a sauce, to a smooth apple sauce. Use a whisk to assist in this process of making things smooth and spreadable. Then, as you cook it longer it will turn that lovely brown, apple butter color. Might I suggest that you consider tasting it once the apples break down into a smooth sauce. I really thought this apple butter needed a bit more spice. If you like it more apple-like, then this will be just fine.

It makes a real lot, so canning, gifting, or freezing will likely be in order. Unless you have a big family, or REALLY like your apple butter!

Consider serving with french bread, either warm and fresh, or day old and toasted with butter. It's perfect either way!

Almost down a week!

On Thursday morning I will weigh in. I have been PERFECT this week - it hasn't even been hard to stay within the allotted points. It helps that I'm not keeping around all the processed foods that I have used in the past - like, those 2 point cupcakes. Since they were "just" two points - I would eat them and think nothing of it. Then I wouldn't have enough points left over for a nutritious dinner. The no meat thing definitely helps too. I'm not trying to measure out ounces of chicken and beef.

Whatever, I am looking forward to seeing what the nutritious eating and consistent daily exercise will bring. If nothing else, I'm proud of myself. So, that's cool.

Dinner tonight is a wonderful salad with a touch of vinegar, and topped with a generous amount of mango salsa. A TERRIBLY EASY, healthy, bonus:

Mango Salsa:

1 mango
1/2 of a small red pepper
1/4 of a large red onion,
1 Tablespoon of cilantro
1/2 lime
1/2 teaspoon honey (omit-able, I did).

Mix together and enjoy! Bet if it sits for 10 minutes or so.

Wonderful over a salad or eaten with chips, but in my meat-eating days I would put it over the top of tilapia. I've also been known to eat it with a spoon!

Bread and butter, baby.

So, I've been making some progress on my summer cooking goals.

It turns out that Panna Cotta is milk jello. I used a recipe from the joy of baking website, and my husband loved it. I accidentally ran out of vanilla (ooops), and had to substitute coconut extract. The result was excellent regardless, as the flavor did not change the velvety texture. However, the flavor was remarkably similar to Haupia (pronounced How-pee-ah), which is a Hawaiian Coconut custard. So, while it was good, it was sort of a "familar" flavor. Which made it nothing to write home about, at least for me. Oh well, my husband was happy.

I've also managed a couple of bread recipes. The kids seemed happy enough with the latest Oatmeal Bread attempt. What I don't love about it is the size. We'll be ordering some larger loaf pans from Amazon soon. Other than that - the kids seem to love it. It's about the first thing I've made homemade that they've eaten up happily! It IS a wonderful little bread. Out of the recipe you get two loaves. When finished, it's delicately sweet. Definitely a bread that you could just eat - no butter. Just straight.

I've found an AMAZING French Bread recipe. Given to me by the creative Mommy I've mentioned THREE times now on this blog, it's fast an easy.

2.5 cups warm water
2 TABLESPOONS of yeast (a lot, I know, but that's what makes it so fast)
2 TABLESPOONS of sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
5.5 cups of flour.

Just stir together and let sit for 15 minutes. Then, with heavily floured hands (this is a very sticky dough) cut and divide in half. Lay out in two "logs" on a large cookie sheet and let rise for another 15. Then bake at 450 for 15.

This makes a flatter "Artisan" like bread. Leftovers are great for garlic and cheese bread. Today I piled it high with leftover bruschetta, sprinkled some fresh mozzarella over the top, and nuked it. Wonderful! I also plan on making panini sandwiches with it this summer. I have this idea for pesto, mozzarella, and maybe some mushrooms? Yum.

Finally, for Father's Day, I did try the balsamic reduction. I was disappointed. This will be harder than I thought. First of all, heating and boiling vinegar is pretty rough on the lungs. Secondly, it takes a while to get the reduction reduced, it's touchy and difficult to get it "just right," and to adjust the spices you pretty much have to make entirely different batches for trial and error. Jeff liked it, but it wasn't quite as good as I remember. I might have to get back to that restaurant to sample it again.

Anyhow, I'm feeling pretty confident about some of my bread recipes. The French bread is a new family favorite. Now it's just a matter of finding a good sandwich recipe. The Oatmeal Bread is great, but what about for grilled cheese?

Save your marriage hummus.

At least, that's what it was called on a web board that I was on recently.

This is yet another "find" from another source. I made it once, improved upon it for my tastes, and made it "mine." This brings me to an important cooking point.

Aside from baking, where the yeast-sugar-salt proportions must be just so, cooking is not an exact science. You cannot create a "one size fits all" recipe. Cooking is about being one with your food, tasting, loving, thriving. It's about knowing that something "isn't right" to your tastes - and the one spice, flavor, additive that will make it so.

I am not an exact cook - which is why I will never write a cook book. I don't like feeling confined by measurements and exacts. A truly wonderful cook only uses a recipe as a guide - the rest is up to the imagination.

Hummus:

1 lb dried garbanzo beans
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 small onion, diced
approximately 4 garlic cloves, diced
two cans of plain green olives
4 tablespoons tahini
4 tablespoons lemon juice
olive oil

Start by soaking the beans all night or day. Wash and toss the ickies.

When ready to cook, place beans in a dutch oven, with around a gallon of water.

Bring to a boil, cook for 1.5-2.5 hours. You want a bean that can be mashed with a little effort, blended creamy easily, but isn't falling apart. When done, pour into a colander and drain.

In same dutch oven, put 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes. Depending on your affinity for garlic (I love to eat them whole and roasted) - you can increase/decrease the amount.

Add paprika, chili powder, and cumin. Cook up for a few more minutes.

Add drained beans. Cook for another two minutes or so. Adjust heat if it gets too hot.

Remove from heat, split between two bowls.

In large food processor, add one bowl of beans and one can of olives. Then add 2 heaping tablespoons of tahini, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and blend completely.

Once blended very well, add olive oil to desired consistency. Some like it thicker, some like it thinner.

Place in bowls.

Repeat the blending process with the remainder of the ingredients.

Place in bowls. Hummus can be frozen for later consumption.

And no, this didn't save my marriage (there was nothing to be saved) - but it got your attention, didn't it? It was how it was posted elsewhere on the web, and I stole it.

When the effort pays off.

I hate store bought jam. It just doesn't TASTE like a jam should. To me, I like the berries. Store bought jam just doesn't TASTE like the berries. It tastes like jam. I'd like some berries, with some sugar, thank you very much!

I have been spoiled on Strawberry Freezer Jam since the first care package sent by my grandmother on my father's side. The sweet strawberry taste was love at first bite. When my family moved to Hawaii, it became even more of a delicacy since my grandmother was aging and fresh berries were at a premium. It wasn't until we moved to the land of berries (Willamette Valley, Oregon) that I was able to actually make this heavenly spread on my own. At this point, I was pretty much spoiled by a constant supply of Strawberry Freezer Jam.

The problem, my friends, is that making jam pretty much ranks up there with the worst jobs ever. Truthfully, the fact that I do it at all is a testament to HOW GOOD homemade jam is. I liken this to candle making, something I tried for the first time this holiday season. After making enough for all my friends, I decided that I would never do that again. The trouble just wasn't worth the cost I was saving - I'd rather wait for a good sale and buy the darn things. Jam, on the other hand, is worth EVERY ounce of trouble.

Strawberry Freezer jam.

You will need: Berries, containers (we used 9.5 ounce plastic - bad enviornmentalists), pectin, and sugar.

For each batch: 2 cups of crushed berries, 6 boxes of pectin (Surejell), 4 cups of sugar, and approximately 45 ounces of container space. This is accourding to the recipe in the Surejell box. Different Pectins may call for different amounts.

How I did it:

(1) I purchased a flat of strawberries at my local farmer's market. The berries are in season right now in the southeast, which is why I chose to make the berries this time of year. In Oregon, I would have waited until May/June.

(2) For a flat of strawberries, you will need 10 - 15 pounds of sugar, 6 boxes of pectin, and around 25-30 9.5 ounce containers.

(3) Get the berries home. Refrigerate if you don't plan on using them right away. When ready to make the jam, rinse, sort out the bad berries (you don't want to use the really overripe ones), and cut off the stems. You can also cut out bad spots from berries that are salvageable.

(4) Crush (do not puree) the berries. I actually used my KichenAid Immersion blender to help this process. I think it may have pureed the berries too much. You want full chunks of strawberries; it adds to the rustic nature of the jam. Surejell actually recommends using a potato masher. It also recommends doing it one cup at a time - but I went ahead and mashed up about half a flat at a time.

(5) Apportion out two cups of crushed berries into large bowls. I had four bowls ready to go - and one flat gave me about 12 cups. So, I put two batches in small bowls until the large ones opened up. I put two cups in each of the large bowls.

(6) Add 4 cups of sugar to each large bowl, let sit for 10 minutes.

(7) in small sauce pan, place 3/4 cup of water and one box of pectin. Bring to a boil stirring constantly, until ONE MINUTE after the mixture has started to boil. Then add to berry/sugar mixture and stir until dissolved (a good 3 minutes). Go ahead and place in containers. Make sure you do this immediately, as the jam sets up quickly.

(8) The jam needs to sit for 24 hours. You can then freeze it for up to a year or refrigerate for 3 weeks. DO NOT let this jam sit at room temperature. For pantry jam, you will need to follow alternate instructions for canning.

In my case, I made four bowls of sugar/berries, then walked away to clean out some more containers. I started boiling water and pectin, and made one batch. I did some quick math, realized that I needed more containers, and sent the husband out to the store with our daughter. I got roses too. It was a smart move on my part.

Anyhow, I turned around and got the big bowl from that first batch, rinsed it out, added more berries and sugar to sit. After that, I started the pectin again and another batch of jam. When that bowl was free, I added my last bit of crushed berries and sugar. I continued to work, one batch at a time, until all was complete. It took me slightly less than two hours. I got 28 containers of jam out of that. Easily enough to last us all year, and give some away.

The only trick here is to make sure you follow the instructions EXACTLY. If you don't add enough sugar, the pectin won't set up right and your jam will be too soft.

If you want to make sugar free or low sugar jam, there is a Surejell that will allow you to do this. My concern with this particular variety is that it is made with Splenda. We don't do sugar substitutes here for a variety of reasons. You can read about them here, here, and here. When it comes to food, I find that less is more. Therefore, I went with the original variety as it's the "all natural" sort. All natural people need all natural food.

I also want to note that this is not my recipe. I got this right out of the SureJell box - and you can too. In fact, if you use a different brand or variety of pectin, your ingredients WILL differ. The above is just a guideline for what I did this sunny afternoon.