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Good morning everybody! Trusting that everyone had a creative weekend? It’s a holiday(labor day) here in the Sates so I get an extra day to spend with the family. Last weekend I finally got around to fixing some homemade jam! I will probably never by store bought jams & preserves again…because this homemade jam in which I combined fresh strawberries with fresh blueberries was pure delight! It’s fresh, not too sweet, natural, and you know exactly what is going into it. My favorite part about “jamming” is that the combinations are endless when it comes to getting creative with your fruit blends and spices! I really want to make peach-apricot next, and then pear(my grandmother use to make pear preserves and it is so good). Anyhow, I made this jam in a matter of minutes and then we all enjoyed it on non other than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! If you really want to make some quick jam, then you might want to try buying the Freezer Jam/fruit pectin in your canning section of your market.

A few days after the little one wanted to make some ice cream, so we added in a bit of the strawberry jam into the ice cream before freezing to make strawberry ice cream and it was fantastic! Usually homemade ice cream calls for heavy cream, but I opted to use a non-fat yogurt(you could use soy if you like) and rice milk and the flavor was perfect and the texture was very much like yogurt/sorbet…see…

Homemade Strawberry Jam
Makes 1-1/2 cups

Ingredients
4 C. Whole Strawberries (if you want to make the one pictured, use 2 C. blueberries & 2 C. Strawberries)
1 C. Natural Cane Sugar
1-2 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice(optional)

Directions:

Chill a small plate or bowl in the freezer or over ice water.

In a 10 or 12-inch wide skillet, bring fruit, sugar, and lemon juice to boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly and skimming foam as necessary. Cook about 8-10 minutes, until mixture begins to look syrupy and thickens slightly.

Spoon ½ teaspoon of the hot fruit onto the cold plate and let it rest for 30 seconds. Tip plate to one side; jam should be a soft gel that moves slightly. If mixture is thin and runs down side of plate, the gel is too soft. Return skillet to heat and cook jam 1 to 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and repeat test.

Cool jam to room temperature before serving. Because a minimum amount of sugar is used, the jam needs to be refrigerated to prevent mold from forming. Refrigerate 2-3 weeks.

For longer storage, freeze or process hot jam in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.**

Option: If jars are sterilized (heated in boiling water for 10 minutes) it’s possible to use the inverted method to preserve jam: Pour hot jam into hot sterile jar leaving 1/8 inch head space. Wipe rim and apply prepared lid and ring. Screw ring on firmly. Invert jar and leave for 5 minutes. Turn jar right side up and let cool 12-24 hours. The heat from the jam will destroy mold spores. This method is not foolproof, so if you are preparing a lot of jam, process the jam in a boiling water canner. ~Recipe by Marjorie Braker

Looking forward to a week of creative bliss!

Good morning creative people! Oh…I think I need a vacation from our vacation! The long 4th of July weekend here was great and filled with lots of activities with the little one. Pony rides, tea cup rides, summer rain(which led to a couple of naps), rainbows, lemonade, fireworks, popscicles, dollar movies, and laughter. What more could we ask for. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well!

So, almost every weekend I fix homemade waffles…usually on Saturdays, so I thought I would share one of the most fabulous waffle recipes that I have prepared thus far. They come out fluffy, light, and soft, and not too sweet, and tastes divine with fresh blueberries(my favorite…pictured above), pecans, or baked apples. And while the recipe calls for buttermilk, you can hardly taste it as with many recipes you can (which I hate). You should definitely give it a try. All you need is an inexpensive waffle maker. The one that we have is a small Cuisine Art. Ok, so here is the recipe. If you are vegan the you might try it with almond milk, egg replacers, and vegan margarine…I have not tried this way yet, but I would assume that they may not come out as fluffy but the taste might be just as good!

Fluffy Buttermilk Waffles

Ingredients:
3 eggs, separated
2 C. Buttermilk
1 Stick of Butter or Margarine, melted
2 C. Flour (I use all purpose unbleached or bread flour)
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 C. Sugar

Directions:
Separate your eggs and place the yolk into your mixing bowl and the egg whites in a smaller bowl. Beat the egg whites until it becomes a bit stiff/frothy(about 3 minutes or so). It should NOT peak but should be frothy. Beat egg yolks in mixer, add buttermilk, then add your melted butter and mix for about 2-3 minutes. In the following order with your mixer going, gently add: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Mix well for about 3-5 minutes. Lastly, pour in your egg whites and mix for about 1 minute.

Use a 1/2 measuring cup and ladle your batter into your hot waffle iron on the setting you desire. We like our waffles light, so I keep it at setting 1. Serve with tea, fresh fruit, pecans, and maple syrup or honey…Enjoy!

Ok, off to a fun week of creative and inspirational posts! YAY. Happy Monday & have a wonderful week everybody!

image via JuBella.com

These muffins are truly delicious! I prefer to use fresh blueberries over the canned ones, as they give a much fresher taste and really pops with flavor and juice. You could also try different variations by adding cranberries, chopped peaches, or some sweet red strawberries! My husband prefers the streussel topping to be left off, but this is the most wonderful part to me. Enjoy!

Ingredients
Non-stick vegetable oil spray
12 count muffin pan
3 ¼ C. All Purpose Flour
1 ¼ C. Sugar
¾ C. (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter or margarine, room temperature
1 Tbsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Baking Soda
¼ tsp. Cinnamon
1 ½ C. Buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 C. Fresh or Frozen Blueberries(drained)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin pans with non-stick spray. Hand stir or use your electric mixer to blend flour, sugar, butter, and salt in a large bowl until mixture resembles fine meal. Reserve ½ cup of mixture in small bowl and mix in 1 tsp.of vanilla and set to the side.

Add baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon to the flour mixture in the large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and the rest of your vanilla(1 tsp.). Gradually add egg mixture into flour mixture in your large bowl and blend together until smooth. Carefully fold in blueberries. Evenly pour batter into your muffin pans. Top muffins with streussel mixture. Bake until golden brown. Use a knife to test. Center should come out clean. Cool for 5 – 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire or slotted rack.