Family Chow Hall

Simple Strawberry Jam

No one has to be a cooking genius to make superb strawberry jam. Move over, Smuckers, because you ain’t got nothin’ on made-at-home strawberry freezer jam.

Truthfully, I can give Smuckers and other jelly and jam makers some credit for making some pretty darn good off-the-shelf products. They even make lower sugar and sugar free jams and jellies now that are quite tasty.

But for some reason, I have NEVER purchased a strawberry jam that I liked. It all has a fake-strawberry bubble gum kind of a flavor to me. Raspberry is fine. Blackberry is delicious, Grape jelly is good, even Orange Marmalade. But not Strawberry.

I guess in many ways my mother spoiled us by making certain things from scratch all the time. I’d never even tasted anything but homemade jam until I was a grown woman. And once I did, I knew I would also be forever making my own jams. I think it must be the fact that it’s frozen instead of canned. The berries are never actually cooked, which makes a huge taste difference.

My thirteen-year-old has recently developed a serious talent for consuming large quantities of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He eats them in the morning (sometimes twice each morning), for lunch, and even snacks. Until recently he preferred purchased raspberry jam. That was because it had been a couple of years since I’d made strawberry jam.

Well, I put some up and and it disappeared quickly. I recently put some more up. If he gobbles it up, too, I am going to give him the permanent job of family jam maker.

I won’t give the recipe because I can in no way claim it as being originally mine, but I will tell you how incredibly simple jam is to make.

Simply go to your grocery - poke around near the rubbermaid containers or in the baking aisle for the SUR-JEL - if you see canning lids and jars, you’ve probably found it - and buy these items:

1 box of SUR-JEL

1 4 lb. bag of sugar - (you will need about half of this)

1 quart of fresh strawberries

2 freezer containers

In your kitchen, you will need:

a large bowl

a knife

a chopper or pastry blender for mashing the berries

measuring cups

a small sauce pan

a couple of spoons

the ability to read directions

The directions are in the box of Sur-Jel and are very simple.

Have fun and hurry up before Strawberry Season is over!

Add comment June 27th, 2006

Spinach Cheese Quesadillas

Since moving to the South, I have learned to use fresh tortillas in many ways. They are as versatile (or possibly more so) as bread. We wrap tortillas around salad, lunchmeat, bananas, and grilled meat. We cut them up into soups and salads. We bake and fry them. We pack them in our lunches.

So, now that we are Southerners, I almost always have tortillas on hand. We use them often and in a wide variety of ways. Sunday I made quesadillas with spinach and cheese.

Usually on Sunday I am not much of a cook. We’ll throw together something quick when we get home from church, and since it turns out to be a rather late lunch, it throws our regular eating schedule off. Besides, we’re often out doing other things. So, I don’t really cook supper on Sundays. Sometimes we just have peanut butter and jelly or leftovers. Occasionally we will have appetizers and then popcorn later on.

These spinach quesadillas have just enough pepper to give them a nice, zippy flavor and it makes the spinach a lot more appealing. I got the idea from a friend with a cookbook that focuses on using anti-oxidants in your food.

Spinach Cheese Quesadillas
makes 4 servings

4 flour tortillas
1 - 2 serrano peppers
2 c. chopped fresh spinach
1 c. shredded monterey jack or Mexican blend cheese
cumin
garlic salt
cooking spray (Pam)

Chop the pepper as finely as possible. You can use jalapeno if you don’t like it fiery. Serranos are hotter - they look like a small jalapeno.

To learn more about the MANY varieties of peppers, check out the Chili Pepper Plants website here.

Spray a large skillet with Pam, and saute those peppers for a minute or two, then add the spinach just until it wilts. Place a little of this mixture on half of each tortilla. Sprinkle some cheese, cumin, and garlic salt on it also. Then fold the tortilla over and place in the skillet. Fry it for a minute or two and then flip and fry a couple more minutes.

The best way to serve these is on a large plate, cut into thirds or fourths. Offer some salsa, sour cream, or guacamole on the side. Your family or guests can pick them up and eat with their fingers.

If you, as most families, have a picky eater or two, make a couple with just the cheese inside. My particular eaters like them.

Enjoy!

Add comment June 27th, 2006