cranberry jalapeno jam take one

It's cranberry season everyone! That means a trip to the Cranberry Festival in Ft. Langley and 2 pounds of fresh cranberries for me. I wasn't sure what to do with the fresh cranberries, but after some thought an idea came to me: I wanted to try and make a no-pectin cranberry version of the pepper jelly that I had enjoyed so much at a family gathering last year. After snooping around on the internet the closest I could find was this recipe which had pectin in it. I know that cranberries have lots of natural pectin, so I modified the recipe a bit by using less vinegar to make it easier to jel and adjusting the sugar a bit to compensate. This is what I ended up with:

No Pectin Cranberry Jalapeno Jam

1/4 lb. jalapenos
3/4 lb. fresh cranberries (you could probably use frozen too)
4 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice

5 8-ounce jam jars, sterilized

In a food processor grind the peppers and berries (I used my mini food prep, although it took several batches). Then put them in a large pot with all other ingredients. Heat to a boil, cook for 20 minutes or until it looks like it's ready to set.

Ladle into jelly jars, leaving 1/4 inch clearance. Water bath process 10 minutes.

Store in cupboard for two weeks, then serve.

Serve:
Over cream cheese with crackers, bagels, toast, English muffins, etc.
With pork loin, roast beef, chicken, lamb, and strong flavored fish.
As a veggie dip.

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This jam is a beautiful vibrant red color that I just love. I tasted this jam straight out of the pot and it tasted a very sweet to me, and because of the strength of the sugar and vinegar I couldn't detect any cranberry at all. This might change in two weeks. Also since the jars aren't cool I'm not 100 percent sure if it will actually set up or not.

I tried some with a bit of cream cheese on a cracker and it was great. I think it would also be good in grilled cheese sandwiches, or on a ham and cheese, or as a condiment to meat. Next time to emphasize the cranberry flavor more I might try cutting down the vinegar to 1/2 cup and use only 2-3 cups of sugar.

good easy peanut sauce

OK this is what I put together today based on this recipe from Fat Free Vegan:

2 T. natural peanut butter (I had sweetened natural almond butter so I used that)
1/4 c. veggie broth
1 T. soy sauce
1-2 t. spicy asian chili sauce (I used 1 t. rooster sauce and 1 t. sambal chili sauce)
1 t. lime juice
1-2 T. powdered coconut
if the coconut and peanut butter is not sweetened (mine was), add in 1/2 T. honey or other sweetener

I microwaved it to heat it all up and used a fork to combine to a delicious sauce! We used it over steamed romanesco brocolli on rice. Yum!

Veggie loaf: attempt one

I found this recipe online and wanted to give it a shot:

Vegetable Soybean Loaf

6 servings

Measure	Ingredient
1 teaspoon	Olive oil
2 cup	Carrots; finely shredded
2 cup	Broccoli; finely chopped, both stems and florets
½ cup	Red bell pepper; diced
3 medium	Scallions; finely chopped
1	Stalk celery; diced
1 teaspoon	Minced garlic
1½ cup	Cooked soybeans; (or 15 oz can)
2	Eggs
2	Plum tomatoes; in 1/2 inch cubes, 3/4 cup
¼ cup	Dry bread crumbs; or toasted wheat germ
2 teaspoon	Fresh basil; minced
½ teaspoon	Freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon	Salt
1 dash	Paprika

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan with the cooking spray. Heat the oil and saute the carrots, broccoli, bell pepper, scallions, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, but not brown, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic during the last minute. Remove from heat. Process the soybeans and eggs in a food processor until smooth. Then add it to the saute pan. Stir in the remaining ingredients (except the paprika). Press the mixture into the loaf pan; sprinkle with paprika. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow o stand for about 5 minutes before serving. Serve the slices topped with sauce of your choice. =

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I added in roughly 2 t. vegetable bullion powder, 1 T. nutritional yeast, and some spicy rooster sauce, but other than that I kept pretty much to the recipe as stated. My verdict is that it was pretty good but the main flavor was salt, and I thought it needed a more complex flavor, so next time I want to try adding in some goat cheese or caramelizing some onions/mushrooms and adding those in, also I think this would be good with a mushroom sauce.

Blackberry Cordial

Before I made this recipe, I wasn't even quite sure what a cordial was. As it turns out, it is something very nice indeed.

Blackberry Cordial

ingredients:

3 cups blackberries
1 cup (or more to taste) sugar
1 quart vodka

method:

Mash berries and sugar together in a quart mason jar. Fill the jar with vodka and store in a dark place for 3-4 weeks, then strain.

It's amazing how the blackberry flavor just bursts out of the drink -- like somehow it tastes more like blackberries than the actual berries themselves -- not like storebought flavored vodkas at all. The original recipe mentioned that this blackberry cordial would be very refreshing mixed with club soda over ice with a squeeze of lime and sprig of mint, I hope mine lasts long enough to try this. I will definitely be making lots more blackberry cordial when berry season comes around next year!