Peach Jam with a twist

This might not be the year to decide to experiment with my peach jam recipe with everyone saying what a horrible year it is going to be for peaches. Each year I try to preserve enough peaches and make enough jam to carry me through the winter months and I hope that this year is no different. Yes, peaches might be more expensive, yet I can't seem to imagine they will be so expensive that I won't find preserving enough to get me through the winter worthwhile.

But to take a great batch of fresh peaches picked up at the market and instead of making the tried, tested and true peach jam recipe to experiment with these precious peaches, is that just madness?

Madness or not it is what I decided to do today. I have a great peach jam recipe. I can't remember if my mom gave it to me or my sister Yvonne. They can both lay claim cause I am sure at one point or another they both shared their peach jam recipes with me. Whether my mom's or my sisters, it is good! But I had an idea on how to make it better. Now by making it better I am also making it perhaps not suitable to be spread on toast in the morning, which is how I have always loved my peach jam. All these things aside...I had an idea.

What if I were to add brandy to my peach jam recipe...what might that taste like? I was determined to find out.

Dizzy Peach Jam

4 pounds peaches (peel, remove the pit and then crush)

3/4 cup brandy

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp butter (unsalted)

7 cups sugar

2 pouches liquide pectin (3oz)

If you decide you are going to make the PG version of this and take out the brandy, there are a couple of alterations you will need to make to this recipe. The first is that you will only need 1 pouch of liquid pectin and the 2nd is that you might want to add about 1/2 cup more of sugar.

In a large pot. combine the peaches, brandy, lemon juice and 3.5 cups sugar. Place the lid on and cover for at least an hour. I gave it 3 hours so that the brandy would soak in real good :).

Remove the lid and add the rest of the sugar. Place the pot over med/low heat and stir until the sugar you just added dissolves. Once it is fully dissolved, turn the heat to high and continue to stir until it reaches a full rolling boil. If you continue to stir constantly this will take 20-30 minutes. Don't rush it as you want to allow some of the brandy to evaporate, otherwise the jam won't set. At this point take the pan off the burner and with a wooden spoon, skim off the foam.

Place the pot back on the stove and return it to a full boil. Add the pectin and continue stirring until it reaches a full rolling boil again. Boil and stir for another minute and then remove from the stove.

In order to prevent the fruit from separating, I usually let the jam sit for 5-8 minutes stirring from time to time before I ladle them into my previously sanitized and prepared jars. Once I wipe the rim and put on the lids I return it to the water bath and process 250ml jars for 10 minutes.

My official taste tester gave it a taste and claims that he wishes we had a loaf of white bread in the house to eat a jar with and I found myself craving Kawartha Dairy Vanilla Ice Cream. Tell me what you think it would taste best with and the person who makes my mouth water the most with their idea will get a jar to taste test for me!

Sour Cherry Jam for Ms. Sandler

My dear friend Cori deserted her Toronto friends when her and her lovely partner Alice packed up, sold their house and moved to the west coast. They bought a house on the island and have settled into a nice new life that seems to suit them both amazingly well. Going out to visit them is high on my wish list.

When Cori tweeted this earlier this week, I knew I had to dig out an old recipe that my cousin gave me a few years ago and share it with her. I hope it is not too late :).

Sour Cherry Jam

6 cups sour cherries. You will want approx 4 cups after you have pitted and chopped them

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

4.5 cups sugar

1/2 tsp butter (unsalted)

1 pouch liquid pectin (3 oz)

Combine the cherries and the sugar and let sit for 45 minutes. Place the cherries in a large pot and add the lemon juice and butter. Over medium low heat heat the mixture until the sugar completely dissolves stirring constantly.

Once the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat and bring the cherry mixture to a full rolling boil. This should take 15-20 minutes to get to a boil.

Stir in the pectin and continue to stir constantly , returning the mixture to a rolling boil for 60 seconds. During this 60 seconds test the consistency on a spoon to ensure it has achieved the consistency you want. Remove the pan from the stove and quickly skim off any foam.

Let it sit and cool for 4-5 minutes before ladling it into the jars. You should have sterilized the jars and lids before hand and will want to ensure you are ladling the jam into warm jars. Leave 1/4" head space.

Clean the rims of any jam that may have gotten on it during the ladling process and screw on your lids. Place in a hot water bath for 10 minutes assuming you are using 250ml jars.

Remove and allow to cool. Then enjoy.

Mamacita's Tomato Sauce

Years ago my mom gave me an old yellow recipe holder filled with recipes. Some of the recipes I have made more times than I can remember. Her chinese cabbage salad gets made quite regularly. But last week I was flipping through it looking for some inspiration when I came across her tomato sauce recipe. Now I can't remember my mom making this in recent years but I do recall the flavour.

Now that my 21 tomato plants are almost 5 feet tall with little green tomatoes all over them I am starting to plan ahead to the days when they are ripe; thinking about what to do with them. I know that tomato jam will be on that list, but will I make tomato sauce. I sure I hope I find the time. But at the very least I thought I would share her recipe with those of you who might want to find a use for their very own tomatoes.

This will make approximately 4 quarts

Mamacita's Tomato Sauce

25-30 pounds plum tomatoes. Core and quarter them

2 tsp pickling salt

8 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup lemon juice (bottled preferred over strained fresh)

2 tbsp ground black pepper

In a large stainless steel pot over medium heat, bring the tomatoes to a boil. Make sure to stir them frequently so they don't stick to the bottom. Reduce and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the tomatoes are nice and soft.

Press the tomatoes through a food mill and discard the seeds and skins. Return the tomatoes to the pan and stir in the salt.

Over medium heat cook the remaining pulp, continuing to stir on a regular basis until they are at your desired consistency. The hand written note on the recipe said that this took my mom about an hour when the tomatoes were juicy.

Remove it from the heat and then stir in the lemon juice.

Ladle the sauce into your sterilized and warm jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe the rims and screw on the lids.

Put into the hot water bath for 40 minutes. Remove and let cool. Store in a cool, dark place.

Ontario Garlic

I have to admit that this summer was my very first time trying Ontario Garlic. Like most people I guess I had gotten into the routine of just picking it up at the grocery store and not really paying attention as to it's origin. Now that I am paying attention, I know that in most instances the origin in China.

I bought my first Ontario Garlic at the Brickworks and promptly forgot about it sitting on my shelf. But when the time came to use garlic in a recipe I was making, I was amazed at how much more flavourful it was. I needed to know if this was a one time thing, so I bought more when I was at the UTSC Farmer's Market in the early spring. It too proved to be of superior flavour than the Chinese Garlic I was used to using.

Now I think I am forever ruined...how will I ever return to the bland garlic we find in most grocery stores around the city. I grabbed a bunch of Ontario Garlic at Withrow Market on the weekend and for the first few days this week I couldn't decide if I should use it or merely keep it as decoration.

The answer came this evening when I got to work making Onion and Garlic Jam. The Onions were from Ontario so it seemed only right to marry them with these gorgeous garlics straight from a farm in Prince Edward County.

If you don't already buy local garlic, you should!

Picking raspberries and raspberry jam

I have mentioned my love of picking fruits and vegetables in the past. There is something about it that I just love. It might be the fact that it gets you outdoors, perhaps I just love being around food ;), whatever it is there is no denying that it is something I could spend hours doing.

I have been telling my husband for the past week that I want to get out and pick some raspberries but life has just been so busy. He keeps telling me that instead of 'picking' raspberries it would make so much more sense if I just went out and 'bought' some. And for a few days I was starting to think he was right. When was I ever going to find the time to actually do it this year.

This morning I got up at 7am, jumped into some clothes, grabbed my fruit baskets and took a slight drive north to Whittamore Farms. On the way there I was thinking about all of the things that I need to get done today and by the time I made it to the farm I had almost convinced myself that my husband was right. It just made more sense for me to go into the store, buy the berries and get back in my car so that I could get home and start knocking things off the to-do list.

Am I ever happy I told that inner voice to shut up!

From 7:30am til just past 9am, I stood in amongst rows and rows of ripe juicy berries forgetting completely about all of the things on my to-do list, eating half of what I picked :) and just letting my mind be a blank. The birds were chirping, there was a gentle breeze and the raspberries were so ripe that they were just falling right off into my hands and into my baskets. By about the 2nd basket all you could smell was the sweet smell of fresh rasperries, and the earthy aromas of the farm. It was almost therapeutic.

And now I am home and I have half of the berries in my deep freeze to carry me through the winter and the other half washed and ready to be made into jam. I have a simple recipe that I have used for years and has never let me down. I posted it a couple of months ago using frozen berries but it is exactly the same with fresh. You will find me in the kitchen for the next couple of hours mashing away!