Tag Archives: Recipes

Homemade Peach Jam

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PEACHES. Yumm.. Who can resist a juicy ripe peach on a hot summer day? I can’t say I’ve had a chance to eat one on a hot day this summer, but a low 60′s day in August will do. They taste just as good.

I went out to the peach orchard nestled in the tundra behind my house and picked 35 plump ripe peaches for some jam. Then I fired up my jet pack and flew to New York City to catch a quick Broadway show.

I made some delicious homemade peach jam last year and my jam cupboard been echoing with empty shelves. I’m on quite the jam kick these days… it’s so quick and easy. Gotta stock up for those long, cold, dark winter Alaskan days. Follow these easy steps and share jam and your friends will think you’re peachy!

Homemade Peach Jam

4 1/2 cups diced peaches (no need to peal…score)
4 TBL lemon juice
3 Cups Cane Sugar (or regular sugar)
1 box low Sure Jell sugar pectin

Mash the peaches then transfer to a heavy bottom cooking pot on medium heat. Cook with the sugar and lemon juice until  the fruit can easily be mashed with the back of a spoon, three to five minutes. Add the pectin, leave at medium heat and bring jam to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Cook for five minutes in order to activate the pectin and achieve the perfect jammy consistency. Don’t stick your finger in quite yet. It will burn.

Before I added the pectin, I pulled out some peaches and added wild Alaskan blueberries to a smaller batch. DOUBLE YUMM. It was a double batch, so I did half blueberry peach and the other plain peach. Combining any other fruit at this point would be a delicious addition. Accept maybe cantaloupe.

Pour the jam into jars and wipe the top rim of the jar before securing the lids. Have a pot of boiling water ready to submerge your jam filled jars. Boil for ten minutes. This kills any bacteria that could seep in and secures the seals. 

Let the jam set for at least 24 hours before testing.  In my case the peach jam did not set properly (oops!), probably due to the pectin sugar ratio begin off. The next night I dumped the jam back into the cooking pot, added a few more tablespoons of pectin, brought it to a boil and did the final process again. I had no issues with it setting and it tastes delicious!

 

 

Coffee Roasting Lesson

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Here in rural Alaska, we do many things out of necessity.
Make our own toilet paper.
Employ eagles to fly our mail to Anchorage.
Rub sticks together for fire.
The usual.

Roasting coffee is not really a necessity, but more of a hobby for my friend Scott, who lives across Lake Clark from Port Alsowrth. I felt like an interviewer from NPR as Scott showed me the finer skills of roasting coffee.  Let me elaborate…

Coffee roasting is a way of life for Scott, who has been drinking coffee since before he can remember and roasting it for almost as long. He lives in College Station, Texas and summers in a house he’s building on Lake Clark with his family.  His family rule is that anyone can drink coffee as young as they’d like…as long as it’s black. Scott is partial to South American blends. Sumatra was the bean of choice for the evening, his second favorite. Sweet Maria’s, out of California, is the distributor he prefers.

We headed out to the BBQ grill and swatted mosquitos as he showed me how to bring the  Whirly-Pop to 425 degrees before adding the green beans. Zach (aka: my favorite Zach), his youngest son, kept us company as he carved on an alder branch.

Steady turning of the handle. Waiting for the first crack. Anticipating the second crack, around 425 degrees as the smoke puffs from the seams of the Whirly-Pop.  The whole process took no longer than 30 minutes.

We talked over the finer things of coffee. Storing it in an airtight container…NOT in the fridge or freezer. Urban myth, just like gum not digesting for 7 years. Having the highest quality of bean 4-10 days after the roast. The need for a quality grnder. Only using a superior coffee maker like an AeroPress or French Press.

 

Last year, I was given an AeroPress from my awesome friend Beth. And she forever changed my life. Well, my morning coffee life at least. And drinking coffee in a hand-crafted pottery mug also makes an incredible difference.

Coming from the Puget Sound where I was surrounded by amazing independent coffee roasters (and I’m not talking about Starbucks), I enjoyed a nice cup of Joe and became quite the connoisseur. A favorite place was Satellite Coffee in Tacoma who uses Stumptown Coffee based out of Portland.

Just recently I was thinking I should cut back on my coffee intake. I’m not sure learning how to roast coffee was a positive step in that direction. So instead of fighting it, maybe I’ll just embrace it and begin to roast my own… just not sure how it will work out in -40 degree weather come January… I’ll keep you posted.

 

Low Sugar Strawberry Honey Jam

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Jam on biscuits…
Jam on toast…
Jam is the thing I love the most…
Blackberry, strawberry, gooseberry…
I’m very fond of JAAAAAAMMMMMM!

Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban was a favorite childhood book and just recently I learned that this little poem was from it. Two of my favorite little boys do an award-winning rendition of the above poem with some major emphasis and fist pump on the JAAAAMMMM.

Last year, I made peach, raspberry and blackberry jam and loved it. Delicious! Full and rich with fruit, low on the sugar so the natural sweet goodness can be the taste bud pleaser. With that supply running low, I needed the next berry jam challenge.

Thus I present Low Sugar Strawberry Honey Jam.  I give it this name because in the attempt to keep it low sugar, I substituted sugar for honey and it definitely gives the jam a district honey flavor to accompany the strawberry. Delightful.

Low Sugar Strawberry Honey Jam
For every 2 (8oz) half pints of jam you will need:

  • 2 cups strawberries, chopped into small pieces
  • 1/3 cup of apple or orange juice concentrate thawed or water
  • 1/2 cup honey (less as you prefer)
  • 1 1/2 TBSP Low or no sugar pectin (Ball brand is what I used)
  • 1/4 tsp of butter to reduce foaming, if desired

Directions to enjoy jam on biscuits…jam on toast…

1.  Wash all jars and have them lined up in alphabetical order by birth date, ready to have piping hot jam poured in them. Don’t mess around with this one.

2.  Boil lids to sanitize and because that’s just what you do.

3.  Put on apron.  A cute one is preferable.

4. Mash strawberries with potato masher (or other kitchen tool if you don’t have one like me) until you reach the desired consistency. Combine juice and butter with the berries and heat in saucepan over high heat. Bring to full roiling boil that cannot be stirred down over high heat. Stir constantly. Don’t be a wimp, you can last.

5. Add honey. Extra points if you got it from your hive that morning. Continue cooking over high heat, stirring constantly and bring again to a full rolling boil.  Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Don’t even think about leaving to change the laundry. It can wait. Remove from heat.

6. Clap your hands and rejoice over the beautiful red color and delicious jam that you’ve made.

7.  Ladle the piping hot goodness (aka: jam) into your perfectly lined up jars. Don’t forget to leave 1/4 inch for sealing.

8.  Wipe that rim! Not the toilet. The rim of the jar.  To help the tops seal in your award wining jam.

9.  Put lids and rings on and don’t burn your hand on the hot jars.  If you do, like I did. Run it under cold water.

10.  Process jars for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath, not in your bathroom, but in a big pot as shown below. Pull out and set on a towel to let them cool down and seal up.

11. Have bread rising on the stove or coming out of the oven so you can truly enjoy some fresh bread and jam!

Tip for the worried jam maker:  Mine didn’t look like it was going to set up after I took the jars out of the bath. Yes, they were clean and sealed. But didn’t want to go to bed. So I went and played a game of ultimate frisbee and then they were ready! If that doesn’t work for you, I suggest a game of croquet, lawn bowling or synchronized swimming. Usually does the trick.

Enjoy that tasty goodness and be sure share!

Homemade Hummus

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A favorite snack of mine is hummus and once I was introduced to making it on my own, I have a hard time buying it at the store.  I hope I can inspire you also to whip up some DIY hummus…it’s super easy! Yes, that’s a bear rug you see in the background, but no animals were harmed in the making of this recipe.

Hummus Ingredients

1 12 oz can of garbanzo beans

3 TBL roasted tahini

2 cloves of garlic

2-3 TBL olive oil (more to adjust consistency as desired)

1/3 cup lemon juice (more to adjust consistency and taste as desired)

Salt to taste

Paprika to taste (1/4 to 1/2 tsp)

Add ingredients into blender or food processor and puree until smooth (or chunky if you prefer).  

I celebrated my new can opener this week by making some hummus! Yes, I have some how survived in the new cabin for a month now without a can opener.  The neighbors were generous to let me borrow theirs without them knowing it. Thanks Lyle and Heidi!

What is this “tahini” substance of which I speak? No, I’m not speaking Gaelic It’s blended sesame seeds! It can be purchased in the natural foods section of most grocery stores.

Add olive oil or lemon juice to help achieve your desired consistency.  A few tablespoons of the garbanzo bean juice can also be used, but provides less flavor.

Other versions of hummus that are easy to create are with pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, or roasted red pepper.  I added 1-2ish TBL of pesto to this recipe with delicious results.

 My tasty, healthy afternoon snack. Enjoy!

Salmon with Ginger and Honey

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I’m spoiled.

Like a kid who jumps up and down nagging his mom at the grocery store for some candy at the check-out stand…then actually gets it.  This is how I feel every time I eat wild Alaskan sockeye salmon, that is in abundance in my freezer.  Like I am trying to eat through it, because it’s taking up so much darn space, and we need to make room for things like my brother’s large ice cream intake.

Recently, we had  a party and I tried a new salmon recipe. The salmon was supplied by Lyle and Heidi who caught it in Bristol Bay on their commercial fishing boat. I was nervous, as I was serving several of Port Alsworth’s long time salmon fishing families.  Nervous… like having to talk about politics with Sarah Palin. But it was a delicious and sure looked good too!

I found a recipe on epicurious (my favorite recipe website), and then made some large modifications. I see recipes more as guidelines, suggestions, really.  And to actually write down exactly what I put in the recipe is like grating finger nails on a chalk board.

Don’t.  put.  me.  in.  a box.

So this recipe is for all you first-born’s who like things precisely ordered and in black and white.  But if you don’t have the ingredients (mom), I dare you to go out on a limb and try a substitution or even better, adding a new spice of your own!

Salmon with Ginger and Honey 

1/2 cup of honey (or agave nectar)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro (be liberal)

2 TBL grated or chopped fresh ginger

1 TBL chopped garlic

1/4 cup soy sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

4 – 8 to 12 oz salmon steaks. (or maybe more?!)

Mix above ingredients in a bowl until well blended. Lightly oil baking sheets and spread marinade on salmon steaks (can marinade on for 30+ minutes or do right before cooking). Broil salmon until pink in center, 17-20 minutes or until it springs to the touch.

I only marinated one side (skin side down) and did not flip while broiling.

Enjoy!