Cooking: Jam

First, I apologize for not writing yesterday. My husband and I are trying to buy a house and, as I'm sure you're aware, the market isn't the most agreeable. Now onto Jam, a topic I care a great deal for. 

Tonight my friend Sarah B. (Sarah B. Loves Movies) and I cooked up some raspberry, strawberry, peach jam. I can't wait for the 24hr waiting period to be over! The small taste test left me wanting more. Our little escapade lead me to crack open my favorite Jam book (the above) Blue Chair Jam Cookbook. If you're a Jam connoisseur, this is a MUST have.  Amongst the unique and delicious recipes are gorgeous photos that have me longing to spend days in orchards and gardens. Check out this video for a tiny taste of the cookbook.

My Talented Cousin Kirsten

My best friend and top 5 women I look up to: my cousin, Kirsten.

 

She is simply fantastic in every way and I'm so excited for her new venture: Beneforte Broccoli. She knows just about everything there is to know about food and lucky us, she's spreading some of her knowledge. Here she is in a step-by-step instructional video on Roasting Broccoli (her super yummy personal recipe!)

 Here is another video on Roasted Broccoli Flatbread!

This is also her personal recipe!! She's just amazing.

Peach and Blackberry Jam

Now that I have millions of peaches, I have to figure out what to do with them all. First project: Peach and Blackberry jam. It was actually, not all that difficult. I would love to show step by step photos of the process but my computer somehow erased them from my camera without copying them first... awesome. So, here are some photos of the final product.

These photos were taken with my phone, so they're not the best but I promise the jam turned out fantastic! So here's the recipe:

1. 5 large ripe peaches (soft and mostly red)
2. 1 pint of blackberries
3. 3 cups of sugar
4. No sugar pectin

Place jam ready jars in oven at 200 degrees to warm the jars. Wash fruit. Pit and chop peaches. Smash 6 cups worth of blackberries and and peaches together. I placed the fruit in a blender to finely chop. In a large pan, stir fruit and sugar together. Continue to stir (seriously, don't stop stirring) until the mix comes to a slow boil. Add pectin as needed. Once mixture comes to strong boil, remove from heat and put jam into jars. Then process the jars and let sit for 24 hrs.

NOTE: Blackberries need to be cooked in small batches or they don't cook well.

Enjoy!!