Summer Fruit

AS you may have noticed, the stores are full of strawberries and other fruit right now. I like to find some good fruit and make jam or jelly at this time.  Here is a link to a great resource that will give a step by step process along with a lot of good ideas.  This page is all about cooked jelly. 

http://www.pickyourown.org/jam.htm

This is a great recipe for frozen jam

http://www.food.com/recipe/freezer-strawberry-jam-31972

In  these financially tough times, preserving food is great way to stretch your budget and let your family help with a task that will reward them.  If you want to limit the amount of sugar or use a sugar substitute, there are ways to do that do.  Pectin is made from apples so if you cannot find pectin you can always add some apples to your recipe.  This is also a good way to limit sugar.


Go out a find a Farmers Market or pick up some fruit and make some jelly or jam. You will be glad you did.

French Onioin Soup

Yes I know it is hotter than the Hinges of Hell.  But a friend of mine got some bad news. So in honor of her I told her that would blog about her favorite soup.

The thing to remember when you make French Onion soup is that the onions need to cook slowly. It is very similar to caramelizing them.  Also remember that onions do cook down so be afraid to put a lot in the pan.  I always use Olive oil AND butter to cook them.  The other tip is to use Cognac to deglaze the pan.  Be Careful!! It will flame up!  I also use a combination of beef stock and chicken stock. Some people will use vela stock, but honestly, I prefer the other combination.

I will post my recipe in the future, but for now just think about a cold day and a hot bowl of French Onion Soup with a nice crouton of sourdough a topped with a slice of Swiss cheese

July 5th Leftovers

The smoke has cleared from all the fireworks and some people may have a bit of a hangover.  So what did you do with  any leftovers from the party?  I hope you promptly put them in the refrigerator. If not think twice about using them again. Here are some ideas for those who did chill down everything.

Ribs - If you have leftover ribs,  when they are cold enough to handle or if they are in the fridge, then cut the meat off of them.  Treat it like pulled pork. Add some sauce and you have the base for a great sandwich or you can freeze it.  I have fund that this works better than reheating ribs still on the bone.

Salads - If they were not out more than 30 minutes and you put them away, they are most likely safe.  However, when in doubt throw it out.

Bread, buns etc.  - If these are dry use them as bread crumbs. I recommend using a food processor to make them into crumbs.  Then dry them in a slow over until the moisture is all out. Then just put them in a container and use them.

Be safe with your food!