Saturday 12 July 2014

The Jammiest Jam

Today we went strawberry and raspberry picking. We picked so much we decided to make jam. I had to share the recipe as it was so easy and just so yummy.

2 cups of fruit

2 cups of sugar

1/4 packet of pectin (15g)

1 Tbsp of lemon juice

 

We washed the jars in hot soapy water and then put them in the warming drawer while the jam was being made. We made one of strawberry and one of raspberry. They fit into 500ml jars. We also put a plate in the freezer (this is for testing the jam later).

Put half of the fruit in a saucepan with the lemon juice and heat gently for five minutes whilst mashing the fruit up. (The raspberries were then seived and the pulp pushed through the sieve leaving just the seeds and then put back into the pan without the seeds).

Add the sugar and the pectin to the fruit pulp and stir. Add the remaining fruit and heat until boiling and then boil rapidly for five minutes. Take a small spoonful of each and put on the chilled plate. Push your finger through the jam, if it is ready it will wrinkle. Ours took a few attempts.

Fill the jars lovingly with the jam and seal.

We cooled ours for about five hours and then we spread it thickly on scones. YUM YUM!

We have even more strawberries left so after pancakes tomorrow we may be making some more jam. Wahooooo.

 

Tuesday 8 July 2014

Lemon Blueberry Loaf

Yesterday I made a Lemon Blueberry Loaf. I found the recipe on Facebook but I am not sure who to credit as I can't find it now. I wrote it down and used it another day. It is delicious.

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice (this was about one lemon squeezed)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour (it should be all-purpose flour but I used Wholewheat by mistake, normally this would be to heavy but it was perfect).

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (about one lemon)

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (apparently the blueberries don't burst as much if they are frozen, I used both).

GLAZE

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon melted butter

1 cup icing sugar

Mix the butter, sugar, juice and eggs together. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and mix into the egg mix with the milk.

Fold in zest and blueberries.

Put mixture into a lined loaf tin and bake for 350* for about 50-60 minutes.

To make the glaze I added the juice and butter to the icing sugar a bit at a time until it was all combined and poured it over the loaf. I did it while it was still hot because I wanted to eat it and I don't have patience. We ate the loaf still warm and it was wonderful. The glaze is very very lemony.

Enjoy and let me know if you make it.

 

Wednesday 2 July 2014

Finished socks - at last

Since February, I have been knitting some Valentine socks with lacey hearts on them. I actually finished them (all but the casting off) some time ago but cast them off too tightly and couldn't get my ample feet in them (actually I have high insteps he he). When my mum came over to visit for the Summer I asked if she wanted to try a different cast off while we were at knitting group.

She used the incredibly loose cast off (sorry I can't credit anyone because my knitting lady told me).

The curly top makes them look incredibly girly (which I am certainly not) but I do love them. I don't normally wear my socks but I think I might wear these ones.

Thanks Mum for finishing them for me x