Strawberry Freezer Jam

Homemade freezer jam is so easy. More importantly, it tastes so much better than store bought jam. The zest in this jam really brightens the strawberries. It's great with peanut butter sandwiches, or fresh buttermilk biscuits. It also makes a fantastic ice cream sundae topping!!

Ingredients

2 lbs strawberries
1 package freezer pectin
zest of one large lemon
1-1/2 cups sugar

Instructions

Rinse and hull strawberries.
Place in food processor and pulse until crushed.
In another bowl, whisk sugar, zest and pectin.
Add strawberries and stir for 3 minutes.
Divide among five 1-cup jars.
Let sit for thirty minutes to thicken.
Cover and refrigerate or freeze.

Here are some of my favorite freezer jams you can find on Within the Kitchen:
Strawberry Rhubarb Freezer Jam
Strawberry Vanilla Freezer jam

And my most popular jam recipe:
Raspberry Lime Freezer jam

Pucker Up Lemon Loaf

The heat of summer requires the refreshing taste and smell of lemons! This lemon loaf fits the bill with three layers of luscious lemon.

Ever so slightly adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

CAKE

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 1/4 cups sugar

8 large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 cup grated lemon zest (from about 3-4 lemons)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 cups unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 tsp vanilla powder (optional)

SYRUP

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup sugar (berry or castor sugar is preferable)

GLAZE

2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted, or more if needed

5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions

Serves 16 per loaf.

THE LOAVES

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spray two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper and spray the paper.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla powder (if using) and salt together in a medium bowl.
4. In another large bowl (or stand mixer) combine the sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
5. Very slowly, pour the butter in a bowl with mixer on lowest setting until combined.
6. Add the sour cream and vanilla mix until combined.
7. Add the flour mixture, one-third at a time, folding gently after each addition until just combined. Try to not over mix. It will be a bit weird looking at my produce a few lumps – that’s ok.
8. Divide the batter evenly between the pans. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, rotate the pans, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F., and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpicks inserted in the centre of the loaves come out clean.
9. On wire rack, let cool in the pans for 15 minutes.

THE  SYRUP

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, mix the lemon juice and sugar. Once dissolved, cook for 3 additional minutes. Remove from the heat.
2. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and invert the loaves onto the pan. Use a toothpick to poke all over the loaves.
3. With half of the syrup, brush the tops and sides of the loaves. Once soaked into the cake, brush it again with rest of syrup. 
4. Cool the cakes cool completely.

THE GLAZE

1. Whisk together the icing sugar and lemon juice. If the mixture is too thick (it should be pourable but thick), add up to another tablespoon lemon juice and mix again. 
2. Pour the lemon glaze over the loaves. 
3. The glaze will harden a bit.

Lemon Curd Shortbread Tartlets

Lemons. Funny that something so mouth puckering is also the thing that holds smiles and memories. Childhood lemonade stands. Adult lemonade and vodkas. Summertime lemon meringue pie. Late night lemon chicken takeout. Even just the smell of lemons is refreshing. And, seriously, what's better than watching a toddler's first bite of a lemon!

These little bites of happiness won't make you pucker quite like those adorable toddlers but they will satisfy your intense desire for a zingy-tangy-sweet dessert. The shortbread base brings it all together in a finger food style dessert. And really, any sweet treat that you can eat with your hands is already on its way to being a winner in my book!

Lemon Curd Shortbread Tartlets

Lemon Curd (adapted from Fine Cooking)

Ingredients

3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp grated lemon zest

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, beat the butter for a minute.
2. Add the white sugar and beat for another two minutes until smooth.
3. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for one minute more.
4. Add the lemon juice and mix. Note: The mixture will look ridiculously curdled, but as you cook it, it will all come together!
5. In a medium saucepan, cook the lemon mixture over low heat. As the mixture heats up and the butter melts you’ll see the mixture smooth and lost its curdled appearance.
6. Turn up the heat to medium.
7. Stir! Stir! Stir! And stir a bit more until the lemon curd starts to thicken and reaches 170 degrees F. You do not want to bring it to a boil!
8. Remove the curd from the heat; add in the lemon zest.
9. Place the curd in a bowl and press plastic wrap on the surface of it. Cool in the fridge. It will continue to thicken as it cools. It should last about a week.

Shortbread Cookie Cups

Ingredients

1 cup  salted butter, softened

1 cup confectioners' or icing sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tsp vanilla powder (if available otherwise omit)

2 cups all purpose flour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Lightly spray or grease 24 mini cupcake pan.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the butter for 3 minutes.
3. Add the sugar and beat for an additional minute.
4. Add the vanillas and mix in.
5. Carefully beat in the flour until it comes together in a smooth ball.
6. Place a generous tablespoon or so of dough into each mini muffin tin. Using your fingers, mold the dough into a cup ensuring it goes up the side of the tin.
7. Use a fork to prick the dough all over; this allows any steam to escape, and prevents the shortbread from bubbling as it bakes.
8. Bake the shortbread until it's a light golden brown across the top surface, and a deeper golden brown around the edges, about 15- 20 minutes.
9. Remove it from the oven. You’ll notice that the shortbread doesn’t look like a cup! So using a spoon or a mini cookie dough scooper, press into the dough to make a cup shape.
10. Cool completely.

Assembly

1. Carefully remove the shortbread cups from the pan and place on flat surface.
2. Add a heaping tablespoon of lemon curd to each cookie cup.
3. If desired, use a sieve to sprinkle a little bit of icing sugar over the lemon curd shortbread cup just before serving.

See how they are all puffed up? We have to make them look more like a cup to hold the curd.

Use a cookie scoop or spoon to press down on the baked tartlets to make a large indentation.

Perfect.

Heat but do not boil. The initial mixture will look a bit curdled
but it all comes together with a little heat.

Pour into a container and stir in the zest.

The mixture will thicken like this.

Remove the cups and place on serving platter.

Add a tablespoon or so of lemon curd.

Repeat until all cups are filled.

Just before serving dust with icing sugar.

Yum.

Easy Strawberry Vanilla Freezer Jam

Don't fill your jars this high! Leave about an inch of space at the top of your jars.

Strawberry season is here in British Columbia! I haven't been to a u-pick strawberry field in years but would love to take the kids to one this year...I think it should be a rite of passage for every child :) And then, of course, I'd put them to work making freezer jam! As I've said before I prefer freezer jam over traditional jam making because the boiling, sealing etc etc scares me ... though I have friends that insist it's not that hard. I'm sure they're right but freezer jam is sooooo easy - crush, mix, pour, repeat! And it take less than 45 minutes to finish the whole process.

Last weekend we made this strawberry vanilla freezer jam but I could have just as easily called it strawberry lemon freezer jam. The vanilla isn't really discernible but it does add an almost secret layer of flavour to the strawberries. The lemon zest on the other-hand is absolutely noticeable! The combination of strawberries and citrus is perfect and makes for jam that tastes incredibly fresh, light and flavourful. My son said this is the best jam he's ever had and asked if he could skip the toast and just drink the jam! Yes, it's that good.

Ingredients

4 c strawberries, crushed (pulse in a food processor)
1-1/2 c sugar
1 package (45 g) freezer pectin
zest of 1 large lemon (2-3 tsp)
1 tsp pure vanilla

What to do

1. Stir sugar, zest and pectin in a large bowl.
2. Add crushed strawberries and vanilla.
3. Stir for 3 minutes.
4. Spoon into 5 250ml preserving jars stopping about an inch from the top of the jar.
5. Wipe clean and add lid and ring. Close tightly.
6. Let sit for 30 minutes so it thickens.

Refrigerate - will last up to 3 weeks otherwise freeze for longer storage.


Try these other easy freezer jams!

• Strawberry Rhubarb Freezer Jam
• Raspberry Lime Freezer Jam

Watermelon Raspberry Lemon Refresher

What an amazing few days of great weather! We managed to finally put in our vegetable garden - tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, brussel sprouts, cucumbers, squash and peppers. It's not a very big garden but the kids love helping to plant everything and when (and if) all of the veggies grow they love picking them. There is simply no better way to get kids to try new veggies than growing them in your own backyard. They also realize the hard work it takes to grow them, and that things just don't magically appear in the grocery store! Best of all they learn that homegrown veggies usually taste 100x better than what we buy from chain stores.

With the heat of the weekend and all of the kids' hard work, we had to find a way to quench their thirst with a special drink and this watermelon refresher was perfect...especially since we served it in the the melon after taking out all of the juicy watermelon bits! A perfect end to a hard day and the perfect beginning to summer!

Ingredients

1 mini watermelon
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries (or strawberries)
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup ice cubes

Instructions

1. Cut off a tiny bit of the bottom of the mini watermelon. Just  enough so it sits evenly on a surface. Do nt cut into the fleshy part of the melon!
2. Cut an inch or 2 off the top of the watermelon.
3. Scoop out the inside flesh of the watermelon and set aside.
4. Add the scooped out watermelon, lemon juice, frozen or fresh fruit, yogurt and ice cubes to a blender or nutribullet.
5. Blend to desired consistency.
6. Pour back into the watermelon.
7. Add straw. Enjoy!

If you find it a bit tart you could add a tablespoon of honey.

Detox Lemon Spinach Smoothie

Do you detox? Honestly, I don't... I think our bodies are set up to detoxify all by themselves. Of course, we tend to put  a lot of stuff into our bodies that it really doesn't need ... too much sugar, caffeine, refined flour etc etc. And I for one will not be giving up all of that! So, to me, this smoothie is my way of putting a few good things into my body to make up for the junk. It's especially good when I have a sweet craving. The heat from the chili flakes and the tartness of the lemon seem to make the sweet craving go away...usually :)

Makes two small servings.

Ingredients

2 cups spinach
1/2 c frozen  blueberries
juice of 1 lemon
1/8-1/4 tsp chili flakes (depending on how much spice you can take)
1 apple, quartered, skin on
1 cup of cold water or enough to cover fruits and veggies

Instructions

Place everything in lender or Nutribullet. Blend until very smooth - about 1 minute.

Other smoothies you should try:
Green Goodness
Avocado Strawberry Smoothie
Blueberry Mango Smoothie
Blueberry Banana Tofu Smoothie
Pomegranate and Kale Smoothie
Strawberry Muesli Smoothie

Ginger Snaps with Lemon Butter Cream

This is my Mom's ginger snap recipe but I have sandwiched two of them between a light and flavourful lemon butter cream. Lemon and ginger are AMAZING together. I especially like this combination in a Christmas cookie because it is a great contrast to the season's heavy meals and flavours. Tip: These are also great straight out of the freezer! Almost like an ice cream sandwich :) 

Ginger Snaps

Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 egg, large
1/2 cup molasses
2.5 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt


What to do
1. Cream butter and 1 cup sugar well.
2. Beat in egg.
3. Mix in molasses.
4. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt.
5. Add to the creamed mixture and mix well.
6. Shape into 1 inch balls. Note: you want make each cookie the same size so you can sandwich them easily)
7. Let sit 20 minutes (you want them to be soft enough so that they will spread)
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Lemon Butter Cream

Ingredients

2 c icing sugar

1 c unsalted butter

1 tsp pure lemon extract

juice of 1/2 medium lemon

What to do

Cream butter and sugar for 5 minutes.

Add extract and juice. Beat 1 minute.

Putting Cookies Together

Place 1 tbsp icing onto flat side of a ginger snap. Place another cookie on top of icing (flat side in). Squish slightly. If desired, add Christmas candy decorations with a little bit of icing to act as "glue."

Daring Bakers - Grape-Almond quick bread

Grapes are not used to their full potential. You see them in tarts,fruit salad and on cheese plates but rarely in other baking. I wasn't sure if there was a reason for this or not but I wanted to find out!

I decided to create a grape quick bread with a lemon glaze (lemons and grapes really compliment each other). Did it work? Definitely! The grapes shrink a little bit which increases their sweetness and the lemon glaze adds a bit of zing.

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

See other recipes here.


Adapted from thekitchn

Ingredients
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
2 tbsp ground Flax (optional)
2 tbsp hemp hearts (optional)
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1-1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c super fine sugar
1 c grapes, cut in half
1 egg
1 c buttermilk
1/4 c butter, melted
1 tsp almond extract
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp lemon juice depending on how thick you want it
What to do

• In a large bowl, whisk together spices, flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, buttermilk and almond extract.
• Pour wet ingredients over dry.
• Stir to combine. Use a light hand and stop as soon as ingredients are mixed. If you over stir, your loaf will be tough.
• Gently fold in grapes.
• Scoop batter into 9 x 5 pan.
• Bake for 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into middle of loaf comes out crumbless.
• Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile prepare glaze by combining powdered sugar and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth.
• Poke loaf multiple times with a wooden skewer or toothpick.
• Pour glaze over warm loaf.
• Cool and dig in!

Homemade Lemonade and Simple Syrup

Lemonade
- 1 cup fresh lemon juice - about 6-8 lemons
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup simple syrup
- 1 cup strawberries (optional - see below)
- ice


Simple Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar


Simple syrup is handy to have around as it's an easy way to add sweetness to cold drinks. Often if you add plain sugar to a cold drink the sugar does not properly dissolve but premaking this syrup will avoid this.

An easy way to make simple syrup is to simply put equal parts water and sugar in a blender and mix until all the sugar is dissolved.

Lemonade:

What to do

1. In a litre container, mix juice, syrup and water.

2. Add ice and serve!

Optional - Strawberry Lemonade

Puree 1 cup of strawberries and add to lemonade. This is absolutely delicious. Adults might also like to add a bit of vodka for a grown up version of this thirst quencher!