Sour Cherry Jam (low sugar)

 

Ingredients

• 5 pounds sour cherries pitted
• 1 pound 3 ounces granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon calcium water
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Pomona's Pectin

Instructions

• Prepare a boiling water bath canner and enough jars to hold 4 pints.
• In a low, wide, non-reactive pot, combine the pitted cherries, 1 pound of sugar, and all the calcium water.
• Set pot over high heat and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook at a vigorous boil for 20 to 25 minutes, until the volume has reduced by at least one-third.
• Stir pectin into the remaining sugar and stream it into the cooking jam, using a whisk to stir to help prevent clumps.
• Return the contents of the pot to an active boil and cook for an additional 2 minutes and then start looking for signs of thickening (it should be pretty clear as Pomona's pectin sets quickly). Once you see some thickening, remove the pot from the heat.
• Funnel the jam into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe the rims, apply lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
• When the time is up, remove the jars and set them on a folded kitchen towel to cool. When the jars have cooled enough that you can comfortably handle them, check the seals. Sealed jars can be stored at room temperature for up to a year. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly.

NOTES:

• From the Food in Jars site: Now, for the pectin. I like to use less pectin that the Pomona’s packet instructions call for. Typically, I use between 1/2 and 3/4 teaspoon calcium water and pectin for every pound of fruit. Use less for a soft set and a bit more for a firmer set.
• The cherries were easy to pit and that worked better than the food mill.
• I made a half batch from cherries on our backyard tree.

Chokecherry jelly

 

Ingredients

• 4 cups chokecherry juice (See chokecherry syrup recipe for method to get juice.)
• ¼ cup lemon juice bottled
• 4 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
• 1.75 cups sugar (original recipe offers a range)
• 4 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin powder mixed with sweetener

Instructions

• Before you begin, prepare calcium water. 

  To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.

  Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
• Wash jars, lids, and bands. Place jars in canner, fill canner 2/3 full with water, bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover, and keep jars in hot canner water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small saucepan; cover and heat to a low boil. Turn off heat and keep lids in hot water until ready to use.
• Prepare chokecherry juice.
• Measure juice into saucepan.
• Add calcium water and lemon juice and mix well.
• Measure sugar or room temperature honey into a bowl. Thoroughly mix pectin powder into sweetener. Set aside.
• Bring fruit mixture to a full boil. Add pectin-sweetener mixture, stirring vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the pectin while the jam comes back up to a boil. Once the jam returns to a full boil, remove it from the heat.
• Fill hot jars to ¼” of top. Wipe rims clean. Screw on 2-piece lids. Put filled jars in boiling water to cover. Boil 10 minutes (add 1 minute more for every 1,000 ft. above sea level). Remove from water. Let jars cool. Check seals; lids should be sucked down. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.
  
  
  Credit: https://pomonapectin.com/chokecherry-jelly-2/

Chokecherry Syrup

 For the first year ever, we have a ton of chokecherries and beat the backyard creatures to them.

Ingredients

• 8 cups chokecherry juice (extracted from about 1 1/2 gallons of chokecherries)*
• 1 package pectin
• 10 cups sugar

Equipment:

• 7 pint jars
• 7 rings
• 7 lids
• canning equipment (funnel, pot, rack, jar grabber)

Instructions

1. To extract the juice, place the cleaned chokecherries in a large pot and add enough water to just barely cover them. Put them on the stove and allow to come to a boil, then reduce to simmer.  After about 30 minutes, the berries will have released their juice. The liquid in the pot will be opaque and a dark mauve color.

2. After the chokecherries are finished cooking, strain them and the juice through a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl. Gently press on the chokecherries in the sieve to get out any of the liquid, but be careful not to mash it too much. Give your pot a rinse and a quick scrub to remove any bits left. Measure the juice after it has been strained; you should have about eight cups. If you have less, you can half this recipe or you can cook more chokecherries to get the right amount of juice.

3. Sterilize 7 pint jars.

4. Place the juice back into the stockpot. It should still be a little warm. If, for some reason it’s not, warm it up, but don’t let it boil. Gently sprinkle the pectin into the juice while stirring, then allow to boil.  Add the sugar while you stir to help it dissolve. Keep stirring and allow the mixture to come to a boil again. Stir constantly and let it boil for one minute, then remove from heat and let it settle a bit. Skim off any foam and discard.

5. Pour the syrup into the pint jars, giving about an inch of headspace. Wipe the lip of the jars with a clean, damp towel (this removes any syrup that was spilled in the process) and place a lid on top. Seal it with the ring.

6. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

NOTES:

• Instead of a sieve or cheesecloth, I mashed the juice out using the food mill and medium disc.  
• Maybe because of this method, I ended up with 12 cups of juice instead of 8.  The rest is in a quart jar, maybe to be turned into jelly.
• I added about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice per another recipe.  (It actually called for lemon and orange juice to be added, but I didn't have any orange.)
• I also added about 1 tsp. of almond extract to this 8 cup recipe.  (I don't think Dad would add almond extract to his, but I thought I'd try it.)

 

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

 

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450g) strawberries, fresh or frozen (cleaned and hulled if fresh)
• 3/4 cup (150g) sugar
• 2 tbsp vodka or kirsch
• 1 cup (240g) sour cream
• 1 cup (250ml) heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• If you are using frozen berries, place them in a bowl and cover with the sugar and vodka. Let them sit until the sugar mostly dissolves, you’ll want to toss them a few times as they sit. By the time they thaw and the sugar dissolves the fruit will have released much of its juices.
• For fresh berries, slice them before you toss them with the sugar and vodka.
• David says to cook the berries and sugar, but I skipped this step because I used frozen berries. If you are using fresh strawberries it is a good idea to break them down a bit by cooking them for a few minutes. if you do, you’ll need to let it cool before proceeding.
• Place the strawberries in a blender or food processor with the sour cream. Pulse until they are combined and the strawberries are broken up, but not pureed, you want some small chunks left in the mix.
• Remove from the food processor and whisk in the cream, lemon juice and vanilla. Refrigerate the ice cream mixture for an hour before freezing.
• Follow your machine’s instructions for freezing the ice cream.
• It will be frozen, but still soft and not at all grainy, just beyond soft serve.

Delicious and easy.  I used an immersion blender in the kettle and it eliminated some of the mess.

From Zoebakes

Blueberry Lemon scones

It's Nick's baptism day, so naturally a treat is in line.
I added these scones to brunch and they were quite delicious!

Ingredients

• Scones
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold, unsalted butter
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 large lemon, zested
• ¾ cups heavy cream
• ¾ cup frozen raspberries
• Glaze
• ½ large lemon, juiced
• ½ to 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Instructions

1. Cut butter into ¼-inch pieces and return it to the refrigerator to keep it cold until needed.
2. Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a large wide bowl. Mix to combine.
4. Add butter to the dry ingredients and toss it to coat with flour. Working quickly with clean fingers or a pastry blender, rub or cut butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal.
5. Add frozen raspberries to the mixture and toss to coat. Drizzle the heavy cream evenly over the mixture. Toss with a fork, scraping up from the bottom, until the dough starts to clump together. Knead the mixture together in the bowl until it comes together in a mass. It’s okay if there are a few stray bits and dry patches; the most important thing is to avoid overworking the dough.
6. Turn out the dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press in stray bits gently and shape the dough into an a 7 to 8-inch square about ¾-inch thick. It should look a bit rough and ragged.
7. Using a knife or bench scraper, divide the square into 9 smaller squares. Divide each square in half diagonally to make 18 small triangles.
8. Separate the scones carefully to give them room to spread. Bake until pale golden, about 12 to 15 minutes.
9. To prepare the glaze, combine lemon juice and ½ cup confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Add more sugar, as needed to create the desired consistency for glazing.
10. Cool scones for at least 10 minutes before glazing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Find a nice photo here. I'm not sure how to add it on my iPad.

http://www.flourarrangements.org/2016/05/raspberry-lemon-scones/

NOTES: 

One positive change -

• I used grated frozen butter ala Sally's Baking Addiction's recommendation 

Two things I did to avoid next time

• I used Aldi canned blueberries instead of frozen fruit and it was super messy. Frozen would be better.
• I tried to accomplish steps in advance and had the dry ingredients and the lemon zest mixed up in a bowl overnight. I'm wondering if the zest activated the baking powder because they did not raise as much as expected. 

Baked Croissant Blueberry French Toast

French toast made with croissants - seems like the stars are lining up just right, eh?
We (Tony, Emily and I) first had this at a department brunch during her Notre Dame commencement week and it was memorable enough that we analyzed it and took notes with the hopes of duplication.  Fast forward to this week when I have a Costco-sized pack of croissants and a ladies group that needs lunch - again with the stars!  Unfortunately, neither Emily nor I could locate notes, but I did come up with something pretty nice on the 'net.

French Toast
6 -8 plain croissants, cut in half lengthwise
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
1 orange, zest
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt

Topping
1 cup pecans
1/4 cup unsalted butter, plus
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups blueberries
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Blueberry Syrup
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

• For the French toast: Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange the croissant halves in the baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, half-and-half, nutmeg, vanilla, Grand Marnier, orange zest, 1/4 cup brown sugar, white sugar and salt. Pour this mixture over the croissants. Cover the baking dish and chill until all of the liquid is absorbed, at least 2 hours.
• For the topping: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a shallow baking pan, spread the pecans evenly and toast until fragrant, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss pecans with the 1 teaspoon butter and salt.
• Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the croissant mixture. Melt 1/4 cup butter with 1/4 cup brown sugar, stirring until the butter is melted. Drizzle this mixture over the baking dish and bake for 20 inutes, or until the liquid from the blueberries is bubbling.
• For the blueberry syrup: In a small saucepan, cook blueberries and maple syrup over moderate heat until berries have burst, about 3 minutes. Pour syrup through a sieve; stir in the lemon juice.
• Sprinkle the croissant French toast with toasted pecans. Serve with the syrup.

NOTES:

French Toast

• I used Orange Curacao instead of Grand Marnier.  It was orange-y, it's a fraction of the cost, and I had it on hand.
• I also ramped it up with about 1/4 tsp. of orange oil.  No regrets.
• I sliced the croissants in half and put some blueberries in the middle.  I also sprinkled some brown sugar in there, but it probably wan't necessary.
• I do remember the original inspiration having some connection with cream cheese in the middle but when I looked at the nutrition facts page of this recipe, I decided that maybe cream cheese wasn't all that necessary after all.
• 6 Costco croissants = one cake pan.
• After slicing them in half, re-assemble by giving the tops a 180 degree twist so the thick side of the top ends up on the thin side of the bottom.  Uniform thickness is the goal.

Topping

• I don't typically bother with unsalted butter.  (Heck, the recipes that use it almost always have you adding salt along the way somewhere anyway.)
• Because I'm inclined to skim while reading wanted to save time, I didn't bother to toast the pecans, and I just added them right away before baking instead of messing around with that whole "increase the temp" and "drizzle carefully" thing.  I just mixed the pecans, brown sugar and melted butter together and spooned it on the top.
• I tried Aldi's canned blueberries for this recipe and they were pretty great.  It's not that gloppy pie filling stuff, but real blueberries canned in a light syrup.  (Sorry, I can't find a link.  They were canned, not frozen though.)

Syrup

• Seriously, don't bother.  It would be too sweet and you've already added enough blueberries by this point anyhow.

One more operation note and one word of caution:

• I started with these top-side-up soaking up all that egg and nutmeg goodness, but even by morning there were still dry spots on the top of those oversized Costco monstrosities.  I ended up flipping each of them upside down to help (and it worked).  A better strategy would be to start top side down and flip them the next day so the more attractive side is up before baking.  A minor detail since it was smothered in blueberries and pecans anyway, but I'd do it that way next time.
• Just focus on the health benefits of blueberries and don't follow the link to the nutrition facts box in the original recipe.