Grandma's Pantry

Grandma had a utility room in the back of her house, the back door of that room led to the backyard and her prolific vegetable garden. In the utility room she had a wall of shelves where she stored her home-canned goods. As the summer progressed, the shelves would start to fill up with items like canned apricots and peaches, pickles, and jams and jellies of all flavors. Over the winter the shelves would lighten up as she either used her goods or gave them away. I remember her being so proud of her canned goods and they would be arranged in a certain order.  Though I loved being the recipient of her fruits and vegetables I didn't quite understand what was so amazing about some shelves with food in jars!

Well, I have become my Grandma. Though I don't have a utility room to store my canned goods, I do have some dedicated shelves in one of my kitchen cabinets. During the summer the shelves fill up with jams and jellies. I get a strange sense of pride seeing this happen, especially knowing that the hours spent prepping and stirring will provide culinary joy for loved ones and friends. My family knows if they are out of jam to grab some out of the cabinet!

So far this year I've made strawberry, apricot, apricot-pineapple and boysenberry jams. Coming soon will be fig, peach, peach-raspberry, and pear vanilla jam.  Later this fall I will make batches of apple butter and the canning year will conclude with over 70 jars of pomegranate jelly. In between, I often make some pickles or preserve some peaches.

My 6-year old granddaughter helped me make jam last Saturday.  While we were working she asked me how I knew how to make jam.  I explained how my Grandma taught me. Doing so brought back memories of her canning shelves. Perhaps, years from now, my granddaughter will recall her Nana's jam shelves while she's making jam for her family!

Nectarine-Jalapeno Pepper Jelly

Whenever I find myself with excess fruit, I either gather the items needed for freezing or the canning supplies.  Grandma taught me never to waste anything and that nagging still lives in me so I try to utilize all the fruit! Recently I was gifted a big box of nectarines, far too much to use before they went bad. This time I decided to experiment and make them into a jalapeno pepper jelly.  We love jalapeno pepper jelly.  The combination sweet and savory blend pairs well, as a glaze, with grilled chicken or pork.  It's sinful poured over cream cheese and served with crackers or on top of baked Brie.   My favorite jalapeno jelly is made with dried apricots (recipe can be found here).

The experiment was a success!  The jelly is bright and colorful.  The combination of sweet and spicy is just right for my palate. I've already passed out a few jars and am getting favorable comments so know I will make this again in the future.

So much color!

Nectarine-Jalapeno Pepper Jelly

3 1/2 pounds nectarines (or peaches), pitted, and chopped
3 jalapeno peppers, seeds removed **, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
6 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter, optional
2 3-ounce pouches liquid pectin

**The seeds is where the heat comes from, if you like more heat leave some seeds in.

Combine the nectarines, jalapenos, bell pepper, sugar, and lemon juice in a dutch oven. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes until the nectarines are completely softened.  Stir periodically throughout the cooking time.  If the mixture starts to foam, add the butter.

Once the nectarines are soft, add the liquid pectin.  Stir and bring to a full rolling boil.  Boil for 2 minutes, and remove from heat.

Skim any remaining foam from the top and fill your jars leaving a 1/4-inch head space.  Process according to USDA instructions.

My Hubbers and I are empty nesters.  Many nights find us not hungry for a big meal. With no children at home, there is no need to make a meal (or a mess in the kitchen!) On those nights we'll often have some cheese and crackers, salami or fruit, and a glass of wine. I've been making these little puff pastry bites for years.  They are so easy and make a nice tidbit on those nights I don't cook. Any jelly can be used but they are especially good with a spicy jelly. The nectarine-jalapeno jelly worked quite nicely for these!

To make these, I lightly roll out a sheet of thawed puff pastry (I always have some in the freezer!) and cut into circles or squares then place in a mini-muffin tin.  A small cube of Brie cheese goes inside.  Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.  Carefully remove from oven and put a small "dollop" of jelly atop the cheese.  Bake for another 5 minutes, or until pastry is a golden brown.  Remove from muffin pans (the jelly is quite hot so be careful!) and serve immediately. 

Apricot Pepper Jelly

The first of this year's crop of apricots are starting to hit the fruit stands near us.  I grew up in apricot country  and love anything baked or made with apricots.

One of my favorite apricot recipes is Apricot Pepper Jelly.  It is a derivative of the standard green jalapeno jelly.  This one is much more colorful and the apricots provide a nice flavor.  The great thing about this recipe is that it uses dried apricots so it can be made any time of year. Make sure to buy California dried apricots.  They are sun-dried and have a more intense flavor than some of the imported apricots.  I usually get mine from local growers, however, Trader Joe's always has packaged California dried apricot on their shelves.

Of course, this jelly is great with cream cheese and crackers or bagels.  It's also nice in a glaze for ham or chicken.  Combine some with your favorite BBQ sauce and use on ribs. For an easy appetizer I like to put small squares of puff pastry in a mini-muffin pan and a cube of brie cheese.  Bake then top with a dollop of this jelly.  They never last long!

This is a very simple jelly to put together.  A little chopping, a little blender action, throw it in the pan and cook for 5 minutes.

Apricot Pepper Jelly

2 cups red pepper strips
2 cups cider vinegar
¼ cup (or more, depending on taste) chopped fresh jalapeno peppers (seeded)
1 cup dried apricot halves, slivered
6 cups sugar
3 oz. liquid pectin

Combine pepper strips, vinegar and jalapeno peppers in a blender or food processor.  Pulse until small chunks remain.  Combine with apricot slivers and sugar in saucepan; bring to a boil.  Boil and stir 5 minutes.  Remove from heat; skim off any foam.  Cool 2 minutes; stir in pectin.  Pour into sterilized jars; seal at once.  (If desired, process in boiling water bath 15 minutes).  Makes 6 ½ cups.

So pretty and so tasty!

 

Pomegranate Jelly...From Tree to Tabletop!

For over 15 years I've been making pomegranate jelly.  It's my hubby's favorite jelly. Each year I make 4-5 dozen jars, giving most out as Christmas gifts. I bought the juice from a local farmer, he had a small orchard and pressed all the juice.  As promegrante juice gained in popularity so did the price. Last year I paid $30 a gallon for the juice.  My annual jelly project wasn't cheap!

In January we planted a 2-year old pomegranate tree. The landscaper I purchased it from told he me got about a dozen pomegranates from it last year.  So I was hoping to get the equivalent. I enjoyed the growing process of the tree from its first blooms in the spring and small red orbs in the early summer.  By the end of summer we had a tree laden with fruit, so heavy that the still immature branches were hanging on the ground.

This was my first harvest. My hubby laughed and wanted to know when I was going to go to the farmer and buy my juice.  I had read that an average pomegranate produces about 1/4 to 1/2 cup juice so I was hoping to get enough juice to make a few jars of jelly.

His pessimism did not deter me!  Using a pomegranate press that I bought from Amazon I set up shop in a corner of the garage one evening and went to work. An hour later (it was such an easy process!) and I had almost 3 gallons of juice.  This is more than enough for my annual jelly making.  My hubby was impressed!

Pomegranate juice freezes very well which enables me to spread the jelly-making process according to my schedule. I did get 2 batches done this week.  Each batch makes 5-6 8 oz. jars of jelly so I have plenty of batches to go before I'm done for the year. It's an easy jelly to make, doesn't take much time once all the supplies are organized. This recipe was given to me by the pomegranate farmer's wife, many years ago.  She passed away this year but I will always remember my visits with her and her love for her family orchard.

Love the deep red color of the juice!

 Beautiful jelly ready for our toast and for gifts!

Pomegranate Jelly

3 ½ cups pomegranate juice

1 package dry pectin (Sure Jel)

5 cups sugar

Measure juice into 6- to 8-quart saucepot.  Measure sugar into a separate bowl.  Set aside.  Add package dry pectin to juice, mixing thoroughly.

Place juice over high heat.  Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.  (If mixture starts to scorch, reduce heat to medium.)

Stir in sugar, mixing well.  Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Continue to boil 2 minutes. 

Remove from heat.  Skim off any foam. (I usually strain, using cheescloth over a strainer).

Fill hot jars quickly to 1/8 inch of tops.  Wipe off jar rims.  Cover quickly with flat lids.  Screw bands tightly.  Invert jars 5 minutes, then turn upright.  After 1 hour, check seals.  Or, use USDA water bath method.