black raspberry jam

Have you seen the uber antique reality show "Pioneer Quest"? It was filmed in Canada in the early 2000s (See? It's practically vintage.), and the two couples chosen to participate had to live in the  middle of the Canadian prairie for a year, using only the tools and animals and clothes that would have been available in the mid-1800s. 

They built log cabins and learned how to plow a field with the help of two draft horses and canned venison and survived the coldest winter in 120 years by burning wood they split pretty much non-stop with their own two hands. 

Chris immediately decided we should re-up the show and started mentally rehearsing how he'd build a barn and where the chickens would stay and what to feed the cow and why hay wasn't enough to keep the horses from losing weight over the winter. 

I was just enthused he thought I could make it for a year living like a pioneer. Personally, the insane amount of mosquitoes, the poison ivy and the unending rain would have done me in about 30 seconds. I'd have been like those women you read about who went nuts living in their little shanties on the prairie and wandered off into blizzards with no coat, only to be found frozen to death months later. 

Yeah. I'm that girl. 

Since -- Lord willing -- we'll never star in a reality show that apparently didn't take off, canning is as close a second as I'll get. 

The ladies on Pioneer Quest canned meat and beans. I'm over here with blackberry jam -- blackberries courtesy of the neighbors -- and feeling pretty good about it. No one's asking me to stick diced partridge in a jar, and I'm not complaining about that. I didn't even have to split the neighbor's firewood for a winter in return for the berries. Winning!

Thanks to my mom's recipe, air conditioning, electricity to keep the stove nice and hot, and the Internet to remind me about headspace, our pantry is now filled with jam to sustain us during the long, hard winter. 

Or the winter where we'll sit in our warm house drinking hot coffee, not worrying a bit if the pig will survive the freezing weather or when the outhouse seat will thaw. 

We've got it pretty good after all, haven't we? 

Agreed. 

Black Raspberry Jam

5 cups prepared fruit (buy about 2 quarts fully ripe black raspberries)

1 box fruit pectin

1/2 tsp. butter

6 1/2 cups sugar

Bring canner, half full with water, to simmer. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water. Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready for use. 

Crush black raspberries thoroughly, one layer at a time. Strain half of pulp to remove some of the seeds, if desired. Measure 5 cups prepared fruit into 6-8 quart sauce pot. 

Stir pectin into prepared fruit in sauce pot. Add butter to reduce foaming. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off any foam with a metal spoon. 

Ladle into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with lids. Screw bands tightly and place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner so that water covers jars by 1-2 inches. Cover. Bring water to a gentle boil. Process 10 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool. After jars have cooled, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary. 

winter babies

Good things about being pregnant in the winter: 

(1) You have no desire to be outside in the cold, so hunkering down is not a problem.

 

(2) A few extra pounds help keep you warm. No need for sweaters!

(3) When your husband brings you donuts, I mean, you HAVE to eat one because he went out in the snow to get them for crying outloud! It's basically your wifely duty. 

On the flip side, it also means that: 

(1) You act on your ultimate language: eating carbs. Maybe a little too much. 

Ahem. 

(2) It gets dark out early . . . because it's winter. And when baby needs to get up to eat every couple of hours, the night seems awfully long.

(3) You have no desire to leave the house. Who needs milk or fruit anyway? 

On the other hand (does this mean we're back to the first side of the hand? I'm confused.): 

(1) Babies are little heaters. And it doesn't matter how awesome Walmart or Amazon are. They don't sell snuggly, sweet-smelling little heat generators. 

(2) Heating up the kitchen by baking bread is virtually a necessity. A happy mama -- because who doesn't perk up when there's warm, fresh bread on the counter? -- means a happy baby. Get that flour and yeast out!

(3) Spring is on its way. And just when baby is starting to notice what's going on in the world, you can head outside for long walks, fresh air and sunshine!

At least, that's what we're telling ourselves. 

Bake the bread. Get out the jam. Tickle the baby. Don't fret too much if you pack on an extra carb or two. 

Winter won't last forever . . . and neither will those baby snuggles!

Easy Artisan Bread 

3 cups warm water

1 T. instant yeast

2 1/2 tsp. salt

3 1/2 c. whole wheat flour

3 c. flour

Mix yeast and salt. Add water. 

Add flour and mix well. 

Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit someplace warm (or at least room temperature) for 1 1/2 hours. 

Store in the refrigerator for a week or bake immediately. 

If baking, head enamel dutch oven and lid in oven at 450 degrees. 

Lightly dust dough with flour. Cut off amount of dough you desire to bake and shape into a ball. Place on parchment paper-covered cookie sheet and let sit for 30 minutes. 

Cut the top of the dough with serrated knife and transfer dough to dutch oven, including parchment paper. 

Bake for 15-17 minutes covered. 

Remove lid and bake for another 15-17 minutes until loaf is golden brown. 

raspberry jam AKA Chris's miracle jam

My poor husband made the mistake of coming home for lunch the day I attempted to can jam for the first time in roughly 15 years. He walked in the door to a wife who couldn’t figure out how to convert liquid pectin to powdered pectin.

It wasn’t pretty. And the kitchen was HOT. And I'm pretty sure I was sweating. And definitely pregnant. And hangry. 

Jars bounced in boiling water on the stove. Raspberries and lemon juice and sugar were fast approaching a rolling boil.

And I, queen of cheating at math in grade school, was trying to figure out how to make the pectin sitch work with mere moments to spare.

Of course, HE had just repaired a broken air conditioner at a rental house, taken care of heifers who’d escaped their pen, pulled a calf and . . . well, the list goes on.

So when I, practically in meltdown mode, asked for his help, he figured it out for me, even though he had a million other things on his mind.

Because he is just that good.

He also saved the jam because left to my own devices, I would have just started dumping pectin in and hoped for the best. 

So, in honor of the one who can actually do things with numbers, who dairies and farms and converts recipes in the blink of an eye, I'm renaming this  "Chris's Miracle Jam," because he saved it from sure and sudden demise in a hot kitchen on a sweltering day from a hungry wife who just can't do math. 

Raspberry Jam

3 1/2 cups crushed raspberries

1/4 cup lemon juice

7 cups sugar

1/2 tsp. butter or margarine

1 3-oz pouch liquid pectin

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmer water until ready for use. Do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water. 

Combine prepared berries with lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan. Add up to 1/2 tsp. butter to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring frequently. 

Add pectin, immediately squeezing entire contents from pouch. Continue hard boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. 

Ladle hot jam into hot jar, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight. 

Process jars boiling canner for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours.