Strawberry Raspberry Jam

Strawberry and Raspberry Jam 2 by Tiny Chili Pepper

Two weekends ago, I went on a a backpacking trip on the northwest side of Michigan with my husband and a couple of friends. On our drive home, we stopped by a local eatery/store called 13th St. Market. The quaint country cafe served good traditional American breakfast that immediately fulfilled our hunger. What I really liked though were the homemade strawberry and raspberry jam. Folks, they were amazing: fresh, fruity, a little sweet and a little tart. I was intrigued. I love jam, especially the ones with chunky fruits.

At home, I searched for fruit jam recipes and found a good one: Wild Maine Blueberry Jam. I had frozen some strawberries and raspberries that I bought from the market a few weeks ago. So I used them instead of blueberries.

Strawberry Raspberry Jam by Tiny Chili Pepper

Here’s my adapted version:

  • One cup of halved strawberries
  • One cup of raspberries
  • 3/4 cup of sugar
  • A dash of salt
  • Lemon juice from 1/4 lemon

I cooked the berries and sugar in a small pot until they started to simmer and then added the salt and lemon as the original recipe suggested. I let it boiled for 40 minutes on medium heat and stirred occasionally until it thickened. Once I was done, I let the jam cooled down to room temperature and stored it (covered) in the refrigerator. From the recipes I’ve read, refrigerating fresh jam will allow it to last for two weeks. But oh, that jam was so good that we polished it off so quickly :D.

More recipes and article on fresh jam:

Make Room in the Fridge for Jam—Making Jam, Without the Can, NYTimes

Easy Strawberry Jam Recipe, Ina Garten

My next batch: Strawberry and Blueberry Jam
My next batch: Strawberry and Blueberry Jam

Harini RianaLeave a comment

Red Hot Cooked Salsa

red hot salsa by tiny chili pepper

The other day, I had tons of cherry and beef steak tomatoes. Using a technique that a friend taught me, I turned them into a fantastic red-hot cooked salsa. Easy and delicious!

My friend G, whose family came from Oaxaca, Mexico, shared her homemade cooked salsa verde (green salsa) with me a while back. It was so garlicky, spicy, fresh, and good, I could just drink it. I slightly modified her recipe in a blog entry titled: Grilled Jumbo Shrimp with Tomatillo Mango Salsa. Cooking the tomatoes (or tomatillos for the green salsa) definitely made this condiment so great.

Here’s what we’ll need for the red hot salsa:

  • Two cups of cherry tomatoes (halved)
  • 2 beef steak tomatoes (cut into four pieces)
  • A handful of cilantro (just use the leaves and chop in a food processor along with the garlic and jalapeno peppers)
  • 2-3 garlic
  • 5 jalapeno peppers
  • Salt
  • Lime juice from 1/2 of lime

Steps:

  • Heat up a cooking pot over medium heat
  • Add the tomatoes into the pot, cover with a lid, and let them cook for 5–10 minutes until they fall apart and become juicy. Turn of the heat.
  • Add the chopped jalapeno, garlic, cilantro, salt, and lime juice into the pot. Stir well to mix with the tomato. Let it cool down for a few minutes before serving.
  • Serve with corn chips

red hot salsa on corn chips by tiny chili pepper

Thanks for reading!

To my friend G and our book club

 

Harini RianaLeave a comment