Loquat Jam

My family got ahold of some loquats when we lived in Arizona years back and we made some jam with them. I remember them smelling something like Fruit Stripe gum when they were fresh, but the jam had a different taste to it. Most boxes of pectin in the U.S. will probably not include instruction for loquat jam, so here is a recipe to help you make it if you happen to have a source for them. Follow the canning instruction that comes with your pectin. I do not remember where this recipe came from.

Loquat Jam

5 cups loquats
1 box fruit pectin
7 cups sugar

Wash fruit well. Cut off both ends and remove seeds if desired. Place fruit in a saucepan with a small amount of water. Cook slowly and mash with a potato masher occasionally until well done. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

Add the pectin to the fruit and stir well. Let the mixture come to a rolling boil stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add sugar and boil to a rolling boil for 1 minute.

At this point you will be putting it into jars or containers for storage. If you are canning be sure to have your hot, sterilized jars and lids ready before the jam reaches this stage and then can it according to the usual procedure. 

Crock Pot Apple Butter

As autumn is rapidly approaching in the northern hemisphere, maybe this recipe will be handy to someone. I don't remember where it came from.

Crock Pot Apple Butter 

Peel and core apples, cut in quarters, enough to fill a 4 quart crock pot to about 1 1/2 inches from the top: 

ADD: 

4 tsp. Cinnamon 

1/2 tsp Cloves 

1/2 tsp Salt 

3 Cups Sugar 

Start on high with about 4 TBL. water, till it gets hot, then turn on low and cook all day. When it is done and apples are fully cooked down put small amounts into food processor and zap quickly till smooth. 

For long term storage you will need to freeze or can this.

NOTE: If you are canning this, reheat the apple butter to boiling after it is pureed and it put into hot sterilized jars and seal with hot, sterilized lids. It may need to be put through a period of hot water bath in a canner as well. Look it up to find out. I know some people believe that home canning apple butter is not safe, however, my mom made it for years and we never had an issue. Ours was not super thick.

A Linky Kind of Day

Random links for your perusal.

Here are some recipe posts from my Australian friend Joluise at “Stop…Have A Chat”. They looked good and I thought I’d pass them on. :-)

Bread and Butter Pudding

Five Favorite Potato Recipes

J Is for Jam

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More canning and preserves recipes:

Canning and Preserves from Mennonites Girls Can Cook.

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Cake decorating:

How to Cover a Cake in Fondant

How to Make Icing Roses

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Basil – growing, preserving and using it.

Basil is one of the things that grows well here in Central Texas as long as it’s watered. It grew so well a couple years ago that I haven’t grown any since. I have loads of dried basil, some our own and some that was purchased previously. I haven’t yet tried growing it in a pot inside during the winter. Fresh basil is so nice that maybe I should try that next year. Personally, I prefer herbs fresh, unless they are the sort that has to be dried for best flavor.

(Note: No I do not wear head coverings all of the time. I wear them when I want to keep my hair clean, when my hair is dirty and I don’t have time to wash it, and when I’m having a bad hair day. ;-) I just wanted to clarify this because I know some women are very sensitive about this subject and can make false assumptions in either direction. I need to write something about the subject sometime. I do wear dresses and skirts almost exclusively, however, with a rare exception for exercising with friends or perhaps some difficult outdoor project.)

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And, last but not least, a couple of easy sewing projects! :-)

Mix and Match Napkins

Make your own cloth dinner napkins! My family used cloth napkins a good portion of my life at home. We each had our own napkin ring and my mom kept a nice selection of cloth napkins. Some she bought, some she made herself.

I tried to switch to cloth napkins since we’ve been married, but last summer when our well started giving us some trouble, I realized that paper would be better as extra laundry needed to be avoided. I haven’t switched back to cloth yet.

I like the mix and match idea here of using fabrics from the same line. You could use any line or complimenting group of fabrics you wish, just consider whether they are a type of fabric that would be absorbent and useful as a dinner napkin. If you made a pile from one line – or say from complimenting ginghams or solids, you wouldn’t have to consider whether or not you had enough matching ones for a situation, they would all blend. Consider selecting several colors from your dishes if you go with solids.

From 3/4 of a yard of fabric you can make two napkins. If you order fabric online, I suggest you focus on quilting type cottons as they tend to have the texture and absorbency that would be good in a cloth napkin. This would be a great project for a beginner.

Quick and Easy Table Runner

This table runner is easy to make and, as you can see from this lady’s tutorial, you can add some changes to make it more interesting if you are adventuresome. I would top stitch across the bottom of the triangle at the corners if I were making this rather than leaving them open. To me that seems more finished. You could also add embellishments to tack the open ends of the triangle closed – a row of small buttons or one large button, a fabric “yo-yo”, etc. Use your imagination. You could even make napkins to match you table runner.

Just A Bite

I am a snacker first and last.  I get the munchies on a fairly regular basis.  Eating smaller meals and having a late morning and later afternoon snack can actually be beneficial, and is sometimes necessary for me, but eating healthy snacks is sometimes the challenge, especially with my sweet tooth.

I do not happen to eat a lot of bread.  I used to, but since our whole grain bread is heavy and carbohydrate rich, I like to get my carbs from things that I like better.  Because of this I don’t always get all the jam I’d like – especially our wonderful homemade jam.  When I have a craving for some jam, instead of spreading it on a cracker or piece of bread I will sometimes eat it on a slice of cheese. :-)  I probably get more jam than I should sometimes, but with some of our recent efforts at lower sugar jams this is not as much an issue as it once was.  Also, the freezer jams are more like eating fresh fruit spreads to me.

It’s not only tasty, it’s colorful too!  Yum!