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.

Aged Hot Pepper Sauce Recipe from Sister in the Mid-west

Peppers grown by my dad in Tennessee.

 
Sister in the Mid-west at Simple Inspirations posted a recipe recently for aged or fermented hot pepper sauce. My dad loves this kind of sauce and he recently figured out how to make his own using Tabasco peppers that he grew. I don't know if he has a recipe or not as he tends to "fly by the seat of his pants" when cooking. (Yeah, that's partly where I got it.) This recipe sounds similar to what my dad probably did, so I thought it would be interesting to share it. I'll ask my dad about his recipe later, if I remember. :-)

My Aged Pepper Hot Sauce "Recipe"

Please let her know if you try her recipe. :-)

Caramel Sauce

Caramel Sauce

1 1/2 Cups sugar
1/2 Cup Light corn syrup
6 Tablespoons margarine or butter
1 Cup light cream or evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 to 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients in a 2 qt. sauce pan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium to high medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for about 3-4 minutes, continuing to stir constantly. Remove from heat and allow to cool. If the oil starts to separate, return to the stove and boil longer. Cool to desired warmth before serving with ice cream.

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I don't use corn syrup any more, and I haven't made this recently, so I don't know what the best substitute would be for that. Maybe there is non-GMO corn syrup available by now.

This syrup goes well on cake, pie, ice cream or even on fresh fruit like apples or bananas. 

Quick Meals – Hearty Pizza Quesadillas

 

Here is a simple and quick meal to make.  If you make your own tortillas and meat fillings you will need to have them cooked ahead of time.  If you store pre-cooked meat or tortillas in the freezer you need to have them thawed as well.

First heat the tortilla in a frying pan with a little oil or butter.  Spread some Italian/pizza sauce on the top.  (This is our homemade sauce, by the way.) :-)

To one half of the tortilla add some grated mozzarella, your favorite fully cooked pizza meat, and sliced black olive and mushrooms if desired.  Fold the tortilla over on the fillings and cook, turning once, till the cheese is melted and the other ingredients are hot.  That’s it!  Serve with a salad if desired.

Tomatillo Salsa

This salsa was actually an invention of my dad’s.  I simply copied his idea.  (He didn’t have a recipe, as usual. :-)  )  The ingredients don’t have to be added in these exact proportions.  You can change them to suit your needs or taste.  One reason I like this salsa especially is because tomatoes bother me some, but apparently tomatillos don’t.  It also has a great flavor that is a little different than the usual fresh tomato salsa.  I find it a bit more refreshing.

Tomatillo Salsa

3-4 large tomatillos  (Probably more if you use homegrown.)
1 green onion, (green leaf parts only, unless you like lots of onion)
1 large jalapeno
3-4 garlic cloves
A little fresh (or frozen) cilantro
Juice of one lemon
Salt to taste

Prep. vegetable appropriately and run in a food processor or blender in batches.  Mix all together well and allow to sit in the fridge about 15 minutes before serving.  (Refrigerate leftovers.)

I love fresh salsa on a fried egg with sour cream on top and this kind is especially delicious.  You can also use it with corn or tortilla chips, tacos or burritos.  Mix it with sour cream for a yummy dip.  I spooned a little over chicken I was cooking in a frying pan with vegetables one night.  It  was good that way too.

Mango Salsa

 

Recently I bought some mangoes for a treat for us, but to my disappointment, I discovered they were too sour to eat by themselves.  I recalled the fact that I’d seen a recipe at some point for mango salsa and thought I’d look it up online.  I found several recipes, but thought the combination of ingredients sounded a bit weird.  My husband, however, thought I should at least give it a try.  I picked one recipe that seemed the closest to what I wanted and then made it up to my own needs and tastes.  So, here’s the basic “plan”:

Finely chopped mango (1 and half small mangos made about 2 servings.)
Snipped green onion
Red pepper flakes
A little snipped cilantro
Salt
(Add a little sugar if the mango is still too sour – but – add it only a tiny bit at a time or you may get too much.  If your mangos seem too sweet, you may want to add a touch of lemon juice to add tartness.)

This salsa is good served with meat.  I think it would be especially good with pork.  It would be a zippy sauce to make a non-traditional hamburger topping. :-)  And, an added perk is the lovely color this adds to a meal!

Vanilla Cream Sauce

Here is the recipe for Vanilla Cream Sauce to go with the rhubarb crumble:
2 cups whipping cream
2/3 cup sugar
4 Tbs. all-purpose flour
3 Tbs. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Stir first 3 ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Cut butter into slivers and add. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until butter is melted and mixture begins to boil and/or is thickened. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. Serve warm.
For a thinner sauce use only 2 Tbs. of flour. For a thicker sauce use 5 Tbs.
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This sauce would be good used a variety of ways, but be forewarned, it is very rich! It is simple to make, but tastes quite luxurious. (I found this recipe online, though I've forgotten where.  For a change, I don't think I altered this recipe. Ha.)