Oooh Mommy Jam!

My beloved little sister is back - YAYAYYY!!!!! Where has she been I hear you ask ? In Canada, working at summer camp! I cannot tell you what a JOY it is to have her home, we skype, face time and all that cyber stuff, families do when they are far away...... but to have her home, here with me, on the estate makes me GIDDY with Joy and Excitement!  My Sister is the best and we just seem to 'get' each other! So enough of my-sisterly-love-thing...

I also love having here home because she always brings new and exciting idea's with her.... remember the Carrot Cake Jam last year and the Date Coffee Health Bar thingy the year before?  Weeeeeelll she didn't disappoint! No Siree... want to know what it is this year...... Wait for it..... BACON JAM!! I can hear a collective EUWWWWWWW, which to be perfectly honest was my exact thought but boy am I wrong, and I hate to ever admit that I am wrong.....  She says she heard about it from the head chef  at camp, Andre, was intrigued and  googled  the recipe...... well of course we had to  try it, now didn't we....

I was making a Christmas cake for some friends and Cin got stuck in, very soon the smell of bacon frying was everywhere and to be honest besides garlic and onion there is nothing quite like the smell of fried bacon.  It gets the taste buds going, it make you salivate, makes you want to eat......I honestly think that if you really want to make things taste finger licking good, just add BACON. Think about it most of the TV chefs add BACON and really I don't know anyone who doesn't like a good ole BACON and eggs for breaky!

Chopping Bacon at Warp Speed

Lots of Onions....

And Garlic.....

Canadian Maple Syrup

Busy Reducing....



Bacon Jam

 So now for the recipe....

Cindy's Bacon Jam

1 kg Bacon(cut in to inch chunks)
4 large Onions (peeled and thinly sliced)
8 Cloves of Garlic
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 cup of Maple Syrup
1 1/2 cups of Black Coffee
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Fry the Bacon until it is browned(remove from pan and drain on kitchen paper)
Add the onions and garlic, and gently fry until the onion become translucent
Add the remaining ingredients and drop the heat to low
Then bring to the boil for about 2 min, then add the Bacon back in
Simmer uncovered and stir occasionally, add a bit of water if it looks too dry(ours never looked to dry)
When it all look melty and syrupy , take of the heat and allow to stand for 5 minutes.
Blintz in the food processor, so that the consistency is spreadable...... at this stage you are going to want to APPLY to mouth, but it needs to be bottled like you would pickles or jam!

It can be kept in the fridge for about a month(it will never last that long) or freeze it so you have it when ever you want, and you are going to want lots of it!

A debate raged on as to how we thought it would be best served, with eggs on crusty bread, was one option, chicken sandwiches, was another..... then the creative juices really started to flow... biscuits with cottage cheese and a blob of BACON JAM, French toast, goats milk cheese and French loaf... But in the old end, we chose to try something quite ordinary, which turned into something quiet extraordinary with BACON Jam on it, a plain old toasted cheese!

A Toasted Cheese and Bacon Jam Sandwich!

 

 



 It was mouth watering, it was finger licking, it was lip smacking, in actual fact there are not enough superlatives to describe this sweet and savour masterpiece!



 

 

 

All too soon it was finished and we had to stop ourselves from rushing into the kitchen to make more sandwiches! I know that over the next few weeks we are going to expend alot of time and energy on thinking up marvellous ways to eat BACON Jam. And they will all be worth it, as the author of this blog Foodie with Family calls this delicious Jam - OooH-Mommy! Jam and boy is it just that! But as you know, don't take my word for it, go on I dare you .... Try it! xxx 

 

 

 

So Easy.....

 

You know when something is so easy that it is hard to believe..... Well a  few weeks ago,  I was told about three recipes that  just seemed  too good to be true, simply because they were so ridiculously easy...... And by easy I mean Super Easy, like EaSy LeMoN SqUeAsY type of EASY..... So I decided to try them all out ..... And here are the results - they really are so easy and so quick - I just love them!

  

The first, is possibly the most difficult because it is jam(Don't PANIC!) BUT a jam like you have never ever tasted before...... It actually is a huge TA DAH all on its own and possibly deserves a post of its own but as I mentioned it is so easy... so here it is TA DAAAHHH  - Carrot Cake Jam!  my cheffy sister sent it to me and said to try it so I did. Now even LSO who is not the jammiest person in the world likes it ...... I really should keep this a secret recipe but I can't it's just too good!

  

Cindy's scrumpy CARROT CAKE JAM

 

1 1/2 cups finely grated Carrot(the only tedious part)

1 Tin crushed Pineapple

1 1/2 cups chopped Pear(peeled too)

3 Tbs Lemon Juice

1  tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

 1/2 tsp of Cloves

4 cups Sugar

 

So now put everything in a pot and  bring to the boil then let it simmer for an 20 min

Add the sugar - and let it dissolve while stirring

Bring to rolling boil for about 20 min - stir it every now and again

Pour into sterilised bottles - DONE!

It looks runny but when it cools it is perfect jam consistency

 

Of course I needed something to put it on before Applying to Mouth, so I made some Carrot and Cream Cheese muffins ...... Well I was grating mountains of carrots anyway... so why not..... 

My Best  Cook Books

Easy peasy no 2: My friend Kerry, who I have mentioned before told me about theses scones, and  I actually did not believe her, the ingredients were way to simple so I told my dear friend Jenna about them, well midway through the same afternoon I was getting text messages about how yummy these scones were so I tried them the next day ......

Kerry's  Yummy Scones(you are NEVER going to believe this)

500g Self raising Flour
1 can of Sprite (maybe 7up if you in the UK or USA)
250ml Cream
a pinch of Salt

Mix everything together
Put in to greased muffin tins
Bake at 200 degrees for about 13- 15 min

Take out , and while still warm put some Carrot Cake Jam on the top and Apply to Mouth!!

The Making

Light and Fluffy

So Yummy!

My Pride and Joy!

Last but not least - while watching some healthy cooking program on TV (what do you mean, you?  YES ME! I can be healthy - well if I  REALLY want too) I saw a cheffy type person making Banana, Honey and Peanut Butter Ice Cream!

The consistency looked amazing, just like ice cream and it was pretty healthy!
 

Banana,Peanut Butter and Honey Ice Cream

Banana's (as many as you want, I used 4)
1 Tbs Peanut Butter
1 Tbs Honey

Chop the banana's and lay them on a tray
Place them in the freezer and allow to freeze solid
Take them out and put into a food processor and whizzzzzzz
Add the Peanut Butter and Honey
Whizzzzzzzz

Put into a bowl grab a spoon and yes, you guessed it! - Apply to Mouth!

So what is the lesson in all this Easy Peasy Lemon Squeasy food ? You do not have to be Nigella, Gordon, Jamie or any of the Master Chefs in order to create yummy easy and non time consuming food, just bloomin adventurous! I mean really, sprite in scones and carrot cake jam ........ We can be the Bear Gryllis of our kitchens. Just take that  LEAP! xxx

Berry Delicious Stuff

I knew it wouldn't last long........ The not making yummy stuff!!!! This is a very delicious Berry stuff recipe that I recently found in a Nigella cookbook, and Boy Oh Boy Oh BOY!!!!! Is it YuMmY! Nigella(All Hail the Queen!!)  calls it Raspberry Jam and makes it with Raspberry's but you all know me by now, I had to make it IMMEDIATELY, there and then, so I dug around in my freezer, I knew that in the deep,  dark, depths, I had a packet of Frozen mixed berries, which I thought might do very nicely, and they did indeed!

 

You also all know that I am all about SIMPLE (This could have something to do with the fact that I am Blonde......) And this is just up my alley...... check this easy peasy lemon squeasy recipe out......

250g Raspberry's/mixed Berry's(can be fresh or frozen)

250g Castor Sugar

Place the Berries in one oven proof dish, and the sugar in another and bake both for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees

Add the piping hot Castor Sugar to the piping hot Berries, as you mix them together you will see that it becomes almost molten and bubbles a bit,(mouth is watering.... again) and spoon into a sterile bottle!!

Bada Bing Bada Boom - DONE!!!!

Mix......

 

Spoon.......

Bottle.......

Mixed Berry Yummy Stuff
 

Seriously Darling Peeps, if you have ever wanted to make jam, this is the one to try, no long boiling process, or trying to get the consistency just right, no peeling, no mess no fuss, just 25 very quick minutes and you can eat it hot or cold, and believe you me you will want to gulp it down as soon as you smell it.

It is good on hot buttered toast, in that Victorian Sponge Cake instead of fresh strawberries, and my personal best...... try it on ICE CREAM, I seriously hope the Dietitian doesn't read blogs.......  And really hope you try it out...... xxxx