Eating Outside the Box - Take 2

 
Summer is being its usual, furtive self here in the Pacific Northwest.  While the rains shower, the chilly breezes blow, and clouds roll over us, we keep hearing that ever-so-hopeful saying:  "Summer starts on the 5th of July."  And it looks like that may be the case this year.  Again.  Sigh.

But.  Here and there we spy a few glimpses that summer is upon us, contrary to all atmospherical evidence.  Check these beauties out:

The loveliest of lovely summer fruits, in this gal's humble opinion, straight from our CSA box.  Almost too pretty to eat.  Almost, but not quite.

With the bounty of strawberries we received, I decided to make my first attempt at jam, a new move for me.  And I am so happy I did.  Now we'll be able to savor these gems for months to come.  (Provided I can stash away the jars, before they get devoured.)

I found a marvelous recipe on Food in Jars for a vanilla-infused strawberry jam, with just a little bit less sugar in it, than the standard recipes.  Don't worry, it's still shockingly sweet, you'd never know the jam is a couple of cups shy of the usual amount.  There is a delightful hint of vanilla in the background, as well as a wee tease of tartness, from fresh lemon juice.  And Oh.  My.  Word.  It's some damn fine jam.  Not wildly different from ordinary strawberry jam, which would possibly offend the Mister, as that's his favorite kind...but just different enough to make it perfect.

I did have a time getting it to the setting stage, it took way longer than the suggested amount of time in the recipe.  But then I went here, and learned some good things about getting jam to set properly.  The main key for me, was to bust out the thermometer, and wait until the temp read 220 deg F.  And Voila!  That was it.  Perfectly sweet, perfectly set, jam.

I'm feeling just a teensy bit proud, I must admit.  And ever-so-slightly hopeful that I can manage to successfully can a few other goodies this summer.

Go visit Food in Jars, and make this jam.  I'm telling you.  Damn fine jam.

Pure Goodness

So, I've been on a wee mission, of late.  One that is sure to sweeten life, just a bit.  Or my coffee, at the very least.

I wish I was one of those coffee purists, who can enjoy the depth of flavor with no added sweetness. Alas, I'm simply not.  The Mister's little Welsh Nain (that's Welsh for grandma) always said, when asked if she took sugar:  "I'm sweet enough already."  Every time, she said it.  Without fail.  In that awesome sing-song voice of hers.  I, however, am apparently lacking in inherent sweetness, and so must seek a little addition to my coffee.  Oh well, we all have our flaws, right?

Anyway, I noticed a while back that the coffee creamer I'd been buying, which I'm quite sure had originally been all natural, without any gross additions, now had artificial flavors, and the sugar had been supplanted by corn syrup.  Yuck.  I have to say, I got a mite indignant about that.  (Don't even get me started on those creamers with the mile-long lists of unpronounceable ingredients!)  And I stopped buying it for a while.  Tried my coffee with cream and sugar.  But I really missed the flavor (I was a vanilla girl, through and through).  The Mister, attempting to alleviate my concerns over fake food additives, suggested that since I had only a tablespoon or less a day, it probably wasn't that big a deal. And he was probably right.  But still.  On principal, people, I didn't want to give my money to that sneaky company any longer.

Well, that set those wheels a'spinning in my brain, and I realized, hey!  Why not make my own coffee creamer?  Surely, all I need is some simple syrup, steeped with a bit of flavor, and some cream, right? So, I determined to come up with my own, truly all-natural coffee creamer.

I tested and tweaked, first trying my go-to flavor, of vanilla, combined with a simple syrup, made of equal parts sugar and water.  But, the syrup was too thin, and because I used vanilla essence, it wasn't quite right.  (I struggle with justifying the expense of vanilla beans sometimes.  Oh, they're lovely. And so bloody expensive!) Then, I tested and tweaked a bit more, until Voila!  I hit upon a darn tasty recipe, that is pure goodness.  Autumn inspired me a bit, seeing all those warming spices coming out: cinnamon, allspice, cloves...and yep, a little vanilla.

Here it is:

Lightly Spiced Coffee Creamer

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sugar*

1 cup water

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp allspice berries

3 or 4 cloves

1 tsp vanilla essence, or half a vanilla bean, cut lengthwise

cream

*I use organic sugar, which makes my simple syrup a light brown color.  Regular granulated sugar will result in a clearer syrup.*

In a small saucepan, place sugar, water, and spices, over low heat.  Allow to steep for about half an hour, stirring from time to time.  When the flavor is at the right intensity for you (mine was rather subtle, I didn't want to be hit over the head by it), turn the heat up and allow the simple syrup to simmer gently for about 5 minutes, until the sugar is dissolved fully, and the syrup thickens.  It should be nearly, but not quite, the consistency of honey, or thick maple syrup.  Remove from the heat, fish out the spices, and allow to cool completely.

I store the simple syrup in a jam jar in the fridge, and mix it with the cream as I need it, since the cream will go off well before the syrup will.  For guests, I mix up one part simple syrup to two parts cream, in another jam jar, give it a shake, and it's good to go.

Pure Goodness.