Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Berrylishious

Today or should I say tonight it is all about berries...strawberries that is.  For the first bloody time in my life it was time to make strawberry jam.  Now I'm the type of person to just dig right in and do it myself, I mean how hard can it be right.  Recipe/Shmishipe...Dice up some strawberries, put them on heat and add a few tablespoons of sugar and whollllaaaaaa.  Incredibly tasty.  My first big batch was tonight and I love to look on blogs to see how they made their jam while mine is boiling to perfection.  Now I am not sayin that my jam is better than anyone else's jam...but taste mine and you will see. (that my jam is better than anyone else's dam jam... :)  Most of the blogs I came across they added 3.5 cups of sugar or more!  HOLY JESUS!  I am not trying to make strawberry soda...yes I said soda.

So here it is step by step, throw those Smucker jars away and feed your family some fresh strawberry jam.  Dice em'  Heat em' and only 6 tablespoons of suga'

4 Cups of strawberries hand picked from Braffet Berry Farms in Carlock, IL.

Medium heat and let the juices free
Simma down my friend
And there you have it!  The best damn strawberry jam.  Eat it on toast, crackers, ice cream, french toast, PB&J, and just plain, need I say more...
 

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Shop Local

Lets face it...I was raised on canned foods and frozen pizzas.  I am not saying my momma did not make good ol' fashioned homemade rolls and country meals because she did, but...(I know, when you always here a but it is the dreadful truth about to spill out)...we did eat a lot of canned green beans, corn, peaches, etc.  Now mom if you are reading this, I love you, you were a mom of seven children so bless your heart, but my cooking methods are a bit different. Quality, not quantity...remember mom, I love you.

Todd and I have been exploring our local markets and wow...that is all I can say.  Why have we been getting all of our groceries at the Fresh Market.  Now I must say the Fresh Market does have lots of choices for healthy good foods and you can buy all of your veggies in the US of A...but we are five minutes away from farmers that have worked their tails off to feed us.  We truly get so excited when we go from one place to another.  It is fun!  Okay, call me boring, call me lame, but have you ever bought 4 lbs of peas, shelled them, washed them, and cooked them the same day that they were harvested.  They are so green, so beautiful, so delicious.

So today I thank the farmers, Crump Farms, Braffet Berry Farm, White Oak Vineyards all in Carlock IL, Epiphany Farms in Downs, IL, Ropp Jersey Cheese in Normal, IL and last but not least Todd for digging up lots and lots of garlic, cleaning them, and being the best damn partner a woman could ask for.  I know there are so many other local farms, we will be visiting shortly.  Hats off to you guys for caring so much for others and what goes into our bodies day after day.  We truly appreciate you and all the hard work and dedication that you do day after day.