This week in my kitchen

bone broth :: homemade pizza :: cooling cake :: dressed up cake :: parmesan meatballs :: gooseberries + blueberries + blackberries (all of which we grew here at home) = "home berry" jam :: ultimate nachos

I have decided to keep a log this summer of all the things that I manage to put up and store for the winter (top left sidebar). I have never made my own broth before but this past weekend, we cleaned the freezer and made an inventory of everything we had in there. There was no sense in having old pieces and parts that were waiting to be made into broth when I could just have the broth, so I took care of that this week.

I also had our friends' girls for a day and I told them we could bake something if they wanted. Their request? Chocolate + chocolate + berries. Despite the cake being beautiful, I was NOT happy with how either part turned out. The procedure was peculiar for both of them, and I ended up with sub-optimal results, despite having had great results with the cake recipe. Long story short, I will tweak and when it suits me, I will share the recipes.

Join me for the In My Kitchen Bloghop @ Beauty That Moves

{Recipe} Very Berry

Ahh... one of my favorite things about sprimmer (this season we're in, you know): berries, berries, berries. Our blueberry bush gave us almost a full pint, our gooseberries are picked and waiting for a recipe, and our blackberries are giving us just enough for each of us to enjoy one or two, warm from the sun, each day.

It feels great to be so early in the season and already have jam put up for the winter months. This recipe made seven half pint jars. One was eaten within the week, one was taken to my mother-in-law, leaving me five trusty jars for January. This is a delicious jam so I definitely recommend making it now, while the fruit is in season.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam 
 From the Ball Blue Book

2 c. strawberries, very ripe, crushed
2 c. rhubarb, small diced
one package of commercial pectin
1/4 c. lemon juice
5 1/2 c. granulated sugar

1. Prepare jars, lids and canner in the usual way.
2. Put strawberries, rhubarb and lemon juice and pectin in a large saucepan, stirring well to combine.
3. Bring to boil over high heat. Depending on the liquid of your strawberries, you may be inclined to add a few tablespoons of water to help the process along.
4. Once boil has been achieved, add sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring back to a full boil.
5. Boil hard one minute, stirring constantly, in only one direction to lessen foaming.
6. Remove from heat and add a teaspoon of butter to help reduce the foam, stir, stir, stir.
7. Ladle jam in hot jars, wipe lids and affix screw rings.
8. Process in boiling water canner for ten minutes.

Use extreme caution when handling hot jars and hot jam. Attempt to resist the urge to eat it all immediately. It really will taste even better when snow is on the ground.

Options: If you wish, you can add a bit of grated ginger, some scented geranium or basil leaves to the pot while boiling, removing them before jarring the jam.

In Bloom

Full of loveliness - our little kingdom is. The only problem is that its all moving too fast. I can feel the days slipping by too quickly. Summer is in the air and before I know it, the dog days will be here and we will loathe stepping outside for even the smallest of chores, but for now... for now we will drink it in.

Yesterday afternoon was spent on the patio, under the umbrella where the breeze kept things cool. After three hours, I finally noticed that our baby sparrow wasn't peeping - I panicked! What had happened to him? He is ALWAYS peeping from the inside of the birdhouse, right outside my kitchen window. Later yesterday evening I saw him - a fledgling! He was resting on our patio chair and getting a snack from mamma.

The peas are scrambling up the netting I placed for them this past week. The berries are plumper everyday. Cilantro and dill are taking over and I am pulling them both like weeds. We added sage to the garden this year: common and pineapple. Any recommendations/recipes for the pineapple?

I am anxious for rain and today is promised to give us some showers - but you know how weather goes. We are at the point where we will have to start dragging the house out each night if the plants in containers don't get a good drink soon. We had a quick shower this morning when I snapped some photos of the berries and sage, but the sun is shining bright as ever now. Bring on the thunder storms! Bring on the drizzle. I'll take it any way I can get it.

{recipe} Blackberry Dumplings

Blackberry dumplings are Julian's perennial choice for birthday dessert. Part of the reason we postponed his birthday until Sunday was because his actual birthday allowed no time for making and/or enjoying this special birthday tradition. 

The recipe is fairly simple {it came to me in my family cookbook scrapbook made by my sister-in-law and gifted upon our engagement} but the procedure is what counts. It is the perfect combination between pie and cobbler, despite that it is called cobbler on the recipe. It's summer on a spoon, any time of the year. 

Tips and Tricks (that you would have picked up if your Granny showed you how to do this):

- Find the juiciest berries possible. Plumper berries make more gooey berry sauce. Julian maintains that this is the perfect way to use seedy, wild, roadside-foraged berries. Do that if it is what you have, but I am kind of fussy about seeds.

- This recipe makes eight dumplings and should fit perfectly into a 9x13 dish.

- When the recipe lists "two pie pastry recipes," it means two full DOUBLE-CRUST pie pastries. You can buy them from the shop but this means two boxes of pastry, not two pieces. I just double this recipe for mine. 

- Knowing the exact measurements depends on a great many things. The recipe is a good guide, but use your better judgement when it comes to how much to put in each dumpling. I generally only put three tablespoons of sugar in each dumpling and I generally put as many berries as will rest in my cupped hand. 

- Roll the pastry out between two pieces of wax paper. Peel off the top sheet of the wax paper, put the fillings on top of the pastry, then use the edge of a butter knife to help you peel the pastry off the bottom sheet of wax paper, up and over the berries, apple-dumplin'-style. I reuse the same two sheets of wax paper for the whole batch.

- My new rolling pin {Christmas gift from Julian} made this whole process much easier, almost enjoyable. I highly recommend it. I used the 1/6" ring. 

- It doesn't hurt to give the dumplings a little milk/egg wash prior to baking and shake on some sparkly sugar to top it off.

- Serve hot, room temp, or cold. Stores well just left on the counter, covered... they won't last long enough to worry about. 

Questions? Feeling inspired?