Raspberry Jam and Raspberry Apricot Jam

Yup it is a two for one day I took a recipe's from Food In Jars for the just raspberry and it was the first time I have used liquid pectin next time I will go back to powder because it did not set as well as I like. I have heard Marisa comment that it does not always set so why the heck use it? Jam boggling!




If you want use a packet of powder instead and like me I always use a pinch more than a packet.
I will give it a few weeks in the pantry it will still make good for something. The second recipe  a fellow canner shared her this used no pectin she needed more cooking but turned out delicious and set well.

 Raspberry-liouis Jam

*This will make about 6 eight ounce jars.  I like little jars for jams because we like a variety opened and use so many the large jar tend to be forgotten half way down.

Ingredients:

8 cups of  raspberries
4 cups of sugar
1 lemon juiced
1 box powder pectin


In a large pot put your berries and let them simmer down . Add your sugar slowly and stir until it is well combined and the sugar has dissolved. Bring these to a boil and stir - stir - stir for say 5 minutes. Now turn the heat to medium keeping a slight boil say medium heat and cook for 15 minutes more, add the lemon and pectin now back up to a boil for 5 more minutes.


 
Skim off the foam, ladle the jam into sterilized half-pint jars, wipe the rims, add lids and rings, and process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes.

Now the second recipe: This second recipe is from Canning Across America a fellow canner shared her Deluxe Apricot Raspberry this used no pectin but more cooking but turned out delicious and set well.

 

 APRICOT - RASPBERRY JAM

Ingredients:

3 cups pitted and sliced apricots
4 cups sugar, divided
2 lemons
3 cups raspberries






In a bowl, combine the apricots with 2 cups of sugar and the juice of lemon, cover with plastic, and let rest for one hour. At the same time, in a second bowl, combine the raspberries, 2 cups of sugar, and the juice of a lemon, cover with plastic, and let rest for one hour.

Place the apricot mixture and the raspberry mixture in two separate large pots and bring each to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the fruit has come to a full boil, cook for 5 minutes and then remove from the heat. Pour the raspberry jam into the pot with the apricot jam and stir together gently.
Return the pot to the stove and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the jam has come to a full boil, cook for 5 more minutes and then remove from the heat.

Ladle the jam into sterilized half-pint jars, wipe the rims....add lids and rings, and process in a boiling-water bath for 15 minutes.

Makes about 5 half-pint jars.

This is a must after every batch

How yummy

Ta Da

Canning Marinara Sauce

                  Canning your own Marinara sauce has never been easier. 
This is a no fuss , no peel just cook and can recipe.

Tomatoes 145 pounds and first a big thank you to Ms. Independence who helped pick them all here is the rest of that story.

I read and read and read so many stories about canning tomatoes and just dreaded it .....all the peeling- seeding- then on Sunday like a miracle from god I found this site Grow it Cook it Can it...yupperz  a no fuss no muss canning recipe for the canner who just wants old school Marinara Sauce.

No offense to the others but come on peel and seed 145 pounds of tomatoes not this girl. I would rather give birth to triplets. But I do get it if you do that. I do believe my Mother-in-love would have a heart attack if I were to peel and seed the tomato. I can hear her now rattling off in Italian yada yada yaaaaaa

 Ok set up your assembly line you need

Large pot
Some chopped garlic.
Springs of oregano
White Onion chopped
Granulated sugar cuts the acid taste

Lemon juice  
Salt and Pepper to taste

Assembly line

Wash your tomatoes. I just chop off the tops or core them then cut the tomatoes into quarters and pop it in the pot seeds and skins .  Do get the bruises or icky part off but I know you have perfect tomatoes like me.

In the pot I put a bit of olive oil and some chopped garlic and some springs of oregano that is all I use. I do realize that there is no measurement on the ingredients. The reason is that I do 50 to 150 pounds at a time and it is measured by taste. The only exact is the lemon to get the right acidic level.

 kitchen...assembly line...cut..simmer..squish

My assembly line for five day's 

I think that salt and pepper are a to taste additive for later but you can add what seasonings you enjoy go ahead tweek it.

Now you just simmer the tomatoes for a few hours mine simmered for 6+ hours. After about 2 hours I took my immersion blender and stuck it in to break up the skins. Cook it until it is to the thickness you want. The skins cook down.




This sauce I have to tell you tastes great I will look forward to making recipes for Heavy Metal cooking site. Do you think those ole' Italian mama's seeded and peeled back in the day....I think no. Just a reminder.

See the bit's of garlic

Ah Boone don zah......lol

To can the sauce: Add 1 tbs. of lemon juice to pint jars and  2 tbs. of lemon juice to quart jars. This is a must if you are water bathing. Pressure cookers sometimes need some acid-if-a-cation also go here for the safe answer. Fill the jars with hot tomato sauce using 1/2″ head space. Process in a boiling water canner.  Pints get 40 minutes and quarts get 50 minutes. Lemon juice is is a must if you use the boiling water method)

All done

Reusing your lids....Great ideas...

This is a hot topic and there are so many ways to use them and not have to throw them out. I will be taking some of the ones I have been saving in the next few weeks I will try some of these ideas. You see canning is not always about what you put in the jar. I spend a few days on the WWW and found some great things..I think in the next few weeks I may just make some of these things so we have proof they are as charming as they sound. Great ideas all around.

I did link where there  was one with more information than I could give you. Make sure thy are clean. 

Make a magnet

Cover your workspace with newspaper.
Shake the primer & spray the lid. allow the primer to dry for a full day
The primer will allow the paint to stick to the surface of your lid

Flip the lid over and glue the magnet to the back of the lid
Flip & paint the canning lid with arts and crafts paint
Creative ideas include painting a silhouette, painting stripes, painting dots, drawing faces.
Decorate with glued jewels or sprinkles of glitter
Dry for & hang on refrigerator.
Also look at this cute idea canning lids frame magnets using the lids and the rim  from Pebbles in my pocket blog

Use them as Christmas Ornaments/make them into gift tags for your canning and gifts

Place the canning lid on a workbench over the piece of scrap wood
Center the nail towards the top of your canning lid
Hammer the nail to create the hole for your ornament/tag
You can personalize it by printing a family picture. Or a picture of your child as a gift for the teacher... decide on decorative paper or choose a design from a magazine
* Go back to this step in the first idea of make a magnet if you would like to paint the lid to have a frame around the picture with solid color.
Place the canning lid on top of the desired element and trace a circle with a pencil
Cut out the circle with scissors
Align the picture on the top of the canning lid
Remove the picture and paint a thin layer of mod podge on the top of the canning lid and the bottom of the picture. Press the picture on to the lid and allow the canning lid to dry for two hours
String the decorative ribbon through your ornament and tie the ribbon in a bow

Here is a great link to a site that made some cute decorated lids...great job great website Beauty for Ashes

Use them in the garden 

Nail them to stick, paint as wanted and use for garden markers

You can hang them from a string around your garden. Shiny things, like these lids, scare birds away.

Games for Kids

You can use them for educational games. Glue capital letters on some and the small letters on others, have the children match them up, or do the same with adult animals and babies. Things that go together, you get the idea.

Also you can make them into a matching game 

Take two of each lids and put identical pictures or letters on them and mix them up and have your children match them. You can also do the adult animal and baby and have them match them

Cross stitch

If you are someone who does cross stitch -- take a size able piece of the Aida count fabric you like best and draw circles with the size of the outside of the lid. Go to any craft store and find a book with small items that you can needle craft to that size ring and then glue the finished work onto the lid and make it full of whatever you like, candy, small toys, bath beads, etc. Whatever fits in the jar. Tie a ribbon and attach a card -- instant gift and you can always have one ready on short notice. These are so fun to do.  The used lids are a perfect fit for the cloth and dress up any jar as an all occasion gift.

Mobiles and Wind chimes 

String them on different lengths of sturdy string or thin wire. You can use old driftwood give it some character that was just something i thought of....get creative I know it sounds good but we are not all that creative I will try and let you get a little laugh out of my creations... Try spray painting them (lids and rims) all different colors and make rainbow wind chimes.

Donate them to your local girl scout troop

Coasters for drinks

How about a coaster for drinks on a wooden table. take these instructions I saw in a magazine so let me link you to it  and apply it to the lids..It is really great you take some lace and spray the lace so the pattern comes out on the coaster then just cut some cork for the bottom...this is one I will do....In the latest Martha Stewart Magazine she has an article about Lace Tiles Coasters I know we can take this and do it on Lids...I will now have to do it and put up instructions she has no link to this article...Gee thanx Marta duhhh

Pop art curtain

Instead of buying a beaded curtain for your teenager's bedroom, why not make your own out of a couple hundred canning lids? Sprayed half our canning lids black and the other gold, string them together and hang them from the door casing. Use a small nail and hammer to punch a hole in the top and bottom of each disc so they could be easily tied together using 3 inches of jewelry wire.

Make First Place ribbons.... I like this idea allot

For party prizes, spray a handful of canning lids "Blue Ribbon" blue, then attach two strips of 6" blue ribbon to the back. Black dimensional paint or a permanent black felt markers can be used to write "First Place" on the front of the disc. These ribbons make terrific party prizes for three legged relays, hot potato tosses, and other party games.

Mixes in a jar

Put together the dry mix for a family favorite recipe (cookie, cake, baked beans, etc.).  Fill the jars with the dry mix seal with the used canning lid and ring.

OR

The used lids work well for sealing mason jars filled with dry pasta, sugar, flower, noodles, etc. You don't need a vacuum seal, just enough of a seal to keep the dust and evils out.

Primitive Pin Cushions
I searched everywhere for instructions but you can see a picture of them on this blog Crystal Creek here. there is a picture when you scroll down but no instructions but for those who are crafty a picture is sometimes all we need.......So cute and I quilt so this is a good Christmas present idea...yuppers ....I'm going to ask my quilt group to make some instructions for anyone who wants them....

45 pounds later

 

Good Pickins

Found this woman and picked her brain

 So Underwood Farms had a pick your own tomatoes at 25 cents a pound so 45 pounds later......Ms. Independence came in from Oakland last night and the priority today at the crack of dawn was to go with Mommy to the Farm...Fun yepperzzz now here is the funny thing at the farm were two young men in charge of all us pickers...Now what young men cute as a button get up that early and are that nice...Seriously they were super nice gave me tips on my picture ....what tips you ask well as Randy was taking a picture of myself and the little girl and I was ready to leave and he said.....Don't you want a picture of how much they weigh...Brilliant young buck....Now he was not alone because the other young  hooligan nice as the day is long lugged my tomatoes into my car..........All in all a great morning...Thank you Underwood farms...but the most thanks goes to Randy and Louie....Sweet Boys.....hey hey wait a minute my daughter was with me DUHHHHH Always take a young hot girl with you when you are old as the hills......

Still talkin'

I'm in Heaven

Bemd at the knee's dippy

Leave no tomato un turned

Ok who looks this cute at 6 am to go into a field...Ms.Independence

Almost to 45 pounds

Mysle3f and my little helper

Should we go back out?????

Ok it was early

Tow adorable helpers and all around nice boy-men

Did I show you my ribbons?

Had to eat first to get the energy to hold all the ribbons...lol

Working on my lunch

Fried calamari

all gone ...numnum

 Well here are the ribbons

and my check for wait for it wait for it $22.00 dollars....woot woot