Apricot Jam

I had my first experience making jam the other day. A friend gave me some apricots from her tree, and while I would never put a plain apricot in my mouth, I am in love with apricot jam.

I followed this recipe from Little Green Cottage Designs, Best Apricot Jam Recipe, modifying it for the amount of apricots I had on hand. Here is my modified version:

26-28 apricots washed and cut in quarters

6 cups sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Place the apricots in a large pot or saucepan with a scant 1/2 cup of water and 2 cups of the sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Turn heat to high and boil the apricots until they are soft and then add the remainder of the sugar and the lemon juice.

Boil over low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Let cool slightly in the pot, then fill jars, cool and store in the refrigerator. I used half-pint canning jars, but did not use any preservative methods, so this jam should be eaten within a month.

The jam will thicken when it is cool.

I was able to fill six half-pint canning jars.

This jam is so delicious on toast, waffles, ice cream, bagels...ohhh, the possibilities!

A Spice Salute

This is a shameless plug for one of my favorite products, 21 Seasoning Salute, from Trader Joe's.

I always have a jar of this in my kitchen. I use it in my roasted carrots and to season chicken, whether it's in the pan or the pot. I've also added it to rice, soups, other veggies, and we use it as a better alternative to season Top Ramen.

It contains spices that you'd expect like onion, garlic, basil, rosemary...and some maybe you wouldn't, like orange peel, carrot, cumin, cayenne, and oil of lemon. What it doesn't contain is salt!

Here's my simple, yet delicious recipe for Roasted Carrots:

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Now, you can mix everything up in a bowl like you should, or be lazy like me, and mix it all on the baking sheet. =)

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 425.

Mix together baby carrots (enough to serve your group) and oil (olive, canola, or grapeseed)- enough to coat the carrots. You want to coat them, but not drown them!

Sprinkle coated carrots with coarse salt and the 21 Seasoning Salute and stir to mix.

Set your rack one level up from the middle and roast carrots for at least 20 minutes or until done. Check and stir along the way. They should be tender and look roasted...you can do this! These are yum-O!

Just one of the many products I love from Trader Joe's. And no, I don't work there (how fun would that be!!!) I just enjoy shopping there! Don't even get me started on their cornbread...

Let Freedom Ring!

Here's hoping you all had a fun and safe 4th of July! We had a great time with friends, bbq'ing at our house, relaxing, kids in the pool, eating waaay too much (yes!), and seeing some fireworks.

I am so thankful to live in a country where I can speak my mind (as cracked as it may be sometimes), pursue my dreams, live in freedom and worship God without fear.

And it is because of Christ's work on the cross that we have true freedom, a freedom that cannot be taken away by any person, group or government. Thank you, Jesus!

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.    -Galatians 5:1