Strawberry Jam

2 pints strawberries, 4 cups sugar, 1 box pectin,

2 cups chopped strawberries, I chop in the food processsor, and then measure to make 2 cups.

Wash and rinse plastic containers with lids. Use 1-2 cup size containers.

Wash and prepare fruit. 

Place fruit in bowl, Add exact amount of sugar. Let stand 10 min, for sugar to dissolve. Stir occasionally.

Stir one box pectin and 3/4 cup water in small saucepan, bring to boil on high stirring constantly. Boil 1 min. Remove from heat.

Stir pectin mixture into the fruit and stir until all sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy.  About 3 min. 

Pour into prepared containers leaving 1/2 space at top.

Let stand at room temp for 24 hours. Refrigerate for 3 weeks, store in freezer for 1 year!!!

 

Bread and Strawberry Jam

 

Making Bread with the Bread Machine!

It’s been lots of fun the last two days making bread and using the bread machine. Found a good recipe and here it is:

1 cup warm water 110 degrees

1 T milk

2 T oil

2 T honey

2 T brown sugar

1 tsp. Salt

3 cups flour

2 tsp. Instant active dry yeast

Place all ingredients in the bread machine and allow it to make your dough.

You can then place in a bread pan and allow to rise, or you can just continue with the bread machine. I did the fast method on my machine and it worked great.  Bread in about 60 min.

If you bake in the oven, bake at 350 for 30 min,  

The shape of the loaf will be nicer in the bread pan, but the convenience of the machine is wonderful!

January 9, 2025 Recovery and Cooking

 

January 9, 2025

Just wanting to write a little journaling topic here, I had gall bladder surgery almost 2 weeks ago, and man has it been one heck of a two weeks.  The surgery was painful enough, but I developed some type of respiratory crude with coughing. And you do not want to cough after surgery.  It hurt so bad on my left side and into my back.. I think I pulled muscles in my back.  This surgery was laproscopic, so I don't know why it would have been hurting so bad on my left side below a small incision, but the pain there has been horrible, and it still hurts there to this day.  The pain is getting better, but I sure have had a major time with it.  I slept in the chair for the majority of the time.  Finally slept in the bed the last 3 nights. I still can't sleep on my sides, the way I normally sleep , but it will get better!  I just know it will. 

Since I have been feeling better, and sooooooo bored with TV, I decided to cook some things.  I havent used my bread machine for a couple of years, and I saw it in the pantry, and I had seen a recipe for a bread machine dough, so decided I would try this, It turned out really well,  and I gave most of it to Holly, so I made some more today.

Another thing I made yesterday was some Strawberry Freezer Jam, just like my momma and my mimmie used to make. My friend Wendy was talking about an Amish girl on instgram making a video of strawberry freezer jam, I told her it was delicious. So natural with this nudge and remembrance, I placed my Walmart pickup order and began the journey to make homemade bread and homemade jam.