Strawberry Jam

The seller at the farmer's market was very generous and handed me a pile at a great price. Since they were beautifully ripe , i knew i couldn't keep them for long. Hence decided to make some jam!




All you will need is ...
Ripe strawberries
Brown sugar (white works too)
Lemon

Step one
Scope out the strawberry stem in a conical shape with a knife to remove the hard portion just beneath the stem. If they are too hard on the top , just cut the complete hard portion out.


Step two
Mash away....


This is the most fun part. If you have kids at home , give them a bowl full and ask them to mash it with their hands. Trust me the mess will be worth it. i had great fun with it myself.

since i like my jam lumpy with pieces of fruit , i keep the above consistency. You are free to mash it more or experiment with a small quantity and decide how you like it

Step three:


Now measure the puree in a bowl. If you have 2 full bowls of puree add one fourth cup of lemon juice and three fourth cup of sugar. If making for kids add one whole bowl of sugar to one bowl puree as they like it sweet. add all of this together in a sauce pan

Boil on a slow flame till the sugar melts and then boil on a high flame stirring it regularly. Now you need to decide the consistency of the jam. I like mine a bit flowly as the bread absorbs it well. Once the jam has thickened stop the flame and allow it to cool down . Remember the jam will be much thicker when it has cooled down than what it is now.

Step four :
Pour it in a clean and dry glass jar and refrigerate. I don't know how long this lasts as i have always finished mine within a fortnight. Spread on fresh bread, warm chapatis (flat bread) , dip crackers in it , pour on vanilla ice cream or simply scoop out a big spoon and enjoy it as dessert.


Look at the deep, red colour and its all natural . No colour, no preservative and so much fun!


Note : The texture is different from the store bought jam as this is all natural. The taste however is much better and the guilt , far far less. Make a small batch and then once you know how you like it exactly, tweak the recipe to your taste. 

Rice Magic

I love to work with left over rice, so much that every time i make rice for dinner i cook more than i know i will need. There is so much that can be done with that rice in the morning which is easy ,quick and so tasty. Sharing a recipe which can be prepared in the morning to be packed for lunch or simply enjoyed as a brunch on Sunday mornings when you wake up at leisure.

Here i have used :
Broccoli cut into small florets
Carrot sliced thin and long
Zucchine same as the carrot
Onion thinly sliced
Left over rice which is now a bit dry
Giner ,Garlic and Green chilly paste (please make a fresh one )
Soya Sauce.
Oregano
Extra virgin olive oil or any other oil you cook regularly with


Step one 


My mom gifted me this flat , heavy bottomed pan , perfect for this dish. Pour 4 to 5 table spoons of oil in the hot pan and add onion, broccoli and carrots.

Step two 
After cooking for a while ,add zucchini and ginger garlic chilly paste and sauté for a while.


Step three 
Add salt and check if the veggies are cooked by running a knife through them. At this point they should be cooked but firm. If needed cover for a minute with a lid or plate to cook . Now add rice and soya sauce and gently mix everything


Step four
At this stage taste for salt and add oregano (or rosemary if you prefer). cover the pan for the steam to flavour the rice.
And Viola !!


Important 
1.Remember soya sauce has salt so under season it than your normal taste ,as the sauce at the end will add more salt to the whole dish.
2.Do not over cook the veggies
3.Rice grains should be firm and a bit dry . if rice is very soft it will get mashed and everything with get mushy. The rice used here was cooked in an open pan and the excess water drained off to remove the starch, while the firmness of each grain remained.
4. Do not use very little oil , the whole dish will be too dry