Strawberry Jam & Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins

Nothing like a good power outage to realize how so much of life revolves around electricity. Some crazy wind gusts swiftly took power to much of ottawa and collapsed the main stage at Bluesfest. Hopefully the person (people) injured from the stage collapsing is (are) okay*.



Here's a video of "I Want You to Want Me" by Cheap Trick, who was playing the mainstage just before it collapsed.



* Mixed reports about the number injured -- I've heard anywhere from one to five.
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Now back to the intended post....

Growing up, I was a bit of a tattle. But, in my defence, Actorboy (my brother) did a lot to deserve being told on. One, perhaps less incriminating behaviour, was copying. You know - the ever so annoying - repeat everything I say. It would annoy me to no end when my parents would say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Puhlease!!! Let me imitate you for a while and we'll see how flattered you are.

Now, I am older and wiser, so I am okay with imitation. EXCEPT when it comes to my mother scooping my upcoming blog post!

What started out as an innocent phone conversation, during which time I was making strawberry jam, turned into Giz running to the market for strawberries to make her own jam and then post it later that day.

So, let's just pretend that you didn't see this post.

A few weeks ago, R and I went with a couple of friends to pick strawberries at Shouldice Farm. Between making jam, muffins, lunches and freezing, all 16 litres are now accounted for.


I asked Kat from A Good Appetite if she had any good recipes for strawberry jam and she came through with this one:

Strawberry Vanilla Jam

8 c (approx) strawberries (5 c after hulled and crushed)

4 T lemon juice

1 package powdered pectin

1 vanilla bean

7 c sugar

Sanitize 8 - 9 one cup jars in simmering water for about 20 minutes.


Also sanitize lids in a small saucepan.


Crush Strawberries (I used a potato masher after slicing up the strawberries into smaller chunks).


Put crushed strawberries, lemon juice and pectin in a large stockpot or dutch oven. Stir to dissolve pectin. Split the vanilla bean in half.


Scrape seeds into the pot. Add the pods and stir.


Bring to a boil. Pour the sugar in all at once. Turn heat to high and bring to a rolling boil, stirring often. Once it reaches a boil that can't be stirred down, boil for one minute stirring continuously. Remove from heat. Skim off foam.


Ladle into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headroom.



Cap and add neckband. Put jars in boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit in hot water for 5 minutes. Remove from pot and let cool undisturbed overnight. Reprocess or refrigerate any jars that don't properly seal.

Makes 8 - 9 cups.

Here's 1/4 of the frozen strawberries. We use them throughout the year for smoothies.


I also made some strawberry oatmeal muffins, using this recipe.

Strawberry Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup light olive oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 pint chopped fresh strawberries
Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups.
In a large bowl, mix flour (used 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 all purpose), oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, milk, olive oil (used apple sauce) and sugar. Mix in strawberries. Stir strawberry mixture into oat mixture just until evenly moist. Spoon into prepared muffin cups.

Bake 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.


We took the muffins to a picnic at Mooney's Bay.

Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Lemons and Olives

A tagine is a North African earthenware conical cooking vessel. We'd normally associate Moroccan food with a tagine. A tagine is also the name of the dish that's cooked in the vessel. These tagines go from the very basic to the completely elaborate with a multitude of reasons why each is better than the next. The beauty for me is that you can stove top or in oven cook with it, use it as a serving vessel and it retains heat for a very long time.

I bought my tagine quite a while ago and every time I cook with it I remind myself that I simply don't use it enough. This time was no different. Craving some flavourful Moroccan chicken I decided to make a simple Lemon Chicken with Olives recipe using the preserved lemons I made a few months ago. If you've never preserved lemons, it's just so easy and the result is nothing short of amazing. Check out How To by David Liebovitz



I found an interesting recipe HERE

Ingredients

•1 whole chicken, skin removed, cut into pieces
•2 large white or yellow onions, very finely chopped
•one small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped*
•one small handful of fresh parsley, chopped*
•2 or 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or pressed
•2 teaspoons ginger
•1 teaspoon pepper
•1 teaspoon turmeric (or 1/4 teaspoon Moroccan yellow colorant)
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled (optional)
•1 teaspoon smen (Moroccan preserved butter - optional)
•1 handful green or red olives, or mixed
•1 preserved lemon, quartered and seeds removed
•1/3 cup olive oil
•1/4 cup water, approximately
Preparation:
* Instead of chopping, you can tie the parsley and cilantro together into a bouquet and place on top of the chicken during cooking.

Prepare the Chicken
Remove the flesh from the preserved lemon, and finely chop it. Add the chopped lemon flesh to a bowl along with the chicken, onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, spices and smen, and mix well. If time allows, let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for several hours or even overnight.

To Cook the ChickenAdd enough of the olive oil to the tagine to coat the bottom. Arrange the chicken in the tagine (flesh-side down), and distribute the onions all around.

Add the olives and preserved lemon quarters, and drizzle the remaining olive oil over the chicken. Add the water to the tagine, cover, and place on a diffuser over a medium-low heat.

Give the tagine time to reach a simmer without peaking. If you don't hear the tagine simmering within 20 minutes, slightly increase the heat, and then maintain the lowest heat setting required for maintaining a gentle, not rapid, simmer.

Allow the chicken to cook undisturbed for 80 to 90 minutes, and then turn the chicken over so that it's flesh side up. Cover the tagine again, and allow the chicken to finish cooking until very tender.

Turn off the heat, and let the tagine to cool for about 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Moroccan tradition is to eat directly from the tagine, using Moroccan bread to scoop up the chicken and sauce. French fries are frequently served with this dish, and may even be placed on top of the chicken.



Notes: I used chicken legs instead of whole chicken - it was great
Black olives instead of green or red - don't think I'd do that again - too salty
Added carrots - nice sweetness to offset the spice

If you don't have a tagine, this dish can easily be reproduced in a large skillet at low temperatures

New Zealand: Part III

Time for part 3 of my trip report. Click on part 1 and part 2 to read about earlier parts of our trip to New Zealand.

Last post left off in the central-east region of the North Island, Hawke's Bay. We departed the Hawke's Bay area early in the morning to catch the Interisland Ferry to the South Island. It was cheaper to book the ferry through our car rental company and there are many ways to get a reduced price, so I'd suggest looking around for discounts rather than booking for full price.

We were a bit panicked as we neared Wellington, knowing that we had a good 30 minutes of driving to get to the ferry when we were supposed to be there in 10 minutes in order to be one hour in advance, as instructed. Picture me freaking out as we're heading through the foggy mountains you must pass to head south to Wellington.

Of course, in true New Zealander style, the gate agent you must pass in order to load the boat didn't seem at all phased by our tardiness.



After the ferry, it was a quick drive to our hostel, Sequoia Lodge in Picton. Good thing too because it was getting dark and their free chocolate pudding with ice cream should not be missed.

If I had to make any modifications to our itinerary (other than extend it all together), I would change this next part of the trip. After a full day of travel to Picton (keep in mind that we were travelling in the fall and it gets dark around 5:30-6:00pm), we left early the next day for Nelson (2.5 hour drive). We dropped off our stuff at the next hostel, Tasman Bay Backpackers (a sister hostel to Sequoia Lodge) and drove on to Marahou, next to Abel Tasman, a well-known national park.

People often go to Abel Tasman to canoe, hike or camp (among other activities). Our main goal was to go canoeing. But, by the time we got to Marahou, our options were pretty limited since companies renting canoes also require a 1 hour safety lesson. So, we were limited to a short hike and lengthy boat ride.


This is the Split Apple Rock, the most photographed site in Abel Tasman.


What we should have done was spend as least 2 nights in Nelson, so that we could get to Marahou early in the morning to take advantage of the canoe + hiking options available. Or, if you have the equipment, camping would be nice too.


All in all, I thought Abel Tasman was nice, but, quite similar in appearance to what you'd find in Canada.






The next day was another travel day (about 7 hours to Franz Josef). We stopped in Hokitika for meat pie and to look at jade. Don't quote me on this, but I think the restaurant was called Clocktower Cafe. R got a venison pie and I got beef.

After a brief stop, we continued on to Franz Josef, located in the central-west part of the island. This area is known for glaciers -- there are two: Franz Josef Glacier and Fox Glacier.

Both Franz Josef and the nearby (30 minute drive) Fox are fairly similar and we debated which one is better. Franz Josef is steeper and probably the more crowded of the two. I think our decision came down to accommodation. The YHA in Franz Josef seemed nice and had space.

Next decision (just ask Giz how torturous it can be to wait for R or I to make a decision)... how we were going to see the glacier? Half day hike, full day hike, helihike, longer helicopter tour? (Did I mention that my new favourite expression is : "First-world problem")

We decided to take a Helihike with Franz Josef Glacier Guides. This entails a helicopter ride up the glacier followed by a hike around the glacier.


The pictures just don't do it justice. Despite large amounts of rain (2-3 metres/ year) being common to this region, we had beautiful weather for our hike.





After a quick lesson about how to put on clampons, we spent the next couple of hours walking around, being careful to follow in the footsteps of our guide.



Here is the guide, soaking wet, after proving that he could squeeze through a crevasse (the other guide had to come and help pull him out). Apparently, as long as you don't freak out, exhale to reduce your chest circumference and let your body heat melt the ice, you can get through tight holes in the ice. Yeah...I'll take his word for it.





Here's some video footage of our helihike:



Here is a map of the route:


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