Strawberry Apple Jam

I'm not what one might call a patient person. When I want something, I want it NOW, thank you very much. When I decide I need a haircut, tomorrow is not soon enough. Waiting is agony. Maybe it's because I am the youngest child of 4 and I got sick of waiting for things. Or maybe it's just my personality (likely). Whichever it is, I like things right away. Delayed gratification? Not for me.

I have never made jam before, but a few weeks ago I decided I would like to make my own. My hubby is a sucker for jam, and I thought he might like some fresh. Of course once I got this in my head, I wasn't about to wait until the next day to go pick up some pectin, now was I? Of course not.

This is me, remember?

So I did a little research and found out that apples are full of natural pectin. And I just had some sitting in my fruit bowl. Ha. Now, granny smith's would probably be a little better because strawberries, especially once cooked down are really sweet. But Fuji is what I had, and the jam was fab. So if you're impatient like me and don't have any pectin in your house, this is your jam. If you do have pectin, congratulations on being more organized (and probably more patient) than me, but I'd make this anyway because it's pretty yummy.

Strawberry Apple Jam

• 3 cups (or so) or sliced, hulled strawberries
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (possibly more if you're using a granny smith apple)
• 1 large apple, peeled, cored, and grated
• 2 1/2 tsp lemon juice

In a large, heavy duty pot, dump in your apple, berries, and sugar. Cook over medium/low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes and breaking up the berries as they soften.

Once the jam has thickened, grab a hand held blender (they are pretty amazing for things like this) and blend until most of the chunks are gone, unless of course you like really chunky jam.

Stir in your lemon juice and transfer into jars. I got one regular and one teeny mason jar full, you could probably get 2 medium out of this. Let chill for about 2 hours before eating.

-Jessica

Strawberry Banana Muffins

When I was a kid, we found out that I was allergic to strawberries. I was incredibly sad when we first made the discovery. My mom had brought home a giant box full of them, and I ate about half of it. To myself. I'm not even ashamed to admit it. Anyhow, later that night, I was suddenly hit with a horrible wave of...itchiness. I was covered in welts, and the worst was the bottoms of my feet. I know it sounds weird, but an intense itch of your feet bottoms is pretty horrible, I remember my mom putting my in a cold bath, rubbing them with calamine lotion, everything she could to get it to stop. Not fun. I spend the next 10 summers watching in jealousy as everyone around me snacked on the beautiful red berries, longing for one. Every so often I'd have one to see what would happen, and it was always the same.

One summer, I just couldn't take it anymore, and I ate 10 in one sitting. And nothing happened. I had some more, just to check. Nothing. I feasted for a whole day on strawberries, and it seemed my allergy had gone. I made strawberry pie, ate strawberry jam, drank strawberry smoothies, and it seemed that I had grown out of the allergy. Horray!

These muffins are deliciously moist, fresh, and of course filled to the brim with strawberries.

Strawberry Banana Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 ripe, mashed bananas (about 2 cups)

1/4 cup water

1  1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees ferenheit
• Mix together flour, baking soda and salt
• Add remainder of indredients, blend well
• Put muffin papers in a muffin tin and fill about 2/3 full
• Bake for 18 minutes or until lightly browned
• Serve warm with a bit of butter

-Jessica