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To support the school’s horticulture club I bought a flat of strawberries during their annual Spring sale. Needless to say a flat of ripe strawberries is impossible to eat before all the strawberries will go bad. Thus the reason jams and jellies were created. This was my first time making “real” jam, meaning jam which requires canning. I was a little nervous as I don’t have all the canning gear, however, I was able to retrofit an existing pot and trivet to work well. This is the standard strawberry jam recipe and makes 8 half-pint jars (twice the size of the jars in the picture).

Ingredients

• 2 quarts fresh strawberries, hulled
• 1 (1 3/4 oz) package regular powdered fruit pectin
• 1/2 teaspoon butter (optional - cuts down on foaming)
• 7 cups sugar

Directions

Place 1 cup of berries in an 8-qt heavy pot. Crush the berries. Continue adding berries and crushing them until you have 5 cups crushed berries. Stir in pectin and butter.

Meanwhile put your boiling water canner (or large pot fitted with a rack) on and heat the water to boiling. Also, begin the process of sterilizing your jars (see below).

Heat berry mixture on high, stirring, until mixture comes to a rolling boil. Add sugar and return to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off foam with a metal spoon.

Ladle at once into the hot, sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch space at the top. Wipe jar rims then put on lids. Place in the boiling water canner. Process for 5 minutes (starting the timer when the water returns to a boil). Remove jars and cool on racks.

Notes

To sterilize your jars and lids. I recommend using glass jars with self-sealing lids. Always use new lids when canning. Start by washing your jars in hot soapy water. Then rinse and dry. Place the jars right side up on the rack in the boiling water canner. Add the lids but make sure they don’t stick together. Boil 10 minutes (if at sea level). Remove and drain the sterilized jar and immediately add hot jam. Remove a lid, place on the jar and tighten with a screw band. For more information on canning see the USDA’s Complete Guide to Home Canning.

Arepas are a popular breakfast dish in Venezuela and Colombia. They are corn cakes made of precooked cornmeal (I like the white variety). I was introduced to arepas by a friend in college. Her father was from Colombia and her mother would frequently make arepas (and wonderful empanadas). We would eat them with carne mechada (shredded beef) and black beans for dinner. Ed grew up eating arepas with cheese, carne and a side of black beans for breakfast - aka Pabellón Criollo, the traditional Venezuelan breakfast. So obviously they are very versatile and good at any time of the day. Ed says that in Venezuelan people basically treat them as bread making all kinds of sandwiches with arepas - ham & cheese, black beans & onions, shredded pork, etc. So, I present to you our breakfast this morning, Arepas con queso. We used a fresh Latin cheese called Guayanés, however, any fresh white cheese (e.g. Farmer’s cheese) will work. I also like them with cheddar & feta but don’t tell Ed - it is heresy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups masa de arepa (masarepa)
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• fresh white cheese

Directions

Place the masa in a bowl and mix in the salt. Add the water and stir with your hands until the water is absorbed. Let sit for 5-10 minutes then knead for a few minutes until the dough is smooth.

Shape into 2″ to 5″ patties (just depends on how big you’d like your arepas) that are about 1/2-inch thick. Cook in a cast iron skillet on medium-low heat until outsides are crisp and the inside is cooked. This will take 10+ minutes.

Serve while hot. Cut each arepa in half and fill with white cheese (or carne, or black beans, or ham, etc.).

Yield: 4 servings

Notes

You can also crumble the cheese into the dough (about 1/2 cup) so it melts while you cook the arepas. These are great filled with beef or beans.

These are my favorite waffles, period. They also happen to be vegan! You might have to cook them longer than other waffles you are used to.. When done they are crisp on the outside and chewy and moist on the inside.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar (brown sugar preferred)
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 Tablespoons soy yogurt
• 2 cups soymilk
• 15 oz pureed pumpkin, fresh or canned
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

Sift together dry ingredients. In a different bowl, whisk wet ingredients until well mixed. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and combine with a few strokes until there are not many dry pockets. Pour enough batter into waffle maker to make a nice size waffle and follow your manufacturer’s instructions.

Yield: 6 servings