Dandelion Jelly Recipe Discovery!

             

Dandelions taste yummy as jelly, who knew?

Bon matin world,

I am sharing a recipe that comes from teaspoonofspice.com for a special dandelion jelly that you need to experience; at least once in your life. 

As you know, I have been homesteading, and canning is my latest kitchen love affair. Poppa Bear is alright with this as he gets to taste the "fruits" of my labours-don't pardon the pun.

           

It's truly fabulous, we were all a tad bit unsure as these weeds are usually frowned upon and seen as more of a horrible nuisance than a delightful bloom.

As it's spring and the chill allowed for flowers and weeds to come out a bit later than usual, I had a safe amount of time to pick these yellow flowers/weeds, to try this new fangled recipe I had stumbled across. I had never ever heard of dandelion jelly before and was truly curious and admittedly, slightly nervous. 

I had eaten organic dandelion greens when I had worked in a healthfood store years ago, can you say B-I-T-T-E-R? 

Whoa la! 

The tea I had also tested was a bit better and it's a diuretic, so I thought it was an okay thing to try. But I had not really enjoyed dandelion. Now it's years later and I am out picking them for jelly making, the inter web had assured me it would not be bitter at all. 

I went out when we had some bright and warm sunny weather and gathered from our back lawn. It was a carpet of dandelions and I preferred to snag them from there as no dogs had pee or poop time on them; and I knew they were pesticide free. Important things to consider when you are going to be ingesting anything you pick.

So, here's the thing that nobody is going to tell you about making dandelion jelly. You only use the petals, you need 3-4 Cups of them depending on the recipe, and it is a long process to get those petals out. I am serious! 

It took hours to get enough petals to make one small batch. It's tedious work because you have to pull the petals out from the green part, you cannot have any of it as it will make the jelly cloudy and bitter-ugh! This means 3 or so hours (get someone to help) of gently but firmly pulling, plucking, removing, and admittedly some yucky yellow stained hands. There may have been some doubts at the midway point, as to why I had foolishly taken up this task. 

Be warned, get comfy, listen to some good jams, and have beverages on hand. We sat out back in the shade under the tree and it took about 3-4 hours to get the 4 cups I used. I have been kind enough to provide you with a different recipe from the one I made, which only uses 3 cups. Trust me, you will appreciate it by the second cup of dandelion petal seperating. 

Despite all the irritating time it took, I must say, that I was pleased to have tried this as the recipe yielded a delightful and novel taste; that was uniquely addictive.

Enjoy it!

http://teaspoonofspice.com/2014/04/make-dandelion-jelly/

Dandelion Jelly

Makes About 5 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 3 cups packed very fresh dandelion blossoms (from unsprayed plants!)
• 4 cups water
• 4 cups sugar (don't use less or jelly won't gel)
• 1 box powdered pectin for less sugar recipes
• 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice (fresh lemons have varying acidity - so us bottled)
• 1 drop yellow food coloring if desired (without this coloring is a bit more greenish)

Directions

1. Using your thumb fingernail, cut and pluck the yellow blossom out of the tiny green leaves holding it. (Your thumb will get sticky and the flower will separate into petals.) Remove as much of the green as possible because green is bitter and turns the jelly green; I had just a tiny bit of green on almost each blossom.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add 1 1/2 cup blossoms; turn down to low and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off water and steep for about 15-20 minutes. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain out and gently push on blossoms to remove some of the water. Add water back to saucepan and bring to a boil. Add remaining blossoms; simmer for 10 minutes and strain out blossoms, pressing to remove water.
3. Measure steeping liquid to 3 cups; add sugar, pectin, lemon juice and food coloring and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil for 1 minute, then skim off foam with a wooden spoon.
4. Pour into hot sterilized half-pint jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace and store in the refrigerator - or process according to canner manufacturer's instructions.

Notes

This great idea is from the cookbook "Cider Beans, Wild Greens, and Dandelion Jelly." If you can't collect enough dandelion blossoms at one time, freeze your collection until you have enough.

Use the jelly on lemon scones, crackers with goat cheese or cream cheese, warmed to glaze BBQ chicken, in salad vinaigrette or almost any way you use honey.

Here are pics of my dandelion jelly adventure:

         

I steeped my petals overnight in the fridge after letting them cool on the counter for about 2 hours.

       

I used liquid pectin as I was out of the powdered kind, do what works for you just make sure your liquid to sugar ratio works with your amount of pectin or else it won't gel. I also used 1/4 Cup of lemon juice in my recipe and would highly recommend using fresh juice in place of bottled if you can. The gelling will be much better. I also did not need any added colour as steeping the petals overnight yielded a stronger colour.

       

As it was my first time ever making jelly and canning, I used some mason jars and some jars with lids I had on hand. I did the whole sterilizing thing before, as well as processing them according to a Bernardin canning book I have and their website info I had researched. The bottom right pic above lid is being pointed to because I had not noticed the ding in it. It turned out that one jar ended had some water seepage. 

It's okay, we sacrificed ourselves and ate that one as a tester. The recipe had jelled so well that I was easily able to drain the excess water when it was cool enough to handle.

           

So, taste wise I am going to give this a solid 4 out of 5. It's a four because the first bite was initially a bit stronger than expected, slightly off putting but the more we chewed the more we like it and the more we wanted. Yeah, it was a cool experience and I will definitely make more which I will give as gifts, sell in my soon to come Etsy shop, and I may have a giveaway or two that will include a jar of this.  

           

I tried it on plain toast and on toast with cream cheese, the taste was slightly honey-esque with earthy notes and a sweet deep finish. Very pleasant. 

        

You need to try this out and get the little one's involved in helping you to pick the dandelion heads. As a child I used to bring my mother dandelions to show her I loved her, not realizing they were considered a yuckie weed. She would say thank you and put them in water to let me know she was happy I was showing her love with something I thought was beautiful. They always seemed to vanish before the next morning though. Times have changes, now she appreciates my picking them as the jelly is something I give as a gift, and it disappears quickly for entirely different reasons.

             

Leave questions or comments down below and let me know if you try this out. I love to hear about your kitchen adventures, don't forget to subscribe and God bless!

Making Time for God in the Flurry of Activity

                         

It's Sunday afternoon and the day has already had so much in it, it's a busy time in my life as so much is going on. I have been blessed with the opportunity to give back to others who have given me much in my life and are in great need at this time. Some people would see it as an added burden in their already hectic lives, personally, I feel very lucky. I am trusted by God and the individual to be of service, other blessings have flown my way to make a small but felt moment of happiness, and there is opportunity for growth on both sides. It's a gift and I am not squandering any of it. 

It feels like there are God given places of turn around in our lives, some we are very sure of because the signs are evident; some we must take on faith. I love when it's a mix of both, I can hear Him, feel Him, and praise Him for always being a loving Heavenly Father. 

Good things are coming and I am gratefully embracing and walking by faith to where Jesus has shown me I need to be. 

Have a lovely & blessed day. Remember to share your light, this world needs it so.

                                

There Be Lilac's Out There!

Morning Folks!

That top pic is not mine but it was so purdy, I hads to shares! Bad grammar aside, I am having some funventure's in homesteading. This week has been busy busy!

Our neighborhood has become a fragrant lilac wonderland and I am taking full advantage. Remember the other day, I had walked and they were just starting to bloom, so I grabbed a few an enjoyed them as I ate my breakfast and read? 

Well, it turns out that yesterday, my aunt called to say her tree of lilacs was ready and to come on over and snag as many as I like. I wrangled her and my mom together so I could get as much help as possible to tackle the full and pleasant scented loveliness.

We cut most of the bottom one's we could reach, by the time I remembered to snag a pic. It was hot and sunny, didn't want to repeat sunstroke city, so we worked quickly and I scored big time! 

We filled two huge bowls and fit it into a large plastic bag, which I gently closed and placed in the fridge overnight to keep them fresh and happy until I could start processing them today. It promises to be a long task but I saw some pics for lilac jellies on Pinterest, and have decided I must make some! 

It looks so fabulously special, I am hoping for a more purple hue for some pots. Like these:

It's quite the job though to get to the jelly making stage. It means slowly and very gently pulling the petals out of the base, then pouring a steeping liquid of choice, and drawing out the flavour overnight. It is a bit more painstaking but as I am new to canning and jelly/jam making, this is exciting in my mind. 

Today is all about lilac petals and taking care of our little pooch, The Rockstar aka Rocky. He had a bit of vet drama yesterday and was not well for the last 4 days. I am happy to report that he is right as rain and in full recovery mode. Plus he's still a cutie and very loveable-vet says there is no cure for that! 

Oh well, guess we just have to keep him. Heh heh.

Here he is all snuggled in between my legs and nestled in the blankets, as I write this post.

Love that cute little punim! 

Mom, why are you disturbing my sleeps?

Yeah, tough life alright. He was not too interested in being awake yet, he started drifting back to sleep pretty quickly.

I am back to doing these purple beauties:

Hope you liked it, I will have a dandelion jelly post and recipe for you very soon, so keep coming back & don't forget to subscribe! Have a lovely and blessed Friday, May Abba guide you and keep you. 

Lilac, Gardening and Garage Sale Excursions

         

Bonjour monde,

The scent of lilac is filling my kitchen and senses as I write these words. 

Takes me back to childhood, walking to school just before it let out for summer, surrounded by that unmistakeable lilac scent, boughs weighed down by assorted blooms, and picking some on the way home; to give to my mom when the day had ended.

The blooms are late this year because we have had such a cold spring, this week has given way to perfect weather and everything is coming to life. 

                     

These are my red peppers which have finally begun to sprout, now if only some pesky critter menace would stop digging in my pots; I would be happy. The trials and learning curve for a newbie Gardner is steep! It seems that cinnamon and then some stinky onion spray have not worked their magic, I will not be deterred!

              

I finally made my Southern Spiced Fried Chicken with a special salty/sweet glaze. It's gluten-free and gets gobbled up, so I had to take pics pretty quickly. This recipe will be available in my cookbook only, but it will be worth the wait. I was surprised by how much extra glaze the fam kept adding to their pieces of chicken; as it was on a whim that I decided to create that finish for the popular chicken recipe. Happy that it went over well and learned my lesson on the double it up next time front.

                

This one was an extra smothered piece after I had already poured some glaze on it. We were laughing at how much was being used, would you like some chicken with your glaze?

Anywhoodles, I moved forward and am happy to report that all granola batches were an absolute success! I am posting that recipe next week, hopefully on tasty Tuesday.

                       

That one is the almond and blueberry cranberry maple granola, boomtastic!

Come back for it because you are going to want it over and over, I think it would also make great DIY gifts. In a Mason jar with a pretty lid, fancy ribbon and nice tags. Yeah, that could work out nicely for the holidays later on this year. 

Hey, it's never to late or early to plan ahead and start buying or making Christmas gifts. 

I plan on doing some serious canning and jam/compote/jelly/pickling this summer and fall. God willing it will all turn out and my friend's and fam will have delicious noms that you just can't buy. 

                         

We went to these city-wide garage sales this past Saturday and scored loads of garden stuff, pots, tomato cages, camping dishware, and all these Mason jars; on the cheap!

My aunt is amazing at bargaining down, I suck at it. It amazes us all that she's so good. She sweetly and jokingly butters up the seller's; they smile and crack jokes with her and she gets more bang for her buck. I am just awkward, unsure, mortified & uncomfortable. I feel like I am being shifty or doing something wrong. 

It may not be the best way but I'll pay the asking price, don't judge me...

My mom scored a dozen Mason jars for 0.25 cents for a whole box! 

Yeah, a dozen jars for 25 cents; which would have been $12.99 plus tax at the store. I must say, people were super happy to be rid of them, us canning folks snag and bag with smiles all around.

I got 6 boxes more for about $10, and I was super happy about my $2 camping set which I had seen retailing for $20+ at the sporting goods store.

                           

 If you have them in your area or even a bit out of town, I highly recommend going to these types of garage sales. People have stuff you need at way better prices, and not all of it is used or even gently used. Some of the sellers were business owners getting rid of last season's stock, overstock puzzles that were never opened or unwrapped, so much baby gear, clothing with tags and store folds. My uncle got 5 Tommy Hilfiger shirts and my aunt paid .50 cents each! 

(Flambant neuf!) Flaming New, as she kept repeating in French. Tops I had seen for $49 & up to $57 in the stores downtown! 

The only downside was that I got a touch of sunstroke, I had sunscreened, wore proper clothes, but forgot a hat and didn't drink as much water as I usually do. Too caught up in the excitement, I paid for it and ended up having to cancel my plans for my birthday on Sunday. I spent most of the day in bed, seriously nauseated, with cold compresses and a pounding headache. I slept a lot and it finally started to clear off a bit in the evening-loads of fluids helped. I am not going to complain though because we had a blasty blast on Saturday and party plans can happen another time.

                                

That's all I got folks, keep checking in and tell me about your garage sale adventures down below in the comments.

Have an awesome day and Abba bless! 

Outrageously Good Paleo Maple & Blueberry Cranberry Muffins

Good morning sweetpea's!

I promised some tasty treats and I is here to delivah! Hehheh

But first, a little bit of me.

My son has left for a month long trip to Indonesia, and as per his usual, he waited til the last minute to get stuff done. He did start early but faltered near the end. It came to packing and travel snacks; this is where we are polar opposites. 

I am a planner and I like to be well ready, waaaaaay before hand. Like, packed suitcases 2 weeks before with lists, photocopies of important documents, snacks & food stuffs prepped for a quick throw it all together and bake it up the night before, and all meds/necessities Ziploc-ed and good to go. I even buy the book(s) I am going to read 2 weeks before and torture myself by keeping them in plain view, while not allowing myself to even have a sneak peak read. It makes the travel day extra fun to look forward to, along with the actual trip of course. 

Not my son. 

We had planned on pre-prep a week before, he said all was fine. Yeah right.

2 days before, I get a call with a need for help, suitcase, locks, Ziploc bags, face cloths, and drumroll please...

"Mom, do you have any yummy snacks for travelling? Like those muffin thingy's you were talking about?"

My son, 23 and still flying by the seat of his pants. He also trains a lot and lkes healthier and gf options. 

Good thing I had just made myself a batch of muffins and had frozen cookie dough on hand-just in case. Turns out neither items made it to flight, apparently both were too tasty to resist. He even exchanged one of the muffins for a free java jolt from one of his friends who works at a coffee shop. She texted him a while later exclaiming their "soooo good" tastiness. 

I guess next time he'll plan better. Hahahaha hahahaha- whoo, that was a good one. ;) 

This is my son and I, two days before take off:

We were having fun being silly, taking selfies or togethers? Meh. You get the point.

We caught up on life moments, cracked jokes, talked street food and safety stuff for travel. We were both excited for his first, long, far away, travel adventure. I prayed so hard for his safety and continue to do so, he landed safely and has begun to have fun. I need a vacation. Maybe baking travel muffins will kick-start my next get away. Sooner than later, I hope. Pb, we need to get this wagon train a movin'.

Okay, back to food.

Well, this Paleo muffin recipe is one I make the day before I get on a plane. There are no refined sugars, no soy, no dairy, and it is vegetarian. I like that it has loads of fiber, good fats, protein, and tastes outrageously good. I kid you not, whenever I go to Poppa Bear, these come on flight with me. Pb likes to munch on the remaining one's and looks forward to eating these nom nom's of delight. He always asks if I am bringing them with when I come see him. 

They are not a light and fluffy, cake muffin, like you are used to. These are more compact, smaller, more dense, and nutritionally sound-also filling. They are a perfect travel food and have helped me when stuck places where allergy-free items are not available. 

This recipe comes from my mother, she found a recipe somewhere, didn't like it, and gave it a great makeover. 

Typical pastry Chef, I get it from her honestly. 

I further tweaked the recipe, I reduced the eggs and upped the flax. These are not nut-free, they contain almonds, you can try with different nuts if you like. 

Here goes, and as always there are pics to guide you down below.

PALEO MAPLE BLUEBERRY & CRANBERRY MUFFINS

Ingredients:

1 Cup Almond flour aka ground almonds

1/2 Cup Flax seed ground 

2 Flax "eggs" (mix 1 Tbsp ground flax with 3 Tbsp water, mix & let sit for 5 minutes until gummy) 

1/2 Cup Coconut flour

2 tsp Baking powder

2 Tbsp Walnut oil

2 Tbsp Coconut oil

2 Eggs

1/2 tsp Sea salt

3/4 Cup Maple syrup grade B

3/4 Cup Blueberries frozen

1/2 Cup Cranberries frozen and chopped in half (can add up to 3/4 Cup) 

Method:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

-Keep fruit until very end, do not add until all else is mixed, use from frozen

-Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners

-In a bowl mix dry ingredients

-In a seperate bowl mix wet ingredients

-Mix together until well combined, add in frozen fruit, stir until just incorporated. 

-Drop by large scoopfull into liners and once full, place in middle rack of preheated oven

-Bake for 20 minutes, turn tray halfway and bake for another 15-20 minutes. 

-Only remove from oven when golden brown, allow to cool in tray.

-Remove from tray and enjoy!

-Store in an airtight container in fridge for up to 5 days, can freeze up to 2-3 weeks. 

Mixing flax eggs to sit as I prep the dry and then wet ingredients.

I mix with a fork and quickly incorporate the frozen fruit, I don't want the dough to change to a blue colour so no over mixing. Which btw, is why people often end up with rock hard muffins in regular, gluten-filled baking. Over stirring toughens up glutens and gives a dense hard brick muffin. Chef tip of the day ;)

These get a light golden brown on them, they are perfect when they look like the above pic on the left. It is as I stated before, a more dense, not high baking, empty calories, sugar laden fluff.

They are healthy but remember that these are high in good fats, and too much of anything is not a good thing. 

Eat max 1 or 2 per day, you will be fine.

Bonne appétit!

Any questions or comments can be left down below, I like hearing from you, and feel free to test these on your next trip and tell us all about it! 

Abba bless you & yours...

GF Oatmeal, the Old Fashioned Way, with Fruits & Cinnamon

Bonjour and a lovely good morning to you all!

Today I want to show you a simple way to make a very healthy version, to replace quick cooking oats that we get in those awful little packets. I was talking with my Poppa Bear and we were having a discussion about breakfast. 

At home we were down to little in the pantry and I was forced to eat those oatmeal packets for breakfast. It was not ideal, was likely loaded with allergens-I took meds right away to avoid unpleasantness, and was so overly sweet; I had to cut it down with the handful of remaining plain oats I had. Yeah, we really needed to do groceries. Quaker oats used to be a product that was synonymous with quality. 

Boy have times ever changed! I was shocked by how small the packets had gotten, was depressed by how minuscule the flakes had become, and was turned off by the horrid amount of chemically tasting sugar. The apple bits were almost non-existent as well, I was really left wondering what happened to this once looked forward to, nourishing, and hearty portion breakfast staple; from my childhood?

In this fast-food, destroy the environment, gmo-laden, gluten infested, and profits before people world, oats has easily become a victim of the times.

I was not to be deterred.

If you have been following the blog, you will be well aware that I have been on a homesteading kick. That includes dehydrating my own vegetables and fruits, along with starting an emergency preparedness stash. The latter of the two was because I saw an info thing on the Government of Canada website, telling Canadians that we should all have, a minimum 3-day supply of food an water. 

I agree, having lived through the Quebec ice storm many years ago, I remember what it's like to be without electricity for weeks in the middle of winter, as food supplies rot on the fridge and dwindle. Never again! 

So, as I was dehydrating and prepping, I realized that my organic raisins and apples would be perfect with my newly bought, gluten-free, quick-cooking, plain oats! 

I laid out the ingredients and made a super fast, better tasting, and waaaay healthier version of speedy oats.

These are only oats:

I got them on special for $4.99, which was a great buy as they usually retail for $6.99. I bought 3 bags of different oats. One was steel cut and two were quick cooking; I plan on going back to pick up a few more, as I like to use these in baking a lot.

They're certified GF, non-gmo, are kosher, and free of all priority allergens! I also love that this is a Canadian product, buying Canadian and local is always a bonus for me.

Here's the nutrition info, should you like to know more.

The next pics show you what the oats look like:

    Up close:

I have tried these and another brand called Mum's, I will do a review on both of these in the near future. For today, I am focusing on the easy peasy recipe. Enjoy!

GF OATMEAL-THE OLD FASHIONED WAY, WITH FRUITS & CINNAMON

Ingredients:

2/3 Cup GF quick cooking oat flakes

Handful dried apples

Handful dried raisins

1/2-1 tsp Ground cinnamon

Small pinch pink sea salt

Boiling hot water

2-3 Tbsp Grade B Maple syrup or 1 tsp maple sugar. (Optional)

Milk of choice (Optional) 

Method:

-In a bowl, place all dry ingredients

-Bring water to a boil in kettle, pour water over ingredients, just up to the oats. I like a very lumpy oatmeal, feel free to add more water if you prefer. Cover immediately with a plate and let sit for 3-5 minutes.

-Remove cover and stir with a spoon, add maple syrup and stir.

-Add milk of choice if you like, I sometimes heat my unsweetened almond milk to make it all hotter, but I also like it cold. 

These are my dehydrated apples, I made them in the Excalibur dehydrator. Note that they are not brown, I did not use sulfites as I am allergic to them. I simply soaked the chopped and sliced apples and immediately placed them in a half/half mixture of cool water and lemon juice. After 5 minutes, I drained them, lay them on trays and allowed to dehydrate for 6-8 hours at the raw food setting 105 degrees. You DO NOT need chemicals that are harmful, to keep your fruits from browning.

Adding the boiling water and covering is important.

Stir it up!

Then it looks like this:

I made some fresh apple and carrot juice to go with.

If you want, you can make little Ziploc baggies of the dry oatmeal ingredients and have them at the ready, to be poured into a bowl, super fast for a rushed morning; without sacrificing quality or health. Then you can re-use the Ziploc baggies again for the same recipe next time. Feel free to change up the ingredients, I dehydrated blueberries and cranberries.

These were from frozen, needed no added sugar and came out perfectly!

Cranberries, I added a bit of maple syrup because these are very tart, but not a lot, and what was great about dehydrating all these fruits was that, some of them were on their last legs. I ended up avoiding food waste, adding to my food prep, and having a great time doing it; all the while controlling what was going into my food.

Enjoy your oatmeal and get the little one's involved in making prep packets, they like helping out in the kitchen.

Leave any comments or questions down below, I would love to hear from you.

God bless and remember: