This is one way to prepare plantains to make a special meal.
Good Evenin, everyone!
I hope that this awesome weather is treating you right. Yes it has started to cool down here in North Florida and if I could I would turn cartwheels, down the street!
I have had a craving for a Caribbean shrimp dinner, so I began prepping and it did take me 2 hours to prepare and finish cooking the dish. So you would do well to start prepping the day before and then this would go together really fast.
For this post, I am showing you how I prepared the plantains by washing and slicing and then peeling and frying them. They do not have to be fried to a dark brown as they lose some of their sweetness.
When you buy them they are like green bananas so if you see some with yellow and brown on them, pick those. Or let them hang around the kitchen until yellow and brown, they will not be soft like bananas.
You could also prepare the mango salsa the day before if you wish to make the recipe (August 2021) archives.
That’s all, folks. as this was about the plantains. If, you need the full Caribbean recipe then scroll to the bottom of this post for my August Archives of this year.
Good Day to everyone! Today looks like another gully washer day for North Florida. Which is fine with me, because I love the rain.
Yesterday, when we arrived home with all of our groceries, with three of us ladies. We, all had the chance to play in the rain while unloading the car, that is until the thunder and lighting arrived, pretty close behind the rain!
This post is just a tip post to save you money on raspberries, as I spent a fortune last week, alas. Raspberries are now BOGO at Publix so there is a steep price drop for you to go and get some raspberries to can up.
Basically each little package makes one- 1/2 pint jelly-jar. Make sure and get fruit pectin and sugar while you are at the store.
Thanks for stopping by and spending some time with me. Connie B.
Oh, if you need my jam recipe just look in my recipe archives under July 2021. Please feel free to share my recipes with good friends and family. Thanks again.
Hello everyone, on this hot and still, North Florida night.
I do hope that you are staying cool as it has been a very hot day.
I was in the kitchen tonight doing prep work and after I had prepped these beautiful raspberries, I came across a recipe that had the time shortened in half to make raspberry jam.
I have to admit that I have a passion for raspberries. I had been waiting such a long time for a sale on them. But, alas I just could not wait any longer. So I made a trip to Publix and paid out $24.00 for 6 packs of raspberries. This is only a luxury craving for once in a blue moon!
Here is the recipe that I used to make the raspberry jam and then water-bath canned it so it will last me, for a year of fabulous cream cheese bagels with this jam.
6 of the small packages of raspberries (makes 6 c of berries)
6 TBSP of Mrs. Wages Pectin (Box or package) Always at Save A Lot I mixed some of both as my box was almost empty (by me) The box is powder-like apples or citrus and the package has like tapioca in it. Both melded together just fine.
3 c of white sugar ( It called for 6 c) but it turned out very sweet and a little tart with 3 c. Which is how I like it!
2 TBSP of butter and a saucer for the jam foam to be put on
Before you begin it is nice to get all the prep work done and have everything waiting for you to pick up and use. So here we go!
Have 6 jelly jars sterilized (clean) and the lids and rings. Boil a little pot of water and turn down to low simmer. (For the lids, later, when ready to start the jam process.
Use a large and tall pot or a water-bath canner and fill with water 3/4th full. Start boiling now.
Prep items to have ready are a few napkins to clean jar rims with. A funnel–A ladle—lifting tongs and a thick potholder—a fork to get lids out of the boiling water— a kitchen towel folded and on the counter for the hot jars that come out of the canner ( very near the canner). A long wooden spoon to stir the bubbling hot jam with—A spatula to scrape out the pot of jam for the last bit of jam.
It takes longer to get everything set up than it does to make the jam. You also need a potato masher.
Use a heavy-duty steel pot and put in the washed berries. Use the potato masher to mash the berries in the pot. Turm stove on #8 pretty high. Use the long wooden spoon to stir with. When boiling add in the pectin and stir it in. Add in the sugar and stir it in. Let the pot come back up to a rolling boil again and then set a timer for 2 minutes. Stir just a little.
Turn off the stove and add the pats of butter. Skim off the foam lightly to the saucer.
Now we are ready to water bath can this jam for 10 minutes. So Put the 6 lids in the small simmering pot. Have the canner boiling. Have you 6 jam jars and rings ready.
I set the jam pot down in the sink and have my jars beside the sink and on the counter with rings and jars and napkins to wipe the jar rims off with. I also have a thick potholder to hold the bottom of the filled jar with and the jar lifters to pick up the hot boiling filled jars with to take to the canner and gently lower the jars into. The water has to be 2 inches over the jar tops or more is ok.
Use the funnel and ladle to fill the jars—wipe rims–put the hot lid from the small pot on the jar and then put the ring on the jat (ONLY fingertight) as air has to escape from the jar.
Process for 10 minutes at a rolling boil. Turn off the stove and let the jam stay in the pot for 10 minutes more. Then use the jar lifters and the thick potholder to remove and set on the towel. I leave them there until the next day. You will hear the lids pinging as they seal. That means (Well Done Job) and it is safely canned and will last for many years in the pantry. At least 3 years if you can wait that long! I can’t.
NOTE I do have to add that this jam is not real firm, as of a few days after making it. It’s more firm than runny but it is a little runny, but it sure sits on a cream cheese bagel, very well.
Thank you for stopping by and always feel free to share my recipes with your good friends and family, if you wish. Sorry, that is so long, but it is every step of the jam-making process. Thanks again for your time.
I hope that today is good for you and yours. I know that for me, it will be good however it is to be.
I wanted to show you my canned blackberries as they are so beautiful to look at their awesome color and they will be pretty good in any fashion that I decide to use them. I, just know!
I have always loved blackberries and used to go and pick them each year. But, these had to come from the store in very small, three-dollar packs. Six packs to be exact for these three jars which is $18 for my 3 jars of goodness me oh my. So it was very pricy to me, but I have some for this year so I am happy.
So onward to the canning recipe, we go.
Hopefully, you get to pick these beautiful babies. I use the pint jars as that is equal to a can of pie filling in the stores. I also use the water-bath canning method for these.
Go through all the berries and pick off the leaves or stems, if any. Then use a colander/sieve to rinse the berries.
Put your blackberries into the jars.
Start out your water bath canner on low-medium heat, with enough water to cover the jars. Also, start a large pot that is 1/4 to 1/2 full of water. Depends on how many pints of berries that you have in the jars! Bring to a boil and then turn off. Pour in 1/2 to 3/4th cup of sugar and stir in.
Add the light- sugar-syrup to the blackberries in the jars. Debubble each jar and wipe the rim of the jar with vinegar on a napkin. Put the seal on the top and then the band. Just finger tight with the band. A little tight but not lug-nut tight!
Now that you have your hot and your water hot (the water-bath canner). You may put the jars in. Put the lid on and when it is at a rolling boil, then start the timer for 20 minutes.
When the timer goes off then you can take the jars, out carefully. Have a folded kitchen towel near the stove for these jars to rest on. Listen for the pings as the jars seal. Then next morning you can wash the jars gently in soapy water and rinse. Take the bands off of the seals.
Always date and label, what is in your jars. I used very light syrup as you can always add more sugar, later if you choose to. But with very light syrup, I feel that I can make many different recipes with these canned blackberries.
Thank you for stopping by today. You are always welcome to stop in again if you find the time. Connie B.
I hope that your day is as glorious as the red in these jars of cherries. They have been put up with, the unlimited choice of many recipes.
I have been, patiently waiting for cherries to come in season and then patiently waiting for the price to come down to an affordable price. So, when that day came, I bought five bags of beautiful cherries for around five-and-change for each bag. So for around twenty seven dollars for 20 cups of cherries is a great deal to me.
I will not lie to you! It was a whole lot of work and extremely messy, while making sure to not get any of the juice on my carpet.
I used my little cherry-wood table and lined it with rolled up dish towels. I did not have a pitter so I was the pitter with a small little knife.
I watched a movie at a time as I pitted cherries for 2 days. Call up your friends for a cherry pitting, time.
I also went through the cherries, double checking for the few pits that I had missed. By a small handful at a time. The cherries were kept in the refrigerator, over-night so I took them out early the next morning to warm up to room temperature.
But, I finally made it through and then things started to go pretty fast, in the water-bath canning process.
I made up a side pot of 8 cups water with 1 1/2 c of sugar and got this medium warm. Then I used a spoon to funnel the cherries into 8 pint jars. It took 2 cups of cherries for each jar which was perfect for later recipes.
I put a cup of cherries into each of 3 freezer baggies. And along the way, I had all the cherries, you can eat for 2 days. So, 20 cups is about right and there was not any waste as these cherries were prime.
I had went to #save-a-lot to buy these cherries on sale.
Back to the canning, when my jars were filled with the cherries and very light, sugar-water. I, cleaned the jar rims and finger tightened the bands onto each jar. (If you are new to canning) take a look at one of my canning catagories for step by step) instructions for water-bath canning for these cherries. Or lots of canning.
Put the jars in the water-bath canner (that you have had heating up on medium for the last 30 minutes). Make sure the jars are covered by water by 2 inches over the top of the jars. Put the lid on the pot. Turn on the stove burner on high and once it is a rolling boil then set the timer for 25 minutes.
The reason that I used very little sugar for the syrup is that you can always add more sugar later and also use corn-starch in cold water to add to the boiling syrup and cherries to make your own canned cherry pie filling or you could just have the cherries as the fruit for ice-cream or cherry-fudge. There are end-less possibilities!
Thank you for stopping by today! Always feel Welcome to stop in for a while, as you are always Welcome. Thank You. ConnieB
Good morning everyone, coming from this North Florida, beautiful, blue sky day! I hope that you find beauty in this day too.
I just got back inside from my little, apartment garden, which has 8, very nice Rutger Tomato plants and 3 Crook Neck yellow squash seedlings that have just spread their pretty little leaves from under the ground to peek up towards the sun.
I had to put up a trellis that has 104 pieces for the squash to grow on, so they wouldn’t grow running down the street. I do miss the country life so much that I just have to bring some of it to the city!
I just miss having my 3 huge gardens of vegetables along with my old Mulberry tree-Fig Tree-Wild Blackberries. And most of all, my heavenly blue Morning Glories growing along a long hitching post.
And last but not least, my Honeysuckle Bush Vine that I had gotten a starting from the Suwannee River ditch in White Springs Florida. There were many baby mocking bird nests in that Honeysuckle trellis.
But, I am a City dweller now, so I must think of ways to bring the country to the city, as I am only allowed 5 plant pots for the front and 5 for the back of my apartment and three of those are fancy roses that I would just about die, without having those.
I am sorry to be taking you back into my previous years! But those were the days!
Recipe time, now, you ask? Yes it is time!
2 fresh whole pineapples that are ripe. When you can just easily pull out a leaf, then it is ripe.
1 c sugar and 1 c water
A pineapple corer is amazing and with it, you will never ever buy pineapple in the can again! They are sharp, so be careful!
Cut off top of pineapple about two inches down from the top. So the corer will fit nicely and you will be able to turn the handle twister and navigate the pineapple as you are trying to twist down in the very middle of the pineapple. Then just pull out the core.
Do, both pineapples and put into a large food processor, along with the sugar and water and blend up. Small processor, just do this in small amounts. Put this lovely smelling pineapple sorbet into a covered container, into the freezer.
Take out 15 minutes before serving. Once you get the aroma and taste of a fresh pineapple that is wafting through your house, you will be spoiled for life.
I do hope that you will try this and enjoy with friends and family! Connie B.
Good morning to everyone. Yesterday, changed from a foggy morning (like this morning) to an 80 degree sun shiny day. I expect that today will be the same. I did notice that while on the back patio, having me cup of coffee and watching the birds fly over, that ants are building up their nest on my paving stones. So that means that a gully washer is coming. Which is heavy rain. It’s funny, what the insects will tell you.
Like some of the first insects to arrive will let you know that spring is on the way. The ladybugs along with the bumble bees and butterflies will tell you that. Also if you garden, the bumble bees seem to come out at 10:00. I used to have a garden full of trellised green beans and if I was late picking them, then I had to say “move over Mr. bumble bee” and I will be gone quickly.
Enough about the stories you will find in nature, throughout your life. If you would only look for them.
Today is the day for the homemade applesauce recipe. As I am only one, this made enough for myself, so you will find that the taste can not be beat but the amount that you get out of two bags of apples is what you see in my photo.
Two bags of McIntosh apples or Winesap apples. Any apples will do, but these are my favorites as my Daddy was a produce man, and I know my fruits and veggies, well.
I used a large apple corer/slicer and cored the apples into slices. Then I poured 5 TBSP of lemon juice into each of 2 large bowls. You save the scraps if you want to make candy apple preserves or jellies. So then I peel all the apple slices and save the peels and cores in one bowl and apple slices in the other bowl.
Turn on a large crock pot and pot the apple slices in it. Add 3/4 cup of water and cook on high for 2 or 3 hours, while stirring and checking on, every 30 minutes. This is all that I do. I do not need to add any sugar as they are already sweet and tart for some of the very best natural apple sauce.
As for the peels and cores and lemon juice, put them in a freezer bag to keep and I will give you the recipe for candy apple preserves very soon. It will make 1 1/2 to 2 jars of goodness.
Thank you for visiting today. Please browse and share with your friends and come back soon if you wish. I post on Sat-Tue and Thursday. Thank you from Connie B.
Hello everyone. I hope this beautiful windy fall day, finds you in high spirits and and happiness. Most of all I hope you are loved and appreciated!
I will not be buying pineapple in the can anymore. I spent $15 on this new kitchen tool and it is the greatest.
You could almost call me the queen of kitchen gadgets. My kitchen is loaded with all kinds of food processers to the air fryer, down to the cheese grinder and everything in-between.
Any way back to the pineapple corer. I got it at Walmart and I purchased a green pineapple and had to wait for it to ripen so I could try this new tool of mine.
I cut it off a little high at the top so it was not as wide to work with. It was so easy to use, just stick into the top of the pineapple and turn the handle. After you get to within two inches from the bottom, then you press the yellow tabs and take it apart and pull off your spiral cut pineapple.
Now, make sure that you cut the top off wide enough so that the tool will go straight down evenly. Because I ended up coming out the side near the bottom and juice went everywhere.
