[marmalady]

I have 4 quarts of Jersey strawberries!:bounce: and some Jersey broccoli, and we just had local asparagus last night - oh, yum.

As soon as I shut the computer down, I'm going to do my annual strawberry conserves with some of 'em, and then probably freeze some to have in the winter - that is, if I can keep everyone's sticky fingers out of them!!!!!

 

[isa]

Sounds delicious.

How do you preserve strawberry Marmalady? :lips:

 

[jim berman]

Jersey produce is great! We are a mile from the closest pick-your-own farm and it is a great time w/the kids. We get a truckload (or so it seems) of strawberries every year! The tomatoes are wonderful! They aren't much to look at, but the flavor is delicious. I freeze them (whole) and make fresh Jersey tomato sauce in the middle of winter. Keeps a little bit of summer hanging around.

 

[mstevens]

This is interesting as over on eGullet there is a thread on how bad this year's produce is around NYC due to bad weather this spring. What a difference a river makes!

 

[marmalady]

Isa, it's pretty much your basic strawberry jam; 2 quarts berries, 7 cups sugar, juice of one lemon, and I add a tablespoon of vanilla - just because; and 1 pkg. of pectin, which I just started doing this year, because the last two years I haven't had much luck getting the jam to set without the pectin. It set like a charm with the pectin, tho, and I actually think I like it better, because the jam isn't cooked as long, so it tastes fresher.

Don't know about the produce availability in NYC, but if it's the 'gourmet' varieties, I think the late frost did hit the farmers here in central Jersey pretty hard; there are a lot of Oriental farmers here, producing some of the great Chinese veggies.

 

[mstevens]

Chile Queen? Be still my heart!

Check out the Avatar I'm working towards...

 

[marmalady]

My dear Mark,

I am more than willing for you to have the title of 'Chile Head', but remember, I Am the Chile Queen!

Seriously, I love traditional Mexican cooking, and the heat of the chile is just a part of that complex wonderful flavor. i'm not so much in it for the 'hot for hot's sake', but as part of the whole. If I spend hours making a dish, I want to be able to taste more than the heat, I want to taste the whole dish!

Do you grow any chiles? I've tried, but the ones with longer growing seasons are a little frustrating up here in Jersey, aren't they? Altho as hot as it is right now, maybe I should have taken the chance and tried a few!

What are your fave chile dishes - BBQ, Thai, Mexican ?

 

[mstevens]

I've been into hot and spicy food for a dozen years or so, and have been a subscriber to the Chileheads Internet Mailing list for more than half that time. From this list was developed a series of gatherings where list members in certain areas converge on a location known as a "Hotluck" Where folks bring and prepare good hot stuff. One of these Hotlucks that I attended up in Warren, NJ about a year and a half ago was filmed by the TV Food Network where it was featured on a special called "Eat the Heat." This same lady is hosting another one in a couple of weeks.

I also maintain a website section devoted to chiles and spicy food at: =Mark's Hotlinks

I've tried growing chiles, but my yard is too shaded, but I have some great produce markets and a wonderful hotsauce and spicy food shop in Red Bank.

Recently I've become really enamored of Thai food, and am constantly frustrated that Monmouth County has little to offer here. Coincidentally I am currently organizing the 4th eGullet NJ Dinner At Mie Thai in Woodbridge, NJ this Sunday. Feel free to sign up!

Well I better wrap this novel up, 15 or so posts till I get to upgrade to my true avatar!

 

[risa]

Marmalady: I grew habaneros last year. I planted seedlings about 4 inches high around this same time last year and I was harvesting some by the end of July. I had one in a large pot and it grew quite large very quickly. I'm not much of a chile head, so harvesting 2-3 per week was plenty for me.

 

[isa]

Marmalady,


I do a strawberry compote that freeze beautifully. There is no water when it defrost, it stays thick and taste as if it was made yesterday.

 

[marmalady]

Wow, Risa, that's great - I just never had that luck!

Isa - Recipe, please? Sounds yummy, and just the thing to pull out on a cold winter's night!

 

[kylew]

I am a proud native of the Garden State! No one, from more than 30 miles away, believes me when I say that there is nothing on earth like Jersey Sweet Corn and Jersey Tomatoes

 

[isa]

I'll get you the recipe Marmalady just as soon as I find it and translate it.

 

[shroomgirl]

Try the low sugar pectin. I add Grand Marnier and cinnamon to my strawberry preserves. Lemon and cinnamon to blueberry.
Though I can mine...saves freezer space and is not difficult, boil the jars and tops then fill and cap and they'll seal. No waterbath needed.

Kyle~ I was aware of Jersey corn, don't know how/where, but I've heard the rumor that you guys grow great shtuff.

This week we had peaches at market and the very end of the strawberries, thought they were long gone but there was one farmer bringing in a few qts. Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are HERE!!!

Went looking for Chanterelles and there was not a one.....gotta have rain.

 

[isa]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you Marmalady, I couldn’t find the recipe.


4 cups strawberry
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Cut 2 cups of strawberries and set aside.

In a big pot set on medium heat, mix together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Add 2 cups of strawberries and mash them. Cook until it thickens and has the typical look of cooked cornstarch. Add the reserved strawberries and mix well.

That’s it. I hope the instructions are clear enough. If you have any questions just let me know.

 

[marmalady]

Isa - How does the cornstarch look after it's thawed out? Whenever I've frozen a sauce made with cornstarch, it just looks like little jellylike blobs after thawing, and then you have to warm it to smooth out the sauce again.

 

[foodaholic]

mstevens this is my first day,so it took me a little time to figure out your signiture.


Lying awake at nite, wondering if there is a Dog

That's hilarious.


foodaholic

 

[isa]

The beauty of the recipe Marmalady is that it comes out of the freezer looking and tasting like you made it yesterday. Honestly it taste great even in February!

 

[marmalady]

Okey-dokey - off to make room in the freezer!!!!

 

[isa]

Please let me know if you try the recipe, I'll be curious to hear what you think of the compote.