jammed.

i borrowed cookfight from the library (inter-library loan never ceases to amaze) because i love kim severson. the book is pretty simple and i didn't cook anything from it really, but i was a bit inspired by an easy jam recipe in the children's section. go figure.

in my freezer, there was probably one-third of a bag of frozen strawberries, gathering frost. in my refrigerator, there was probably one-half of a carton of blueberries, never to be eaten because i kept forgetting them and because blueberries are not my favorite.

i defrosted those strawberries, threw sugar all over them, and mashed the blueberries into the mixture. in a small pot, i cooked them with some lemon juice (maybe one-third of a lemon), until it reduced to a jam-like substance. after it cooled, i scooped it into a jar and placed it in the fridge.

is it the best thing i've ever made? no. but it's pretty delicious.

all about deb (mostly).

i've pretty much been hanging out and making smitten recipes. in the last week:

• light wheat bread
• light brioche burger buns
• grapefruit olive oil cake (you're going to have to buy the book)

additionally:

• lemony hummus
• cowboy cookies (adapted from baked)
• strawberry-blueberry jam (inspired by cookfight)

photographs and details to come. 

purim delicious.

purim celebrates the story of esther. i am not going to get into this here, but there's a bad guy in the story with a triangle hat. so we eat cookies shaped like triangles called hamantaschen.

hamantaschen are much like a sugar cookie (with juice in the batter) and jam inside. mine are raspberry, peach, cherry, and lemon curd. i made shira's mama's recipe. i am not going to post it here; i'd like to believe it's a secret. (i know that's not true.)

yes. i burnt the bottoms (don't bake cookies at 400F even if the recipe says to do so). but they were awesome all the same.

oh, the fair. the fair.

are you ready for this? alex and i judged everything in this photograph plus two more rounds for the food preservation section at the north carolina state fair.

it was incredible; we tasted jams, preserves, juices, jellies, and pickles. you only judge strawberry jam against strawberry jam, for example, and each category's size depends on its number of entrants. the bread and butter pickle category had 20-25 jars. it was insane.

but, more importantly, we also were able to nominate mind-blowing items for "best of show." we were quite choosey about this process; we didn't want to send just anything. in the end, we nominated a pineapple jelly (i know. it doesn't sound amazeballs, but it is.) and raspberry-jalapeno preserves, both of which won. yes. we are so influential. 

also, it's decorative gourd season, motherfuckers. (no, it never gets old.)

hello, my name is

remember, i had 2 quarts of strawberries; i had planned to make this recipe. it was hot and sunny when i went to the farmers' market. but it was soon grey and rainy and the recipe says i need 3 straight days of weather about 80 degrees. what to do now?

find another recipe. poo.
and then i had to edit it because i did not have the correct amounts of ingredients.

1. hull and half strawberries. i probably had a little over a quart left.
2. zest and squeeze one lemon.
3. cook lemon and 1 cup sugar on super low heat to dissolve sugar.
4. add strawberries and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
5. can.

i will let you know how this all tastes. and how long it lasts. but it was easy. and smells good.

drinks with jam.

the double crown: home of the bar, madam geneva. so lovely and dark and classy.

yelena, dominic, and i first went to this place in early january. the food is magnificent: british and indian married together in a plate of lovely. after our meal, we ventured into the back bar. the bartenders make these wonderfully tart and ever-evolving cocktails of either vodka, gin, or whiskey mixed with lemon, simple syrup, and soda water. and each one has a spoonful of homemade jam! everytime you visit, they have different kinds of jam. it's yum yum yum. i think the one in the photograph is a vodka-based apple one, but last time, i had apricot and gin, and there was a blood orange option. yes.

(photograph compliments of yelena and her iphone.)