The Devil Inside

Summer is here, we have already had some 95 degree+ days. I have a rule that from June thru Mid-September I don't turn my oven on too often. Lots of grilling, pan frying and cold sides like pasta and potato salad. Oh, and deviled eggs. I could eat an entire dozen deviled eggs (yes, 24 halves) all by myself. I don't, as my cardiologist will kill me before the eggs do, but I could. The deviled egg is completely underrated and not given due respect. Ann Burrell said, it is always the first platter emptied at the picnic. My friends Meredith and Sara both upon hearing my blog topic expressed their deviled love. We all adore them, so let's boil our eggs properly and fill them with our favorite fillings (I like a little zip and tang to mine). Boil 1 dozen eggs. To properly boil eggs, put eggs in large pot with water to cover by over an inch. Bring to boil uncovered, let boil 5 minutes. Turn off heat, cover and let stand 20 minutes. Immediately immerse in icy water to chill. Peel those devils. Half the eggs, scoop yolk into boil. Mash yolk with fork until you get a nice fluffy texture. Mix in: 3 tablespoons of your favorite mustard 3 "shakes" of worcestshire sauce 1 "shake" of Frank's Red Hot Sauce 1/2-3/4 cup of mayo Salt and Pepper to taste Continue mixing with a fork til combined and fluffy. Taste to see if seasoning is right, correct as needed. Pipe or spoon into shells. Call me and invite me over to eat them. Variations *Use a flavored salt *Pickle relish *Chopped fresh herbs *Cajun or creole seasoning

We be jammin'

Monica had "the jam plan". If you don't know what I am talking about, I am referencing the episode of Friends when Monica has lost her job and decides she can make enough homemade jam to pay her bills. Joey eats all of her jam.

Last summer my aunt had a jam plan. Her plan included picking the freshest sweetest raspberries and turning them into jars of jam and raspberry sauce to serve over ice cream.

I was the lucky recipient of one of those jam plan jars. I have never tasted anything so freshly picked; meaning every spoonful tasted like berries I had just picked myself! I began to stuff the jar in the back of the fridge and bought Smuckers for my husband to eat and horded it for myself.

This summer my aunt has promised she will teach me how to make jam because it sounds a little scary to me (and I don't want to fight with my uncle for extra jars of the sweet stuff). I am generally worried about the process of canning more than mixing up a tasty spread for my toast. Germs and bacteria can not only ruin the jam but send you to the hospital. But today was the first day of raspberry season at my favorite orchard and she isn't coming for a few more weeks...

She told me it would be fine for me to pick and freeze the berries until she comes to visit as we are just going to mash them anyways. Most of them will go in the freezer for her expert advice but I decided I had to make something with some of these berries so I decided to experiment a little on some jam and see how it went.

I picked raspberries and bought a few quarts of the very last local strawberries of the season. The raspberries are fairly tart and I thought mixed with the strawberries and some sugar we could have something tasty. My end result was good, not great. I think I used too much sugar so the jam is a little on the sweet side-an extra dollop of peanut butter will probably even that sweetness out though. (Oh, and I did use less sugar than the recipe called for...) And yes, all of the jars set with the lids sealed.

Strawberry Raspberry Jam

(Makes 4 16 oz canning jars with a little left over for breakfast tomorrow)

3 cups ea of Strawberries and Raspberries
Up to 7 cups sugar
1 box Sure Jell Pectin
1/2 teaspoon butter

Wash your jars, lids and rims in hot soapy water. Set into a hot water bath until you are ready to use.

Mash all of the berries in batches and place into a large sauce pot or dutch oven. Mix in the pectin and butter and stir cooking over med-high heat. Continue stirring while this cooks. Cook until it reaches a rolling boil. Add HALF the sugar and keep stirring. Give it a taste and add more sugar to taste as you like. Once it has reached your desired level of sweetness cook until it reaches a rolling boil again (keep stirring...) and after it reaches a rolling boil cook for exactly 1 more minute.

Immediately ladle into the prepared jars that have been waiting in the hot water bath. Make sure jar rims are clean and there are no pockets of air in jars, cover with lids and screw on rims. Place back into water bath 10 more minutes and boil.

Remove from water bath to cook. To check to see if the lid sealed properly press down in center of lid-it should not have any give. If it does, just use this first (within 2 weeks) and use what does work within a year.

Of course you can mix this recipe up anyway you want-just make sure it is 6 cups of fruit. Maybe some citrus zest would give it some brightness too?

Enjoy!