Home Made Oat Bread - to go with the Jam!

Home made oat and wheat bread, right from the oven

In a large mixing bowl:

2 cups warm water (bath water warm, not too hot, not too cold - just right for a baby)
2T Saf Yeast ( or any kind of yeast for bread making) (tip: keep yeast in a sealed container in the refrigerator or freezer for longevity)
     Mix these two together in a mixing bowl (I use my Kitchenaid) and let sit for a few minutes to get the yeast going. It will look all bubbly (see photo below)
1/4 cube butter, melted into the warm water
about 1/3 c honey (yeast feeds on sugar - let if sit for a few minutes more while you get your remaining ingredients together)
5 cups "flour" (I use 3 white, 1 wheat, 1 oat flour (you can make your own by blending some oats in a blender until it is the right "flour" consistency) and 1 cup rolled quick oats - I realize this doesn't add up to 5 but I don't consider the oats a part of the flour)
1 1/2 tsp salt ( put this in after the flour and on top of the flour - it makes the bread taste good but it kills the yeast)
1 beaten egg
     Mix by hand or on low in a mixer (about level 2) for about 5-10 minutes.
This allows the gluten to work into the bread and will give you a light airy loaf. Add a bit of flour along the way so it is not too sticky to work with but still light and silky feeling.
     Cover and let rise till double (this will take about 1-2 hours depending on how warm your kitchen area is).
 I usually leave it in my mixer with a clean dish towel over it and then use the Kitchen-aid to do the second knead.
Knead again about 4-5 minutes, then remove from mixer, knead and shape into a ball.

yeast getting bubbly / kneading in the mixer / separated dough / ready to rise in the loaf pans shown with regular size loaf and 3 small loaves

     Cut in half and form loaves by folding over again and again in an oblong bread pan-ish shape, tucking the last fold over so it sits on the bottom. Place gently in a lightly greased bread loaf pan.
***Optional: you can cut the dough into smaller portions - say 4 or so and make small loaves if you have smaller pans.
Cover with the clean dish towel and let rise till double. (again about 1-2 hours or you can put it in a warm oven for about 30-40 minutes - warm the oven and then turn it off. place a shallow bowl of warm water on the lower rack and place covered bread just above it. this will help it raise quickly if you are in a hurry)
     Heat oven to 350 F
           Bake 20 minutes small loaves.
           Bake 30 minutes large loaves.

Remove from oven and from loaf pans.
Using a cold cube of butter (easier to handle) "paint" the top of each loaf by holding one end of the butter and running it across the hot loaf.  This add a delicious shiny layer and helps keep the top softer.
Cool and cut and enjoy!

home made hot bread with, cold butter and
 homemade jam.... what could be better!

Homemade Raspberry Jam

Quin and Dave starting the process 

List of Items you will need or find useful:

This looks like a lot of stuff to pull together and - well... yeah, it is.

But it's SO worth it!

not only will it taste divine but you will have a magnificent sense of accomplishment and a really fun family activity.

Fruit - whatever kind you like and in whatever quantity you want to make

     For this post - our favorite - Raspberries from Bear Lake and Montana

Sugar

Pectin

a large cooking pot for the jam

a couple of large bowls for measuring sugar into and washed fruit into

colander for washing fruit

a large 8+  cup measuring bowl (mine is glass but I have used a plastic tupperware one also

lots of water and a place to wash/sterilize jars and kitchen items

jar lifter ( you don't need this but I find it really handy. I didn't have one the first 20 years we were married until I found one at a garage sale)

some jars with lids - old ones you have cleaned and are reusing or new ones in a box with the canning lids included

sealing lids for canning - whatever your preference - Ball, Kerr, Mason...

Measuring cup for measuring sugar

potato masher for mashing fruit

small pot to heat water in to soften the lids

hot pads

cloths for cleaning along the way and one to wipe clean the filled jars

a fork to carefully lift out the lids before placing them on the jars

a couple of large stir spoons, I prefer the wooden kind

a ladle to get jam out of the pot and into the jar cleanly

a funnel that will fit your jars (they make them very fancy but i still use an old one and it works great)

big black canning pot

raspberry jam - small package

some butter ( to keep the boiling jam from foaming outrageously)

good music

clean berries, ready to be mashed - the ingredients - mashing of the berries in the large measuring bowl

Lets get started:

I like to line up all my stuff and have a kind of organized process. I like to keep the precooked stuff all together and the post cooking stuff on the other side of the kitchen.

Again.. looks like a lot of work but you will get the hang of it and be making all kinds of jam!

First: Prepare the big black canning pot with enough water in it that it will cover the jars by at least one inch. Make sure it is on the stove heating the water, ready to boil just after you put in your prepared jars.

Second: Make sure the jars you will be using are clean and washed in hot soapy water. Prepare the canning lids, by putting the correct amount to match how many jars you will be filling, in hot water and soaking them a bit to soften the rubber. Place them in the small pot with rubber facing up on low on a back burner. Heat the water until its steaming but not boiling. You want to warm them so the rubber is warm and pliant and will seal but not ruin the rubber.

Third: Wash the fruit gently so as to not loose the juice of the berries. Measure them out according to the instructions on your pectin. Depending on what kind you get you will do it differently. I like to use SureJell and the kind we got required 6 C fruit and 8 cups sugar (to which amount we include 1 small package of raspberry Jam as a secret ingredient)

measuring things out.  Prep - the waiting sugar bowl - the stove setup - black hot water bath canner/lids warming in hot water / jam cooking

Fourth: Measure the fruit into the large measuring bowl and mash with the potato masher.

 Measure out the sugar into a different large bowl and set aside.

You will add this in after the fruit and pectin mixture boils.

Next put the fruit into the large pot along with the pectin and heat per instructions from the pectin.

When the mixture boils, add sugar and a tiny pat of butter (the butter helps in keeping the foaming factor down. If you aren't sure what this means, do it without for a bit. But keep your eye on the jam in case of foaming.. then you can add the butter and watch the foam dissipate. The oils from the butter decrease the tension on the surface and keep the foam from forming. You can add it at any time.)

While you are stirring the jam and waiting for it to boil, get the jars ready - having already made sure the jars are cleaned and dry, making sure you have lids and rings and everything assembled. 
Tip... this is where having a canning / jam making buddy comes in handy. You can do it on your own.. just takes a little longer.

I like to line the jars up  with a funnel, a bowl that can hold the off duty spoon and or ladle, with the rings close by, a clean fork for lifting the lids out of the hot water, a clean, preferably hot, wet cloth to clean the top of the jar removing any finger oils, jam or any other debri.

filling the jars with hot jam through the funnel - cleaning the top - putting the lid in place

Fifth: After the jam, pectin and sugar boil for the allotted amount of time (usually 1 minute after you add the sugar) Ladle the hot jam into the clean jars through the funnel until it is within 1/8 inch of the top (this is usually just as it reaches the bottom of the funnel within the jar), wipe the rim, carefully lift the rubber lined lid out of the hot water and without touching it with your fingers as much as possible (using the fork and your fingernails and not touching the rubber) place it on the jar, rubber side down, capping it tightly with the screw on ring.

Six: Gently place the jar in the canners hot water bath, or the big black cauldron looking kettle thing. When all 7 slots are filled (or a steamer bath) gently lower the wire holder down into the boiling or near boiling water. (Make sure the jars are as hot or close to as hot as the water you are putting them in... placing cool jars into or over a hot water bath may cause breakage) Water level should be at least 1 inch over the top of the jar.
When the water boils put the lid on the canner and set the timer for the recommended time (usually 10-15 minutes depending on your elevation).

tightening the ring - the water bath - the finished product

Seven: Using your handy jar lifter, lift each jar out of the boiling water and place on a nearby kitchen towel. I don’t know why I put it on a kitchen towel, to save my counters when I didn’t have granite, or to make it softer for the jars as they are cooling or because it just looks nice and homey, but probably -putting hot jars on a cold counter would make them break.

Best part …. Listen for the lids to pop. You can gently wipe the extra water off the tops with a dry cloth and then listen for the pop, telling you that you are successful and your jam is ready for storage (or immediate consumption after you set it out and look at it and how beautiful it is, and that you made it yourself)

Optional: you can wash the jars in a warm water bath after the jars have cooled so they are nice and clean when you put it in your storage. Also, mark the jars with a sharpie to note the date and any other pertinent information you would want to remember later.

I like to line mine up in my kitchen window so when I come down in the morning it catches the morning sun and looks like jars full of sweet rubies.

Making aSsupport Trellis for Peas (and then reused for green beans)

You will need - 4 lengths of 1/2 inch pvc sprinkler pipe, a garden net support, 2 corner connectors (slip/ slip) pvc pipe cutters for the top, 2 T (sl/sl) for the bottom, some rebar stakes
(option - 2 T connectors - slip /slip /slip) if you want to add middle support - a good idea if you plan on reusing it for something a little heavier and more of a climber.

lay out the pvc and put corners in place to make a big rectangle, with sides slightly shorter. You can make it as big as the netting or shorter, depending on your space.
weave the net back and forth through the pipe then hook them together with the corners and the T's on the bottom with the one side open to slide over a piece of rebar in order to stand up in the garden.

I did not glue mine together since I will probably disassemble it when I am done for the year for more efficient storage.

here is the same storage, moved over to support the green beans.They have overgrown it so much you cannot really see the trellis or pipe and I had to support it with some decorative shepherds hook flower holder.