Spring is Back!

    Winter passed and I survived it! The weather was not that bad in the Northeast, relatively mild when I think back to the big snowstorms of 2010-2011.  But this Winter has been trying for me with family emergencies and pest issues at home. I've decided that canning jars are beautiful storage vessels that save food from pests as well as spoilage, while serving as inspiration for cooking. Those jars are now once again being used for preserving.  It's been awhile since my last preserving "frenzy."  Now that Spring is here and wonderful fruit is coming into season, it's hard to keep me from preserving. 

     Every month, my friend Hima at All Four Burners hosts the Can It Up challenge. It's fun! Please join if you enjoy preserving.  Part of the fun of preserving is the sharing. It's also fun reading what other canners/preservers are preserving and seeing their beautiful photographs of their delicious products. April's Can It Up theme was rhubarb.  Although I made a rhubarb chutney, the NJ/NY farm markets did not have rhubarbs yet.  In fact, I couldn't find rhubarb in the supermarkets until the last week of April.  So when May came along, I was still excited about rhubarb. I finally found fresh local rhubarb at the farmer's market in the second week of May. So when May's Can It Up theme turned out to be Strawberries, I had to combine strawberries with my rhubarb. To find out more about May's theme, come Here. The tartness of rhubarb combines so well with the sweet strawberries.  But really, even if my strawberries were not as sweet as I prefer, I still like the strawberry-rhubarb combination. It just smells and tastes fresh, like Spring.

     I don't have much shelf space, and I love trying different recipes, so I love Marisa McClellan's Small Batch ideas. I followed her proportions for Small Batch Strawberry Rhubarb Jam and made two batches. Her idea for cooking using a large skillet is perfect for small batch preserves. I found using a wide skillet definitely sped up the stovetop process versus my standard pot. I think I may use my big braiser for a bigger batch next time. Thanks, Marisa, for such a useful idea.  

     I made a batch of Strawberry Rhubarb jam with cardamon and another of Strawberry Rhubarb jam with rose water. Both smell like a fresh flower, not over that overwhelming floral scent, but that smell of a fresh Spring morning.  Plus both are delicious! My Mom isn't too crazy about jam because she doesn't eat much sweets. But Mom really liked my jam.  She especially like the one with the rose water. The taste of rose is light, nothing like that old perfume.  For full instructions, click on the link above.  For the cardamon one, I added a teaspoon or so of ground cardamon at the end of the cooking process.  I gave it one quick boil and stir, then turned off the heat and ladle the jam into the jars.  For the rose water one, I used a little over two tablespoons rosewater at the end of cooking and 1 1/4 cup sugar. Again, thanks to Marisa for the proportions.  I am looking forward to making more. I am thinking of sharing with friends from my professional women group that I started a few months ago.  And gifts for other friends, and a jar for myself ... Clearly, Mom wasn't the only one interested in the jam but pup didn't get any. 

Apple and Olive Oil Cake #Bundt a Month

   I read that November 15 is National Bundt Day. It's like the birthday for the bundt cake! I am a few days late for the bundt day but hey, better late than never! Life has been a little crazy around here but I had to find the time to bake this bundt cake. It's getting close to Thanksgiving, less than a week to go, so might as well think of it as a make-ahead Thanksgiving dessert. The seemingly energetic bakers Lora of Cake Duchess and Anuradha of Baker Street are hosting Bundt-a-Month. I am always happy to be able to use my beautiful bundt pan and this month's Bundt a Month theme is spice.  I like spices because I grew up with spices in all kinds of dishes, from savory to sweet. 

   When I saw that the theme is spices, I knew that I wanted to have cardamon in the cake. Not only do I have ground cardamon left from a canning project a couple months back, but I also that cardamon gives everything a clean taste.  I also wanted to use apples or pears because it is that time of year! I searched and found the Molly O'Neill recipe on the New York Times website for Olive Oil and Apple Cider Cake. It has the right proportions for my pan. I get lazy and don't want to re-calculate measurement so that it'll be right for my big bundt pan. This one sounded right for my needs but I made my own modifications. 

   I stopped by the farmer's market and got some fujis and suncrisps. I may have added in an empire as well. I added in cardamon and cinnamon while cooking down the apples. I also left many pieces of apples in the apple sauce. 

As the batter baked into a beautiful bundt, my house smelled of baked apples with a touch of cinnamon and cardamon.

   The original recipe can be found on the New York Times website: Olive Oil and Apple Cider Cake.  It's a wonderful recipe - easy with few ingredients. I wanted the apple to shine so I am calling mine Apple and Olive Oil cake.  I added in a teaspoon and half of ground cardamon and a teaspoon of cinnamon while the apples were cooking down into applesauce. I sprinkled it with confectioner sugar after it cooled a bit. This cake would be great with some whipped cream or more of the applesauce over a slice of bundt. The beauty of the bundt pan is that it makes simple delicious cakes look so pretty.