It's an Apricot Fiesta!

 So June has been APRICOT month for me. They opened up the church apricot orchard for picking--and I picked!

 I haven't even counted up how many pints of jam, fruit leather, and dried apricots I've done, but by the time I got to the last few batches of jam, I had perfected my recipe!

 The Jalapeno--Apricots new best friend!

 Ingredients:
8 Cups cut up Apricots
1 Lemon, 1 Lime (about 1/4 cup juice)
3 Cups Organic Sugar (evaporated cane juice)
1 Cup Real Maple Syrup
1 Cup Honey
1 Cup Agave
1/2 Can Crushed Pineapple
1/2 JALAPENO--Don't be afraid to use this--it's the secret ingredient!

 That's right, you don't see pectin in the recipe. I suppose you could add it, but I like my jam a little fluid, not clumpy. You just add all the ingredients (I cut up the jalapeno and blender it up with the lemon/lime juice, so nobody gets a green chunk--you should see my first batch!) Use a very large pot because when you start to boil, it gets fluffy! Bring to a rolling boil, stirring frequently for 30 minutes.

 Before you fill your pints, add a couple of apricot nuts (shelled pits) to your jars. It enhances the flavor and they have a nice almondy kind of zing if you want to munch them later. You only need to process this for 10 minutes, then take from your canner and wait for the pings! Makes about 6 pints (more or less) of Fiesta Jam!

Hay Bale Loading

Just for fun, I wanted to share some pictures of what my kids and I did. This last Saturday my best girlfriend Jenny and her husband invited me and my kids to help them load their hay bales up in Walsburg. That sounded fun and I always jump at the chance to help them. They always do so much for me. They are some of the best people I have ever known. Our kids play together constantly and are their closest friends. This is her husband Matt and son Dain on the trailer.

 I had no idea what it would be like. We had a lot of hard work to do, but, it was so fun and soooooo beautiful!

 Caleb is in the striped shirt. The kids would roll the hay bales so the truck could drive through while we threw them onto the back of the trailers. We had 1 full bed trailer and 2 horse trailers to fill!

 Noah and I took a break for a bit and took pictures and ooooohhhd and aawwwdd at the farm equipment and the amazingness of it all and managed to snap a picture of ourselves!

 Emma,  Dain, and my dear friend Steve- from Seven Peaks- daughter Bella were trying to lift the bales of hay. Steve and Bella wanted to visit us on Saturday and decided to help us with the hay loading. These bales actually weighed A LOT! 

Below here is my girlfriend's other son Bryant and another boy Duncan. They all worked hard and did a great job! 

My favorite action picture! These men were so tough! I was totally impressed! I could pick up the bales and put them on the trailer, but over my head????? and throw them???? Wow! Needless to say, I am not feeling so great today. Mostly I have had horrible allergies from all the hay, but, my friends the herbs are keeping me company and helping me feel better. :) It was a great experience. Glad it only happens once a year. I'm plum wore out!

Mexican!!!

Fiesta or siesta?  It's your choice.  Just do it with Mexican flair!

Oven Roasted Peanut Butter S'mores

I really love the idea of s'mores.  I love roasting the marshmallows over an open fire.  Graham crackers are a tasty snack.  And, of course, there's chocolate.  Lovely, delicious chocolate.  Individually these things all make me pretty happy.  Somehow, for me, when they're all put together, something is just not right.  The cracker too crumbly, the chocolate too hard and the marshmallow way too sticky and sweet.  I usually pass when s'mores are on the menu.  But not this time.  I tried a variation that had me wanting more.

I substituted peanut butter cups for the standard milk chocolate.  What a great flavor!  The peanut butter tamed the sweetness from the marshmallows.  Peanut butter lovers, this is the s'more for you!

We don't have anywhere to roast marshmallows here at the beach house.  That took a bit of the fun out of getting the marshmallow toasted.  I used the oven instead and it worked like a charm.  The best part of using the oven was getting the peanut butter cups warm and melty under the broiler making it blend really well with the marshmallow.

Stack the marshmallow on top of the cracker.  Put into the oven to broil on low.  

Chocolate takes WAY less time to melt than the marshmallow.  Wait until the last few seconds to put the chocolate under the broiler.  In fact, this whole melting process takes only a minute or two.  Leave the oven light on and don't walk away from it!

Hot and puffy!  Although they could stand to be a little more toasted.

Squish.

Mmmmm....

mmmmmmm....

good!

The Original Marshmallow and Almost Raw Smores Squares

My almost vegan brain was a little discouraged at the smores topic this week at first and then it got me thinking . . . 

I try to stay away from white sugar and gelatin, yet, my childhood memories are quite happy eating that gooey yet toasty mess fresh from the fire. It got me wondering about marshmallows. I use an herb often for allergies or congestion called Marshmallow, Althea officinales. Click for a picture of the Marshmallow plant. I wondered if it had anything to do with the Stay Puff treat we use these days. Well, sure enough. It originated from it! Here is a great link to read a bit about it. Marshmallow's Origin I have seen so much success with marshmallow. I actually used it when our family had whooping cough. I made a concoction of marshmallow, thyme, and honey. That really helped a lot! I could tell a direct correlation to my wellness with that mixture. 

As I read, I thought, if they can then maybe I can too!

So, I decided I wanted to try to make my own marshmallows, but with out the sugar. I found this website and used the guidelines there. I didn't use white sugar though. In fact, I didn't heat the sweetener. I made a decoction (tea) of the root and took that liquid and mixed it with some local honey. Then, I beat the mixtures together in my KitchenAide for about 20 minutes. I got a lovely white creme! I was so pleased! So, not only is this treat tasty, but, a medicine for allergies, colds, chest congestion, etc. I am so happy with the results. The flavor is a little bit stronger herbally, but, is very reminiscent of the flavor of your Stay Puff Marshmallow! In fact, I was surprised at how much it tastes like a marshmallow. Wahoo! Here's the website and then my version.

Grow Your Own Marshmallows

Kelly's Marshmallow Creme

1 oz. marshmallow root

2 c.  pure water- distilled or reverse osmosis is best

about 1/4 c. raw honey

optional- 1/8 t. xanthum gum This helps to suspend the honey better and not seperate from the marshmallow cream.

Wash the roots if freshly picked. Peel off the skin as best as possible. Chop finely. Bring the water to a boil and add the roots. Turn the heat down to keep a moderate boil. Boil for about 45 minutes until they soften completely. Take off the heat and allow to cool. Once cooled, strain through a cloth. The liquid will be slimy because of its mucilage nature. Keep the liquid seperate from the roots. Take the liquid and place into a bowl with the honey. Beat the mixture for about 20 minutes, or until you get a white, heavy foam. Place a piece of plastic wrap down in a bread pan. Oil the plastic and then pour in the mixture. Freeze for about 1 hour and WAL-L-A!

(Optional- Place the roots back in the pot and cover with maple syrup evenly. Put on medium heat for about 5 minutes. This mixture can be used as a candy treat or added to my crust for the smores squares I made.) 

My next treat to make was the chocolate. I got this idea from making coconut butter off a lovely website called

 Chocolate Covered Katie, click here to see it!

Coconut Butter

To make your own coconut butter, simply add as much coconut flakes as you like. I did about 4 c. and then process it in a food processor or a high powered blender for about 20 minutes give or take a few. Coconut butter has the fiber with the oil, thus making it better in your digestive tract. It is thicker and makes a lovely butter. Just add a little salt to taste. 

To make your own chocolate bars or chips with coconut butter . . .

Kelly's Chocolate 

1/4 c. coconut butter

1/4 c. coconut oil or omit and use all coconut butter

1/4 c. agave

1/4 c. maple syrup

dash of salt

1 t. vanilla

Blend in a food processor or blender. Line an 8x8 pan with plastic wrap and pour into the pan. Freeze for atleast 1 hour and then cut into small cubes. This chocolate will be firm, but not completely solid.

Raw Smores Crust

1 c. walnuts soaked for atleast 1 hour

1/4 c. sweetened and softened marshmallow root (made earlier in this blog, see above)

4 pitted dates

dash of salt

Place in a food processor and process until it forms a somewhat sticky dough. Place plastic wrap on the bottom of a bread pan and then press into pan. I use a piece of plastic to press it down and not get my hands sticky. 

Kelly's Smores Squares

First make the recipe for the above crust, next, the Marshmallow Creme and then the Chocolate chips. Freeze after each mixture is made and then add the next until all the layers are added. I added the chocolate chips after I had cut them, but you could add the chocolate mixture to the top of the creme  and skip the step of freezing and cutting them into squares. Enjoy!

My kids really liked it! But, I think I will omit the marshmallow root from the crust next time. Parts of it didn't soften and left woodsy pieces in it here and there. But, my kids were good sports and spit them out like you would a watermelon seed. :)

Thank you Mom for such a great tutorial in the last post you did on the "cowboy" beans! I love the flavor and texture of the beans. They were perfect. Come have lunch with us!

I have yet to figure out the picture format on this darn blog site!!!!! Sorry for the weird format.

S'MORES

Father's Day

The kids had never done a candy bar card for their dad before, so this was the year!  They had a lot of fun. John was very pleased!!!  He said he'll have something to look forward to when he goes to work. ( a drawer full of candy bars!)

We did a little shopping for our s'mores.  The kids picked out giant marshmallows and John and I picked the coconut covered ones.  John and Sarah chose a chocolate bar and graham cracker, Daniel and I chose peanut butter cup and graham cracker and Andrew chose iced oatmeal cookies and cookies and cream white chocolate candy bar.  We all liked being able to pick whatever we wanted.

I was surprised at how well these gigantic marshmallows roasted up.

check out the size of that thing!

Lovin' it!

I have to say I really loved the peanut butter cup and toasted coconut marshmallow s'more.  If I wasn't so full from dinner I would have tried more combinations.  Maybe I'll "borrow" one or two of John's stash and make s'more tomorrow! (ha ha, did you get my joke?!)

Homemade Graham Cracker S'mores

Oh, it's the little things that make life sweet!

Who would think that homemade graham crackers would be so simple? No bowls, no mixing spoons--just a Ziploc and a few ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups whole wheat flour
1/3 Cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
A scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 Cup oil
2 Tablespoons molasses
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 Cup nondairy milk

I placed my Ziploc in a large juice can to make  the opening stable.

Placed all the dry ingredients into the bag...

Shake it up a bit to blend...

Then add the oil, molasses and vanilla.

Mix it around until everything is all mixed up...

Then add the milk and combine into a nice little pliable ball of dough.
At this point you can refrigerate it and finish up in the morning, or just go for it and roll out your dough on parchment paper. If you can make it about 1/8 inch thick, that would be perfect! 

I chose to make circles, but you can just cut them into squares or rectangles if that is what you want.

Score the crackers with a fork and bake for 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Add a square of chocolate, and either a big marshmallow, or a handful of itty bitty ones if you are grilling in the oven. 

Watch closely now, until the marshmallows have reached perfection...

Then smash together and ENJOY!