Bumbleberry Jam

A couple weeks ago, Dustin and I went to Downey's Farm to do some strawberry picking. I wasn't planning on blogging about our berry picking, or the first batch of strawberry jam I made using Ina's recipe, but after a little twist of fate, here is a blog post about jam.

I was first going to name this post "Freezer Jam" but that would be misleading. The term "Freezer Jam" refers to jams that are stored in containers that weren't sterilized for shelf life; you just keep the jam in the freezer.

The jam I want to share about involves all the berries in my freezer. The ones that I had been saving for a pie, maybe another batch of jam, maybe a milkshake. But as it turns out, Dustin and I left our freezer door just a teensy bit ajar and then left for a week of vacation.

We returned home to a melted freezer.  Some items were beyond saving, but the soggy mess of berries were still a little chilled.

It was time to make jam.

In total, I had about 6 cups of strawberries, three cups of Saskatoon berries, and about two cups of cranberries. I added a finely diced apple for pectin, a squirt of lemon juice and about 4 cups of sugar. A low rolling boil until 220 degrees Fahrenheit and voila! Jam!

I guess that makes this a bumbleberry jam.  I've only heard the term (meaning "mixed berry") used for pies, but I don't see why we can't use it for jam.

The jam was quite delicious. Deliciously tart. Perhaps it would be a good mix for a tart. With whipped cream. I bet this would be a delicious topping for a cheesecake as well.

So that's my story of leaving the freezer door ajar, and making a jar of jam.

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Amy Butler's Weekender Bag

It's a good thing when friends motivate you.  When we're in a slump, or simply don't believe we're capable, a little motivation from a good friend is usually all it takes.

I never used to think I could do distance running. In an effort to "keep up with my super cool friends" I've run 5km, 8km, and 10km races. (I just ran a personal best 5km in 28 minutes!)

So, when my friend Julie asked if I was interested in tackling a notoriously difficult sewing project: Amy Butler's Weekender Bag, I was oddly motivated by her eagerness. I read blog after blog where talented, competent sewers tackled this bag. Each review emphasized the importance of patience, and that the patience would definitely pay off.

It was difficult. 5 hours of cutting, approximately 15 hours of sewing, broken needles, broken pins.

Let's take a minute and go back to the race talk.

Every race I run, I find myself questioning why I decided to run the race to begin with. Oh, right, my friends were all doing it. About 15 minutes into the race, I vow never to sign up for a race again. But, and there is a but, by the time I get to the finish line, I'm overwhelmed with pride and can't wait to sign up for the next race.

I kept hoping that this weekender bag would follow a similar trend.

The final product really was shockingly impressive. The bags that Julie and I produced were fantastic. Fabric choices were so different, but great. Julie chose a red damask with polka dot piping; I used a graphic birdcage print with grey piping.  All the difficult parts that we laboured over (some parts took me 4 tries to sew correctly) were barely noticeable.

But I probably won't sew another one again.  :(  It's the most difficult project I've tackled to date. I wanted to forget all the hardship and remember just the final product. I think I need more time...

Perhaps I need another friend to motivate me again one day!

As a side note, our other friend Kelly tackled a different Amy Butler bag and finished it in just one day. Isn't it just the cutest? Her choice of "patchwork-like" fabric added the perfect touch to bring the bag to another level.

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Gingerbread Engagement Cookies

Hello friends! Long time... I know. So much to tell you about!

First, let me share about one of my best friends, Paula. She is my Italian-other-half. She is responsible for my love for risotto, homemade lasagna, gnocchi, tiramisu, the list goes on.

Paula recently got engaged to her beau, Blair! So exciting! As (two of) her honoured bridesmaids, Alison and I threw her a super casual engagement party with a few Toronto friends and family.

As a party favour, I made ginger bread cookies (perhaps inspired by Blair... who knows).

I don't think gingerbread is among the list of all-time-favourite-cookies. People tend to prefer the chocolate chip, the double chocolate chip, the oatmeal raisin, the macadamia white chocolate, my favourite whole wheat oatmeal chocolate chip. But those don't work well with cookie cutters.

So I went on a hunt for a good gingerbread recipe, a good icing recipe, and cute little cookie cutters.

I found the cookie cutters at St Lawrence Market.  There's a little gold mine of cooking/baking supplies at a place called Placewares.  They have everything.  Even the cookie bags and silver twist ties.

The gingerbread recipe was adapted from thejoyofbaking.com and the icing recipe was from this site.

The cookies were such a hit! I think the secret to gingerbread is making sure it's still soft and chewy. This recipe wasn't too sweet or overpowering with spices. Most recipes call for nutmeg and cloves. I just used cinnamon. The other change I made to the recipe was the ginger. I used fresh finely grated ginger rather than the ground stuff. Enjoy!

Congrats, Paula and Blair!

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Chicken wing stuffed with pork dumpling

Although my sewing projects are moving along too slowly to be an interesting blog post, I seem to have plenty of food experiences to share.

Today we celebrated a friend's birthday at her favourite Japanese restaurant, Izakaya Ju. Described as a "Japanese bar and grill", it is similar to the better-known Guu Restaurant. (That's darling Caleb eating shredded nori with his hands.)

Different than the typical sushi-Japanese restaurant, the menu had things like soba noodles, grilled meats on rice, grilled skewers of pork belly, black cod, pork cheek, etc. The most amazing of all: chicken wing stuffed with pork dumpling.

At first, we thought it was a typo. "Chicken wing" was on the first line and "stuffed with pork dumpling" was on the second. Perhaps these were two separate menu items?

Nope. It was actually a chicken wing where the bones were removed from the middle wing and then stuffed with a pork and chive dumpling. It was fantastic.


I also ordered a hot soba noodle dish with grilled duck breast and leek...

... which I split with Jess who ordered a garlic soy marinated tuna sashimi on rice. Both were fantastic.

Sometimes it's nice to get some authentic Japanese cuisine and to try something different than sushi. Even the wasabi was a real grating of fresh japanese horseradish, not the stuff in a powder or tube!



I will have to work up the motivation this summer to brave the long lines for Guu so I can compare Japanese Izakaya food!

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Cake pops and eclairs

I hope everyone enjoyed the May long weekend, sunshine-rain-thunder-lightning and all!

Before the start of the weekend, my coworker, Jelena, baked the most delicious goodies for the office as it was her last day with the department. She spent her Thursday night baking up a storm, and I canNOT believe how amazing the hazelnut eclairs were. That's right: HAZELNUT eclairs. If I manage to get her mom's recipe, I'll share. Maybe.

Saturday was spent in Hamilton with the usual group of friends plus 4 babies and 3 dogs.

A couple changes this year: instead of an entire cottage weekend, an afternoon bbq. Instead of the usual gloomy, damp weather, gorgeous sunshine with just the right amount of cloud cover.

Things that stayed the same: great company, and a spectacular Frisbeer Tournament.

Our version of frisbeer involves a frisbee, some beer cups on sticks, and a drink in hand. Our friend, Katie, designs amazing cake pops. She crafted some beer cups on sticks just for the event. Super cute and super delicious.

Thank you long weekend! May you come again soon!

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Racer-back tunic

About a month before my trip to Mexico, I had big sewing plans. I was going to sew myself a new dress for the wedding I was attending; I wanted to sew a new toiletry bag; I dreamed about how great Amy Butler's Blue Sky Hat would be for the trip. Perhaps a tunic to double as a bathing suit cover up?

I started and ended with the tunic.

But: I created my first original pattern! I knew I wanted a racer-back design, so I used some skills that I learned from the "knock it off" class at the workroom to shape the back of the tunic.

As with my last "dress b", I used fabric from a bolt sale put on by Textile Museum of Canada (there's another sale happening on May 27th!) I made sure to match up the horizontal lines, and by sheer luck, the zigzags lined up to be exactly in the front-center and back-center.

The tunic was great for a beach cover-up in Mexico. For every-day wear, I can pair it with some leggings, or wear it like a blouse.

Now that I'm back and well rested, maybe I'll try and tackle some of those other projects...

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Back and ready to blog!

I'm back from my amazing trip to Los Cabos, Mexico!

I've missed you and can't wait to catch up!!!

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