How to Make Christmas Jam
I love the flavors and scents associated with the holiday season. My mum recently purchased some Christmas Jam from a local market. We brought it home, and the flavor was interesting but didn\’t quite embody Christmastime in my opinion.
I decided to recreate the recipe but add in a blend of spices that I thought represented Christmas. The result was everything I could have hoped for, and adding the spice blend added the touch of holiday cheer that the Christmas Jam from the farmers market was missing. Since I changed the recipe up a little bit I have renamed my Christmas Jam, Jingle Jam.
Jingle Jam (Christmas Jam) is perfect to can, which makes it a fantastic and thoughtful homemade Christmas gift. The longer the Christmas Jam sits, the better it tastes. Plus, nothing is better than a homemade gift during the holiday season.
You can use fresh or frozen fruit in this recipe. I actually had some strawberries from this summer left in the freezer, so I just thawed them out to make this recipe. We have a few cranberry bogs around Michigan, and we typically start to see fresh cranberries in stores come October. As I mentioned above, the longer the jam sits the better it is, therefore if you want to make it in October and give it in December that would be perfect.
Christmas Jam (Jingle Jam)
Ingredients
12 oz. package cranberries
16 oz strawberries smashed
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
4 cups sugar
1 pouch liquid fruit pectin
1/2 teaspoon butter
Directions
1. Wash jars, seals, and rings.
2. Place jars on a cookie sheet and place in the oven at 225 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Place a large canner pot on the stove and bring it to a boil. Water should go 1.5 inches over the jars. Once boiling turn down.
4. Add enough water to a saucepan to cover seals. Once the canner is boiling you will want to bring this pot to a boil. Turn it to low and add your seals once you begin to make your jam.
5. Place cranberries in a blender and coarsely chop them. You do not want them pureed, you just want them finely chopped.
6. To a stockpot add your smashed strawberries, cranberries, and spices – stir.
7. Add water to the fruit and spice mixture.
8. Stir in the fruit pectin and 1/2 teaspoon butter (the butter reduces foaming).
9. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil over high heat, stir constantly.
10. Add sugar to the mixture. Return to a full rolling boil. Boil for 1 minute.
11. Remove from heat.
12. Skim off any foam.
13. Remove jars from the oven and ladle hot jam into the jars. Leaving 1/4-inch of headspace.
14. Wipe the rims and threads with a clean damp towel.
15. Center the lid.
16. Place ring on just finger tight.
17. Place jars into the canner, cover, and process for 10 minutes.
18. Turn off heat. Uncover canner. Allow jars to sit for 5 minutes.
19. Remove jars from the water bath and place them on a towel-lined counter.
20. Do not touch the jars. You will hear a \”pop\” as the jars seal.
21. After 24 hours check for a proper seal. If any did not seal, place in the refrigerator and use within 2 weeks.
22. Enjoy the jam or give as gifts.
The Year Ends on a Sweet Note with the Return of Food Network\’s Kids Baking Championship
Food Network is bringing the year to a close on the sweetest note. Food Network\’s Kids Baking Championship is back Monday, December 28th at 9pm ET/PT, and saying I am excited is an understatement! I absolutely love this show – these kids can BAKE and it is so much fun to watch what they come up with. I can\’t wait to recreate some of their recipes!
Valerie Bertinelli and Duff Goldman welcome a dozen new talented young bakers into the Kids Baking Championship to see whose skills will measure up in difficult baking challenges, including rainbow cupcakes, dessert imposters, and more! For the first time, the bakers’ parents are backstage watching and reacting to the ups and downs of the ten-week competition. Only one will take the cake and the sweet grand prize of $25,000, a spot in Food Network Magazine, and the title of Kids Baking Champion!
All the flavor and fun kicks-off on Monday, December 28th at 9pm ET/PT with an added new element to the series as the bakers’ parents are there reacting to every twist and turn of the competition. On the premiere, the bakers show off their brushstroke decorating skills with colorful and delicious mini cheesecakes. One baker will surpass the rest with flying colors. Then, at 10pm ET/PT it’s another new episode as the young competitors must create garden cakes decorated with actual fruits, herbs, and other ingredients from the garden.
The ten-episode season is filled with exciting new challenges, the latest dessert trends, and lots of irresistible sweets. One challenge, celebrating Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl, has each baker paired up with an adorable, adoptable puppy and they must create a birthday cake that envisions their four-legged friend’s life after adoption. In another challenge the kid competitors must make a giant cookie face with 3D features that communicate an assigned expression. Each week one baker will be surprised to land at the bottom of the bunch. On Monday, February 15th it’s the final two episodes of the competition. At 9pm ET/PT, Valerie and Duff task the bakers with creating a sheet pan pie, with two delicious pie fillings, a tasty crust, and great decorations. Three bakers earn spots in the grand finale at 10pm ET/PT and must bake their most impressive desserts yet in order to rise to the top and be crowned the winner.
“Kids Baking Championship has become a family-favorite showcasing mini bakers with major skills, and now the bakers’ families are included on the new season,” said Courtney White, President, Food Network. “The bakers’ parents reactions from backstage add a new element of excitement to this action-packed competition.”
Kids Baking Championship competitors include: Keaton Ashton (Sugar City, ID; age 13), Haylin Adams (Glasgow, KY; age 11), Jonah Anderson (Harrisburg, PA ; age 12), Cydney Cain (Prospect Park, PA; age 10), Andrew Clark (Madison, MS; age 10), Trey Gordon (Davenport, IA; age 12), Bella Luu (San Jose, CA; age 12), D’Von Mills (Lithonia, GA; age 12), Namiah Phillips (Long Beach, CA; age 12), Miabella Ramirez (Katy, TX; age 11), McKenzly Sandefer (Conway, AR: age 11), and Nemo Tsai (Ann Arbor, MI; age 10).
Fans can relive the most dramatic, creative, and adorable moments with video and photo highlights at FoodNetwork.com/KidsBakingChampionship. Plus, go behind the scenes with Duff and Valerie, and discover more baking tips, and follow all the decadent action using #KidsBakingChampionship.
31 Things to Do in December (Quarantine Edition)
Hello Decemberrrr. The holidays are officially in full swing, and while they may look a little different this year, there are still plenty of festive things you can do. I am sharing 31 things to do this month, and the best part, you can do them all safely.
1. Create or buy an advent calendar.
2. Make an effort to shop small all month long. Support your favorite small businesses and make a point to discover some new ones along the way.
3. Add some holiday cheer to your home. This year I am loving flocked wreaths, winter whites, and a touch of buffalo plaid.
4. Light some of your favorite holiday and winter candles. I am absolutely loving peppermint right now.
5. Have a Frozen movie night.
6. Give yourself a little TLC tonight and do a face mask.
7. Why not order some matching Christmas pajamas for your whole family. I am currently looking for a matching pair just for Jack and I.
8. Don\’t forget to send out your Christmas cards. I love to send out cards that feature Jack on them.
9. Find a drive-through light festival.
10. 2021 will be here before we know it, now is the perfect opportunity to make an inspiration board for the new year.
11. Indulge in some hot chocolate. I am loving serving hot chocolate via these cocoa bombs.
12. Do an act of Christmas kindness for someone you don\’t know.
13. Watch a holiday classic, I love Miracle on 34th Street.
14. Decorate a gingerbread house.
15. Cut paper snowflakes to hang on your windows.
16. If you haven\’t started to bake Christmas cookies yet, then get to it!
17. Deliver holiday treats to some of your neighbors.
18. Take a drive through local neighborhoods and enjoy the lights.
19. Make some brittle or peppermint bark.
20. Donate to a toy drive.
21. Today is the first day of winter, and it is also the shortest day of the year. Make the most of it and enjoy pizza and a movie for dinner.
22. Watch the Nutcracker, even if it has to be one on TV.
23. Have a winter bonfire, make s\’mores, indulge in hot chocolate, and roast chestnuts.
24. Happy Christmas Eve! Why not serve up some appetizers today? Don\’t forget a Christmas-themed charcuterie board.
25. From my house to yours, I wish you a very Merry Christmas. Since I absolutely love brunch I will be serving up a delicious brunch board.
26. As you pick up from the remnants of Christmas, be sure to send thank you notes out.
27. Grab carryout from your favorite local restaurant.
28. Make a plan to stay in a cabin.
29. Indulge in your favorite treats, before you start that diet in 2021 ;).
30. Polish your nails in a glittery color in honor of NYE.
31. For many of us 2020 has been a trying year. The good news is, we made it through the year. Cheers to a happy and healthy 2021 – I hope it is your best year yet.
Movie Review: Half Brothers
Not as funny as it’s potential, Half Brothers was still a great movie and checked off all the boxes for a solid dramatic comedy.
Half Brothers Synopsis:
Christmas at Royal Park Hotel – Rochester, Michigan
For me, one thing that has become a holiday tradition is heading to downtown Rochester to check out the beautifully lit shops, hot cocoa with whip from Sanders, and a walk down to Royal Park Hotel to check out their lifesize gingerbread house. Last year, that tradition came to a halt when I walked into Royal Park Hotel and there was no gingerbread house.
The disappointment overwhelmed me, and when I went back this year, I hoped for a different result and unfortunately didn\’t get one. I assume the pastry chef that was creating the lifesize gingerbread works of art no longer works at Royal Park Hotel (need to figure out where he is). If you\’re going to expect a beautiful gingerbread house – you will be disappointed.
Instead of a beautiful gingerbread house, you will find one made out of wood with cracking gingerbread people in front of it. A huge tree with a Grinch theme. While this display disappointed me, because I know the amazingness that Royal Park Hotel used to be capable of, the displays are gorgeous.
Don\’t forget to pop into the library and check out the stunning tree.
Fashion meets Food 