Sunday, December 12, 2010

First Snow - Strawberry Jam and Mincemeat Tarts

Well the cold front arrived with horrific winds. I felt very snug inside sitting here at the computer with a cup of hot coffee while the gale was going on outside.

I did venture out to the milk parlor to get milk and my jelly jars. Wow!

Here is the view off the porch this morning.



Reading

Several of you commented on reading and your likes and dislikes. I guess you could say I have very eclectic tastes. I love biographies and history, in fact, bought John Adams and l776, by David McCollough. I love novels about the Civil War. I enjoy historical fiction but I want it accurate about the historical facts such as dates, people and locations.

I like 'literature' and like mysteries. I love stories based in the south. Don't know why they appeal so much to me, but they do. I am not offended by violence or explicit sex............if they add to the story, but if they are tossed in for prurient interest that turns me off instantly. Some best sellers make me wonder why; others are quite deserving. It is all very personal as to choice. I love Southern authors. I don't read Joyce Carol Oates anymore. Her books depress me terribly. I don't really like books that are too fluffy or sentimental...not Romance Novels...but that is just my taste. I think reading is one of the best, most enjoyable things we can do for ourselves....and if you use the library, it is completely free! Not a bad thing.

I rarely watch television......if PBS doesn't have something that interests me, I read. I probably read too much!

I have got my husband reading now but he limits his books to mysteries only. I can't take a steady diet of them....have to spread my wings a little.

Cooking

I made my strawberry jam this morning. Like all best laid plans this went slightly astray. I ended up doing a cross between old fashioned cooked down jam and one using pectin. I used 7 cups of berries with 7 cups of sugar and only l package of liquid pectin (all I had). I cooked it about 14 minutes before it reached the 'jell' stage.

My sister made some mincemeat tarts so, of course, I had to make a few too.
The side advantage of this was I made my favorite pie recipe so now have 5 more single crusts in the freezer for Christmas. I used one single amount for the tarts.
I used a tuna can for the circles, dampened the edges and placed a rounded teaspoon of mincemeat in the center and closed and pressed them. I lightly tapped the tops in a bowl of sugar and baked them at 400° for 20 minutes. Here they are:


After all this, we had Sloppy Joes for lunch............at least they were on home-made buns!

The winds are still going strong here.

7 comments:

  1. What a great post! I love to read too, lots of different types, historical fiction, mysteries, encouraging books, gardening, decorating, spiritual, and I do enjoy romance books too. :-)

    Your jars of strawberry jam look yummy too as do your mincemeat tarts.

    Your snow looks nice, but I'd rather not deal with it. :-) We've lived down here way to long to have to change our lifestyle to live in those frigid temps, and putting up with snow and ice.

    It was a gorgeous day here, but I was inside finishing up Christmas decorating. It was really windy all day though, and around 4 the clouds started gathering and the temperature started slipping cooler. The next couple of nights are supposed to be really cold for us.

    Stay warm and enjoy being indoors puttering with your homey projects.

    Love and hugs to you ~ FlowerLady

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  2. Light snow, icy then it all melted here in VA Hollow...but winds are supposed to bad and temps are dropping so we'll see what tomorrow brings!...Bundle & snuggle tonight!...:)JP

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  3. Hi Glenda,
    It's no longer windy here, but it's still cold. It went from 10 degrees a couple hours ago to 5. I have to laugh, because it says it's fair out. I would just as soon have it be cloudy or snowing with such cold temps.

    I know I've said this before, but I'm amazed at all you accomplish in a day, and to have time to read, is awesome. I need to spend less time on the computer and get back into reading. I like historical fiction, too. I read more nonfiction, though, like gardening and Bible study type books.

    Keep warm, and enjoy your yummy looking jelly and tarts.

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  4. It's 10 degrees here this morning so I know you are in the single digits, brrr! Farm women are amazing, you get more done in a day than I could manage in a week, and you still have time to read a book! I think I'll make us some fried pies today. We watched a fascinating show on the History Channel yesterday about the United States. The plight of the Indians, very interesting to me since I am Cherokee. Stay warm Glenda!

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  5. Where do you get strawberries this time of the year? If they are from your farm, were they in the freezer? I don't think the ones at the grocery are all that good-looking, if there are any at all. My husband would be so happy to have some fresh jam for the bagels we get on Saturday morning. We had a jar from my mom's, but it has run out--and she lives 600 miles away. Your jams look so pretty and delicious!

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  6. Glenda, your jam looks beautiful in the jars and the tarts look yummy.

    Don't know when I have seen it as windy and blustery than Sat. night and all day yesterday. We went to the Christmas parade in town Sat. but found a place to park so we could watch from the van. I did get out in the heat wave today (28) and go to Wal-Mart and the bank. Sure glad to be back in where it is warm.

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  7. I must confess to loving romance novels LOL.I tried to read that 1776 book but it didn't keep my interest. I also read gardening type books and Bible study type books.

    Your jam looks heavenly!

    Stay warm :-)

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