I cannot bring myself to tell you how many eons I have been making strawberry jam, but it wasn’t until the last three years that I figured out how to make it so that it tastes like fresh strawberries for the entire year. I’m talking about the cooked jam recipes, which I’ve always preferred over the less ‘set’ freezer jams. The secret? First of all, play a little fast and loose with the amount of fruit you use, and secondly – don’t use a canner if you are making cooked jam. Here’s the thing….canning jam does make it ‘shelf stable’, but after a few short months both the color and flavor start to deteriorate in a big way. Freezer jam always tastes like fresh berries, so I figured, “what the heck? Let’s make the best of both worlds”, so that’s what I did. It’s a whole lot less mess and effort, and a whole lot more flavor to boot. Come on along with me and check it out.
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Traditional Olive Tapenade is hard to beat. The briny, dark purple, Greek Kalamata olives mixed with capers, lemon, olive oil and all kinds of good stuff create the ultimate spread. What do you say we go one step further? Making an additional tapenade with either buttery green Frescatrono or Castelvetrano olives puts an entire new spin on things. Serve them side-by-side so you can tell the distinct difference in taste, or mix them together for the ultimate tapenade experience. You will swoon over this spooned onto crusty Artisan bread. But this stuff isn’t just a one-trick pony – I love to keep a constant stash in my refrigerator to slather on chicken or fish before baking or grilling, and it is guaranteed to blow your mind if you dollop generously on rice or other grains. Check out the recipe below to see how incredibly fast and easy this one is…
Here we have Summer in a jar. This recipe uses a lot less olive oil than most, and that’s just because I like the basil to do the talking, not anything else.. I’ve been making pesto for many years, and this recipe has changed, and gotten easier, with time. I find it’s not necessary to use Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and also not necessary to use the ultra-expensive pine nuts if you’d rather not. After using walnuts for eons, I changed to pumpkin seeds because so many of our friends & family have nut allergies, and didn’t want them to miss out on this sauce that finds it’s way into everything from appetizers to pasta. I really like the pumpkin seed flavor better than anything. Such is life – just keep experimenting! 
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