Simple Pleasures: Toast, Jam and Tea!

Sometimes simple is simply the best!

I’ve been on a ‘toast kick’ lately and can’t seem to get enough of ‘burnished to perfection, golden NOT brown please’.. LOL!

Decided to ‘bump it up a notch’ yesterday and made a lovely loaf of Quickie Oatmeal Bread and Fresh Blueberry Spread, both recipes from NJFV. Well…..needless to say, between Joe and I and a few hours later, there’s just a crust of the loaf left this morning. Happily still quite a bit of jam though, to enjoy for the next week or two. I’m actually having some right now….crumbs are a gathering on the keys, but no jam so far !! 😉

I am including my quick version for fruit spreads/jams/preserves with this post.

I came up with the idea when I wanted the taste of homemade (yes, there is a big difference from store bought) jam in a big hurry, without all the fuss. The lemon zest adds a nice zesty flavor and you can have fresh preserves in less than 30 minutes from start to finish, with this quick and easy recipe.

Try the marmalade too.

‘Toast and marmalade for tea, sailing ships out on the sea…..’ 

Don’t you just love that song?

Happy Simple Pleasures!   🙂

FRESH FRUIT SPREADS

A quick and easy alternative to time-consuming jam recipes. Low in sugar too. Try it on toast, muffins, with yogurt or even ice cream!!!  Makes approx. 2 cups.

BLUEBERRY SPREAD

2 C. fresh blueberries (if not in season, whole frozen blueberries can be used, thaw and drain thoroughly first)

4 oz. frozen white or purple grape concentrate (in the freezer juice section)

finely grated zest of 1 lemon

3 T. Minute tapioca

In a medium saucepan, combine blueberries, frozen grape concentrate and lemon rind. Bring to a boil and simmer gently over low heat for 10- 15 minutes, until fruit is soft but not liquefied. Add tapioca and simmer 5 more minutes, until tapioca is fully dissolved and mixture has thickened. Spread will thicken more, after it is chilled. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

Pour into covered container/jars and store in refrigerator. Will keep for up to two weeks, if refrigerated.

Note: I use glass jars for storage. To reuse, clean and sterilize jars and lids, for each new batch of jam.

VARIATIONS:

Strawberries, raspberries, other types of berries in season can also be used. Follow directions as above.

PINEAPPLE-ORANGE MARMALADE SPREAD

Fresh and zesty and not too sweet. Makes approx. 2 cups.

19 oz. can unsweetened crushed pineapple (use juice also)

fine to medium grated zest of one large orange

2 T. Minute tapioca

In a medium saucepan, combine pineapple and juice, with rind of orange. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and stir in tapioca. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes or until thickened and tapioca is completely dissolved. Remove from heat. Cool slightly. Store as for blueberry spread.

Recipes from Not Just for Vegetarians, Delicious Homestyle Cooking, the Meatless Way. © Geraldine Hartman. All rights reserved.