Bungalowjungalow

Late morning through early afternoon, wonderful strawberry smells arose from the kitchen.  We bubbled and brewed 2 batches of the most delicious stove-top jam!  My expert canner/jammer friend came to help guide me through the stove-top jam making process.  We washed, dried, de-topped, smashed, cooked, jarred, and hot-water bathed while our 5 little boys played (her 2, and my 3).  The boys did great – absolutely no catastrophes took place, and they were still playing happily at the end!

First, the directions that came in the pectin package were carefully studied.  I found out that every pectin brand has slightly different directions that must be followed to the “t” for jam to turn out well and set right.  By the way, isn’t that a cute apron?

Hot water bathing our jarred jam – just look at her cute, pregnant tummy…

Lovely, sparkling jars of strawberry jam.  My bread machine made a loaf of honey whole wheat bread so we could properly taste test the strawberry goodness - it was lip-smackin’ good!  Oh, how I wanted to just sit with spoon and jar…mmm…

We are finally harvesting salad stuff from our garden.  I’m always late to get my first greens into the ground even though I think about it all winter long…one of these years I’ll make it by the beginning of spring when stuff like salad greens can first be planted (and thrive).  So, now to dress them up:  Making salad dressing used to really scare me – it seemed so complicated.  Since last summer I’ve been slowly overcoming my salad dressing anxieties and have discovered that it’s really not hard, it just takes a little extra time. (Which sometimes I have, and sometimes I haven’t…thus an extra bottle in the fridge.)  These are two dressings that I love and make regularly, I hope you enjoy them, too.  If anyone out there has any tried and true salad dressing recipes, I’d love to receive them!  You could jot them down on my comments if you feel up to it.  I thoroughly enjoy reading comments people leave me but am not in the habit of posting them up…but I’ll be sure to post any recipes I get so others can enjoy them as well!

Green Romaine, red Romaine, buttercrunch, spinach leaves along with radishes just picked and washed:

This is my favorite creamy dressing…so delicious.  I tend to use this one with parmesan and/or croutons.  Good used in a Ceasar salad, but also provides good back-drop for more flavorful veggies…definitely worth the extra effort!

Creamy Italian Dressing (compliments of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook)

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons white wine or white vinegar

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

1/4 teaspoon oregano, crushed

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

2 Tablespoons milk (or a bit more if desired)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl with a metal whisk.    

Bungalow’s Vinaigrette

Good with greens mixed with various things such as dried cranberries, and/or pears, diced apples, or maybe a little citrus fruit, or sunflower seeds, etc. 

1/3 cup salad oil (I usually use a plain tasting oil like canola, sunflower, etc.)

1/3 cup white wine or red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

1/4 teaspoon celery seeds

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1 garlic clove, crushed or minced

Whisk (or shake if you have a shaker) all together and enjoy!  Note: Either the celery seed, parmesan cheese, and/or garlic can be omitted to make a simpler vinaigrette.  One thing I’m learning about vinaigrettes is that you must have the oil and the vinegar, and the rest is really up for discussion!