If your family loves to go berry picking like mine does, you are likely going to end up with baskets full of of luscious red strawberries, raspberries, or juicy blueberries. This recipe for strawberry preserves will work for any type of berry. It is easy, can be made with basic pantry items, it is much lower in sugar than store-bought brands, and this small batch recipe is so flavorful and naturally sweet! I make this recipe with floral accents using dried rose petals and lavender extract. The floral accents are completely optional, but we love the delicate fragrant hint with the strawberries. For this recipe, you don’t need pectin or any special tools. You need a good pot, a lemon, only half a cup of sugar, and a very attentive eye!

I love all things summer, and one of my favorite things is strawberry picking! They are so much juicier, redder, and sweeter than anything you can get in store. The best perk, is that the strawberries last for over a week without any molding. I bet your grocery store berries can’t do that. As I always say, eat local, buy local whenever you can!

Ingredients

Fresh berries are best!

After picking your berries, keep them refrigerated. Do not wash them until you will use them. I soak them in water and some apple cider vinegar to disinfect, lift them out of the water to leave the dirt behind, and then lay them out on a towel. I use 2 pounds of fresh strawberries for this recipe, which is roughly 4 cups of quartered berries. My basket of berries from the farm has about 4-5 pounds of strawberries so you have plenty if you also went picking! I put the kids to work hulling the stem and leaves with a little metal teaspoon. The small round shape is perfect for scooping out the hull!

Floral infusions

I use dried rose petals and buds in a tea filter. I find these have a much more fragrant and delicate rose essence than using rose water. It also allows me to control the amount of liquid added to the recipe. I pour 1/4 c water over the tea filter to help draw out the rose essence, and this liquid all evaporates as the preserves reduce over the heat. I use lavender extract or grind my lavender tea and sprinkle this into the tea filter as well.

Lemon juice and sugar

Many recipes call for 1-3 cups of sugar for 2 pounds of berries. I only use 1/2 a cup. Sugar is important as it preserves the fruit and draws out the juices. Towards the end of my reduction, I taste the preserves and add 2-3 tablespoons of honey as needed.

The lemon juice is essential as it allows the pectin in the fruit to become thick and gel like. I do not add in any additional pectin powder because you do not need it for this recipe!

If you happen to have pure salep powder which is the ground powder from the tubers of the orchid flower, you can sprinkle in half of a teaspoon to help thicken the jam, and a bonus is more floral infusion into the flavor! Salep powder is hard to come by, as I get mine from Turkey or Egypt, but it really is a lovely addition if you have it!

While you do not need any special thermometer or tools for this recipe, you will need a very attentive eye. If you do not constantly stir the pot, or if you let it boil over, the preserves will burn and the berries will turn to char. I continuously stirred my small batch pot for 45 minutes or so, while I was preparing something else in the kitchen. So plan to make this while you will be hanging out in the kitchen so that you can keep a close eye on it.

Storing the Preserves

I used 3 jars that I saved to reuse. I simply rinsed the jars with boiling water, and boiled the lids to sterilize. I did not officially can the jars with a seal, as I know we will go through this in about a month. If you wish to properly preserve the jam in jars, you will need sterilized jars and lids to seal them. This is a surprisingly easy method which you can watch on YouTube here. I love these jars. These preserves sealed in jar would make for a perfect gift for friends and family! This recipe will yield 3-4 jars of jam.

Strawberry Preserves

Noha

This delicious, floral small-batch strawberry preserve recipe is so easy and delicious, and uses pantry basics to create a beautiful, juicy, sweet jam perfect for bread, biscuits, pancakes, and more!

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Side Dish

Servings 3 10 0z jars

Ingredients

  

• 2 lb strawberries, hulled and quartered
• juice of half a lemon 1/4 c
• 1/2 c granulated sugar
• 1/4 c rose petals (optional)
• 1/4 c water
• 2-3 tbsp honey (optional)

Instructions

 

• Combine the strawberries and sugar in a large, heavy bottom pot, with enough room for liquid and foam to bubble up (see video).
• Place the rosebuds in a tea filter, make an open pit in the pot in the midst of the berries, and set the filter in the pot, in the middle of the strawberries.
• Pour the water directly over the tea filter. Set the pot over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
• After about 10 minutes, the pot will begin to boil with a lot of foam and liquid coming up. Continuously stir with a silicone spoon. Set the spoon on top of the pot so that it does not spill over. Do not leave the pot unattended at any time because the preserves will easily burn.
• Once the foam has settled a bit, reduce the heat to low, add the lemon juice and continue to stir. Allow the pot to simmer while stirring every so often. The berries will break down and the liquid will evaporate eventually, leaving a thick jam behind. Every 10 minutes, check the pot and stir so that nothing sticks to the bottom.
• Once the jam looks thickened, taste it. If you prefer it sweeter, you may add 2-4 tablespoons of honey according to your preference. Stir well and simmer for 3 more minutes.
• Remove from heat. Scoop the jam into jam jars and allow them to come to room temperature before enjoying or refrigerating.

Keyword berry, jam, preserves, strawberry

Rice is a basic. It is likely one of the first things you want to master once you find yourself in that situation where you are suddenly fending for yourself in the kitchen. You are n ow living on your own and need to eat, or perhaps you have a family you wish to cook for. An important companion to stir fry, tikka masala, Egyptian spinach, mulokhia, fasulya, and countless other stews, we all need some perfect rice to serve up. But all too often, I hear horror stories about cooking rice. Sure, I do have some of my own as well. You see, if you do not measure carefully, or if you miss a beat with the boiling process and heat reduction, it is very easy to have a sticky, smushy, or too crunchy disaster.

No, I do not have any special appliance just for rice, nor do you need special lids or pots (although a great pot will help). Rice is not too finicky if you measure correctly and watch what you do for about 5 minutes. I promise. Read on and try this. 

First of all this process pertains to long grain rice, basmati, or medium grain. Arborio rice, sushi rice, and especially brown rice have quite different measurement requirements and cook times. For brown rice- I defer to my Instant Pot. Perfectly fluffy brown rice in 20 minutes is nothing to contend with. 

So back to my rice recipe…

The secret my mother taught me is a basic mathematical ratio. Ready?

If Cups of rice=n and is greater than 1 cup; Cups of water (or liquid)= n+1.

Not into math? No problem. This means, when cooking more than 1 cup of rice this is the rule:

Whatever the number of cups of rice you use, use that exact amount of water, PLUS 1 CUP. It is that simple. The problem many run into, is doubling the water when doubling a recipe, which will lead to too much liquid and rice that is too sticky.  So here is a breakdown of measurements for you:

1 cup of rice cooks in 2 cups of water

2 cups of rice cook in 3 cups of water

3 cups of rice cook in 4 cups of water

4 cups of rice cook in 5 cups water

Get the idea?

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So the process is easy once you understand this measurement.

Rice should be rinsed and soaked in cold water for about 10 minutes. Once drained, you are ready to cook it.

Place a pot over a range that is the same size as the pot to ensure even heat distribution. Turn on to high heat, add olive oil (not extra virgin), and stir in the rice. Add salt and pepper to taste. If cooking with vermicelli noodles, as the classic Egyptian recipe calls, toast the noodles first, then add the rice. Toss the rice, and noodles if using them, in the oil until well coated, and then immediately add the water. 

Once you have added the water, WATCH THE POT. Do not walk away until you get the hang of it. Chop some veggies nearby, rinse some dishes, or wipe down your counter. But do not leave the vicinity. As soon as the water begins to boil, reduce heat to LOW. If you let the water boil for more than 1 minute, then you risk evaporating too much water (crunchy, undercooked rice), and then possibly having to add more water (smushy, overcooked rice). The other important rule is to have a lid on your pot as soon as you reduce the heat to low. This ensures that you are not losing the moisture too quickly.

Check on your rice after 5 minutes, you should see that the water level has reduced, usually below the rice by the time ten minutes pass (depending how much you are cooking of course). Do not lift the lid, or stir anything. You may see some little holes at the top of the rice, which is a result of the steam escaping. Once the rice looks like the liquid has all simmered away (ten-fifteen minutes), you can lift the lid and stir the top of the rice. It should be fluffy. If the rice is completely dry of any liquid on the bottom, then you are done. Turn off the heat and move the pot away. If there is a little bit of liquid, leave the lid off and allow the pot to remain on the very low or warm heat for another minute or two before removing from heat.

I like to transfer the rice into a serving dish before the rice sticks to the bottom of the hot pot which may happen if  your pots hold heat for a while. 

So the trick is really in your rice to water ratio, and covering that pot and reducing the heat at the right moment. Just watch your pot and do not walk away until the water boils. When it does boil, reduce to low. That is pretty much all there is to it!

Please share your results with me below; I cant wait to hear about your perfect bowl of rice! Do you have your own fool-proof methods? Please share your own trick to perfect rice below!

Ful mudammas (pronounced f-ool, rhyming with pool or tool, but why would I spell it like that, or foul?!)  is a vegetarian dish that is a staple food item in Egypt. It is the national dish of Egypt. You cannot go to Egypt without trying ful at least several times. It is eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but most often as breakfast.  Ful is the name of the broad bean used in Arabic and Mudammas in Arabic literally means “buried in the pot” as this dish is meant to simmer away for hours, allowing the vegetables and spices to build a deep medley of flavor. The flavorful stew of fava beans with spices, lemon, garlic, and olive oil thickens up into a delicious mixture that may be wrapped up into a pita sandwich, scooped up with little pieces of pita bread or chips, or even eaten straight out of the bowl with a spoon. This hearty dish consists of cooked fava beans and chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, spices, and a variety of fresh chopped toppings such as tomato, green onions, and parsley.Unlike most recipes for ful you will find, this does not originate from a can. In fact, many people are a little intimidated as to how to get the dried hard little beans to that infamous “mudammas” phase quoted so perfectly on the can. If you set aside one nice afternoon to do this, you can prepare enough ful and freeze it for later to last you a couple of months! You also get to control exactly what spices, flavors, and herbs are going in, and it’s preservative free 🙂 Two cheers for clean eating!

You can find the dried brown fava beans at any Arabic market, and most international markets. Make sure it is the small, brown bean, with a black mark on top. Do not get peeled, green, or the large fava beans because those are used in different dishes. I actually find my fava beans from the bulk bins at Whole Foods; they are organic and from a local farm. I cook about a pound at a time, which makes about 4-5 family sized (serving 4) portions or 10 single portions. So I estimate at least the equivalent of about 10 cans of ful. You want to wash and sort the beans. Because I love adding chick peas to my ful, I usually pressure cook a cup of chickpeas first, before the fava, for about 60 minutes. I set these aside while the ful is cooking. The kids LOVE eating the cooked chickpeas, plain with nothing added! What a perfectly healthy and fun snack for the kids! Simply cook the fava beans in a pressure cooker with water, onions, and garlic (no salt, it inhibits the cooking) for 45-60 minutes. There is no need to soak the beans overnight when you use a pressure cooker. Once the beans have cooked soft, I uncover the pressure top and continue to simmer the stew for another hour or so, this time with the addition of spices, olive, oil, lemon, onions, more garlic, and salt. We are getting those beans mudammas, or buried in flavor!

Once the beans are nicely tender and deliciously infused with the garlic, onion, cumin, and lemon,  you can prepare it for being served. First, I take the extra batches and portion them into glass storage containers to freeze for later. When I am ready to serve it, I give it a light mashing (some people completely puree it), add olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice, a drizzle of tahini, some cooked chick peas, chopped tomatoes, parsley, and scallions. The dish is served warm with pita bread. Ful mudammas in our family is often served for breakfast along side some small plates of hard boiled eggs, falafel, cheeses, olives, pastrami, pickled turnips, and refreshing slices of cucumber.

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Fava beans are an excellent source of protein and fiber, and this healthy recipe is quite filling and has minimal fat. It is an excellent and favorite meal for suhoor, which is a meal Muslims eat in early dawn before the daytime fast begins. Once you taste a batch of freshly stewed homemade ful, you will never go back to cans! Once you go scratch, you’ll never go back 😉

Ful Mudammas (from scratch)

2014-07-03 06:33:21

Yields 12

The BEST recipe for ful mudammas, or stewed fava beans, cooked from scratch.

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

2 hr

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

2 hr

To cook the fava beans in a pressure cooker

1. 1 lb of dried brown fava beans
2. 10 cups of water
3. 1 yellow onion, cut in half
4. 4 cloves of garlic, sliced in half

To simmer the fava beans before serving

1. 1/2 c lemon juice
2. 2 tsp salt
3. 1 1/2 tsp cumin
4. 2 tbsp minced garlic
5. 1 yellow onion, diced
6. 1/4 tsp black pepper
7. 3 tbsp olive oil

To serve 1 cup of stewed beans

1. (optional) 1/4 cup cooked chickpeas, reserve some for garnish
2. (optional) 1/4 cup tahini paste OR 1/2 cup tomato sauce
3. 1/4 c fresh squeezed lemon juice (no lemon juice if cooking in tomato sauce)
4. 1 tsp minced garlic
5. 1 tomato, diced
6. 1 green onion or scallion, diced
7. 1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley, reserve some for garnish
8. 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Wash and sort the fava beans.
2. Place beans into a pressure cooker, add the onion and garlic, and cover with 10-12 cups of water. Cook on high pressure for at least 60 minutes. Do not add salt, as it inhibits cooking.
3. Once the beans are cooked soft, you can remove the lid and add the spices and additional diced garlic and onions, lemon juice, and olive oil. Simmer for another 30-60 minutes, until the beans are very tender and flavorful.
4. Portion the cooked beans into storage containers or ziplocs and freeze; be sure to store it with some of the cooking liquid. If you will add cooked chickpeas, you can place them in the container and freeze them with the fava beans. When you are ready to serve the beans you simply can pour them into a pot to reheat it and add the final toppings.

To serve

1. Simmer 1 cup of stewed fava beans with the tahini OR tomato sauce, and 1/4 cup of cooked chick peas, over medium-high heat. If there is not enough liquid with the beans, add 1/4 c water to prevent drying out the beans. Remove from heat after 5 minutes, or after most liquid is absorbed.
2. If you like you beans softened, as Egyptians do, this is the time to mash them gently with a fork or masher. Some people even puree it smooth, but we definitely like some texture and chunky beans. After mashing the beans, add the lemon juice (omit if you are cooking in tomato sauce), chopped tomato, onions, garlic, and parsley. Add 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Toss lightly.
3. Garnish with the remaining chickpeas and parsley on top, and drizzle remaining olive oil. Serve with warm pita bread.

Notes

1. If you will serve the fava beans simmered in tomato sauce, you will omit the lemon juice because the tomato sauce provides enough acidity. You can add a dash of lemon or vinegar if you prefer.
2. The flavor with the tahini or the tomato sauce make for two very different dishes. Try them both!

By Noha ElSharkawy

Sugar & Garlic https://sugarandgarlic.com/