Pear-Raspberry Jam

Mom got this recipe years ago from a magazine.  She says it is absolutely delicious!

6 medium pears, about 2 pounds, peeled and cored
1 (10 ounce) package of frozen raspberries, thawed
6 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/2 of a 6-ounce package of liquid fruit pectin (1 pouch)

In a food processor, coarsely chop or grind pears. (I mix until they are smooth.)  Add enough pears to the raspberries to make 4 cups total fruit.

In an 8 or 10 quart sauce pan, combine fruit mixture, sugar, lemon juice and zest.  Bring to a full rolling boil (one that can't be stirred down).  Boil hard, uncovered, for 1 minute; stir constantly.

Remove from heat.  Stir in liquid pectin.  Quickly skim off foam with a metal spoon.  There usually isn't too much foam when I make it.  Ladle jam at once into hot, sterilized half-pint jars leaving 1/4-inch head space.  Wipe jar rims; adjust lids.  Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Makes 6 to 7 half-pints.

RECIPE NOTES:  Liquid pectin comes in a 6-oz box containing 2 3-oz pouches of pectin.  You'll have enough pectin to make 2 batches of jam.  Yay!!

Mom thinks you could probably also do this as a freezer jam.  Pour the boiled jam into freezer containers, cover and let sit on the counter until the jam has cooled.  Store jam in the freezer.

Soft Wrap Bread (from King Arthur Flour)

We really liked this bread.  It's soft, delicious and the perfect bread to wrap around sandwich fillings.  It uses an unusual method of using boiling water to "cook" the starch in the flour.  According to King Arthur flour, this results in a dough that is soft and easy to roll out.  

We went vegetarian with our fillings and enjoyed roasted peppers, mushrooms, onion and zucchini along with baked falafel, fresh spinach, cherry tomatoes and a tzatziki (greek cucumber-yogurt) sauce in the soft wrap bread.  Grilled Caesar chicken would be delicious, too.

3 to 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1/4 cup potato flour or 1/2 cup potato flakes
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon instant yeast

Place 2 cups of flour into a bowl or the bucket of a bread machine.  Pour the boiling water over the flour and stir until smooth.  Cover the bowl or bucket and set the mixture aside for 30 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the potato flour (or flakes) and 1 cup of the remaining flour with the salt, oil and yeast.

Add this to the cooled flour/water mixture, stir, then knead for several minutes -- by hand, mixer or bread machine -- to form a soft dough.  Add additional flour only if necessary, if kneading by hand, keep your hands and work surface lightly oiled.  (I had to add a bit more water when I made it.)  A 5-minute knead in the bread machine, once it gets up to full kneading speed, if fine.  Let the dough rise, covered, for 1 hour.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces (each about the size of a large plum, around 3 ounces), cover and let rest for 15 to 30 minutes.

Roll each piece into a 7" to 8" circle, and dry-fry them (fry without oil) over medium heat for about 1 minute per side, until they're puffed and flecked with brown spots.  Adjust the heat if they seem to be cooking either too quickly, or too slowly; cooking too quickly means they may be raw in the center, while too slowly will dry them out.

Transfer the cooked breads to a wire rack, stacking them to keep them soft.

Serve immediately, or cool slightly before storing in a plastic bag for up to 4 days.  Freeze for up to a month.

RECIPE NOTES:  I cooked the bread on my pancake griddle.  It worked great!

If you prefer to use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, use only 1 cup boiling water for the initial dough, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water, and add this mixture to the dough along with the potato flour mixture.  It'll be somewhat "slippery" at first, but will knead in and eventually become smooth.