One thing I know for sure, whole wheat scones with fresh fruit jam is the perfect way to welcome summer into your house. Now is the best time for making your own jam and these recipes couldn’t be easier. While I love canning and do so often, I know the thought can be daunting. No worries, these recipes don’t need to be properly canned nor do they rely on pectin. Yup, it’s a lot of sugar so share the bounty and no need to eat the entire jar in a week. Like all sweet foods, a little goes a long way.

If you can get your hand on organic strawberries, those work the best here. Californians,  I encourage you to learn more about strawberry farming and what you can do in rejecting the use of methyl iodide.

Have you ever eaten a kumquat? We received a huge package of these in our CSA a few weeks ago and I was stumped on what to make. I love orange marmalade and thought kumquats would make a great stand in. Marmalade is one of those great secret ingredients that perk up spicy, savory dishes as in my Kumquat BBQ Sauce .

DK’s Summer Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:
2 pounds fresh strawberries, stem removed
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 cups sugar

Mash strawberries in a large bowl, a potato masher works great. Combine the mashed berries with the sugar and lemon juice and place in a large saucepan. Heat on low until sugar is dissolved and then bring to a boil. If you are canning, make sure the internal temperature of the jam reaches 220 degrees F. When ready, pour into clean, sterile jars leaving 1/4″ space at the top of the jar, place clean lid on top. You can process these in a water bath or  not, the jam will keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

Kumquat Marmalade

Do you like to make your own jam? What are your favorite kinds?

Granola is one of those seemingly healthy foods. Dried fruit, oats and nuts sound innocent but when they’re wrapped in a blanket of syrup, it’s a caloric nightmare. I very rarely reference calories, but when the average cup has 500 of them, I’ve got to step in. Lucky for you, I’m here to share my all time favorite granola recipe with you. Lower in sugar than most store bought brands, it packs in tons of nutrition with added wheat germ, bran, flaxseeds, and almonds. The best part about this recipe is that you can be as creative as you like. Sometimes I make it with diced apricots and pistachios. Delicious! My favorite way to eat granola is topped with almond milk. What’s yours?

DK’s Granola

Ingredients:
1 cup dried fruit ( I used raisins & golden raisins)
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
4 tbsp. ground flax seeds
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup wheat bran
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Scant 3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine the oats, wheat bran, wheat germ, flaxseeds, cinnamon, and ginger. In a separate bowl combine the apple juice, molasses, and vanilla extract. Pour the apple juice mixture into the dry oat mixture. Stir well to combine. Pour the mixture on top a large baking sheet (might need 2) sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes until browned. Remove from over, let cool and add raisins and almonds. Store in an airtight container!

Makes 10 generous servings. 256 calories, 6g fat, 6g fiber, 7g protein

Not quite blueberry season but I couldn’t resist! There is something about warm pancakes that makes lazy Sunday mornings even more special.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups soymilk or other milk, (unsweetened)
2 cups fresh or thawed frozen blueberries
2 tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. lemon extract

Combine the dry ingredients, flour, sugar, baking power and 1/4 tsp. salt. Add lemon extract and soymilk, 1/2 cup at a time. Whisk milk into the dry mix completely before adding more.

Heat a skillet/cast iron pan to medium heat. Using a ice cream scoop or ladle, drop 1/4 cup of batter onto the oiled skillet. Once batter has spread, add blueberries to the uncooked side. When batter begins to show lots of bubbles, flip pancake.

Serve with earth balance butter and maple syrup!

Makes about 12 pancakes. Per pancake: 116 calories, 1g fat, 1.5g fiber, 4g protein

My favorite way to celebrate a new time of the year is focusing on in-season recipes. That means lots of squash, pumpkin, and cranberry posts coming soon.

Here’s a great way to start the day- whole wheat cranberry bread. 

Cranberry Orange Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups white wheat or whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped fresh cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 tablespoon flax seed powder mixed with 3 tablespoons water
1 orange, zested and juiced
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the cranberries, sugar and walnuts. Stir together. In a separate bowl combine the flaxseed mixture, oil, juice, and zest. Slowly add the liquids to the solids and stir to combine being careful not to over mix.

Pour the batter in a greased loaf pan for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

Yummy with a bit of earth balance margarine, apple butter, or pumpkin butter.