If you've been blessed with a bumper crop of pears this year, this small-batch Pear, Vanilla & Cardamom Jam is the perfect way to turn them into something truly special. It makes only 3 1/2 pints of the most delicious jam. Pears don't store well, so preserving them while they're at their sweetest is a wonderful way to enjoy their flavor all winter long.
This jam combines tender cooked pears with warm cardamom and fragrant vanilla for a beautifully amber, aromatic spread that feels both cozy and elegant. It's simple to make, absolutely delicious and a lovely choice. If you only plan to make one type of jam this autumn. You won't regret trying this one.
- 8 cups of peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped pears
- the juice of one lemon
- 2 vanilla beans
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 4 cups granulated sugar (380g)
- 1 packet of pectin
- Combine the pears, sugar and lemon juice in a large pot with a heavy bottom. (A heavy bottom pan ensures an even cook. Make sure the pot is large enough. Sugar expands exponentially when heated to a boil.)
- Split the vanilla pods, scraping any seeds into the pears, and add the split pods to the pears along with the sugar. (This really helps to infuse the jam with plenty of vanilla flavor.)
- Cook over medium heat until the pears are very soft and can be mashed with the back of a spoon. Stir in the cardamom. At this point you can remove the pods if you wish. (I leave the pods in.)
- Add the pectin and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. (That is a boil that cannot be stirred down.) Boil for a full five minutes.
- Have your jars ready. They should have been sterilized with boiling water or in the very hot cycle of the dish washer. Sterilize the lids in a pan of boiling water. Keep warm. (I usually set the jars out onto a lipped baking tray. A funnel with a wide mouth also comes in handy for spooning the jam into the jars and helps to keep the rims clean. Sterilize this also.)
- Fill your jars with the jam and then wipe the rims clean of any residual jam with a clean cloth. Apply the hot lids and then screw on the rims. (Cleaning the rims helps preserve the integrity of the seal.)
- Process the filled jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. (This is essential.)
- Remove and place on towel lined baking tray. Let cool, undisturbed, for about two hours. The lids should seal during this time. The lids will pop down. You should hear them doing this. (Be careful when removing the jars. If you are using a proper canning pan, it should have a rack that you can lift out. Otherwise use some heavy duty tongs.)
- Check to ensure the jars have sealed by pushing down on the center of the lids. If there is no give the jars have sealed. Store in a dry cool dark place.
Pear, Vanilla & Cardamom Jam
Delicious, jewel-like jam with beautiful flavors. Simple to make. The perfect taste of autumn to store for the winter months ahead.
Ingredients
- 8 cups of peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped pears
- the juice of one lemon
- 2 vanilla beans
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 4 cups granulated sugar (380g)
- 1 packet of pectin
Instructions
- Combine the pears, sugar and lemon juice in a large pot with a heavy bottom.
- Split the vanilla pods, scraping any seeds into the pears, and add the split pods to the pears along with the sugar.
- Cook over medium heat until the pears are very soft and can be mashed with the back of a spoon. Stir in the cardamom. At this point you can remove the pods if you wish.
- Add the pectin and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. That is a boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil for a full five minutes.
- Have your jars ready. They should have been sterilized with boiling water or in the very hot cycle of the dish washer. Sterilize the lids in a pan of boiling water. Keep warm.
- Fill your jars with the jam and then wipe the rims clean of any residual jam with a clean cloth. Apply the hot lids and then screw on the rims.
- Process the filled jars in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
- Remove and place on towel lined baking tray. Let cool, undisturbed, for about two hours. The lids should seal during this time. The lids will pop down. You should hear them doing this.
- Check to ensure the jars have sealed by pushing down on the centre of the lids. If there is no give the jars have sealed. Store in a dry cool dark place.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
Hello everyone and welcome to my Sunday Meals of the Week post! On Sundays I like to share with you all of the delicious things that I have enjoyed as my main meals over the past seven days, along with any recipes I used and menu suggestions. That's seven days of tastiness!
I might live on my own, but I like to keep my meals interesting. Never boring. I try to eat a variety of things. I like to cook my own food as much as possible. Obviously, there is the odd time that I need to resort to something quick and easy, but for the most part I cook everything myself, and I can tell you that I am never bored with what's on my plate.
I am also a senior living on a fixed income, so I have a certain amount allotted for groceries each week and try to keep my meals within that budget.
These are only my main meals, which I usually eat around early afternoon. For breakfast I will have a protein shake or some toast, occasionally I will enjoy some of my homemade granola with yogurt and, if I have them, berries. If I don't have berries, I like to spritz a bit of date syrup over top. So yummy. In the winter I like to have oatmeal and fruit, with a naughty drizzle of cream.
I try not to eat anything substantial later in the day. I really don't like going to bed with anything heavy on my stomach. So, my "supper" usually consists of a salad, sometimes a sandwich, occasionally a bowl of cereal, maybe some fruit. Nothing too complicated. I try not to snack on anything at all after 7 p.m.
That's what works for me!
Here are the meals that I enjoyed over the past seven days. It was a bit of an unusual week this week. Eileen was here for more than a few nights, and we did eat out more than a few times, but I have substituted my own recipes for those occasions along with some menu ideas.
In any case, I hope that you will see something here that you may want to cook for yourself and that I have inspired you to want to cook for yourself. It's not really that hard! I promise you I don't do complicated if I can help it!
.JPG "Cheesy Tortellini Bake")
SUNDAY, September 6th - Sunday Dinner at Cindy's
On Sunday we had dinner at my sisters. This week she had made a delicious tortellini bake which she served with a salad on the side. It had tortellini and alfredo sauce, homemade Italian sausage, etc. It was delicious. We had peach pie for dessert.
In it's place I am sharing a recipe for Cheesy Tortellini Bake. This is a recipe that I got from my sister a year or so back and it's really good. I downsized it to feed only two people. Quick and easy to make. Refrigerated cheese tortellini from the chiller cabinet in the shops, baked in a lush sauce, topped with a crispy crumb. Delicious!
I highly recommend this recipe if you are wanting a quick and easy mid-week supper that is delicious. Very tasty and on the table in about half an hour. All you need on the side is a salad!
MONDAY, September 7th - Easy Curried Orange Chicken
This was labor day and I had Eileen with me for an extra day. I decided to cook a Vintage Chicken Recipe from one of my cookbooks. BH&G Cooking for Two. I chose the recipe for Easy Curried Orange Chicken and it was fabulously delicious. Tender and juicy with just the right amount of orange flavor. That sauce was fabulous. It wasn't overly spiced with curry and I think if you don't like curry you could leave it out and rub your chicken with any other spice rub. I can't think of one which wouldn't go.
We enjoyed this with some steamed basmati rice and cooked carrots and broccoli. It was really very good. The recipe makes two servings but could easily be doubled if you wanted to. Nobody was complaining!
.JPG "Four Can Chili")
TUESDAY, September 8th - Four Can Chili
I had a very busy day on Tuesday. The cleaners came in the morning and I had a lot of other bits and pieces to take care of. What with fitting work in, I didn't have a lot of time to fit in cooking a full meal. Thankfully this recipe for Four Can Chili is something which I have up my sleeve and reserved for days like that! You just throw everything in the slow cooker early in the day and then when you are ready to eat, dinner is served!
And it is delicious as well! It does make four servings, but I freeze three of them in single serving sized containers to take out and enjoy another time. I enjoyed a hearty bowl of this, piping hot with some cheese scattered over top and a crusty roll on the side instead of crackers. It went down a real treat. If you have never tried it, chopped fresh onion is very delicious sprinkled on top. It adds a chef's kiss of additional spark!
WEDNESDAY, September 9th - Dinner out with the family
Despite receiving some very bad news earlier in the day, we went out for our regular Wednesday night dinner together as a family. They had two specials on, Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and a fish and chips special.
Hazel had her usual grilled haddock dinner, Cindy and I had the fish and chips special and Eileen and Dad both ordered the spaghetti and meatballs. Dad thought it was too much for him at the end, but Eileen enjoyed every bite of hers. Cindy and I enjoyed our fish and chips as well, but I couldn't eat all of mine either.
In it's place I am sharing my recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs for two. This small batch recipe is a real favorite and makes just two delicious servings. Tender and juicy meatballs in a lush marinara sauce. Its fabulous served with a tossed salad on the side and some garlic bread if you have a hearty appetite!
.jpg "Onion Pan Burgers")
THURSDAY, September 10th - Dinner out with Eileen
On Thursday, Eileen and I ate out again. I thought she needed a bit of cheering up after Wednesday's bad news and a new place locally was having a burger special, so I called her up and asked her if she wanted to be naughty with me and go out for supper again.
It's a new place called DeeDee's Diner. I have been there once before. They had a Classic Burger special where you got two dinners for $22.99. Classic Burgers with fries and a drink. It sounded perfect and it was. This was one of the best burgers I have had in a long while. We both really enjoyed them. I treated Eileen to an Ice Cream Sundae for her dessert as well.
In it's place I am sharing my recipe for Onion Pan Burgers. These are everything a great homemade burger should be — juicy, flavorful, and irresistibly messy in the best possible way. Inspired by a diner‑style technique, the onions aren’t just a topping… they’re cooked right into the burger, infusing every bite with sweet, savory goodness.
You start with simple, well‑seasoned ground steak mixed with a touch of garlic, shaped into hearty patties and seared in a hot skillet. Then comes the magic: a mountain of sliced onions goes straight on top of the burgers, softening and caramelizing as they steam into the meat itself . When you flip the patties, the onions stay underneath, turning golden and delicious while the burgers finish cooking.
A slice of melty burger cheese goes on top, and the buns get a clever diner trick of their own — the tops steam over the cheese while the bottoms warm right on the onions, soaking up all that incredible flavor. These are quite simply fabulous. Everyone always loves them. They go great with potato chips, oven chips or even just a salad on the side.
FRIDAY, September 11th - Crispy Tortilla Eggs
I had another busy day on Friday. On Fridays we usually take dad out with his friend to the mall and then Cindy and I go and do a bit of shopping. I am usually quite tired when we get home so generally speaking will make myself something simple for supper.
This is one of my absolute favorite meals. Crispy Tortilla Eggs. You have a crispy golden toasty tortilla on the bottom, topped with cheese, a perfectly fried egg, and more cheese to finish it off. I like to garnish it with some sriracha sauce, green tabasco and some chopped green onion.
I could eat this any day of the week and be completely happy and satisfied. And that is what I did. A leafy salad was the perfect side with this simple, yet delicious meal!
SATURDAY, September 12th - Quick & Easy Cheesy Chicken & Potatoes
Another busy day for us. Eileen always comes to me on Saturdays for a sleepover. We were invited to a friends for a light lunch so our sleepover started early. We went there and enjoyed a light lunch of soup and crackers and then we had to do some shopping. Eileen likes to pick up some drinks and snacks for our movie night.
Then we came back home and I rustled us up a quick and easy supper. I made us a delicious skillet meal of Quick & Cheesy Chicken & Potatoes. This is a small batch recipe. Chunks of potato are combined with perfectly seasoned pieces of chicken both of which have been pan fried until golden brown. They are then combined with a simple cheesy creamy pan sauce. A bit more cheese is scattered on top to melt. This is really tasty and such a quick and easy thing to throw together.
And there you have it, my main meals of the week for the past seven days. Although this week was a bit unusual in a way with lots of meals out there was also a nice mix of things that were tasty, quick and easy to make, and very satisfying. I hope that there was something here that you might also want to cook for yourself!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
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