My aunt gave me a recipe for hot pepper jam many years ago. I kind of forgot about it in my recipe card box until a couple weeks ago. I went to our local farmer’s market and bought a small 4 oz jar of pepper jam for $4, and remembered how wonderful it was on crackers, burgers, and corn chips. The 4oz jar didn’t last long, but at $4 a jar and plenty of peppers in the garden, I decided I needed to dig out the recipe and make my own!

I like my pepper jam more sweet than hot, so I go easy on the hot peppers (or use mild banana peppers), and use more bell peppers. You can adjust it to fit your own tastes.

Hot Pepper Jam Recipe

• 1 cup hot banana peppers (or mild) remove the stems only
• 3/4 cup red bell pepper
• 1 1/2 cup vinegar (I use apple cider)
• 6 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 6 ounce bottle Certo

Directions:

1. Place the peppers in the blender or food processor, and chop until ground.
2. In a large pot add sugar, vinegar, and ground peppers.
3. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes
4. Add certo and return to a boil for 2 more minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and pour into small hot jars and add the lids.
6. If the lids are clean and the jars are hot, the jam should seal itself.

Of course it doesn’t last long at our house, so it doesn’t have much time to go bad.

Added to Turning The Table Thursday

I haven’t had a chance to get in the kitchen much lately, and when I do, I haven’t made much that’s interesting enough to post here. I do have a couple recipes coming up in the next few days to share, and I’ve been playing around with a sourdough starter, but for today I have a yummy (and healthy) recipe to share with you from Carapelli Olive Oil.

Carapelli Olive Oil sent me this recipe, and they’re sending me a bottle of their organic extra virgin olive oil to check out. I’m a huge olive oil fan, I go through at least a large 24 ounce bottle in a month. I use quite a bit to make kale chips, but I also make my own salad dressings, and use it for cooking. I’ll be back in a few days with a review of Carapelli’s Olive Oil, but for now I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Citrus Risotto Arancini with Arugula and Fresh Herbs
Made with Carapelli Premium 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil | Serves 4

5 cups chicken broth
½ cup Carapelli Premium 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp. garlic, minced
¾ cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 ½ cup Arborio rice
¾ cup dry white wine
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
3 tbsp. lemon juice (3 lemons)
1 lemon, zested
½ cup bread crumbs
¼ cup Italian parsley, chopped
½ cup flour
2 eggs
2 cups Carapelli Extra Light in Taste Olive Oil
½ cup arugula
¼ cup tomatoes, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Warm chicken broth on low heat in a small sauce pan.
Add ¼ cup Carapelli Premium 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil to a large sauce pan on medium heat. Add garlic and onion. Cook until soft.
Add Arborio rice and stir to coat the grains with olive oil. Add dry white wine. Stir with a wooden spoon until absorbed. Add in ladle of chicken broth and stir until absorbed. Repeat until rice is fully cooked and all liquid is absorbed.
Add Parmesan cheese, lemon juice and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer to a sheet tray and cool. Once cooled, take a small palm-full of risotto and roll into a sphere. Repeat until all risotto is used.
Mix bread crumbs and chopped Italian parsley. Roll risotto spheres in flour, then egg and then bread crumbs. Heat Carapelli Extra Light in Taste Olive Oil to 300 degrees, and fry risotto spheres until golden brown.
Serve with arugula, tomatoes and a drizzle of Carapelli Premium 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

April’s been plenty rainy so far, but I’m not complaining, rain beats snow every day in my world! If it’s been rainy in your area too, I have some great rainy day craft ideas to share with you this weekend, and a rainy day recipe to go along with them.

There’s plenty of inspiration here from butterflies, to bracelets, and beautiful beaded necklaces. I hope you enjoy checking out all the ideas as much as I did!

Canvas Paper House – Part 2 ~Second part of the canvas paper house Cherie is making for her aunt.

Barbara-MooreWhimsies ~Weekly thoughts and Goings On

Egg Carton Easter Bunny Craft ~A quick and easy Easter for the kids (and it uses up those extra egg cartons).

Kim- Flowers and Art ~Kim finishes her needle-felted bracelet with a flower theme.

Taz’s Corner – Free-Mixed Media Tips and Techniques! Art Journals and More… ~Laura shares tips from her secret stash of techniques and tricks!

Beading Arts ~Cyndi has a copy of the wonderful new book “Endless Sparkle” that she is just dying to give away!

Creative Dreamer ~June is sharing a recipe for Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles…yum!

Eileen – The Artful Crafter ~Eileen made a necklace and earring set using shells gathered on vacation and shares the directions.

Made By Nicole ~If Nothing Ever Changed, There’d Be No Butterflies – this mixed-media art piece was made using the bits of paper trash acquired during the weekend.

Happy crafting! Have a wonderful weekend!

We have some new crafters who have joined our little group, so I just wanted to take this opportunity to officially welcome them! I also wanted to give you the opportunity to check out some of their cool crafts (and recipes). I’m a little late getting things posted this week. I had a deadline to meet with another project, so I’m running a bit behind!

I definitely found plenty of inspiration in this weeks links and I hope you do too! I don’t know about you, but it’s starting to look a little like spring here! Well, except for the snow we got today, but I have high hopes…

Barbara Moore-Gourd Art
Look how close Barbara’s getting!!!

Made By Nicole
If you like Sticky Toffee Pudding, you’re going to love this easy recipe for Arabian Date Cake!

Canvas Paper House
Step one of a journaling house Cherie is making, using canvas paper and collage.

Kim- Flowers and Art
A Shot of Spring-Kim dresses up her window with a little springtime crafting

Creative Dreamer
Let’s talk paper…Some ideas about what kinds of papers to use for creative journaling.

Eileen – The Artful Crafter
Eileen reviews Chapter 4 of Cyndi Lavin’s eBook, “Every Bead Has a Story”.

Hope you all are having a wonderful week!

I’ve been using quite a bit of spelt lately, instead of wheat. I really like spelt for sweet recipes. It has a naturally sweeter flavor than wheat, so I can get by with adding a little less sugar to many recipes. Whole grain spelt also has a smoother texture than wheat, which means it’s easier to get my son to eat it (definitely a bonus).

My son loves pancakes, but I like to get some whole grains in his diet. This recipe for spelt pancakes does both. Top them with a little maple syrup and they’re yum factor goes up even more.

Cinnamon Spelt Pancake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole spelt flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder (I use non aluminum)
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil (I use grapeseed oil)
• 1 1/2 cup milk (you can also use rice milk, soy milk, nut milk, or plain water)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl (flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder), stir until blended.
2. In another bowl beat together the wet ingredients, sugar, eggs, oil, milk and vanilla.
3. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture, stirring carefully as you pour, until all the ingredients are mixed together.
4. Preheat an oiled griddle or skillet on medium heat, once the skillet is heated, pour the pancake batter onto the griddle to make 2-3 inch pancakes.
5. Flip the pancakes over when bubbles start to form on the top of the pancake.
6. Once both sides are cooked, remove the pancakes from the griddle and top with a little butter and maple syrup. You can also add another sprinkle of cinnamon to the top. Yum!

I like to double or triple the recipe and make extra to put in the freezer. Then I pop them out on hectic school mornings, warm them up and breakfast is served!

I love a good soup this time of year! It’s the ultimate comfort food when the snow is flying and the cold wind is blowing outside. The 5th annual National Soup Swap is January 22, 2011. The idea of a Soup Swap is similar to that of a cookie swap, only healthier. I love it!

If you’re interested in participating, invite some friends over and tell them to bring their favorite soup, and enough in containers to share with everyone else at the party.

It would be a great reason to get out in January, and when you come home you’ll have a stock up of different soups, and some new recipes you may not have tried before.

What kind of soup would you bring to a soup swap? One of my favorites this time of year is white chili. I think that’s what I’d have to bring. Clam chowder’s a close second… or maybe chicken and noodles, with homemade noodles.

White chili is one of my favorite wintertime recipes! I love to throw all the ingredients in the Crock Pot and let them simmer on a cold winter day.

I like to make my own soups so I can control the sodium and quality of the ingredients. Most of the time I soak my own beans, but if I use canned beans I usually use beans that have no sodium added (I find them in the health food section of our local grocery).

Here’s my favorite recipe for white chili:

White Chili With Chicken

• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 chicken breasts (diced)
• 2 cups navy or great northern beans
• 2 cups cannelloni beans (white kidney beans)
• 1 small can green chilis
• 1/2 medium onion diced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 Tablespoon of chili powder
• 1-2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 stalk of celery diced
• 1-2 carrots finely diced (optional)
• Celtic sea salt to taste (I don’t usually add any salt, but my husband does)

Directions:

1. Soak the beans overnight if you’re not using canned, then cook for a couple hours until tender and drain.
2. Combine the chicken broth, chicken breast, beans, celery, onions, garlic, and carrots in a large stock pot, and let simmer on medium heat for about 1/2 hour, or place in the slow cooker and let it cook all day on medium heat.
3. Add the green chilies, cumin and chili powder about 10 minutes before you’re ready to serve.

You can also add a few drops of hot sauce, like Frank’s Red Hot to the finished soup before you serve it to kick the heat up a notch or two.

Serve with corn chips instead of crackers. You can also garnish your soup with a little shredded cheese, sour cream, or some avocado slices and cilantro. Yum!

I’m behind yet again getting this posted! I can’t believe it’s November already. Thanksgiving and Christmas are both right around the corner. Are you ready for the holidays? I have to say I’m always excited for the holidays to get here, but this year I’m feeling rushed already. There’s been sooo much going on. There’s usually a break between summer and the holiday rush, but this year it seems like things have been non stop.

I do have some wonderful crafty (and foodie) links to share with you this week. Hopefully I can get back on track and post these on time next week! We’ll see! Enjoy!

• Six Sayings ~Just some fun hand written fonts and sayings

• Beading Arts~ Cyndi just finished a 45 hour project that reused antique steel cut seed beads…and some steel buttons!
• Cthulhu Ski Mask and Mittens~ A crocheted Halloween costume for the geek or H.P. Lovecraft fan in your life.
• Creative Dreamer~ Cookies are one of the simple pleasures in life… and when you can “remake” a recipe to make it your own, it can be lots of fun… come see what I did to alter a recipe, and its name, to create my own version.
• Eileen – The Artful Crafter~ There are various options for printing greeting cards onto glossy photo paper. Here are some money-saving tips from Eileen.
• Rice Krispy Treat Turkey~ These are fun to make, and they’re sure to be a hit at your Thanksgiving party.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Mission Foods. All opinions are 100% mine.

We’re big tortilla fans at our house! You can put anything in a tortilla and make it a meal, so I was super excited to see this fun contest from Mission Menus.

I’ve shared a few Mission Foods recipes here at Home and Garden Cafe. I also have several of my own recipes using tortillas. I I think I might tweak one or two of them to send in to the contest. Here are a few of the contest details.

Beginning June 28th 2010, Mission Foods is heating up summer with the Mission Menus Challenge!

The contest will feature Chef Sara Moulton encouraging you to submit your budget-friendly recipes to Mission at www.MissionMenusChallenge.com. Finalists will have the opportunity to compete in a cook-off in Los Angeles.

You’ll also have the opportunity to win a $10,000 dream kitchen makeover as well as several other weekly prizes. I don’t know about you, but I’d love to have a kitchen makeover!

The grand prize winner will win round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations for two to the Mission Menus Challenge Cook-off on September 10, 2010 at the Hard Rock Café in Los Angeles.
You can submit your recipe online between now and August 9th for your chance to win.

Your recipes must be original and include Mission Flour Tortillas. The recipe should also feed a family of 5 for less than $10.

Summer is officially here! Woot! 4th of July celebrations are coming up fast! It’s my favorite time of year for inviting over friends and neighbors for some grilling bbq fun.

Here’s a finger-lickin’ barbecue recipe for your next cookout. You don’t have to be a pitmaster to make this easy recipe for Chili-Glazed Beef Ribs courtesy of Tabasco.

The ribs get their kick from the combination of tangy chili sauce, sweet molasses and original Tabasco pepper sauce. Yum! Just the photo is enough to make my mouth water!

CHILI-GLAZED BEEF RIBS

4 pounds beef back ribs*
4 teaspoons original Tabasco® brand pepper sauce, divided
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Brush ribs with 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce. Place in large roasting pan. Cover tightly with foil; bake 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, in small saucepan, combine chili sauce, molasses, vinegar, brown sugar, remaining 2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce and salt. Heat to a boil, over high heat; reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered about 5 minutes to blend flavors.

Preheat grill to medium-low, over indirect heat. Brush ribs on both sides with sauce. Place ribs on grill; meat-side down. Cover and continue cooking 15 minutes. Turn ribs over; brush with more sauce. Cook 15 minutes longer, or until ribs are tender. Serve ribs with grilled bell peppers, if desired.

Serves 6.

*If you prefer, substitute one 4-pound slab pork spare ribs in place of beef ribs. Prepare as above.

I’ll be back with the recipe for my brother in law’s famous (at least in our family), and delicous bbq ribs!