Jam Exchange Roundup!

Wow, I want to say a very special THANK YOU to everyone who participated this year. We hit a new record with over 100 people shipping jam all over this country, Canada, and one jammer exchanging with someone in Portugal! I know this takes a lot of trust blinding sending your hard work to a stranger across the country, and for the most part everything made it where is was suppose to with only a few hiccups. Thank you again for putting your trust in me and in each other to make this jam exchange possible and special. It really is a joy for me to put together and worth every minute of time spent organizing it.

Onto the jams! I've only included people who wrote me with what they sent/received. If you want to be added to the list just email me and let me know! Links are to the people's blogs if they have them (and sometimes the recipes!) If I messed up the order of images or what you sent just let me know and I'll update it :)

Jeanne sent Peach Jam and Everything but the kitchen sink Jam

Lindsay sent red currant and raspberry jam

Cathy sent Mango Raspberry Jam and Spiced Wine Peach Jam

Graham sent apricot blueberry, strawberry rhubarb, and apple butter


Nicole sent dandelion jelly and red wine-onion jam

Andrea sent Peach Vanilla Bourbon Jam and some Strawberries and Wine Jam

Amy sent Strawberry Mango Jam and Grapefruit Pineapple Marmalade

Angela sent Chocolate blueberry, blackberry dragonfruit, ginger honey lemon marmalade and strawberry meyer lemon marmalade

Rachel sent fig jam and a peach jam

The redhead sent Ginger Vanilla Peach and Blackberry Peach

Beth Anne sent Blueberry Lime Jam and Piña Colada jam

Christie sent plout jam - a savory one at that!

Evan sent champagne pomegranate jelly

Janae sent Peach Marmalade, and a jar of Organic Vanilla Strawberry Jam

Samantha sent Apricot Peach Butter, and Black Raspberry Jam

Katie sent Peach Bourbon Jam w/Vanilla and Chipotle Plum Jam


Celeste sent Mulberry and one of Peach Jalapeño

A different Samantha sent spiced blueberry compote and a strawberry lemon marmalade.
Her partner Celeste sent grape jelly, mulberry jam, peach and jalepeno jam, quice jelly, vanilla pear butter, and plum apple jam.

Steve sent White, Peach, Bing Cherry, Spicy Ketchup and a few surprises.


Val sent Blueberry-Lemon, Plum Wine-Berry, Pear-Rosemary, Tomato-Ginger, Sour Cherry, Peach-Hot Pepper and Peach Rum. (I know that's way more than 2, but Steve and Val ended up sending each other 8 and 7 varieties! WOW!)

Kris sent Low Sugar Strawberry Jam With Balsamic Vinegar and Fennel Seeds

Judith sent plum (made with fruit her brother grew) and candied jalepenoes

Meg sent Strawb/Rhubarb/onion which is her idea of heaven as chutney got her jammin' in the first place, and peach/blueberry

Liz sent low sugar mixed berry, and pluot.

Gina sent peach-lime jam, and one of peach preserves with pinot noir and cinnamon

Elizabeth sent pluot jam and a mixed berry jam. Leslie sent a blueberry lime (that lasted all of 3 days maybe), a salsa and a peach blueberry jam.

Lisa sent Strawberry Syrup (email me if you want the recipe she sent it to me) Mixed Berry Jam - From the Ball Pectin Box (strawberries, raspberries, cherries, and blueberries). & Pirate Peaches

Tracy sent strawberry-vanilla bean jam and bread & butter pickles to my partner. And, I received white peaches & saffron jam and a gorgeous strawberry jam with dark chocolate and cocao nibs!!

Doug sent white peaches with saffron jam!

Stephanie sent Microwave Citrus Marmalade and Wild Quebec Blueberry jam, and received from Betty Blackberry and Peach-Cherry jams as well as some candied jalapeno slices and tomato jam!

Kelly sent Strawberry habanero jam and raspberry chocolate sauce.

Amanda ended up getting a jar of Ginger Blueberry and a jar of Strawberry Rhubarb!

Connie sent Apricot Pineapple, Strawberry and Rachel-Berry Jam! And I sent to three peeps!




Michelle had two partners
Partner #1:
I sent Brandied Fig Jam and Ginger-Peach Jam to Carla V. in Maryland
And I received savory Onion Marmalade and luscious Ginger-Pear Jam from her.
Partner #2:
I sent Brandied Fig Jam and Strawberry-Pineapple Jam to Jeri in Alaska. (due to a family illness her partner hasn't been able to send jam back yet)



Carolyn sent Blueberry Bourbon Jam

April sent Lime curd and Strawberry Jam made with Apple pectin


Michelle sent peach habanero chutney, cherry jam, and a plum jam

Yossy sent Mixed Berry, Apricot, and Plum jam!

Danielle sent Cherry Vanilla Bean Jam and Yellow Tomato Jam

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Meatloaf... umm Meatmuffins... that sounds really gross

I like meatloaf, not everyone does, but I do. I informed John that we'd be having chicken meatloaf (he doesn't eat pig or cow) for dinner, he made a grossed out face and then said fine fine he'd eat it as long as it wasn't dried out. Obviously he doesn't know me very well, if it's dried out I'm not eating it either.

I learned some important lessons while making this. I like red meat meatloaf... I really don't like chicken meatloaf... John on the other hand ended up liking these a lot, so that was a bonus! In the future though when I'm craving meatloaf, I'm making the red meat version, but I'll keep all the rest of the mix-ins I used here. John will just have to fend for himself that night, or I'll have to make two batches one red, one chicken :)

I guess I can't call this meatloaf since I made them in a muffin tin. Hey it cut the cooking time down wickedly, these were done in 20 minutes flat! Fully cooked and not at all dry. Double bonus.

Sorry they aren't' really pretty to look at either... sorry my vegetarian and vegan friends.

Chicken Meatloaf Muffins
1 lb lean ground chicken (I grind my own with skinless chicken breasts trimmed of fat)
drizzle of olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
3-5 garlic cloves chopped
1 small can sliced mushrooms chopped (fresh works too I just didn't have any on hand)
1 slice of whole wheat bread cubed
1 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg lightly beaten
2 Tbs brown mustard
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup plain fat free greek yogurt
BBQ sauce to coat the tops of the muffins - does that count as frosting? are these considered cupcakes now?

In a medium pan heat olive oil and cook onions and garlic until tender, remove from heat and let cool a bit. In a small bowl mix egg, rosemary, salt, pepper, mustard, and worcestershire sauce. In a large bowl with your hands gently mix together ground chicken, onions/garlic, mushrooms, bread. Pour in egg mixture and yogurt, gently toss to incorporate. Scoop into greased muffin tins and drizzle with BBQ sauce. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160 when you poke into the center of one of the muffins.

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Swinging from the ceiling

Have you ever gone to a cirque du soleil show? Or maybe seen one of TV? I must say I'm obsessed with watching the pure athleticism of the performers. Knowing very little about swinging from the ceiling on long silk like drapes I decide to learn more and take a class at Aerial Arts Rochester this weekend.

This pose was surprisingly comfy... no seriously it was!


This one however hurt your underarms wicked! you're basically wrapped in the silk and then fly across the room. I'm actually flying towards the teacher who took the picture for me, luckily I didn't knock him over :)

Upside down yoga anyone? SO MUCH FUN!!! If you have any interest at all go try it, I was mad sore the next day but it was so worth it! I think I may need to sign up for a six week beginners session to learn more... because after this first class I am hooked! I fully realize I look utterly ridiculous in most of these pictures, but hey what can I say, I'm pretty freakin ridiculous all the time :)

Ever tried it?? Want to???

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Hidden no more

Some people find a hidden glorious spot and refuse to share it with others, for fear the added foot traffic will ruin the mystique of the hidden place. I say if you find something amazing, tell everyone about it! Mrs. Pierson taught me very well about sharing back in kindergarten, she'd be so proud!

So here's the secret spot. Hidden Springs Farm - 51 Probst Rd. Mendon NY (their website looks like it hasn't been updated since spring... so ignore most of what it says).

A hilly bike ride away from where I live it's my new favorite place to frequent. Did I mention the gigantic hill that doesn't seem so bad in a car... but on a bike SUCKS? Seriously it went on forever, and then this older guy easily passes by me and says, "pretty big long hill huh?" I was like what?? I just got passed by someone twice my age?? But I go to spin twice a week, and run 3 days a week, and lift weights??? HUH??? Apparently even though I think I kick some serious bottom in spin class, I'm not so good in real life applications. *sigh* (don't worry I didn't actually say all those things out loud)

Once at the farm you will find a stand that uses the honor system, so bring lots of singles, or a local check to pay. For sale were: onions, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, raspberries, corn, sunflowers, apples, plums, peaches, brown eggs... they are also a pick your own farm! I didn't since I biked and only had a small backpack (not the best for transporting boatloads of raspberries) but I will be going back for sure soon!

I picked up a basket of amazingly delicious tomatoes ($2.50), and a basket of fabulous peaches ($3.50). Seriously local YUM. If you live near Rochester NY, please check this place out and support this awesome farm!

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Jam Jam Jam

First things first. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my wonderful nephew Walton who turns 3 today!! Go Walton go!! If he's lucky he might get a baby sister for his birthday, my sister is ready to pop any day now!!

Back to the chow... You all know I'm in love with all things jam, so I was super excited when Foodiacs decided to showcase Sallie's jams as our next product!! Sure she has traditional jam flavors but check out her amazing herb infused jams!

Image taken by Chris Hornaday

You'll get 3 jars total. 2 of her brand new fig herb jam varieties, and one jam of your choosing! Go check it out!

Now don't worry and think I'm going to be announcing every Foodiacs product here, this was just a perfect tie in as I've been gathering up what everyone sent and received for our annual jam exchange for the roundup post! You still have time to email me what you sent or received during the exchange, so hit me up people! I hope you all had a great time and if you had any issues please let me know! Actually I'm going to send out a survey to you all to see what you thought and if there is anything I can improve next year! So keep a look out for it :)

Image taken by Chris Hornaday

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