Good Things at Home

1 cup water to each 100 grams of berries. In this case, 680 g frozen cranberries & 340 g frozen blueberries & 10 cups water. Bring to a boil in large kettle over medium heat. Turn down to a simmer for 15 minutes. I used the blueberries as a natural sweetener & complement to the tartness of the cranberries, so I did not add any sugar or other sweetener. Cover & let cool a few hours to room temp, though it will still be slightly warm, & refrigerate for at least a few more hours, or overnight. After sitting in the fridge all night, I filtered little by little through a small fine mesh strainer, as that's what I have. You can use cheese cloth if you prefer. I reserved pulp for later use by freezing, probably in orange cranberry muffins. I put the juice into a large old pickle jar, as I didn't want our plastic pitchers stained red for life! Makes approx. 80 oz of juice, with just a bit of thickness to it, so it's seems more like a nectar to me. Viola! The most delicious cranberry juice I've ever had!

Keira in her cute little orange bee pajama set from Auntie Tiff.

Homemade Egg Rolls with Plum Sweet & Sour Sauce for dinner. One of our favorites! Lucky for me, we had some leftover sauce in the freezer from last time, so that was a bit of a time saver. Notice the bites already taken? They are just too delicious to even wait for me to get my camera! Can you blame me? Recipes & instructions follow.

Egg Rolls

1/2 # ground pork

1/2 t salt

1/2 t cornstarch

1/2 t soy sauce

1/8 t white pepper

In a small bowl, combine pork & ingredients with fork. Cover & refrigerate while preparing remaining ingredients. Bring 8-10 c water to a boil in large kettle for:

1 head, about 2 1/2 #s, green cabbage, finely shredded

When water is boiling, add cabbage. When it returns to a boil, cook 1 minute. Drain. Rinse with cold water until cabbage is cold. Drain thoroughly. Remove excess water by squeezing the cabbage. To cabbage add:

1/2 # cooked shrimp, finely chopped

1/3 c finely chopped green onions, with tops

1 t kosher salt

1 T 5 spice powder

In another small bowl put:

8 oz baby bella or crimini mushrooms, sliced julienne-style

1/4 c shredded canned bamboo shoots

You will also need:

2T vegetable oil + oil for frying

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 # egg roll skins

1 egg, beaten

Heat wok over high heat until 1/or 2 drops of water bubble & skitter when sprinkled in wok. Add 2 T vegetable oil. Add garlic & stir fry for 1 minute til golden. Add pork; stir fry til no longer pink. Add mushrooms & shoots; stir fry 1 minute. Add cabbage, shrimp, onions, salt, & 5 spice. Turn heat off & mix thoroughly. Cool egg roll mixture. Place 1/3 c mixture on egg roll skin & roll, brushing last corner with egg to seal. Keep skins & egg rolls covered so they don't dry out. Heat oil in wok to 350 degrees (medium high heat). Fry 4 or 5 egg rolls at a time until golden brown, turning 2 or 3 times, for about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towel. Makes about 20 egg rolls. Serve with...

Plum Sweet & Sour Sauce

1 lg can crushed pineapple

1 c sugar

1 c water

1 c vinegar

1 T dark soy sauce

In small cup combine:

2 T cornstarch 

2 T cold water

You will also need:

1-1 1/4 c plum sauce or plum jam

In small saucepan, bring to a boil over med-med high heat, stirring constantly, the pineapple, sugar, water, vinegar, & soy sauce. Stir cornstarch into pineapple mixture. Heat to boiling again, stirring constantly. Remove from heat & cool to room temperature. Add plum sauce. Cover & refrigerate. I always make this ahead of time since it is served cold. It makes enough sauce for a double batch of egg rolls, so I usually freeze half for later & just thaw at room temp. It thaws rather quickly when frozen in freezer bags. 

Enjoy!