Easy Pineapple Jam

Spread a little bright yellow sunshine on your morning toast with my easy pineapple jam. With just two main ingredients, it couldn’t be simpler. It also makes a great filling for muffins, cakes and buns.

A sweet taste of the tropics, pineapple jam is quite common in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. In fact, in Malaysia where we lived for many years, it’s part of many festivals and celebrations as a filling for kuih tart. For the Chinese Malaysians, the gold color is considered a sign of prosperity so kuih tarts are served during the lunar new year but they are also popular for the Muslim and Hindu holidays as well.

Here in Dubai, I have a lovely part-time cleaning lady from Sri Lanka who adores pineapple jam. It’s her favorite fruit spread. According to her, it’s quite common in her country as well. If you haven’t given it a try yet, I encourage you to make a jar.

Easy Pineapple Jam

Quick jam made from fresh pineapples requires only heat and sugar and just a little bit of time. No water bath is necessary; just store it in a clean jar in the refrigerator. I can guarantee it won’t last long!

Ingredients for 1 pint
1 fresh pineapple, about 1 lb 3 oz or 550g, after peeling and coring
3/4 cup or 170g caster sugar
Pinch salt

Note: This easy pineapple jam recipe can also be made with canned pineapple, as long as it is canned in its own juice, NOT in syrup. Drain the juice before processing the pineapple.

Method
Cut the pineapple into chunks and pile it into your food processor.

Pulse the pineapple in your food processor until it is cut into small pieces.  You don’t want it completely smooth so there should be small chunks. 

Cook the pineapple over a medium low heat in a small covered pot for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. It should look a bit dry towards the end.

Add in the sugar and the pinch of salt. The sugar will melt and the pineapple will look juicy again. Cook over a low heat until the jam is sticky and pretty dry again, stirring frequently.

 It will turn slightly darker as the sugar cooks but be careful not to let it burn.

Transfer the jam to a jar and allow to cool. Store in the refrigerator. It’s great on hot buttered toast, stirred into plain yogurt or baked in a bun.

Enjoy!

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Spicy Cheesy Bacon Oatmeal #FoodieExtravaganza

The perfect al dente texture of steel cut oats is complemented by extra sharp cheddar, cayenne pepper and crispy bacon in this cheesy bacon oatmeal. It makes a warming breakfast (or dinner!) that will win over all your non-porridge or oatmeal eating friends and family. Savory oatmeal for the win!

If you’ve been reading this blog for the past four years, you might remember when I posted a recipe for mushroom ginger congee from my friend Kathy Hester’s creative cookbook OATrageous Oatmeals. (< affiliate link) Or her chickpea veggie soup just a few months later for our first Foodie Extravaganza celebration of National Oatmeal Month. That cookbook was a serious game changer for this non-lover of oatmeal.

Before that, I had not thought of using oats in a savory dish. Now that’s the first thing that popped into my mind when this month's Foodie Extravaganza host decided to celebrate National Oatmeal Month again. (Which is January, in case you didn’t know.) In a savory dish, I adore steel cut oats. The finished dish reminds me of my favorite risottos.

Spicy Cheesy Bacon Oatmeal

The basic cooking of steel cut oats with the recommended simmering times and liquid to oat ratio comes from the package of Bob's Red Mill steel cut oats. (It can also be found online.) The rest of the ingredients are my favorite additions. This recipe is easily doubled to feed four.

Ingredients to serve 2
2 thick-cut slices smoked bacon
1 1/2 cups or 180ml low sodium vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 cup or 100g steel cut oats
3 1/2 oz or 100g extra sharp cheddar, grated
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1-2 tablespoons sliced green onion tops

Method
Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry them until crispy in the pot you will cook the oatmeal. Remove a few pieces and set them aside to use for garnish later. Spoon out most of the bacon grease, leaving a little behind for flavor.

Add the stock and the cayenne pepper to your bacon pot and bring it to a boil.  Pour in the steel cut oats and reduce the heat to a low simmer.

Cover the pot and cook for 10-20 minutes. Ten minutes for fairly chewy oatmeal, 20 for softer bite. Even 20 minutes on the lowest simmer creates an al dente texture.

Stir occasionally, adding just a bit more water if it looks like the oatmeal is too dry before it has reached your desired doneness. I like mine the consistency of good risotto, soft but not runny.

When the oats are cooked, remove the pot from the heat.

Stir in most of the cheddar cheese, reserving a little for topping your two bowls.

Serve while still hot, topped with the reserved bacon and cheese and the green onions.

Enjoy!

If you are a fan of oats, here are some fabulous ways to celebrate National Oatmeal Month. Many thanks to our host Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Which recipe will you try first?

• Apple Banana Smoothie from Caroline's Cooking
• Coconut &Banana Oat Pancakes from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite aWhiskered Accomplice 
• Irish Oatmeal Brulee from Jolene's Recipe Journal 
• Oatmeal Crusted Chicken Strips from A Day in the Life on the Farm 
• Oats & Split Green Moong Chillas/Pancakes from Sneha's Recipe 
• Old Fashioned Oatmeal Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories 
• Pumpkin Oatmeal from Making Miracles
• Spicy Cheesy Bacon Oatmeal from Food Lust People Love

Foodie Extravaganza celebrates obscure food holidays by posting delicious recipes your family will love. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a home cook looking for tasty recipes, check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

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Cranberry Pistachio Muffins #MuffinMonday

Cranberry pistachio muffins are great on their own for breakfast or teatime, or as part of your holiday buffet table. They aren’t just pretty, they are delicious as well!

When I wrote the first post introducing my new Muffin Monday group back in August of 2015, I had already shared 73 muffins, both sweet and savory, in this space. As we reach the end of 2018, you’ll find those plus another 37 muffin recipes here on Food Lust People Love, and links from my friends to many, many more! I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow bakers for joining me each month, adding extra value to each of my posts with their beautiful list of recipes. Love you all!

And as this is my final post for 2018, I’d also like to thank you, my readers. This year was a rough one for me, one of personal loss of family and friends that I hold dear, not to mention my wonderful kitchen helper, Beso the Boxer. My kitchen is a place of comfort and relaxation for me, a safe haven that keeps me sane. It gives me joy to create recipes to share with you and that saved me this year. Thank you for reading and commenting! A very special thank you to my email subscribers who get a short introduction in their inboxes whenever I post a new recipe. I appreciate you all! (Want to subscribe? Please click here or use the little box in the righthand column that says, Great Recipes - Free!)

Fun fact: My most viewed recipe of all time is a muffin! I posted these Cheesy Spinach Muffins back in 2013 and they’ve stayed on top ever since. No other recipe even comes close.

By the way, Happy New Year! Do you need some party appetizers perfect for New Year’s Eve or Day? Try my Black-eyed Pea Bacon Cocktail Muffins!

Cranberry Pistachio Muffins

Maybe you’ve got some whole berry cranberry sauce of the jellied kind left over from Christmas. If so, these cranberry pistachio muffins make perfect use of that abundance. If not, buy a can on sale and bake these babies for your New Year’s Day breakfast. I used the one from Ocean Spray.

Baking muffins for breakfast couldn’t be easier! Starting the night before, simply measure out your dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and cover with cling film. Whisk together your wet ingredients, cover with cling film and store in the refrigerator. When you wake up in the morning, turn the oven on to preheat and follow the recipe from where you mix your wet and dry ingredients together. Fresh warm muffins in fewer than 30 minutes!

Ingredients for 16 muffins
2 cups or 250g flour
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 240ml milk
1/2 cup or 120ml whole berry cranberry sauce (140g)
1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup or 60g slivered pistachios, plus extra for decoration, if desired

Also optional to decorate:
12 fresh or frozen cranberries

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your muffin pan by greasing it or lining it with paper or silicone muffin cups. A few years ago one of my lovely daughters gave me a set of silicone muffin cups from Crate and Barrel so I used those occasionally. They stand up on their own so you don’t even need a muffin pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the cranberry sauce, milk, oil and eggs.

Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold them together until just mixed.

Fold in the pistachios.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. In the case of these 16, a 1/4 cup each was just about right.

Cut the fresh or frozen cranberries in half.

Sprinkle the muffin tops with more pistachio slivers to decorate. Then distribute the halved cranberries.

Bake your muffins in the preheated oven about 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for a few minutes and then remove the muffins from the pan or silicone cups to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Check out the wonderful muffins my talented muffin baking friends are sharing today!

• Bacon Cheddar Corn Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Bacon Scallion Corn Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Blackberry Muffins from Making Miracles
• Cranberry Pistachio Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Mini Donut Muffins from Passion Kneaded

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

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