Rhubarb and Strawberry Jam

It's a classic for a lot of people but not for me.  I haven't met rhubarb until few years ago.  It was one of those strange vegetables ( yeah that's what I thought) in a new country.  Then it all started with a rhubarb tart, that I found delicious.  It was the smell of rhubarb that was appealing to me.  I didn't know what else I could do with this newly found taste other than the tarts.  Couple of years ago, when I was going through a "I want to make everything at home" stage, where I decided to make some jam.  This phase didn't last very long at the time. You can guess why.  But this year, the spring came early and I've been buying way too many strawberries.  Then I have received a cooking magazine for the spring season and there it was. Rhubarb and strawberry jam.  I thought why not. How hard could it be? I didn't realize that it would take an hour preparation and several hours of stirring and cooking, etc.  In the end was it worth it? I would say yes, but I don't think I would be doing it again any time soon. 
So here are some nice pictures and the recipe. Enjoy!

Rhubarb and Strawberry Jam
(Makes about 2 Lt)
about 700g Rhubarb - Peeled and chopped in 1 cm pieces (see picture)
about 900g Strawberries - Peeled and diced (see picture)

about 1000g sugar
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/2 pack of vanilla sugar
400 ml water

Mix all your ingredients except the water in a large bowl. Put them in a large pan and add the water.
Bring it to boil while stirring frequently.  Reduce the heat and leave it to boil until it gets to the jam stage.  Stir it and check frequently.  Now here is what I learned, in order to check the jam stage, you can either take a spoon full of jam and put it on a cold plate, put it in the fridge for few minutes to see if there is gelling.  Until that occurs you need to keep it on the heat, but don't forget to stir.
When it's ready pour it into jars and seal immediately (something new that I learned - I would have left them open to cool down).  It seems that if you store them in a cool and dark place they may last for about a year.  I will test that and get back to you.

Rösti

It has been one year since I started writing this blog.  It has been really great to share some of my favorite recipes with all of you.  I have enjoyed writing the recipes and photographing the food with hungry kids waiting to be fed.  It has been a great experience.  But... Of course there is a but... It takes a lot of effort to write and publish each post.  Sure, it doesn't have to be that way.  It is not how I would like to go on about it.  Not perfect probably but as better as it gets and it will continue like that.
Happy anniversary to Olives and Bread.  To celebrate, here is a recipe from Switzerland.  I know I had to write this super simple recipe for some friends and relatives.  This reminds me that there are still some people out there waiting for a Turkish version of this blog.  I am just waiting for the days that I will have time for that, so stay tuned.
Back to lovely rösti.   I ate this first time with my friend F at Zurich main train station.  There used to be a restaurant there with rösti specials.  It's unfortunate that it's now closed but they had a good variety of rösti dishes.  With cheese, with onions, with bacon, etc. I have learned how to make this from my mother-in-law and she does it with coconut butter most of the time.  It's very delicious like that and I definitely recommend it.  Usually it's made with butter or oil. Use whichever you prefer.   Rösti goes really well with cheese or meat, or any creamy meat dish, like Zurich Geschnetzeltes (cut meat Zurich style - recipe will be coming up soon). 

Rösti

(Makes 4 portions as a side dish)

700-800 g potatoes (preferably fast cooking ones if you make it from raw potatoes - see below for reason)

butter or oil to cook

salt and pepper to taste

There are two ways of doing this.  You can either boil the potatoes with their skin. Then peel and make the rösti or you can do it from raw potatoes.  Either way you have to peel the potatoes and grate them to start with.  Put some salt and freshly milled black pepper in the grated potatoes and mix well.

Take a large non-stick pan, preferable with a lid.  Put some oil in it and put it over medium-high heat.  When it's hot enough, add the grated potatoes in.  With the help of a spatula flatten the top so it looks like a big potato pancake.  Close the lid and leave it to cook for few minutes.  Check the bottom frequently to make sure it's not burnt.  If you are making it from raw potatoes, stir it once in a while so that it's cooked better and fried bits from the bottom are mixed in.  This way you can get it to be more crispy.  You can use the same method also if you are making it from cooked potatoes.  Just make sure you flatten the top eventually and leave the bottom last time to brown nicely.  Once the it is brown underneath, you need to turn it upside down to cook both sides equally.  I use the lid to do that so the form (potato pancake) stays the same.  Just make sure you don't burn your hands.  When it's brown on both sides then it's done. You can use round rings or large cookie cutters to cut out shapes or slice it like a cake to serve. 

Enjoy!