Strawberry, jalapeno, basil jam

A few weekends ago Bryan and I went to a strawberry festival with his family on a sunny afternoon. We bought a large basket of strawberries so we could make some jam. The following Sunday we put on some blues records (mainly Howling Wolf and Alan Lomax) and threw the berries into their boiling fate. We followed the recipe from Liana Krissoff's book, "Canning For A New Generation".  Bryan and I love to experiment in the kitchen with unexpected flavours and ingredients so we decided to alter the recipe and add some finely chopped jalapeno's and fresh basil from the garden. This collaboration was a success! The next day we had some friends over for brunch and served the jam with some homemade English scones (see recipe below), fresh whipped cream and creamy brie. It was a major (yummy) hit.

English Scones Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

·  2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (256gm)

·  1/4 cup (60 gm) white sugar

·  2 ½ tsp (12ml) baking powder

·  1/2 tsp (3ml) baking soda

·  1/2 tsp salt (3ml)

·  1/4 cup (65 gm) margarine or butter

·  3/4 cup (200 gm) sultana raisins

·  1 cup (250 ml) milk

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 425°F or 220°C.

Grease baking tray with margarine.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

Cut in the margarine or butter using a pastry knife until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add the milk and mix to make a smooth dough (add more milk if necessary to ensure mix is not too dry).

Knead very lightly for ten seconds on a lightly floured surface.

Roll or pat to about 3/4" thick (2 cm) and either cut into individual scones or cut into wedges, leaving intact to make a loaf.

Baking time approximately 12 minutes for individual scones, 15-20 minutes for loaf-style.

Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle a little cinnamon on top if desired.