The Joy of Baking: Jammy Buns

A nostalgic teatime cookie that always reminds me of my Grandma and Grandpa is Jammy buns. This is an incredibly easy recipe that creates a delicious spring time cookie that everyone seems to enjoy! The base is a mix between a short bread and soft oatmeal cookie; you could totally add quick oats as a substitute for bran if you'd like and the recipe would turn out just fine. I made these for the first time today and they turned out wonderfully!

Jammy Buns

Ingredients:

- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup bran (or 1 cup of whole wheat flour- I use bran because its cheaper)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2/3 cups unsalted butter
- 3/4 cups fine white sugar
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1 large egg
- 4-5 tablespoons milk
- 5-6 tablespoons raspberry jam

Preparation:

1. Mix dry ingredients together (bran, flour, salt, baking powder)
2. Cube the butter and rub into flour until it resembles breadcrumbs (use the hand mixture if you find the butter is not incorporating into the dry mixture fine enough)
3. Mix in sugar and cranberries
4. In a separate bowl whisk the egg, milk and vanilla and add to the dry ingredients
** continue adding milk if you find the dough isn’t coming together enough
5. Make small dough balls (about 1 tablespoon), place on a cookie sheet and make a small indent with a teaspoon for the jam filling
6. Fill the indent with jam
7. Bake for 7-8 minutes at 350 degrees

A Poem: "The Rain Falls"

The Rain Falls
By Jenna Reimer

The rain falls once more-
A deluged shower,
Steeping itself into the pasture lines
Where one can find so many pains.
Still, it falls-
Delicately, simply,
With no meaning or intention
But the fulfillment of its own nature
Which is to fall and fall once more.

The Poetry of Henry David Thoreau

“When you get into a railway car you want a continent, the man in his carriage requires a township; but a walker like Thoreau finds as much and more along the shores of Walden Pond.” - John Burroughs, The Galaxy, June 1873

Walden is one of my favorite books; Thoreau’s poetry and literature preserves the legacy and quintessential beauty of nature. He foster’s an ethic of environmental stewardship and unearths nature’s ability to be impervious, yet irrefutably apart of, the hand of man. Thoreau’s poetry is tranquil in all of its simplicity and I wanted to share two of his poems.

My Life Has Been the Poem
- Henry David Thoreau

My life has been the poem I would have writ,
But I could not both live and utter it.

Epitaph On The World
- Henry David Thoreau

Here lies the body of this world,
Whose soul alas to hell is hurled.
This golden youth long since was past,
Its silver manhood went as fast,
An iron age drew on at last;
'Tis vain its character to tell,
The several fates which it befell,
What year it died, when 'twill arise,
We only know that here it lies.

The Joy of Baking: Kicking Horse Cookies

My Kicking Horse Cookies have been said to be my best (NEXT TO my infamous ooey, gooey, best milk chocolate chip cookie in the world recipe that I am weary of even sharing as to keep it a secret… yes, they are that damn good). Anyways, these cookies are a hearty bite of sweet goodness that is packed with a variety of ingredients that are perfect during the winter months. HOWEVER, they are good any time of the year so I thought I would share the recipe this week since I baked them!
I named them “Kicking Horse Cookies” because I came up with the recipe on my way home from a weekend getaway to my boyfriend’s condo (called the Kicking Horse Resort) in Golden BC!

Jenna's Kicking Horse Cookies

Ingredients:

- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2.5 cups quick oats
- 1 cup coconut
- ¼ cup coco powder
- 2-2.5 cups white flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda and salt
- 1.5 teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup of chopped white chocolate chunks

Preparation:

1. Cream the sugar and butter until light in color; then add each egg individually to ensure they are incorporated into the batter well
2. Add vanilla
3. Combine dry ingredients (flour, coco powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt) in a separate bowl and sift to ensure there are no lumps (especially from the coco powder)
4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix
5. Incorporate the coconut and quick oats into the batter; if you feel the batter is still rather wet than add ¼ cup of flour at a time until it is still moist but doesn’t stick to your fingers
6. Stir in the cranberries, pecans and white chocolate chunks
7. These cookies are best made BIG (since they have so many ingredients in them) so this recipe should only make about 24 at the most
8. Bake at 350 degrees for no longer than 7 minutes (any type of cookie that has oatmeal in it will not need as long of a bake as any other cookie- you want them to be chewy!!)

Contemplation. Contemplation. Contemplation.

The term contemplation seems to have become a far too familiar state of consciousness that has engulfed the entirety of my life; whether to do this or that, say this or that, without coming to any sort of reasonable conclusion, has turned into an unremitting struggle for me. The notion of “making a decision” has always overwhelmed me. Perhaps this anxiety is due to the fact that I have this amazing ability to believe the fate of my life rests on the most minuscule decisions, and if I don’t make the right decision everything will collapse and be utterly detrimental to myself and the rest humankind.

This idea of contemplation reminded me of a poem by Henry King called "A Contemplation upon Flowers." The poem exudes a sense of awareness, a sense of being entirely present within the confines of reality and knowing that life will come to an end; it is a futile illusion to always seek some sort of imaginative future that appears to be inconceivable, unpredictable and, generally, unachievable. The flowers King speaks to are content with living in the earth, the soil in which we as humans dread to join. We all have this common imagination that tends to become overwhelmed with despair regarding “the end” so we inevitably overanalyze the present, and past for that matter; we feel as if we must become something beyond ourselves in order to feel satisfied and content. Perhaps I am fearful of this feeling of being unfulfilled, rather, the fear that others will perceive my life as being unfulfilled. It seems I am more concerned with other’s perception of my life so I am constantly contemplating my current state of being in order to appear to be “the best Jenna I can be”… how terrible eh?!

I am somewhat alright with my life at the moment, it has been worse, however I want more but not for myself but for others? Is that strange? Selfish? Selfless? All of these terms seem to fit my issues as a matter of fact, but not justify them. I don’t have any sort of epiphany to conclude with so I will just end with Henry King’s poem and hope it inspires all of us to embrace a moment in time that comes and goes like the whispers of a spring wind.

A Contemplation upon Flowers
By Henry King

BRAVE flowers--that I could gallant it like you,
And be as little vain!
You come abroad, and make a harmless show,
And to your beds of earth again.
You are not proud: you know your birth:
For your embroider'd garments are from earth.

You do obey your months and times, but I
Would have it ever Spring:
My fate would know no Winter, never die,
Nor think of such a thing.
O that I could my bed of earth but view
And smile, and look as cheerfully as you!

O teach me to see Death and not to fear,
But rather to take truce!
How often have I seen you at a bier,
And there look fresh and spruce!
You fragrant flowers! then teach me, that my breath
Like yours may sweeten and perfume my death.

The Joy of Baking: Raspberry Jam!

Easy Homemade Raspberry Jam

Ingredients

- 6 cups (1.5 L) crushed hulled raspberry, (12 cups/3 L whole)
**Note: You can substitute the 6 cups of raspberries for any other type of fruit. When I make apriocot jam I used dried apricots and dice them into small chunks and let them soak in water overnight to reconstitute. Then follow the same procedure!
- 1 pkg light fruit pectin crystals
- 4-1/2 cups (1.125 L) granulated sugar

Preparation:

1. Pour raspberries into large Dutch oven.
2. Combine pectin crystals with 1/4 cup (50 mL) of the sugar; stir into pan.
3. Bring to full boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in remaining sugar; return to full boil.
4. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
5. Remove from heat. Stir for 5 minutes to prevent fruit from floating, skimming off foam.
6. Pour into your sterilized canning jars (follow the directions on the canning jar kit that you buy for proper sterilization and preparation- it is a fool proof method so don't stress about it!) leaving about 1/4 ‘’ headspace.
7. Let cool completely and this jam can be kept for up to 1 year.

The Suffering of the Poet

“A poet is an unhappy being whose heart is torn by secret sufferings, but whose lips are so strangely formed that when the sighs and the cries escape them, they sound like beautiful music… and then people crowd about the poet and say to him: “Sing for us soon again;” that is as much as to say, “May new sufferings torment your soul.” – Soren Kierkegaard

Poetry is written when the strength of the heart and soul gives out; it is a truth that is revealed through one’s suffering and our pain and wonder becomes to overwhelming to bear. The poem mirrors one’s state of uncertainty and confusion within this absurd world that we cannot comprehend nor trust. So must all poets suffer? Must we all subvert into an utter state of depression and misery where our poems are only unearthed through our constant state of unhappiness and insecurity about this business of living? I have been battling with this notion for year: Was I destined to these inevitably harsh circumstances that so many poets and writers seem to exude, and live, through his or her work?

My attempts to improve in my social graces have always failed me; it seems as if I was never meant to congregate with other people as I am extremely awkward and always seem to become quickly irritated. This is not to say that I do not wish to be a social person. In fact, I often long for that companionship, whether trivial or not, where I would have to deal with petty fights and deal with the stress of maintaining friendships. However, apart of me always seems to dismiss this idea of friendship; it is as if companionship is a foreign relation for me that doesn’t want to squeeze its way into my life. Is this selfish and depressive or is it proof that I am a true poet who will forever be condemned to a torturous life of isolation and philosophical contemplation where my soul is forever confined within the depths of my being? Is it is this area where my poetry lives whether it be joyous or not? Perhaps… actually, I believe it all dwells in that secret place that even I am unaware of. I am indecisive as to whether I am ok with suffering for my poetry- it is difficult to feel as if you are utterly mad the majority of the time- but I am prepared to allow the pen to take me where I need to be in that moment; I welcome the suffering if it means coming to an inner truth where my words finally lose their purpose.

The Joy of Baking!

When I made my first homemade jam (strawberry and apricot) I was filled with a nostalgic feeling of old age- if that is possible- and had to share this recipe that I made shortly after in order to use up the massive amounts of jam I had on hand! Totally easy recipe!

Strawberry Jam Oatmeal Squares

Bottom layer (tart dough):
- 6 tablespoons cold butter
- 6 tablespoons of vegetable shortening
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cups of flour
- 6-8 tablespoons of ice cold water

Center layer:
- 1 ½ cups of any type of jam of your choice

Crumble Layer:
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup of packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup butter, softened

1. Make the tart dough first; cut the butter and vegetable shortening into the dry mixture of sugar, salt and flour.
2. Incorporate together until the butter/shortening is broken into pea-size pieces
3. Slowly add cold water to the dough until it forms together into a ball.
4. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour (you will only a little more than half of the dough for a 9x9 pan but the rest can be kept frozen for months)
5. Make crumble layer in the meantime: combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl and incorporate until it creates a light crumble (add more rolled oats/flour if you feel the crumble becomes too sticky) 6. Remove cold dough from refrigerator and roll out into a rectangle to fit your 9x9 pan and poke holes into the dough before putting in oven (a pan that has been buttered and floured!) 7. Add the jam of your choice on top of this dough and top with your crumble
8. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until the top is slightly golden brown
9. Let cool in fridge COMPLETELY before cutting into the tart; serving it at room temperature will leave it slightly gooey and oozy.