Murder, She Cooked

Summer is in the air and the time has come for one of my favorite foods. Simple Fry Bread with some Freezer Jam. Oh it is so heavenly and for all of you who follow my blog, you'll know that I like the simple, easy, and yummy recipes. This time you will get two for the price of one. How lucky are you!

I still remember the first time I had this recipe of fry bread and freezer jam. My Mother-in-law was busy in the kitchen cooking away as my husband and I watched our kids play in the yard. We were having a good chat with my Father-in-law as we enjoyed the warm Sunday weather. As we chatted, the smell of fry bread wafted in our direction and I was taken away by promise of delicious carbs. I had to know more.

Politely, I excused myself from the conversation and made myself to the kitchen. I passed the fragrant flowers that lined my in-laws house and marveled at the beautiful roses that were always blooming. Making my way upstairs, I could hear the crackle of hot oil as my Mother-in-law placed small pads of raw dough in the pan to cook. There was already a small stack of cooked bread on the table and next to it was an array of colors. Plum jam, elderberry jam, apple jam, apricot jam. My mouth watered and I had to ask her for the recipe. The next is the conversation that ensued.

To skip to the recipe, click here.

For those who are sticking with me as I relay the conversation I had with my Mother-in-law on this beautiful Sunday evening, I will tell you that it is everything that you think it will be. I will not mention more of the recipe until later, so if you want to skip, click the bolded line above. If you're still with me, then let's not waste any more time.

My Mother-in-law is a brilliant person and she has little to do with the rest of the story. Really it's my conscience that weighs on me and I feel that if I can let the world know of my dark history that I may rid myself of the demons that surround my mind. I've always has inner thoughts that worried me, but also intrigued me. The "what if's" that lay before us, deciding a different future for each question. The question that rang in my mind one day was "What if I could make the bad go away?"

What do I mean when I say "the bad?" Well, those bad people in society that really are all for themselves and don't care who they step on. There are many people who fit this description and the one I will focus on today goes by the name Todd. Todd is a man that has screwed over every single person he has come in contact with. To give an overview of just how corrupt he is, his family (mom, dad, siblings) all felt that he was a good business man. When Todd brought to their attention a business deal where he could return a hefty profit if they emptied their life savings in his interest, they did so in good faith. The business went bell up though, and instead of trying to pay his family back, he declared bankruptcy, moved to the next town and started over. Currently he is building an 800,000 dollar house and his parents have never fully recovered financially. They live in a small trailer house and can barely even afford groceries.

There's been many more incidence's, but the most recent one was over my grandpa's farm. Sure, grandpa isn't the nicest person to be around and he might swear a little much, but he has a good heart and a love for his farm. Todd one day got into a heated argument with grandpa when Todd's dogs ran into grandpa's sheep, and grandpa blasted them with his rifle. Now, grandpa has 30 years on Todd and is getting up there in age. There is no good excuse for Todd to have hit my grandpa all while stating he was a more upstanding citizen because he was in church every Sunday. To be frank, Todd is a bad dude.

Or was. Todd was a bad dude.

Close to dinner time, just after chores were done, a basket full of homemade scones and a little bit of freezer jam was given to Todd while his family was away. A sweet little gift to help a man who usually relied on his wife to cook and feed him. He didn't really care that I was the one there to drop them off, but he quickly took them into his house, happy to not have to worry about dinner.

Sadly, Todd died that night. Cardiac arrest and the police didn't even take time to investigate as Todd had heart problems. The scones and jam wasn't even mentioned in any report, he must have ate them right up. It's too bad that he passed because there was a secret ingredient I've never used before, and I wanted his feedback.

I have to thank my Mother-in-law for showing me this wonderful pair of recipe's that so delightfully fill my stomach with happiness. She has shown me many recipe's, and now that I've tried adding my secret ingredient to one, I think I may try another. Those recipe's will be for another day though. So for now, please enjoy.

Fry Bread

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup hot water

In a small bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Stir in the hot water to form a soft dough. Cover and let it sit for about 30 minutes to rise. Then divide the dough and make small, palm sized portions on a lightly floured surface. Heat cooking oil to 375 and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until brown. Make sure to use a paper towel to soak up all the extra oil.

Freezer Jam - Apple

• 3 cups Sweet Apples - I like Honeycrisp
• 2 cups Granny smith apples or another tart apple
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 box fruit pectin

In a large bowl, mix the apples, sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Make sure everything is well coated and set aside for 30 minutes. Place the apples in a large pot and mix in the pectin. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to medium, and cook jam until thickened and apples have softened. This should take around 10 minutes. Scoop the jam into clean jars and leave about 1/2 inch space at the top. Make sure you leave at room temperature to cool before putting in the freezer. Defrost to use.