Walking Continues

The shelves were filled with a spectacular array of preserves and pickles  as richly colored as jewels.  She brushed a finger over the middle row,  where bottled fruits were stored,  giving a proprietorial glance to jars  labeled quince, morello cherry, damson, peach, greengage, grape,  and finally plum.  ―  Janet Gleeson,  The Thief Taker Breakfast this morning. Yum. You will have to trust me. It's harvest time. The brittle remains of the corn and grain float up and ride the wind - and sometimes dust devils - all the way to my house. I'm far from the fields, but can tell by the heat and husks in the yard that I'd best hurry if I want to can anything before the market (or a friend's fig or plum tree) is bare. RE sent me a message. The Mexican plums were ready if I still wanted to try and make jam. "Oh, and I potted up some of that grass you were interested in. It's a clumping grass and shouldn't spread," said he. I headed south for a short d...

There’s something brilliant about a recipe that doesn’t ask too much of you; a recipe, in fact, where getting it exactly right would be exactly wrong; a recipe you can fiddle with, and tend to when you remember. ―  Ella Risbridger,  Midnight Chicken: & Other Recipes Worth Living For Pantry shelf - figs and tomatoes I know I write this same post every year. But you really should try tomato preserves at least once in your life. Don't like tomatoes? Well, this is more like jam. Don't like jam? You can add a few ingredients and make a pretty darned good barbecue sauce. Don't eat BBQ? The preserves are good on roast beast. Don't eat meat? Well, when the world opens up again, join me for tea and toast and just have a bite. RECIPE: This is a simple jam-like product (I will use "jam" and "preserves" interchangeably here). You can refrigerate it or freeze it. You can make a smaller amount or a larger one, but if you go larger you may find yourself stirrin...