Plums

Plums. I have plums on the brain. Who does not love plums?! Lauren, friend & recent provisioner, gave me a l a r g e bag of plums last week. I can't say that I had planned to spend as much of the weekend in the kitchen as I did, but I can't bear to see good fruit go to waste. We were in the midst of a heat streak so I had to have fans blaring away as I cooked. I made 18 pints of jam. Plum & plum/blueberry (I also had some blueberries that needed to be used). Next came the plum tart. I really was not sure how I would like the recipe - but it turned out very well ! Next, because I had be up to my elbows in plums I had to journal about them!

I just began a wonderful class with Sharon Boggin through Joggles called "Studio Journals: A Designer's Workhorse". I had wanted to add more visual elements to my journaling and thought that this class might inspire me. I'm not sure that this is what Sharon is talking about doing - but it worked me since plums were a definite part of my weekend ! If you have not made yourself acquainted with Sharon's work I would encourage you too.

Plum Tart Recipe from Food Network Courtesy of Ina Garten's "The Barefoot Contessa Parties"

2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), diced 1 egg yolk 2 pounds firm, ripe Italian prune plums, pitted and quartered lengthwise Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the flour, walnuts, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the butter and the egg yolk. Mix, either by hand or with an electric mixer, until crumbly. Press 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture in an even layer into the bottom of a 9 1/2-inch springform or tart pan. Arrange the plums in the pan, skin-side down, to form a flower pattern; begin at the outside and work your way in. Sprinkle the rest of the crumb mixture evenly over the plums. Bake the tart for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it's lightly browned and the plum juices are bubbling. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and transfer the tart to a flat plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I'm In A Jam

My plans for yesterday included sewing & just a tad of housework. All plans are subject to change of course, and yesterday was no exception to that rule. Last week a friend had generously given my almost a half case of nectarines - one of my favorite fruits. Looking at this bounty I realized that I had to use them or they would go bad before I could gobble enough of them up! So ----- yesterday (well five hours of yesterday anyway) was spent making nectarine jam. I had to scare up jars & lids - and drag out the canner - and wash the dang thing too ! One of these days 'll have to get a proper canner. I have been using a huge spaghetti pot that's a restaurant size thing with a removable bucket with holes in it. Every time that I use it I face the prospect of a bad burn as I move the jars in & out of the boiling water ... and yes, I do so very cautiously!

So this is the first of the year's jams. Probably a good thing that I got the canner out anyway - the berries are almost in as well. I have several friends who are especially fond of blueberry jam so I suspect I will be making extra batches of that soon! I DO have a large supply of grapes at the moment too that need to be saved. Hummmmm - guess I need more jars, lids and maybe even a proper canner!

Today I will be back to my previously scheduled programming - sewing. Well, at least that's the plan right now ! Happy Monday everyone - make it a good one.

PS: The recipe that I used came from my favorite book on canning - the Ball Complete Book Of Home Preserving.