Bless me, Delia, for I have Jammed or, Eat Your Heart Out, WI

[catspaw]

Phew ::blows hair out of eyes::



It's glut season again. Peas, broad beans - and berries. So I've been making jam. Serious jam. Lots and lots of jam. About 15 jars at the last count of assorted raspberry and strawberry jam. Up to and including cofee jars full of the stuff. (Can you make courgette/zucchini jam? I'm also in the middle of zucchini wars yet again and there's only so much zucchini bread a body can take... or bake come to that. Or fit in the freezer, or give away.)

And shelling peas and beans. Apparently I'm responsible for shelling, in the depodding kind of way, the entire Euorpean Pea and Bean Mountain yet again this year. Damp weather, while bad for Cats, is obviously No Bad Thing for peas and beans. And come to think of it, nor for zucchini, which are outdoing themselves this year in the effort to take over my living space.

So, today's plans: go raid the recycling bins at Tesco for jars, and make more jam. Because raspberries are like buses: nothing for ages then they all come at once.

::rolls up sleeves and wanders off humming 'Jerusalem'::

Comments

[feather-autant.livejournal.com]

At least it's keeping you out of trouble. Maybe. *g*

I know! You can store it all in C's old room, to prevent E from taking over that space! *nods* :)

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

I could at that :-) Good thinking ::beams::

And it didn't exactly keep me out of trouble either *g*. I got bored with jam and decided to use some of the rasps to make raspberry jelly.

If I ever, EVER mention [insert fruit of choice] and 'jelly' in the same context ever again, give me a severe talking to, please? What a footer about - entire damn kitchen eventually ended up looking like a set for 'The Amityville Horror' - splashes of red *everywhere* LOL

OH! Got your mail, and I think it sounds like a plan. But I'll run it past The Man when I get home from work tonight, okay? Back to you either later your today or your tomorrow :-)

[nicci-mac.livejournal.com]

I love home-made jam. My gran used to make it every year. Tons of the stuff. YUM! Also Rhubarb jam. Didnt like that so much mind.

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

Hee! I'll put your name on one of the jars then :-) You can get it next time I see you.

[nicci-mac.livejournal.com]

Ooo yes please. I would love some. And we have to get together again sometime soon. It's my turn to come to you isnt it? When's good for you? Drop me an email with possibilities. I could do with a nice night away from my family.

[nicci-mac.livejournal.com]

I just realised I should have used my Pooh icon, in light of all the sticky preserves being discussed. SNORT

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

::sporfle::

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

Good oh, consider it done :-)

And yay, another visit :-D I'll mail you - but it won't be next week, I think I'm working every night doing my own shifts and holiday cover as well.

[perclexed.livejournal.com]

This made me laugh so hard. :D I ha dhoped to plant a real garden this year, but just ran out of steam after moving, so no homegrown veggies for me this year! But oh. Peas. Beans. Mmmm. And hee about the jelly!!!

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, the jelly was hilarious. Seriously, I was laughing so hard I could barely manage to get it cleaned up :-D And it's left a very interesting series of pale pink stains oh, just about everywhere...

So you've got the rest of the year to plan exactly what you're going to be growing next year :-D. I often think the planning is one of the best parts (and definitely better than the inevitable glut *g*)

[sg1danny.livejournal.com]

My Mum is up to her elbows in raspberry and strawberry jam making. She just took a second jar raiding trip to ASDA this morning.

As you say the damp weather has been ideal for fruit and veg this year!

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

::nods:: There's a lot of jamming going on right now - does she grow her own too?

LOL! And now I have visions of Scottish wifies of a certain age all over the country mounting commando-style raids on recycling bins!

[sg1danny.livejournal.com]

Yep my parents garden has raspberries, strawberries and apples. My Dad is the veggie grower...potatoes, green beans, peas, spinach, lettace, tomatoes etc.

As soon as the jam process is finished, the chutney process will begin. Mainly apple and tomatoe chutney.

In all my life I have never had to buy jam or chutney :D

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

Ah, chutney. Crikey, that brings back childhood memories *g* It's not something I've ever realy made myself though, we tend to scarf down our tomatoes and apples in other ways.

Hmmm. I might give it a try this year though, for old times' sake.

[kitzen-kat.livejournal.com]

OMG! I loooooove raspberry jam and *nobody* makes it here. Raspberries are my favourite berry.

We used to spend a lot of time doing jam and stewed fruit in summer. Used to drive me nuts. I remember spending the afternoon of Christmas Day one year making raspberry jam because there was so much fruit and it was going soft. Fortunately nobody in our family grew zucchini because I was the only person who'd eat it. Zucchini is some sort of evil triffid creation given how it grows in inverse proportion to the number of people who love to eat it, followed by pumpkin.

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

LOL I did *such* a double take at making jam on Christmas Day! Somehow, because your seasons are the reverse of ours, one expects your produce to come at the opposite times as well. It took me a while to think exactly why it doesn't work like that!

Ah! There's a Zucchini *Formula*! That explains much - the square of the zucchini is inversely proportional to the square root of the people on the other side. ::nods:: It's all so *obvious* when someone points it out!

;-)

[msbeata.livejournal.com]

Hey, how about sharing your zucchini bread recipe.

If it translates to American, that is. *g*

Or, you know, I can just Google if it's a bother.

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

Honeylamb, the recipes I have *are* American :-D

Find 'em here - http://catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com/16430.html

Scroll down the thread, they're down towards the foot.

[msbeata.livejournal.com]

Oh thank you! The one with the pineapple makes me happy because I used to have a recipe like that and I loved it!

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

Excellent :-) All three of them are good though.

[perfica.livejournal.com]

When my fruit trees start producing (in a year or two) I know who I'm hitting up for mad jam makin' skillz.

[catspaw-sgjd.livejournal.com]

::cackles over jelly pan of doom::