Christmas jam

Tags

Carrageen Moss, christmas, Christmas jam, cooking, food, home made, jam, making jam, photography, photos, plum jam

Maybe a few months too early, but yesterday my home smelt of Christmas. Cinnamon and other spices mixed in with red wine and plums wafted around the house as I finally got around to cooking jam.

I didn’t have quite enough jam-sugar so I experimented. Through online research I  found out that the main ingredients that makes jam, well, ‘jammy’, is pectin and since plums are high in pectin (like apples, citrus rinds and cranberries) I decided that plain sugar would suffice. Being in  the experimenting mood I even added some Carrageen or Irish Moss (a tasteless but really healthy seaweed) into the mix. Not just based on any old whim, but based on the fact that it is know for its gelling properties – an added benefit is that it is known for its anti-viral properties and that it is believed to be an aphrodisiac can’t be a bad thing either!

The plums I had bought at the fruit & veg market were still a little bit hard, so I cut them up, pitted them and let them sit over night in sugar. When I went to make the jam and lifted the lid a wonderful fruity smell seduced my nose with its sweet plumy goodness.

A short while later, as I stood in the kitchen, while adding some red wine and spices and pureeing the fruit, I was enveloped by the scent of Christmas. And I have to admit it took some will power to not just put on ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ and give in to the feeling of Christmas.

Now I have thirteen glasses, of all different shapes and sizes, filled with a dark ruby red jam that will hopefully tastes as good as it smells – my morning toast will just have to surrender to some testing!

trip to the fruit-market

Tags

cooking, crafts, Dublin, fruit, fruit and veg, jam, knitting

Today, my Swiss neigbour/friend and I decided that we would go down to Dublin’s fruit & veg market and get some yummy produce to make jam from.

We left this morning, perhaps a little late (my neighbour that they open at 5am and I though she knew something I don’t) but we were still in time to get a tray of plums, some blueberries, lemons and beans.

So, while my friend gets first pick of the crop I have been trying to find some good recipes online. And since my funds will be very low this year (my masters will be taking all of my euros) I have been thinking of turning the wholesale fruit into edible Christmas gifts.

Now my evening is planned and I am excited to get cooking. But for now I will tackle my to-do list and hurry the day along. And who knows, maybe it’s even time to pull out my knitting needles too – after all the temperatures are low and it feels like the perfect time to start creating socks.

 

 

dark chocolate and cherry jam

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cherries, cherries and dark chocolate, cooking, dark chocolate, homemade food, homemade jam, jam, making jam, photos

This morning when I came down into the kitchen I was greeted by a beautiful sight: a row of eight jars filled with sticky sweet jammy goodness shimmering in the morning sun.

The other day my big sister called me to tell me about a jam she had just made and told me I had to try it out. So being the good little sister that I am, I followed her lead and made a batch yesterday evening. And my big sister was right, it is absolutely scrumptious.

Like most jams it was fairly simple to make, the only thing that took a little while was getting rid of the cherry pips. But once I had about a kilo (about 35ounces or 2.2 pounds) all I needed to do was put the whole lot in a big pot, add jam sugar (according to what the packet told me to do) and stirr.

When the cherries were nice and soft I used my hand held blender to make sure no big bits of cherry were left. And then, finally, I added the special ingredients: Dark Chocolate. I used the type that had a very high percentage of cocoa (mine had 80% but I am sure it would work with a smaller number too). When I dropped the pieces into the mix the smell was intoxicating, the aroma of melting chocolate mixed with sweet cherries filled my home and I couldn’t help but do an excited little dance while stirring the dark red yumminess.

Once I had let the jam boil for the required time I scooped the ruby red jam into clean jars (I always rinse mine out with boiling water), sealed them with lids and turned them on their heads to set (my mum always does it this way to create a vacuum). Of course I had a sneaky lick the spoon when all was done and mix of cherries and chocolate is truly delicious, turning my morning toast into a delectable treat.

 

 

 

ich bin ein berliner

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Berlin, berliner, homemade jam, jam, jam donut, miscellaneous, photography, random, travel

Well I am off to Germany tomorrow, to Berlin to be exact. Of course nothing is going as planned and I still have a mountain of work to do before I go and only 4 hours til my taxi arrives …  at least I am nearly packed and showered

I was meant to meet my lovely Godmother and spend some time with her and promenading around the great German city, but sadly she is in hospital and I am left to my own devices. I am sure I will find something to do and I have packed my camera so hopefully I’ll have a few shots to prove that yes I too was “a Berliner”, or at the very least I will eat one and savour the sticky sweet jam inside.

But for now I better get the towel off my head and my butt into gear or else the plane will lift off without me. And even though I have lots of homemade jam I think I’d much rather eat a Berliner in Berlin while pretending I am one.

Berliner … no not a jam doughnut

bubbles I my brain

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bad eating habits, bubbles in my brain, champagne jam, food, good eating habits, health, jam, miscellaneous, pink champagne, psychology, random, thoughts

After a a quite morning I met up with a very good friend for lunch yesterday. I hadn’t seen her in while so we had lots to catch up on and as girls do we chit-chatted over soup and caesar salad.

As we ate and talked I started to think about how nice it is to eat together and of how many meals I eat alone. I am often too lazy to set the table and actually sit down all by myself,  so I end up with a plate on my lap in front of the TV, some sitcom, rom-com or even the news keeping me company.

I generally have no problem being on my own and quite enjoy my own company, after all no one gets my jokes the way I do, but somehow eating by myself feels quite lonesome. There just seems to be something about a single place-mat, one knife and fork and a lone plate that screams LONELY. In addition to this studies have shown that, particularly in men, eating alone causes bad eating habits, singles tend to snack more, eat less vegetables and have “food on the go”.

That is why instilling good eating habits in children is so important. Sitting down and enjoying a meal together as a family teaches them community and how to interact with each other, and while thy are learning this they also pick up what healthy portions should look like and that variety is key to a good diet.

So with these thoughts bubbling around in my mind yesterday evening as I boiled down the last bit of summer fruit I had left to make some jam, I made a decision to make more of an effort myself, to actually sit down at my lovely table more and enjoy my meals even when I am alone at home. With that in mind I poured my self a glass of bubbly, left over from my peaches, vanilla and pink champagne jam, and toasted to a better me, bubbles in my brain and all.

proof is in the jam

Tags

alvin toffler, cooking, food, home, jam, plum jam, plum wine, quote, red wine

So here is my afternoon jam. I made nectarine jam, plum jam, and plum jam with red wine and spices. In total 19 glasses full of sticky sweet goodness … and one has already moved in with my neighbour in Nr 9. I still have some nectarines and peaches left but I ran out of sugar and jars so I will have to make more another day.

The Law of Jam, the wider any culture is spread, the thinner it gets

Alvin Toffler

plum jam

nectarine jam, spelled the German way

a little taste of Christmas in a jar, red wine with plums and spices