Saturday 27 September 2014

Stand well back, I'm making jam


Last week still felt like summer quite a bit, despite the date.  I worked hard outside and quite a few times I was hot, even in a t-shirt.  I've brought the squashes home to store.  There aren't many, but they'll last us a while.

The boys are all about the conkers at the moment.



It amazes me how long the simple things entertain them for.  Of course it all turns a bit lively in the end, but the first half hour or so is delightful.  We picked these up at the park, after another bike ride along the local country roads.  It really is wonderful out there at the moment.


Now that there's no football training on Saturday morning I've designated it as homework time.  I'm hoping they get into the routine of this; so far it's been a struggle.  Today the littlest boy enjoyed copying out a poem though, which made me happy.  I like to just sit and handwrite things for the sake of it too.  He concentrated hard and did his very best writing.  The Owl and the Pussy Cat.


He did a bit of cooking this week as well - tortillas with huevos rancheros.  The tortillas were quite thick, but nobody minded.


Me and the biggest boy went to the open day at the local secondary school on Thursday.  It was big and scary and tremendously exciting.  So many opportunities and so much to learn and explore.  We were shown round by two sixth formers, who were SO impressive - polite, friendly, well spoken and really enthusiastic about the school.  One of them told us that he would happily do it all again tomorrow.  No higher praise I think.



I went to the allotment every day last week.  What can I say, I'm feeling it.  and I know enough to know that I should roll with it while the enthusiasm lasts.  The weather helps, it's nice and dry there, perfect for getting stuck in.  I dug out the raspberry canes which haven't done much since I've had the plot.  I thought they were supposed to be shallow rooted, but there were one-inch thick roots going down at least two feet.  I ended up pulling them with all my might and then doing that cartoon thing where they suddenly give way and you fly backwards and end up sat down in the middle of the neighbouring plot.  They're mostly out, but I've a feeling they'll be back.

I've even got allotment reading.  Two books from the library and a book about the history of allotments from a thoughtful bloggy friend.


I suppose you want to hear about the jam making.  The smoke has almost cleared now, so I'm just about able to speak about it.

You will recall the grapes from the next door neighbour's vine, trailing tantalisingly all over our side of the fence.  One or two of them had just started to shrivel, so I decided that he didn't want them and so I should help myself.  The more I think about this, the more I think it is probably a cautionary tale about The Girl Who Took Someone Else's Grapes.  But they do look good don't they.



I washed them nicely, several times, to dislodge any passing wildlife.  Then I simmered them gently until they broke down and released their juice.  Next came the straining.  You may recall that the last two times I strained things it didn't go entirely to plan.  This time I was SO careful.  A huge bowl, painstaking transfer of grapes and juice to the muslin-lined colander.  Not a drop was spilt.  Not a drop.  Oh how fantastic I thought I was.

I left the juice until this evening.  The boys were getting ready for bed.  I put the jelly in the saucepan and turned on the heat.  This was my first mistake.  Doing anything at all during the getting ready for bed period is utter madness.  I warmed the sugar and added it to the hot juice and brought it slowly to the boil.  Then I turned it up to a rolling boil.  And then, and I cannot say what possessed me, I left the kitchen and went upstairs to read to the smaller boys.  Actually this is very typical of me, trying to do too many things too quickly all together.  I warned them I would only be able to read for a short while.  It was "My Side Of The Mountain".  Quite absorbing.  I got lost in the story of Sam Gribley, living wild in the Catskill Mountains.  All too soon there was a sudden strong smell of jam.  Following by a sudden strong smell of smoke.  Sigh.

A huge amount had boiled over the edge and was burning nicely on the hob.  I don't have a picture.  We really don't need to see smoke billowing out of my kitchen do we?  Plus I thought it might be pushing my luck to go and get the camera as my first course of action.  The pan was a hideous mess of burned jam.  The hob was a hideous mess of blackened charred jam.  Other Half peered through the door, sighed and opened the front door to let the smoke out.  He's used to the burnt stuff drill.  The boys were of course utterly thrilled, they love this kind of thing.  It's a bit of science for them.  What happens if you heat sugar until it pretty much explodes, and you then spread it all over something that's about five hundred degrees in heat?  Now we all know.

It's mostly cleaned up now, although I smell quite distinctly of burnt sugar.  I'm not quite sure why, I didn't get it on myself, but I do.  There are three jars of grape jelly.  It did not reach setting point, so we'll be pouring it onto things, but I didn't think I should try to attain setting point when there was a risk of everything bursting into flames.  I'm wondering if this was some kind of cosmic karma for taking the grapes.  Or if it's just me again, doing what I do best.

33 comments:

  1. Brilliant - your jam making made me smile. Have you tried The Quince Tree's fridge jam - http://thequincetree65.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/blackberry-fridge-jam.html ? Even I managed this one - and jam isn't usually one of my successes either! x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry. I think it is all on you. I don't know about your neck of the woods, but in Tennessee, if it falls over the fence; it is yours.
    Want my recipe for for freezer strawberry jam? I so enjoy your posts. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh no. Not another jam incident. LOL Maybe you should just buy some at the corner store. Those grapes would be quite delicious eaten all by themselves.

    They certainly look delicious! That is my favorite kind of grape. (We don't get many of them here in the stores. When we do, I buy my fill!!!!)

    Your squash look wonderful. Will you be baking them?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my goodness you make me laugh. Lord I am always putting something in-the oven and walking away completely oblivious that it is in there. Cookies, muffins and other things have been charred to bits, my husband who is the cook simply shakes his head and walks away. I have burnt two kettles form putting them on and then going out to work in the garden, really I am a safety hazard.
    Maybe you could pour the jam on some ice cream, you may have made a great recipe and you don't even know it yet.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

    ReplyDelete
  5. You are a hoot! I will tell you a story that might make you feel better. My mom thought nothing of putting a pot of beans on the stove to simmer and going out. WELL.. I put a pot of beans on the stove and turned them on HIGH to get them going, meaning to turn them down to a simmer and go out. So, I am up on top of Larch Mt. participating in our local wood cutters cutting down the Christmas tree to go in downtown Portland for the season.. a policeman that was a neighbor came over to me and told me an alarm went off at our house, the police checked and didn't see anything so left. But he wanted me to know the alarm was still going off. I see a radio on his shoulder - and ask if he could call the school and have my son go home and turn off the alarm. Son gets home, house is full of black smoke, he discovers the pot of burned beans that were ready to burst into fire, runs it outside and throws it in the yard. Long story short.. I nearly burned the house down. So.. be careful! :-)
    ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh no, CJ!!! That is it, I have decided, the birds can have our grapes, I am not going to attempt to make grape jelly, sounds far too dangerous to me!! I applaud you for keeping on trying though, you are great! In the first picture, when I first saw it at a glance I thought you had a row of massive onions on your bench, then I looked properly and realised they are pumpkins/squash! They look fantastic!!! xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mike ate his way through three jars of runny jelly without complaint. It makes a great dipping sauce apparently and it still worked as a recipe ingredient. Not sure I'll make it again though, it seems an awful lot of hassle.
    I love your flying snail.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Maybe you should leave jam making to someone else!

    Are your boys allowed conkers at their school so many ban them as dangerous, I don't know how we survived such a dangerous childhood. Soon your eldest will be one of the sixth year showing nervous parents round.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I don't think you're meant to make your own jam somehow. Those squash look wonderful, I'm still harvesting summer squash so I've left the winter ones where they are so far, apart from one which was brought home for the taste test. Both my kids can recite The Owl and the Pussycat, it was a favourite when they were little and it still brings back happy memories of bedtime reading for me.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I saw a box of quinces going for free yesterday and thought of jam but passed in the end, and having read this perhaps I've had a lucky escape, I'm also not the best hob watcher! I often leave the rice to over boil which extinguishes the flame but the gas keeps flowing. The squashes yummy xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Well done to littlest boy for enjoying copying the poem and doing some cooking. Good to see that you did some plotting every day but do take care when pulling up raspberries and the like.
    Thanks for the mention. I'm not a fan of Joe Swift. If you've not done so I recommend reading Our Plot by Cleve West which is probably the best all round allotment growing book that I've read.
    I think that next year you might consider making some wine rather than jelly! Flighty xx

    ReplyDelete
  12. You're wonderful, did you know that? Jam is so difficult. I so much preferred jelly when I tried it last month. I may stick to jelly from now on. You little one has beautiful handwriting for one so young, it looks so neat in the photo. My Side of the Mountain happens to be one of my all-time favorite children's books and I'm really glad to hear kids in other countries like it too. I grew up just a few miles from the Catskills, so it has a special place in my heart in addition to just being a great story. I hope you have a wonderful day. Love, The Girl Who Steals Other People's Lilacs, Grapes and Roses

    ReplyDelete
  13. You're not alone. I have irreparably blackened and distorted a pan soaking skins off almonds and walking away (the SMELL (!!!), I had to throw the pan out), and creating a thick blue-black smoke making apple sauce and then visiting the neighbours (the boys sat in the kitchen but did not notice!) - TWICE. Every time I vow not to do two things at a time, but I do get distracted... On the other hand, I have made some lovely jam (a tiny bit runny, but sooo yummy) that I think there must be hope for all of us!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh, Jammit all!
    Stuff happens to us all. I melted a plastic handled spatula in a favorite cast iron pan. The pan had to go.
    My Side of the Mountain was a favorite here as well. I think youngest did a book report on it three years running. Of course, part of his plan was to get out of reading and reporting on a new book each year. Have your boys read anything by Gary Paulsen? We loved Hatchet and many of his other books.
    Sometime I will have to tell you about the homemade, home brewed beer disaster.
    Have a lovely Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I'm going to assume that snail was half way up a window and not flying through the air! Great photos as usual, CJ; the photo of your littlest boy at his homework is one to treasure. Aww, what a love. Big step with the eldest going to secondary next year, don't they grow up fast! Re the jam: you will never, never do that again (leave the kitchen with a pot on the boil), now will you? Love your hubby's reaction, made me chortle! Thanks for the laugh, happy week to you and yours! Caro xx

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oops - never mind, these things happen to us multi-taskers ! I would have sneaked those grapes too - they look too good to have been left to shrivel away. I reckon your jam would be pretty yummy drizzled on ice-cream,
    Kate xx

    ReplyDelete
  17. We have lots grapes in your new home, are you sure you don't want to try again? You were doing so well too! Sarah x

    ReplyDelete
  18. I was surprised to see conkers are actively encouraged at bigR's school! They're provided ready to go in the playground!!! The jam still sounds delicious. Hope you enjoy it x

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh, so sorry that your grape jelly didn't go so well. At least it wasn't fruit that you worked hard to produce! I am the Queen of Multi-tasking, but sometimes it really is best to just focus on one that at a time. And of course that lesson is always learned the hard way, after the fact!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Love the routine you have with the boys on Saturdays! I would like to try that! And conkers look so fun...I just like saying the word!! I will tell you I have fallen several times on my bum this weekend trying to move loads of stone and sand in the garden... Definitely a scene out of a cartoon! Now for the jam...you put a smile on my face with this one! Those grapes look wonderful and I don't think it was karma at all...just a good mama trying to do it all! Did I mentioned I burned a tray of cookies for my daughters preschool class all because I got wrapped up in whatever I was doing! You have a great week CJ!!! Happy gardening to you! Nicole xo

    ReplyDelete
  21. So sorry about your jam disasters. We can't do it all !! but we do try.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Fab idea Saturday morning for homework time, love photo of your little boy copying his poem. Gosh what are you like with your jam exploits! I did giggle, sorry!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Oh no, your poor jam! I do things like that all the time. So does my boyfriend. He rang we while I was out collecting wood and he had dropped the raw chips into the chip pan far to quickly and it bubbled up and over- there was oil everywhere- over the hob, sides, floor- such a mess. He said he knew he had to lower the chips slowly but they bubbled up so fast and he didn't react quickly. Never mind! We all do these things!
    Miss Tulip x
    The Thrifty Magpies Nest

    ReplyDelete
  24. Jelly really is your nemesis isn't it. (I'm trying to write a serious reply here, giggling all the while at your description of the mess). How about trying a simple confiture of something like apricots? Or I've an apple curd recipe on my blog somewhere that's fairly foolproof :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oh no! There is nothing worse that boiled over jam, it's like glue. You have my deepest sympathy. Runny grape jelly sounds divine, use it for yogurt and pancakes and many other things. I'm glad you've got your allotment mojo, that makes me happy to hear. We have some raspberry canes in our garden and they are an absolute bloody nightmare, shooting up all over the lawn...we dug them out last year which took me and John together a whole afternoon, and quite a lot of work. They came back. And you know what? They hardly produce any fruit. Like, ten each summer. x

    ReplyDelete
  26. Oh no, CJ! I'm sure you must have been so disappointed. That is maddening when you're so careful with something and then something like that happens. I really sympathize with you, because that is something that would happen to me. It always seems that the more careful I try to be, the more likely something will go wrong. At least you did salvage some. I hope you're having a wonderful start to your week and that the weather remains lovely:)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Nooooo! I am guilty as charged for trying to do everything at once. In my case it often involves breaking something like a plate. We have lots of mis-matched crockery in our house. With chips in every one. Don't give up on the jam/jelly. I have learnt through bitter experience to make it when there are no other distractions. It's a very soothing activity then, I promise you.
    Leanne xx

    ReplyDelete
  28. You've given me an idea of what to do with our small bunches of grapes on the plot. Make some grape conserve. Perhaps trying to avoid the smoke and stuff though.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I can see from that photo your little one's handwriting is better than my 11 year olds. All my Saturdays are scheduled around football (soccer) until Mid November. I loved the jam story. I'm sorry it didn't quite go the way you planned -- it's tricky that I have something going, that I'd like to keep going, and it's bedtime ... That's when I make the mister take over one, or the other. I'm probably a lot bossier than you ;) Burnt sugar -- there are worse things to smell like ;)

    ReplyDelete
  30. I know it was a hassle for you, but I think I feel a little like your kids about this burned jam experience. It is funny and exciting and...I'm so sorry, what a mess! My parents put a pizza still in its box in the oven a few weeks ago and the whole thing caught on fire. It gave us something to laugh about because thankfully nothing in the house was burned. I guess this sort of thing happens to everyone. Hopefully the taste of fresh jam and the story will be worth it all!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Oh dear! I'm glad you ended up with some jelly, even if it is runny. Doubtless you'll savour every precious mouthful - runny or not.

    ReplyDelete
  32. You make my laugh CJ, but I do feel guilty for it. Laughing I mean. I am glad the house didn't catch fire, and that you didn't get any nasty burns. I had a batch of runny blackcurrant jelly. I relabelled it cordial and used it as such. Delicious. Cx

    ReplyDelete
  33. Oh my goodness, I'm sorry for laughing! I hope that burnt smell has dispersed now?!

    ReplyDelete