Plum jamming

At some point, even I believe that plums deserve more in life than simply sating my plum tart fancy. 

Plums are a gorgeous fruit with many tasty applications, and so, before their season leaves me in its wake, I best appreciate them widely.

Plain? A wonderful treat. In salad with cheese and a balsamic glaze? Oh yes. Dried into prunes and then eaten plain or stewed? Marvelous. 

But I think my second favorite way to enjoy plums is in jam. They have an assertive amount of natural pectin which means you'll achieve a great set without adding the synthetic stuff. They also swing liberally, capably buttressing straight up plum jam and also all manner of savory and herbal emphases. 

I adore and tend to prefer my plum basil jam which is just so simple and bursts with flavor. In fact, a dear friend, whom I've not yet met in person but who lives in Florence and I feel I know and adore because of our relationship via Em-i-lis, concurs. I brought a jar to London, sent it to Florence with my sister, Elia, and she couriered it to Eli during a meeting and tea date at her apartment. 

I love this picture for so many reasons! 

While I was a little jealous that Elia met Eli before I got to, I was thrilled to see them together and to receive Eli's note that the jam "is sublime." I've also shared this jam with my plum-loving friend, Suzanne, over at A Pug in the Kitchen, and she loves it too! Eli is Italian and Suzanne is an excellent cook, so I take their praise seriously and appreciatively.

When I don't make plum basil, I tend to make my Lightly Spiced Plum, my Pepper Punch Plum or, as I did today, another foodie friend's recipe for Spiced Plum & Port Jam. Thank you, Abbie, for this delicious concoction.

It is a cozy fall breakfast at home in a jar. Your kitchen will smell to the nines when you cook or simply warm it, should a loving friend gift you some. Spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon and Chinese 5 spice and a generous cup of Ruby port, this thick beauty makes a masterpiece of the treasure that is good bread. 

Ol and I canned a few pints of this today while Jack was at French and Tom exercised. He spooned some into his mouth and said, "I love it, Mama." 

Me too!

Shrimp, jam, canning class, Italy

It occurred to me earlier today that "the trip to Italy for my sister's wedding" is no longer in the somewhat distant future, but next week. OMG! Where is my passport? What dress can I wear? This has all really come upon me quickly, and since this realization, I have been putting childcare and organization in place rapidly. You see, I am going by myself. Are you serious, you might ask? Yes, I am. This wedding is my sister's civil ceremony; the religious one, which we'll all attend, is next month in Louisiana. Once I get on the plane next Thursday, arrivederci it is, but until then, lots to do. Wow! In any case, I decided that shrimp would be the main event for dinner tonight, and I'm vacillating between charbroiling them in garlic butter and serving with a crusty baguette OR grilling them, then to be topped with a spicy peach salsa. I'll keep you posted.

I simply must tell you just how yummy the lightly spiced plum jam is. I looove it. And, if you're coming to my canning class in Fairfax on Saturday morning, this lovely preserve is just what we'll be making. Cheers!

Plum jam, community pick hurrah

I am so excited that my Cheesy Mashed Potato Puffs were just chosen as a community pick on Food52. That is wonderful, and I'm thrilled. Thank you!

I also just made a wonderful new jam that was inspired by memories of happily eating the spiced plum and port jam I made last year (courtesy of a terrific Food52 cook) and the strawberry-rhubarb-orange jam I made just a month or so ago (courtesy of Marisa of Food in Jars). I had a bunch of little red plums and thought I'd try to break free from the self-imposed chains of plum-basil jam; my relative obsession with it remains intact, but this new jam is lovely!!! It's all plum with a bit of orange zest and juice, allspice and cinnamon. The boys declared it delicious, and I must say I agree. It's also extremely pretty because the red skin of these plums was positively glowing before going into the pot and really lent a beautiful hue to the finished product.