Spiced Plum Jam

Aimée from Under the High Chair (one of my favourite food blogs) has organized a virtual jam swap. I should have posted this while plums were still in season, but if you’re interested in this jam, you can bookmark this for next year (or hit me up for some – I’ve got lots).

Back in my university days, I took a couple of trips to Florida with my best friend and her wonderful parents. We took shifts driving straight through from New Brunswick to St. Petersburg  and then camped at a gorgeous camp ground right on the Gulf coast. I have lots of fond memories from those trips, but one of my favourite things my friend’s mom’s spiced plum jam.

Years later, my friend gave me a jar of that jam, and it reminded me how much I love it. I asked for her mom’s recipe, but it turned out that there wasn’t really a set recipe. Here’s what she told me, pretty much word-for-word:

Cook some plums with cinnamon sticks and cloves until the plums break down and then add enough sugar to make it sweet.

Easy, huh?

Well, the only jam I had ever made at this point was strawberry freezer jam. I found the idea of canning, and of following a such a vague recipe a bit daunting.

Nonetheless, I carried on. My first attempt a few years ago was nearly a failure. The jam looked good, but when I tried some (after getting it all into jars), it was way too tart. So I dumped it all back into a pot, added more sugar, boiled it again, and re-canned it. The final product was delicious. Since then, I’ve worked out some of the details. Here’s how I made the jam this year:

1. Wash, pit, and quarter the plums, but don’t peel them (I used two containers of plums this year – the plastic containers that they sell at Loblaws). One year, I had plums that were difficult to pit, so I just dumped them in pits and all. I don’t recommend that, because fishing pits out of hot jam is not fun.
2. Put the plums in a large pot with about 1/4 cup of water. Add a couple of cinnamon sticks and about 20 whole cloves. I tie them up in cheesecloth to make it easier to remove them later. In previous years, I just dumped them in loose but, again, fishing them out of the hot jam is not fun and invariably, you’ll miss a clove or two.
3. Simmer the plums until they break down. You’ll still be able to see fibrous bits, but no big chunks. At this point, I add the sugar. I added about 7 cups this year but should have added more because this year’s jam is too tart again. So my advice is to add enough sugar to make it sweet, then add more. It’s jam, after all.
4. Bring the jam to a boil. Skim off any foam to rises to the surface.
5. When starts to look sort of smooth and thick (you know, more like jam) you can start testing it. Chill a plate in the freezer and drop a spoonful of jam on it. If it’s not runny, it’s probably done. If you’re having trouble getting the jam to gel, you can add some pectin. The past couple of years, I’ve added about half of a pouch of liquid pectin. If you do that, be sure to taste the jam again, because you may need to add more sugar.
6. Put the jam in sterile jars and seal them according to the directions that came with your canning lids. I know that you’re supposed to process the filled jars in boiling water bath after filling them, but I must confess that I never have.

That’s it. Then you just have to listen for that lovely popping sound that the jars make as the seal. If you like you jam less spicy, you can remove the spices part way through the process. I leave them in the whole time because then the jam ends up with a very Christmasey flavour.

If you try the recipe, let me know how it turns out – I’d love to hear!

Maybe he doesn’t like his legs?

C: I don’t ever want to go to Scotland.

M: Why?

C: You have to wear skirts there.

Back to school

Call started grade 1 yesterday!

(I’ll add a picture as soon as  I find the cord for the camera!)

We were all thrilled to find out his teacher is the same one he had before Christmas last year. His class is a grade 1/2 split. I have no idea how that works, but Call is happy that one of his grade 2 friends is in his class, along with some of his buddies from last year. Unfortunately, his “true love” is in another class. I wonder whether this will change their plans for marriage.

Call’s first day of school went very well, until dismissal time. He is signed up for an after-school program at the school this year. One of the school admins who knows him and knows his former daycare provider saw him listed as being in the after-school program, but decided that must be a mistake and put him on his old bus, without calling to check with anyone!

The bus driver drove him around, asking “Is this your street?”, but finally took him back to the school sometime after 4:00. The school contacted us and we picked him up. He seemed unphased by the whole thing at the time, but had nightmares last night, so I’m sure he was working out some anxiety.

And Beck started at a new daycare this week! Both boys have been in the same home daycare for the past five years, and it’s really been a second home for them. But Call decided at the end of the school year that he was too old for daycare, and than he wanted to go to day camps this summer and to the after-school program in the fall. And our daycare provider (who has become a really good friend) decided that she’d like to try something new in the fall, so we started looking for a daycare space for Beck.

We got the call about the space a few weeks ago. We visited a few other places that just didn’t feel right, but this place seems excellent, and the change should be good for him in the long run. This week is his “transition week”, where we’re easing him into the new daycare. It’s seems akin to pulling a band-aid off reeeeeallly slowly, rather than ripping it off.

Monday, Beck and I visited for a couple of hours in the morning. He spent the first 20 minutes crying and clinging to me like a barnacle, even though I kept telling him that I would stay with him. But I eventually got him interested in a puzzle, and he calmed down and let go of me. Then the kids went outside to play and he loved that. They have lots of trikes, wagon, and balls, and he had so much fun that I was even able to go inside to sign the paperwork.

Tuesday, I dropped him off for two hours. I tried to say bye before leaving, but that upset him. So I stayed a few minutes until he calmed down and then snuck out. I heard that he was fine until one of the other kids asked, “Where’s Beck’s mommy?” and he realized I was gone. He cried just for a minute and then got distracted and had fun.

Today, I dropped him off for a half day (until after lunch). Tried to sneak out, but he saw me and started crying. One of the teachers comforted him as I left, but it was heart-wrenching to leave while he was crying!

I picked him up just after lunch, and it turns out that he had a good day. He was upset for a while in the morning, but settled down and had fun, and his teacher remarked that he’s very co-operative. That’s my boy! By the time I picked him up, it was nap time and he was lying quietly on his cot, though he wasn’t asleep yet. Daycare must have worn him out, though, because he literally slept all afternoon. Which, of course, led to a super-fun bedtime tonight.

Tomorrow he’s supposed to stay at daycare until after naptime. I wonder whether he’ll actually sleep?

Buzz off

Up until this week, Call had a stereotypical boyish interest in bugs. But that’s all changed now.

The problem started last week when we were in Palm Springs. I don’t know whether it was because the house we rented was right at the foot of the mountains, or whether we caught an upswing in their population, but cicadas were everywhere. They were deafening at night, and we found them in the house too.

Call got scared one morning when one jumped on him. He wouldn’t calm down until Uncle Mark came to the rescue, killed the bug, and flushed it down the toilet.

Then when we were at a waterpark, he got stung by a wasp. It was the first time he’s been stung, so I was relived that he didn’t have an allergic reaction, but it really hurt. He was brave about it, though, and got over it pretty quickly.

I figured we had left all of our insect problems in California, until I picked Call up from his day camp Thursday and found out that he had been stung TWICE by wasps. He’s now completely freaked out about bugs. It took him hours to get to sleep that night because he kept hearing or seeing bugs. I let him try to sleep in each bedroom, and he eventually ended up sleeping on the sofa downstairs. And the next morning on the way to camp, he asked me a couple of times whether there were any flying bugs in the car, or any bugs in his hair.

Poor kid. I hope we find a way to help him get over this. I offered to let him sleep with a fly swatter, but he didn’t find that very comforting.

Ewwwww

Beck is developing a sense of humour!

He’s always found his big brother amusing, but now he’s started trying to make us laugh too. One of his current things is to give me a big kiss, then say “Ewwww! Yuck! Gross!” and dissolve into a fit of giggles.

Hey, I’ll take the kisses any way I can get them.

Happy Canada Day

When we were childless and lived downtown, we regularly went out to Canada Day celebrations. But since the kids arrived, we’ve just stayed home and hung out by the pool. Nice, but not that different from other summer weekends.

This year, Canada Day was a marathon of activities. I had some work to do, so Superdad took the boys out for the day. They hit the Museum of Civilization/Kids Museum, activities at Jacques Cartier Park, a movie, and a trip to Comic Adventures. Whew!

That night, I took Call to see his first fireworks. I considered going downtown but hated the idea of trying to find parking, so we went to Petrie Island, where the Orleans celebrations take place. Call was pretty tired and cranky by the time the fireworks started, but it was worth the wait. His first reaction: “Wow, they’re in 3D!”

Hi again

Well, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?

I guess I could trot out the old juggling analogy. I haven’t had any more balls to juggle this spring, but it seems like I got out of rhythm some how and couldn’t quite manage them all. Blogging was one of the things I dropped, even though it’s something I really enjoy.

But things seem better recently. There’s still way too much on my to do list and work will be especially demanding for the next month or so, but things seems a little more manageable lately. If it keeps up, you should be hearing from me more often.

The future

Call: Mom, is the future real?
Me: Not yet.

I’m sure he’s expecting so see a flying car any day now.

Be kind to animals

Call came home from school the other day with a “Be kind to animals” sticker on his shirt. I asked him about it, and he told me about a special presentation they had at school. He told me, “I love animals. And I love Beck. He’s like our pet.”

I wonder what his teacher thinks

Call brought home one of his school projects today. He drew pictures to illustrate certain types of sounds.

On one side, he drew “Les sons graves” (deep sounds?):

The pictures are, from top to bottom: a hail storm at night, a fire-breathing dragon, and Mom yelling.

On the other side he drew “Les sons aigus” (sharp sounds?):

Above are: an elephant, a lion, and Mom screaming.

I guess I should watch my tone of voice in the morning, when I tell him to put on his boots for the fiftieth time.