August 6, 2004
Apricot and Almond Jam
I was inspired, by Clotilde and Mes Confitures, to produce the lovely Apricot and Almond Jam (Confiture d'Abricot aux Amandes) that I made this evening. I set about preparing a workspace where I could sit comfortably while splitting and chopping the apricots. The toughest part for me was cracking open the apricot pit to reveal the almond. Most of the almonds did not emerge whole and my flimsy nutcracker left most of the work for my hands. It was quite difficult but I improvised and came up with a method...crack the pits in a dish towel to catch the flying shards of shell. Of late, my hands have been giving me a bit of trouble - but I think with healthy hands the task will be easier. Actually making the jam after the preparation was simple: combine sugar and apricots and cook for 25 minutes. Do the frozen saucer trick to test consistency and you're good to go. My favorite step was the initial frothy volume. Do as Clotilde says -- use a large pan!
In the next days, I will be attempting more jams with the volumes of fruit purchased today...blueberries, strawberry, and peaches. I will also be testing the pickles I made at some point. If the recipe turns out well, I'll post it.
I bought tons of tomatos and zucchini today, as well -- possibilities for the tomatos could include salsa and simple jarred tomatos for use in future sauces.
For the zucchini, I saw a good recipe for pickled zucchinis in everyday food. Just grilling them (with my special method) and feasting may also occur.
Summer -- everything in abundance. I'm inspired to take advantage of this luxury....blueberries for 1.50 per lb, zucchini for .79 per 2 lbs, tomatos of every sort ridiculously cheap. Nothing over 1.50 per lb. All locally grown, all so fresh.
So many fruits of the earth, so little time!
