No notes today, but lots of pictures...

For so many years I've wanted to learn how to can or preserve fruit, but have never tried until this past weekend. Needless to say, I'm now completely hooked! Already I've found that I prefer small batch recipes that allow me to experiment freely without getting bored. That said, I was immediately drawn to the recipes of Christine Ferber, the Alsacian "Queen of Jam" who is well-known for her superb confitures. Thus far, I've tried two of her recipes (see below) and plan to try more very soon. They were extraordinary!

Some history from author Madelaine Bullwinkel: "Evidence of the first cooked fruit preserved in sugar comes from the early years of the Italian Renaissance. The fruits are described in Boccaccio's fourteenth-century writing as luxurious fare for the aristocracy living a romantic lifestyle. At that time, sugar was from the Near East through Venice; it remained rare and quite expensive through the eighteenth century."

Here's what I've made:

• Rosewater Plum Compote (amazing over vanilla ice cream and these sweet biscuits)
• Strawberry Basil Jam
• Strawberry Lavender Jam 
• Strawberry Jam with Black Pepper and Fresh Mint (Christine Ferber)
• Strawberry-Raspberry Preserves with Balsamic Vinegar and Black Pepper (Christine Ferber)
• Borage Jelly

I still need to find some good peach recipes as we have a peach orchard nearby and they're ready to be picked. Here's a few other recipes that I want to try (though, of course, not all at once!):

• Banana Jam with Cinnamon, Vanilla, Ginger and Rum
• Apricot and Almond Jam
• Cherry Tomato Cinnamon Jam
• Meyer Lemon and Vanilla Bean Marmalade or Honey Lemon Marmalade
• Wild Blackberry and Earl Grey Jam Recipe
• Carrot Apple Butter with Cardamom
• Persian Carrot and Cardamom Jam
• Decadent Banana Split Conserve (See Below)
• Grapefruit, Rosewater and Vanilla Marmalade 
• Plum, Raspberry and Rosemary Jam

Christine Ferber Recipes (See also: Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber):

• Rhubarb with Acacia Honey and Rosemary Jam
• Strawberry Lemongrass Jam 
• Green Gage Plum and Vanilla Jam 
• Blueberry-Lemon Jam
• Bitter Orange Jam
• Raspberry with Chocolate Jam (See Below)
• Wild Blackberry Jam 
• Pumpkin Jam with Vanilla Bean

Raspberry Chocolate Jam (Posted at GardenWeb)

2 3/4 lbs raspberries, or 2 1/4 lbs net
3 1/2 cups sugar
Juice of one lemon
9 oz bittersweet chocolate (68% cocoa)

Pick over the raspberries. Omit rinsing them so as to keep their fragrance. Put the raspberries through a food mill (fine disk). In a preserving pan, mix the raspberry pulp with the sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes, stirring gently and skimming carefully. Add the chocolate, grated. Mix and then pour into a ceramic bowl. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and refrigerate overnight.

Next day return the mixture to a boil. Continue cooking on high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring and skimming if needed. Return to a boil. Check the set. Put the jam into jars immediately and seal.

Notes:

I used 4 oz bittersweet chocolate and 1 oz unsweetened. I used a mix of red and black raspberries but I think you want whatever berries have the richest, deepest flavor.

Also, you should process this in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (use half-pint jars). Good on ice cream, or swirled through yogurt, or spread on popovers.

Decadent Banana Split Conserve (Posted at GardenWeb)

4 cups thoroughly mashed bananas
5 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup bottled lemon juice
1 teaspoon Fruit Fresh (absorbic acid)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 package liquid pectin -- (3 ounce)
3 tablespoons pure cocoa powder 
2 tablespoons light rum or rum extract
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

In a medium stockpot, combine the mashed bananas, lemon juice and Fruit Fresh. Gradually add in the sugar, cocoa powder and butter. Over medium heat, heat the mixture stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved.

Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly so it will not scorch. Stir in the liquid pectin and return to a full rolling boil for 1 more minute, stirring constantly. Skim off any foam. Remove the stockpot from the heat, stir in the walnuts and the rum. Ladle into sterilized jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe rims. Cap and seal. Process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes for half-pints or 15 minutes for pints. Yields 9 to 10 half-pints.

It's hard to believe that it's been nearly a month since my last garden post. And what a month it's been! After spending nearly every waking moment last month pulling weeds (and finally losing the use of my hands, temporarily, to carpal tunnel), I realized that I seriously overdid it this year and planted WAY more than I can handle - even with help from the kids.

I could spend the rest of the summer doing nothing but weeding (which isn't possible), and I'd still be nowhere near done. Plus there's the hours spent watering each day and...oh my. I already had a full-time job, in addition to homeschooling, did I really need to create so much more work for myself? I think not! Several times I've been tempted to mow everything down and call it quits, but that would be such a terrible waste, I can't quite bring myself to do it. Nevertheless, I have no idea how I'll continue to manage it all!

Here are some random photos from the past few weeks:

Hands-down, our favorite drink this summer is Borage Lemonade. Mix 3-4 medium leaves in a blender with lemonade -- the resulting beverage has an almost watermelon-like flavor and is SO good!


These days, I'm increasingly grateful for the wild overgrown patches I've got, such as the area above. It's a mess of plants, but there are very few weeds and lots of blooms, so I'm happy!

I sowed some Charentais melon seeds in amongst my roses to fill in gaps and keep the weeds down temporarily. Somehow, I never imagined that they would grow so huge and take over everything! Hopefully later this summer I'll be able to make some Charentais Melon Sorbet (or here) - yum!


We've had a profusion of wild Morning Glory vines popping up everywhere. Fortunately they're mainly in the [far] back field, so aren't disturbing my garden. I can't wait until they bloom!


Within days of purchasing our lambs, Caelan became quite ill and died, despite our vet's best efforts to save him. To ease Colby's lonliness, we added Eliza (a Boer/Nubian goat) to our little herd and they're now the best of friends.