Yum, Yum, Yum

My friends and I here are getting ready to make some pomegranate jelly. I pulled the recipe right off the web and used it last year and the year before with pretty darn good results.

Last year the jelly was just about right, although it did  not set perfectly -- it was a bit "juicier" than I would have liked. It was close enough of course that we ate all of it happily, but as the jelly maker, I knew that I wanted to fine tune the process. In reading about jelly making, it suggested that there are a number of reasons for jelly that does not set well, but one stood out -- pectin needs an acidic environment to work properly. The fix is to add a splash of lemon juice. When I made the pineapple jelly last week, I added a dab of lemon juice and voila! The pineapple jam set nicely.

Today's first step for me was to harvest about ten of the boys and juice them, collecting 5 cups of the exquisitely beautiful ruby liquid. Next, it is suggested that the juice sit overnight. This allows any sediment to settle out leaving a very clear product.

So, with my two jars of juice in the fridge, I will go off to bed to dream about tomorrow's lemon-assisted alchemy that will turn turn them into jars of breakfast bliss, the perfect bride for a warm biscuit.

Wish us luck.

Things I Do My Own Self

I realize that it has been an inexcusably long time since my last post.

I've been busy. Sort of. A little.

Probably not enough to account for the length of my absence, but there you have it. But just so you don't think that I simply fabricated that excuse, I present to you photographic evidence of my industry. To your left is an actual un-retouched photograph of one of the two jars of pomegranate juice that I made my own self, from pomegranates that I grew my own self, on the pomegranate bush that I planted my own self. Furthermore, this very same pomegranate juice was made into six jars of pomegranate jelly which I made (yup, you got it) my own self, jelly which I have eaten my own self on bread made by somebody else.

I made and installed a shelf in the hall closet by my own self. Sand had been asking me about that for a while now. And I have written an entire new chapter in my latest book Mr. Cutter's Problem. And yes indeed, I wrote it my own self.

So, I'm just saying, I've been busy.