JAM & other things

[juliet]

Splendid long weekend, featuring Acid-on-Sea (squelchy acid techno! on a boat!), Acid-off-Sea (in a pub in Old St & then one of those under-the-arches places nr London Bridge), the making of JAM, the consumption of pizza-&-beer, a visit to this year's temporary building at the Serpentine Gallery, and some time spent in pubs.

Ceefax Acid Crew, on Saturday: "A Ceefax Acid Rave! In daylight! This should be interesting..." (he rose to the challenge admirably, I'm sure you'll be pleased to discover). The afterparty stuff was OK, but the Old St pub was rather too hot in the part where there was dancing; and by the time we'd been at the London Bridge bit for an hour or so, where dancing was more comfortable, I was *knackered*. A fine day anyway, though - & glad that marnameow & bluedevi could make it along to join self & dogrando for the later bit (helpfully, sbp & boyofbadgers both made it only for the actual boat part, so wristband-swapping worked out nicely).

Then on Sunday Marna & I went to the allotment & picked vast quantities of rhubarb, which we then turned into 2.5 litres of lovely tasty rhubarb & ginger jam. And still had enough left over for a rhubarb crumble, & quite a bit of spare rhubarb in both of our freezers. *And* we may yet get another small harvest this year. I also attempted grape jam (with the grapes I've had in the freezer for the last year, picked from the garden at Webster Road); but sadly we discovered that when one puts the oven on, for example to cook rhubarb crumble, it heats the stovetop up by about 30deg, which is enough to turn jam into sticky toffee. So I have two jars of very tasty sticky grape toffee, instead. The plan is to melt it before use & use it as grape toffee sauce. We are also contemplating asking Ernie-at-the-allotment if we can pick *lots* of his blackberries, & turn them into jam as well. Or possibly blackberrynapple crumble. Mmmm blackberries.

Today I have been Solving Work-Type Problems, hurrah for me.

Comments

[lovelybug.livejournal.com]

I want all of your food!

How did you make that icon? it looks weirdly unlike you - like someone in a Juliet outfit!

[juliet]

It's just cropped from as it came off the camera, no making involved at all. Maybe it's the contrast (due I think to the wall it was taken against being Very Red Indeed). Pete took it on Monday (see also this one).

Hurrah for food!

[lovelybug.livejournal.com]

cor *drools*

[softfruit.livejournal.com]

May I join the chorus of "mmmmmm, goooooood icon!"?

[brightybot.livejournal.com]

that's just what I thought as well - it does look odd. must be the red.

[juliet]

And possibly the smallness. Ah well, I like it :-)

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

blackberryandapplecrummmmbbbblllleeee [insert homer drooly noise here]

mind you, rhubarbandgingercrumble, much the same noise ;)

[juliet]

No ginger in the crumble, just the JAM, but it was damn tasty.

Blackberrynapplecrumble is one of my favouritest things *ever ever*. My mum makes really really good crumble.

I still need a food icon! But I do at least have an allotment one.

[ewx.livejournal.com]

I've not had rhubarb crumble for years. Maybe I should learn to make crumble.

(And another "nice userpics" comment.)

[catsgomiaow.livejournal.com]

DUDE if I make jam too (urgh I nearly typed "ham" how yuck) will I need to buy a HUGEENORMOUS Stainless Steel Not Aluminium pan? Because I really want to. Make jam AND buy a pan.

Also - NICE ICON! :)

[boyofbadgers.livejournal.com]

Jamjamjam
Jamjamjam
JAM

[catsgomiaow.livejournal.com]

The jams are revolting!

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

KICK OUT THE JAMS!

[juliet]

Clearly we need to make MORE JAM so that we can give some more away. I have already promised one pot to my parents, which leaves only 4 pots left! (mind you, I don't eat jam that often, so 4 pots is prob more than enough to last the year, esp if we get hold of Ernie's blackberries as well. Anyone want some JAM?).

[uon.livejournal.com]

I discovered this summer that it is in fact possible to make JAM using only a big bowl and a microwave oven, and it tastes possibly even better than jam made the normal way.
However: this means that there will be no vast roiling cauldron of sugary napalm to spread the yummy smell of JAM around your house, which is one of the reasons making jam is so much fun in the first place.

[juliet]

Cor, I didn't know that was possible. We do not possess a microwave so did not have this option. Also, as you so rightly, it's *clearly* Not The Same.

[uon.livejournal.com]

I was very sceptical myself until I tried it (and in particular tried the results). It's great for softish fruit jam like raspberry or strawberry; not sure how well it would work with rhubarb..

[juliet]

Thank you!

You need a pan with a decently heavy bottom; and jam is easier to make in large quantities than small, I think. So a largeish pan, yeah. If you want an excuse to buy one, go for it :-)

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

hehe, coquettish icon ;)

[martling.livejournal.com]

Ooh. How much ground area did that much rhubarb take up? There's about one metric shoebox of a garden behind my current abode, but I'd like to do something with it anyway. And I do like rhubarb.

Also, phwoar. ;-)

[juliet]

Well, we have maybe 4 or 5 plants, quite close together.... the bed is 80cm deep & the rhubarb patch is just over 2m across. So something under 2 sq m. (see allotment plan here).

However, note that you shouldn't harvest rhubarb at all in its first year, & not too heavily in the second. It's a long-term sort of plant!

How much space do you actually have? Annual veg might be a better bet if you don't know how long you're going to be there.

[jvvw.livejournal.com]

I've got lots of rhubarb in my fridge that I was wondering what to do with (I subscribe to an organic box delivery scheme thingy and that was one of the things that turned up this week!). I hadn't thought of making jam. That sounds like a good idea.

Greetinx...

[comixremy.livejournal.com]

just saw your post to Ellis' journal so flipped through yours...

You seem interesting so, if it's okay with you, I'd like to add you to my friends list..

My journal doesn't have much right now, mainly links to interviews I've done but I promise I'm more interesting...

Re: Greetinx...

[juliet]

Feel free; but (in an attempt to cut down the time that LJ takes up...) I'm afraid I don't tend to add folk I don't know IRL. Nothing personal 'n'all that! No objection to people reading, though.