In A Jam

Tried a different recipe, quick and easy, for raspberry jam.  I found it in Paula Deen's magazine. Unfortunately, it was not as quick Or as easy as it was supposed to be!  I'll admit, it may have been my fault, because (gasp!) I doubled the recipe.

The recipe called for two-cups of raspberries, but I had four, so there you go!  Made sense to me, right?  Well, no, really I knew better, from having read and made past recipes on jamming.  But it was such a different process, I really didn't think it would matter. 

Usually, you cook the fruit with the pectin before adding sugar.  This recipe called for pouring all the sugar over the fruit and letting it sit for ten-minutes.  In the meantime, you cook the pectin with water for a bit, then pour it over the fruit/sugar mixture, and stir until all the sugar has dissolved.

Ultimately, the pectin/water was just not sufficient enough to dissolve the sugar on the fruit.  Ugh!  I had a big mixture of pink goo.  Plan B? 

Had to try and salvage it all, so I had no choice but to pour it all into a big pan and cook it until all the sugar dissolved, and then some for added measure.  It foamed up so much, I wasn't sure it was even clear beneath, so I added a tad bit of butter, like I'd done in the past for other recipes, then skimmed off as much foam as I could.

 

Eventually got it all ladled into the jars, cleaned the rims, screwed on the rings, and put them all into a boiling water bath for 15-minutes.  Only time would tell if we would have jam, or LOTS of raspberry sauce.

I let it sit overnight and the jars had definitely sealed well.  I put one jar in the fridge so it would have a nice chill to it in time to have with our morning toast.  We sat down for breakfast, and as I opened the jar and scooped out the first little bit, I saw that it had indeed set-up well!  Whew!  And not only that, it was very yummy. 

It's always fun trying new recipes, but next time, I think I will avoid the drama and use my other tried & true methods for jammin'. 

Sunshine!

Dang, that ol' alarm clock rang way too soon this morning, but wait.....what is THAT?  I don't believe it!  It's early morning sunshine, streaming through our windows. 

Now for some of you, this may seem like no big deal, right?  For us, living right on the coast, we often get heavy marine layer all through May and June, and sometimes most of the summer.  We call it "May Gray" and "June Gloom."  Well, it had even been extending into July....until this morning.  Ah, it was glorious!

Unfortunately, I had to go to work and be indoors.  But as soon as my work day ended, I drove home, got my daughter, and we headed to the local garden center and picked out some plants for the new planter my hubby made over the weekend.

Zinnias

White Impatience and Lobelia

See the little wooden snake?

Under the Avo tree

There's just something about waking up to sunshine that motivates me!  I hope our summer has officially begun, and that we get a lot more sunny days, than not.

My Little Chickadee....

I was so happy to be doing glass again. I'd found a sweet little pattern of a chickadee on a branch, with a few flowers and leaves. It was a small pattern, roughly 8-inches diameter, and I'd had it for a long time, I'd just never seen it in the same light before. Patterns are like that for me, and I almost always have to change them up a bit. But this one, it didn't need any enhancing in my opinion.

Picking out the glass took longer than it should have, but I finally found the perfect colors. I barely had enough of the color I wanted for the flower petals, but managed to squeak them all out. I was so happy with it, all cut out on my light-box. I got all the pieces wrapped with the copper foil, then covered it with Saran-wrap, since I didn't want it laying out in the open to oxidize, and God only knows when I'd get the opportunity to solder it.

Life is just busier for me now -- I swear I could use at least three of me to do all that I want to do in a week. Anyway, day after day, weekend after weekend passed, and my poor little chickadee just laid there, waiting to be brought to life.

One day, after working all day at my day job, I came home, determined to solder the little bird together. Gathered all the materials, heated up the soldering iron, got all the pieces secured together with push-pins so as not to move during the process. Got a few tack welds in place, then the phone rang......then it rang again.....ok, just stop answering the phone for a while. FINALLY, I held the piece up to the light and I swear..... that little bird chirped at me! Tomorrow, I would get the outer lead around it and give it the finishing touches.

Well, I didn't have the kind of lead I wanted to use, so daughter , who was going to be in the area of the stained-glass store, agreed to stop in and get me some. She brought home exactly what I thought I wanted, but it was a little larger/thicker than I'd used before, especially on a piece that small. Got it measured out and from the first tack solder, it went down-hill from there. Don't ask me why, but it was as if I couldn't do anything right. I ended up with a huge mess! I turned off the iron, washed it thoroughly to remove the flux, etc, and turned out the light. Grrr.....that was a complete waste of time, not to mention materials.

The next time I ventured in there, it was simply to remove the outer lead. However, since I had soldered it to the piece pretty thoroughly, it was NOT easy, and I broke two pieces in the process. I was about ready to see how well the little Chickadee could fly, but honestly, I had already bonded with him. I gently and lovingly removed the broken pieces, cleaned the surrounding edges of glass so I could re-foil them, cleaned all the remaining glass very carefully, and I am now ready to re-cut and make it right.

This is the original piece before being soldered and destroyed, ha ha.

Stay tuned for the finished product, which, when ready, I will upload a picture to ETSY. Well....providing I can part with him, that is.