I’m a city girl, and my husband does most of the grocery shopping, so when I went to the St Jacob’s farmers’ market with my BFF, Jo, last weekend, I was amazed to discover a whole new variety of fruits and vegetables that I never knew existed. Among them, the mighty pluot.⁽¹⁾

Pluots are a cross between a plum and an apricot, with a slight emphasis on plum. There are others variations, as I discovered from Wikipedia: the plumcot, apriplum and aprium among them. Though pluots win my heart for their name,⁽²⁾ their flavour is incredible as well.

My original intent was to pick up a few fruits and veggies for making jams, preserves and pickles as it’s become a new hobby, and I came away with more food than I could possibly eat in a reasonable time. I’ve been jamming for four days straight now,⁽³⁾ and made some incredible things.⁽⁴⁾

I think the best thing I’ve made so far comes from Sarah B Hood’s We Sure Can, and it’s for a strawberry jam with balsamic vinegar and cracked black pepper. I had no idea those flavours could be combined, or that they’d be so wonderful together. It may be the most delicious thing that’s ever been in my mouth.

After my first brief exposure to making red pepper jelly last year, I hadn’t canned anything until earlier this summer. Now, in the past there days, I’ve made four different jams, cranberry sauce, and star anise plum preserves. It’s been a bit of a learning curve, but also, somewhat surprisingly, a lot of fun.

I’m always looking for new recipes, if you’ve got one to share, let me know!

Footnotes:

1. Pronounced plu-ot. [↩]
2. So close to Pluto! [↩]
3. Eat your heart out, Bob. [↩]
4. Though one didn’t turn out quite as well as planned. [↩]

Happy Canada Day, kids! I love it when it falls on a Friday and we get an extra long weekend in the summer.

I mentioned yesterday how I’d like to get more social in regards to books and reading – normally such a solitary activity – so I’m going to try a new series I’m calling Shelf Life.

Each month I’ll post brief notes and reviews of the books I’ve read, and solicit recommendations from you guys.

June was an eclectic month, reading everything from cookbooks to novels to poetry. A couple of humour books, and two graphic novels which did not live up to their potential.

Yes, it is possible to read a cookbook.

56. Gourmet Preserves Chez Madelaine, by Madelaine Bullwinkel
I’m rather inexperienced when it comes to making jams, jellies and preserves – in fact, I wasn’t clear on the difference between those three terms before I read Gourmet Preserves. I didn’t know how to tell if a batch has reached its gel point. Or what that even meant. I’d made exactly one jelly before, and I required my hand to be held throughout the entire process. It turns out it’s not actually that hard.

The introductory chapters give clear step-by-step instructions for everything you need to know to make preserves work, and the recipes are delicious. I’ve tried three so far: two batches of strawberry jam, a rhubarb and fig jam, and a blueberry jam – all came out fabulously.

57. A Storm of Swords & 58. A Feast for Crows, both by George R R Martin
I read the first two books, A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings, in May, and they were followed closely by the final two books in print so far (the fifth volume, A Dance with Dragons, comes out in July).

Initially I began the first one to prepare myself for the show (which was excellent). I’m not a huge fan of fantasy, but this series largely revolves around political intrigue at court with an extensive cast of characters who can – and do – die.

Ok, ok, there are hints of wights and, eventually, dragons, but they take backstage to war, betrayal, honour and, above all, complex characters worth knowing. I’m hooked.

59. A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan
It’s billed as a novel, but it’s really more a series of linked short stories spanning several decades. Characters weave in and, more often, out. Narrator changes; point of view changes from first, to third and, yes, even second. One story is told through PowerPoint. The concluding tale is kind of sci-fi speculative fiction. It’s crazy.

It won this year’s Pulitzer Prize. I’m not sure how much that means. Prizes are notoriously inconsistent and given for various reasons, but I enjoyed Goon Squad. A very different sort of book. Continue reading »

I like fancy dinner parties, and I like my wines to be well dressed too, so when I saw wine capes at the store I had to buy them.

Though likely intended as a Hallowe’en decoration, I use them year round. Vampires are always fashionable.⁽¹⁾

A very thoughtful friend brought this back from Edmonton, of all places. Apparently the LCBO doesn’t carry it. To have this corrected, write to them here.

I love the idea, and the wine’s not bad either. Very fruity.

Vampire Vineyards is located in sunny California, and seems to have a vested interest in vampire literature and culture.

We tried the Cabernet Sauvignon, but they also make vampire coffee and Dracola. I kid you not.

I’m (un)dying to try out some of their other wines.

In other news…

I’ve been serving as a juror Continue reading »

Footnotes:

1. Notice the lack of sparkle. Bling – yes, sparkle – no. [↩]