Silly Sunday - Quick fig jam recipe

I thought today I'd share a quick jam recipe for you, in case, like us, you have lots of figs around that need using up.

You may be wondering why a jam recipe fits into the category of "Silly Sunday" blog posts... Hmm... Well, this quick easy jam recipe is so simple, it's just silly!  There is nothing to it!!

When I tell my friends I am making jam, chutney, marmalade etc, they all want to come and join in as so many of them seem overwhelmed by the whole canning thing and so have never even tried making preserves. This recipe however, isn't  for canning and storing for months etc - it's a recipe where you use up the jam within a couple of weeks.  So you can store it in any kind of container.

Love figs

It's delicious spread on cheese, as a sauce on fish, as a kind of salsa/sauce for red meat/burgers, and also spooned over ice cream! Oh, and of course, just spread on bread/toast! How versatile is that!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb fresh figs, diced
• 2 tablespoons sugar or equivalent for a sugar substitute
• 2 tablespoons water

Place the figs in a small saucepan. Add the sugar and water and heat, stirring, to a boil.
Cook, uncovered, over medium heat until the figs have softened and the mixture is thick - about 10 mins.
Transfer to a small bowl and serve. Voila!
Store covered in a refrigerator for up to two weeks.

**Another option is to add a little ginger to the jam as it cooks. Try cutting up small pieces of crystallized ginger. Yum!

So don't be intimidated! It's silly easy. Give it a go!  And then try other fruits and don't even worry about all the canning!

Let me know if you give it a go. Happy Jamming.

Monday's Millinery Musings - Deep in Dye

By guest blogger Jennifer Whitmer

To prepare for my flower making and hat workshop at Art Unraveled next month, I have been deep in the dye. It is my job to dye lots of silk charmeuse for the students flower-making adventure. It starts in this unglamorous way outside under the arbor. You've been under the arbor with me before.

I can never seem to FOCUS and mix up just a few colors. Who can do that? When one can choose from the most  luscious colors in the world: plum blossom, robin's egg blue, palomino gold, rose red, chartreuse, raspberry, deepdeep eggplant, black cherry, moss green, citrus yellow....and those wine colors: burgundy, bordeaux, claret....honestly, who can choose only a few? Believe me, this is a partial list. This is a few. I used many more.

My husband, Dave, is an acupuncturist and herbalist. He makes unique Chinese herbal formulas for his patients. He recycles the empty herb bottles to me and they are perfect for mixing dye powders. A good shake quickly mixes them up and I can move right on to the fun part: dyeing what is white any color imaginable. I use fiber reactive dyes from Dharma Trading Company.

I am not a professional dyer. Professional dyers would cringe at my technique (zero technique), which is to spill or squirt on the dye and see what happens. Oh, sometimes I'm more "artistic" and twist, scrunch, or fold the fabric. But let me make something absolutely clear: I don't know what I'm doing. Gratefully, I don't.

The students will make beautiful roses with these shimmering silks. I hope they go on to dye their own fabrics and experience the joy of working with color. To celebrate the students, and you, dear readers, I'd like to share with you a special rose recipe:

Rose Petal and Almond Restorative Drink
1.  Soak 8 raw almonds in 1 cup of water overnight.
2.  In the morning, save 1/2 c of the soaking water and rub the skins off the almonds.
3.  In a blender put:   
    1/2 c almond soaking water
    the 8 soaked almonds
    3/4 c milk (or "milks" made from soy, almond, or rice)
    6 or 8 organic rose petals
    tiny pinch of saffron
    pinch of cardamom (optional)
    1/2 tsp honey (or to taste)
4.  Whiz it all together.
5.  Sip slowly under the arbor, if you have one, and enjoy immensely.

Serves 1