The ginger jam turned out, well, o.k. I guess. Certainly not the triumph that I had been hoping for, but not too bad either. I ended up making eleven of those little gift-sized 4 ounce jars. So that's, what, 44 ounces? I don't what that makes, pint-wise. I guess I could figure it out for you, but I don't think it really matters that much. Go ahead, though, if it means a lot to you.


The recipe I used was a kind of self-created mish-mash of the recipes that I looked up. I peeled and cut about a pound of fresh ginger (not a fun process) and boiled the slices for about half an hour. The boiling process produced a very strong ginger steam and made my kitchen pretty much uninhabitable - my husband couldn't even stand in the doorway, about 12 feet from the stove. Anyway, once the boiling was done, I minced the ginger in my ever handy Cuisinart until it was, as one of the recipes instructed, "the size of grains of rice." Um, o.k. What I basically got was a pretty ground up mass of ginger and I figured that would be good enough. I put that back into the drained pot, added four cups of water, 3 tablespoons of calcium water, and one cup of sugar. I let that all come to a boil and then added another cup of sugar to which 3 tablespoons of powdered pectin had been added. The result was a little strange. But it jammed up nicely and processes well, so I guess it all worked out. The color is a little odd, kind of khaki or light brown. If I had to to it all again, I might add just a smidge of food coloring. The texture is kind of grainy - like a marmalade, I guess, but not quite as chewy as I always think of marmalade as being.


Now I'm not quite sure what to do with this (isn't that always true of long-held goals made manifest? You think, "now what?" and the answer is seldom clear). I'm thinking it would probably taste horrible on a PB sandwich, so I'm thinking maybe it could be on some fancy-schmancy tea sandwich with cream cheese on zucchini bread, or a cake filling, or the bottom of, say, a pear tart. Maybe I can develop some cool recipes and include them with a jar as Christmas presents.


Today I'm a bit natured-out. We're still dealing with the carpenter bees and today I saw my first snake of the season. Snakes are not my favorite of God's creatures. There's this place in New Jersey where people built all these expensive houses only to discover that the land was adjacent to one of the only known stomping (slithering?) grounds of some kind of endangered rattlesnake. At first I thought, "well, that's the wages of suburban sprawl." Then I though, "gosh, that's my worst nightmare." The homeowners have apparently built walls (!) to try and keep the snakes out of their yards, to no avail. I've not been to this place, but my mind conjures up visions of backyards that are more like the temple scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Probably not entirely accurate. On the cuter, but still strange, side there are two rabbits at the bottom of the yard near the gate that keep running back and forth, back and forth. I have not a clue what they're doing - I've never seen rabbits behave this way. And, yesterday there were two deer in the front yard, galloping around. I guess they were playing, but I don't usually see deer until dusk or even later. Sheba, a beautiful tan German Shepherd who has recently joined our family, has proven to be a lousy watch dog and didn't notice the deer crossing the driveway ten feed in front of her while we walked down to check the mail. We love her, to be sure, but jeez girl - it's a deer! Bark or something!. So, in short, the creatures are acting odd.

O.K...the goods have been purchased and tomorrow's the big day. Ginger preserves will finally be mine. Most of the recipes have ginger (natch), sugar, water and either pectin or cream of tartar, which kind of puzzles me. They don't strike me as interchangeable, certainly, but I can't figure out why the recipes I've found have one or the other, but not both or even neither. Strange. If I were scientific by nature, like my husband, I'd set up some elaborate experiment, with a control group and everything, but I just don't care that much. I'm going with the pectin, because that's what's on the shelf.


Today was my son's first day back at school since we pulled him out in favor of home care over a year ago. Now Luciana, our beloved and most esteemed au pair, must return to Brazil and our family will definitely be the poorer for her departure. We're starting school a bit early so that Luciana can help with the transition and so the babe doesn't suffer abandonment issues. We'll very likely have another au pair someday soon, but for now school is a good option because he hasn't had a play date since we moved and we just don't know anyone here who has kids. My son is an engaging kid, though, so I'm sure he'll have little friends soon.


Since I had to pack a lunch today (something I haven't done very often since my son has mostly been cared for at home) I put together some of his favorite things - including mango jam on wheat bread. Even his teacher commented how great it smelled - maybe I'll give her a jar for teacher appreciation day (coming up soon!). If there's one thing I've learned from my friends who have multiple children in preschool or day care, a little buttering up never hurt. In this case, it'll be mangoing up, but I'll brown nose any teacher who has my son's daytime happiness in his or her hands. Heck, if she said she liked my outfit, I'd probably strip right then and there and hand it over. Then again, if my understanding of the economics of child care are correct, maybe she'd just like a little cash.

In re-reading the last line of my most recent post, I realized the some of you might be thinking that I intend to combine recipes for the marinated mushrooms and ginger preserves together. Well, no, that's not quite what I meant. What I meant was that I'll be looking at recipes for each and combining the elements that I like into one recipe for each product. There, thanks for letting me clear that up.

Must run. I'm on a deadline today and am making the most of my son's naptime hours to get some work done. Also, since the in-laws are coming for Easter weekend I've got to figure out some meals and stuff. Be back next week.

One of the things I miss about living in the Philly 'burbs is going to Marita's Cantina for some chiles rellenos. For some reason, I liked this dish better there than anywhere else and I'm now resolved to figure out how to make it at home. Marita's used a blue corn crust and a delicious verde sauce (for which they would not give me the recipe, even though I explained that I had eaten there several times a month for years and would now be moving away) and, mark my words, I will figure this out. In the meantime, I've roasted some poblanos since they were on sale at the Giant. You know how to roast peppers, right? Just blacken them on all sides over a gas burner, on the grill or under the broiler. When they're all nice and black and blistered, put them in a paper bag and close up the bag until the peppers cool off. Then brush off the blackened skins, pull away the stem and seeds and there you have it - delicious roasted peppers. I usually freeze what I can't use right away by laying them flat on a cookie sheet sprayed with veggie spray. When they're frozen through I'll put them in a freezer bag and pull them out individually when I want to add them to a salsa or use them in some other dish.


On the canning front, I will be making the marinated mushroom melange as soon as I can find mushrooms at a decent price. The price at my local Whole Foods was ruinous and I didn't want to have to tell my son that he can't go to the college of his choice because I canned some 'shrooms when he was two years old, so I'll defer that particular activity for a bit. However, I'm no longer so anxious to get moving on the mushrooms because (and this probably helped me say "no" to the prices at the Whole Foods) because I've come upon a recipe for ginger preserves and I simply cannot live without trying this. I love, love, love ginger. Ginger soy sauce helped me through my not-fun, not-glowing-with-the-fullness-of-life pregnancy (well, that, coke classic and Taco Bell) and lately my idea of heaven is a warm ginger beer. And, even though Whole Foods let me down in the mushroom department, it was redeemed somewhat by the availability of ginger ice cream.


Anyway, so that's the agenda. Marinated mushrooms and ginger preserves. I'll be on the lookout for some recipes to combine and will post the results here (along with the recipes, if it all works out). In the meantime, peace.

The vacation plans are finalized and the deposit on the rental is due in six days. Roughly four months until my next vacation. I'm both exhilerated and nervous since, as I think I've made clear, my vacation track record is not exactly stellar. Still, I'm determined to prevent a self-fulfulling prophecy and will push all thoughts of ruined vacations out of my head starting...now. There, I feel much better. I have every confidence that our trip, along with nine friends and their assorted children, to Harbor Island, South Carolina will be great.


In other news, I finally made the pickled carrots the other day. This time I mixed it up a little (wild woman!) and made carrot coins instead of sticks. I figured that a different shape would be nice in a relish tray if so many of the other pickly things are sticks (you know, asparagus and green beans and stuff like that) . As my sister said, "oooh, very fancy!" At first, I was thinking that it was kind of a cop out, not to put all the carrots into sticks (five pounds' worth), but then she pointed out that in her house canning is a two-person job, with both she and her husband having their own special jobs. I can't be expected to do all the work, she pointed out, so resorting to the labor-saving food processor and making carrot coins isn't a cop out at all. Sometimes having sisters can be so great, like when they tell you your laziness is completely understandable and nothing to be ashamed of.


I'm still plotting my next canning episode. I'm thinking that I might try the Marinated Mushroom Melange from Edon Waycott's faboo Preserving the Taste. It's out of print now, but maybe you can pick up a copy at the soon to be late, lamented Half.com.


If you have been following the news from Iraq you can't help but be struck by the incredible footage of people trying to carry on life in their bombed out cities. I'm always astonished by the capacity for humans to get on with things and I'm particularly impressed by the news of mothers becoming absolute she-bears in order to protect and feed their children. I pray I never have to find out if I'm made of the same tough stuff as my Iraqi mothering colleagues. These women have my eternal respect. As I was making the carrot coins the other day, I reflected on those moms and my incredible abundance. Five pounds of carrots, a decent kitchen, and an hour of peace. On the back end, several quarts of canned carrots, to be put away until celebration or lack of money (or both) dictate that they should be opened. I can as a hobby and an indulgence, one that may or may not save money (depending upon one's real need for things like pumpkin butter and mango jam). Still, I'm aware that I'm feeding my family and doing one small thing to protect against harder times. Since the husband of one of my canning sisters just lost his job and now they're plotting to move 400 hundred miles from where they live now, this has been made even more clear to me on a small picture scale. Whether the trouble is 12,000 miles or just a couple states away, I'm beginning to feel that my impulse for food preservation is more like a deal with the universe. If I promise to keep the hot water bath boiling and the shelves stocked, will you promise to keep us safe?

I am the kind of person that you never want to take a vacation with. Heck, I don' t even know why I vacation with me anymore. I have become very ill on at least four car trips, vomited up and down both coasts, ripped up the soft tissue of my right knee in the Outer Banks (requiring surgery and six months of physical therapy), been evacuated for weather concerns twice, had car trouble expensive enough to truncate and/or cancel three separate trips and had three other vacations seriously impacted by terrorist activities. And as of the weekend, my streak is intact.


My son, his au pair and I drove to Williamsburg on Saturday to spend a couple days with my parents. Not only did the weather completely suck, but I ended up developing some kind of stomach bug and spent all day Monday in bed, moaning and heaving. I mean, really. I am seriously considering never going anywhere again. Actually, that's not true. I'm too much of a wander bug to stay in one place for long. So now we're considering plans for an August trip and I feel compelled to check the hurricane predictions and start wrapping myself in bubble wrap. I should post my destinations as a public service to let everyone else know to stay away. It's really a shame.


But I'm feeling (mostly) better today, though, so I've started making more mango jam. It's funny, but this is the first thing I'm making "again" since I started canning. And it just doesn't feel the same. Maybe I'm missing that sense of discovery this time, that feeling of "wow! look what I'm doing!". Still, the mango smells great and it's a nice way to spend some time at the table with my son, who is not feeling at all well today. Hmmm...I wonder why? Could it be that he spent a lot of quality time with an up-chucking mom earlier this week?


After their week in Williamsburg is over, my parents are stopping by here on their way back home. I'm a little nervous, because the house isn't quite "parent-ready" yet. My mom is, as I have mentioned, very fastidious and I, as you may have gathered, am not. We have pictures still unhung, boxes still unpacked, laundry piled around the basement floor and so on. The odds of getting everything whipped into shape before Saturday afternoon are pretty small and the odds of me getting completely frustrated trying are very high. Well, better get on with that jam.

We had to leave the house early today, leaving the windows closed and the dog inside, since the nice men at Brown's Exterminating were coming to help us deal with our carpenter bee problem. Ordinarily, I'm loath to use a lot of chemicals around the house but in the case of these aggressive, scary creatures I'm willingly bringing in the weapons of mass destruction (actually, the bees are pretty massively destructive themselves, so maybe it's a wash). So in order to leave on time, I told my son we were going on a "special bye-bye" and devised an outing.

The special bye-bye part was very useful in helping reduce the time required for the pjs-to-clothes exchange to about 15 minutes, with much less running around naked. Special, indeed. Once we were out the door, I mentioned that were were on our way to the Discovery Museum, whereupon my son yelled repeatedly, "Don't want feshul bye-byeeeeeeee," until we arrived. Then he had a great time playing with trains and looking at the turtles. We also bought a membership, so we now have admission privileges to the Museo Participativo de Ciencias, should we find ourselved in Buenos Aires in the next year. Lunch outside on the Downtown Mall pretty much capped an all around fanstastic morning. Arriving back home to find the bees (and their wasp friends) vanquished, I found myself feeling almost non-agitated for the first time since they first made their appearance.

I felt so good that I began making pumpkin butter after nap time began. Now, I know that all things pumpkin are usually associated with autumn, but trust me that this is actually a perfect time to make this wonderful stuff. First, you may have packages of pumpkin puree left in the freezer from last fall and you now need to make room for the upcoming spring bounty. Second, having the jars on the shelf for a few (okay, six) months will only help the flavors blend and it will be that much more delicious. Trust me, you'll want to do this now. The ingredients are:

3 1/3 cups pumpkin puree

the zest of one lemon

the juice of one lemon

2 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1 T gound ginger

2 t cinnamon

1/2 t allspice

Mix all the ingredients together well in a medium to large saucepan. Let rest for an hour or two, then heat over medium heat stirring very frequently (there will be some bubbling and popping). Transfer to sterilized jars (I use half-pints), seal and process in a hot water bath for ten minutes.

Once opened, the pumpkin butter can be used as a spread for pancakes, a crepe or cake filling, an ice cream topping, for a tart...or, for a wonderful gift. I cannot stress enough how wonderful and versatile it is. Oh...you could make a soup, with a little cream and fresh nutmeg sprinkled on top. Yes, you could definitely make a soup.

Well, I'm certainly not doing well in the update-the-blog department. However, I promised to make the pomegranate jelly and have just now finally done so, two months after the supplies were purchased. And, yes, we moved the juice and pectin. Did you think I'd throw it away?

Because I can't do anything according to the instructions, I ended up combining a couple of recipes. The basic idea is to take four cups of pomegranate juice (I'm pretty sure you can't use grenadine, but then again maybe you can and it would make a really great jelly, too), mix it with 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 6 cups of sugar and 3 oz. of commercial liquid pectin, boil for a minute and pack into hot, sterilized jars, seal and process in a hot water bath for 5 minutes. Here's what I actually did: mix four cups of juice (at a cost of, gasp, $5.97), the juice of three lemon halves (which is what I had with me at the time), 2 cups of sugar, 4 teaspoons of calcium water and 4 teaspoons Pomona's Universal Pectin in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil, stirring, for one minute. Pack into jars, seal and process for five minutes while listening to Sinead O'Connor's "The Lion and the Cobra".

The jars are still cooling, but I can tell you that even warm this tastes amazing and it started to jell a bit as I was packing the jars, so I'm sure it's all going to be fine. Now, the question is: what can I do with this stuff? I'm thinking maybe those little bite-sized tarts, lined with a bit of marzipan, thumbprint cookies or maybe even a glaze for a roast of some kind. Any ideas?