Planning and organising and lots of jam making

This week has been all about...

:: lots of jam making. I've made up 6 kg of nectartine jam in four days to ensure the cheeky parrots don't eat them all.

:: planning my daugther's return to school (uniforms, sticking name labels on stationary, and contemplating how her school lunches can be healthier).

:: thinking about what to do with Miss 5 on her last day before school (ideas include going to Lunar Park or the museum??).

::organising a reward chart to go on our fridge . Am thinking school starting will be a good time to set down some new rules (Miss 5's keen so far). New rules around TV watching, the use of our new Ipad, her chores (feeding the dogs), piano practice and doing her school work (which really only involves doing her reader every night as she is still only a grade oner!).

::buying some Stylecraft yarn from Deramores (with a nice 15% off). I've been wanting to embark on a new crochet blanket so I indulged myselft and bought the style pack that matches Lucy's Attic24 Granny Stripe Blanket. I sooo love online yarn shops.

::progressing on my Patchwork bag. I've joined the squares together and done the handles.

I'm stuck though on which fabric to use to line the bag. I have some vintage sheets that would be perfect, though I'm not sure I'm ready to get the scissors out and start cutting them! I'm sort of tempted to go with the pink and purple fabric (it's a light cordoroy) as no vintage sheet would then need to be cut! But the yellow floral fabric looks lovely too, as well has the pink on the right. My favourite is the green on the left....but its a double bed size and I'd really like to keep it intact.

Do you have a favourite? I'd love to get some advice on this as am seriously stuck.

Cheerio. Lori

Summer jam making

My apricot and nectarine trees produced an excellent crop of fruit this year, all due to our 10 year drought being finally over and getting plenty of rain over winter. Good fruit is a result of good conditions at the time of flowering - which is during our late winter/early spring.

I was determined to have a go at some jam making this year and put all this fruit to good use.  I sneakily bought  the Country Women's Association Preserves cookbook whilst Christmas shopping last year - as it contains every possible jam, relish, chutney you could ever think of.  Unfortunately their apricot jam recipe was not very successful for me - too much water and it did not setting properly. 

But the nectarine jam came out delicious.

I slightly changed the recipe - by using equal weight of sugar to nectarines, as I have successfully done in previous years for raspberry jam. I also used less vanilla.

The recipe goes like this...

Put 2kg of peeled and sliced nectarines with 37g pectin. Bring to the boil over high heat. Add 2kg white sugar. Stir constantly during the whole process. Heat to a rolling boil for one minute, then take off the heat. Stir and skim for 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tsp of vanilla. Ladle into sterilised jars.

It's my first time using pectin, and I loved it! There is nothing more disappointing that going to all the hard work of preparing the fruit, boiling the jam, preserving the jars - and then for one's jam NOT to set. So disappointing. So am very happy to used pectin again - as a fail safe method.

Have you done any jam making this year?