end of August blues

Dad/HDA has been working in a dinghy and is almost done. You see the outdoor shop. He had to move it out of the basement before it became too large. He's naming it Tic Tac Two. Any better ideas? During one hail storm he watched as the boat filled with hail. Then Rose told him his convertible was doing the same thing. Where to turn?

His vacation is over on Monday and we are both sad about it. We had a lot of fun this year.

The gardens are winding down and we have had two hail storms which didn't help. We've been canning more pickles. I don't think I'll be able to eat any for awhile as the smell of pickle juice is getting to me. The jar we had was good, though.

The fig preserves are going quickly and I'll have to find more figs or other fruits to make some jams.

Some of our tomatoes were a disappointment. They taste just like the stuff in the supermarket. Round bombs. I've been roasting them with vegetables from the gardens and freezing it as winter glop.

Yesterday, however we made Tomato Jam from the New York Times, see recipe below. It tastes pretty cool, it has jalapeno peppers in it (from the garden) and fresh ginger (not from the garden). The sweetness is odd. We are going to Mgt and Renner's and trying it on bluefish for an early Henry birthday dinner.

We are still making the 'green' drink of the summer (no cases of Snapple or other bottled drinks) of homemade iced tea and frozen lemonade.

Peter just had his birthday and I spoke to him on the actual day in both China and the US.

August 20, 2008
Recipe
Tomato Jam
1 1/2 pounds good ripe tomatoes (Roma are best), cored and coarsely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh grated or minced ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeño or other peppers, stemmed, seeded and minced, or red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste.
1. Combine all ingredients in a heavy medium saucepan, Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.
2. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has consistency of thick jam, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, then cool and refrigerate until ready to use; this will keep at least a week.
Yield: About 1 pint.

Later, I have to go water the daylilies.