About this weekend.  The 10th Anniversary of 9/11.  There will be no end of news coverage and heart felt stories.  One of the most regretful anniversaries to commemorate in US history.911

What will you be doing this weekend?

As for me, I’m on the road again in the ARC Half Marathon.  I tapered just a tad this past week. My running mood was up and down, but my legs are looking forward to this upcoming half.  Let’s hope the mental part of me is up for it when the going gets tough by mile 8 through 13.

JAM/JELLY/PRESERVES

I was in the grocery store and saw something strange.  They were a reddish color and very small but labeled “plums”.  They didn’t look like any plums I was familiar with but still, I was curious and thought “preserves”.  When I got to checkout the girl said they were “Italian Prune Plums”. 

Italian Prune Plum – Source-Abbott Farms

FACTS
• The glory of the Italian Prune Plum lies in its size. Because it is small, and less juicy than other plums, when it is baked, it concentrates in flavor and texture, so that the fruit maintains more of its shape, and because there is less liquid, the flavor is more intense.

• European plums, (prunes or prune plums) are always freestone, meaning the flesh does not adhere to the pit, and they are also always blue or purple in color.

• European plums are smaller and firmer than the Japanese plums, and they are also sweeter and less juicy.

• This hardy plum is good for cooking and preserving.

I don’t make jams, jellies, or preserves on a regular basis and we don’t eat a lot of jams, jellies, or preserves.  The following recipe may not be how the pundits of preserving would process their produce … B U T!… it worked for me.

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  • 20 Italian Prune Plums
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 TBS minced crystallized ginger (The idea for adding ginger came from this terrific post by Akshayapaatram)
  • 1/4 cup white wine (Sauvignon Blanc would work really well with this)
  • 1/4 cup honey

Put the plums in the water and bring to a rapid SIMMER (small, slow bubbles)  for 10 minutes.  Allow to cool in the water for about an hour while you, oh I don’t know…make cookies?

Drain the plums quickly by pouring into a colander and immediately placing the colander with plums onto the pot you boiled the fruit in.  Remove the pits with your fingers. It’s easy, just feel around in the mush and take out the pits.  Tip the  mush plums back into the pot and add the minced ginger, wine, and honey.  Stir. 

Put on low simmer for about an hour, uncovered.  The mixture will thicken and smell really, really good. 

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Allow to cool. 

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Get your bread ready.

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Put a whole lotta plum preserve on the bread and ENJOY!

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*I didn’t go through formal sterilization of a jar.  I simply heated a jar and cap with 192 deg. water, washed it out well and then filled it with the preserve.  It will be stored in the fridge.  If we don’t eat it within a few days, which is highly doubtful ‘cause it’s THAT good, it will keep about ten days.

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