Stuff that I’ve done this week…

  • Polished and proofed a pair of made-to-order motorbike boots that I calculated have survived 49,000 miles so-far.
  • Found out that not one, but two ex-colleagues / mates are serious Divine Comedy fans, …
  • and discovered the blog of the second.
  • Harvested my garden rhubarb…
  • and with it made an aromatic, sweet and slightly unusual rhubarb and ginger jam
  • that makes a stupendous PBJ.
  • Worked out a simple trick that has slashed my blogspam to a fraction of its old frequency.
  • Got mildly drunk on fine Belgian ale, twice. Thanks, Bart.
  • Ridden a unicycle 2/3rds the length of a badminton court, unaided.
  • Made a new power-connection lead for the GPS on the BMW…
  • and got a nasty headache from the flux fumes in the process.
  • Spent almost every night up until 0200h chatting with someone on Skype, …
  • drunk vast quantities of very good coffee in order to compensate for the consequent sleep deprivation, …
  • felt like a teenager, …
  • and loved every minute of it.
  • Excepting, maybe, one or two oddments at work.

Comments

4 responses to “Stuff that I’ve done this week…”

  1. Em
    Jam

    I’ve made rhubarb and strawberry jam this evening.

    What’s your recipe for the rhubarb and ginger jam? I wanted to make some if we get any more rhubarb.

    Please.

  2. alecm
    re: Jam

    I hacked a recipe from my sister, the result is/was as follows:-

    – 880g rhubarb, finely diced

    – 880g (maybe a bit more) sugar; basically we’re talking 1:1 ratio for weight

    – 1 lemon (scale for more) squeezed to juice

    – large chunk peeled ginger, maybe 3 golfballs sized. (scale for more)

    Put the rhubarb in a large bowl in alternate layers with the sugar and lemon juice. Cover and leave overnight, perhaps a little longer.

    Next day:

    – carve off 3/4 golfball of ginger, set aside

    – dice and bruise the remaining ginger root slightly with a weight or rolling pin, then tie it in a piece of muslin to make a bouquet garni-type thing.

    – dice/chop the set-aside ginger into smallish matchhead-sized niblets. I had a garlic chopper to do this for me.

    – Put the rhubarb mixture into a heavy-bottomed pan with the muslin bag and bring to the boil.

    – Once boiling, boil rapidly for 15 minutes. Remove the muslin bag, squeezing out the syrup as you do.

    – Add the niblets and boil for a further 5-10 minutes or until the rhubarb is clear.

    – Test for a set and, when the setting point is reached, take the pan off the heat and skim the surface with a spoon to remove foam.

    – Pot into washed/dried jars, and cover.

    makes 3.5 jars

  3. alecm
    re: Jam

    ps: jam set testing: drizzle a few drops onto a cold/chilled plate.

    blow on it a few times.

    drag a toothpick across it and see it if it pulls a slight skin.

  4. 82.68.21.94
    re: Jam

    Thanks.

    My setting test:

    spoon some jam onto a nearby plate. wish that I had chilled plate. go away as jam won’t cool down. two minutes later think … I forgot the jam! test jam by pushing it across the plate. any resistance and crinkling then jam will set.

    I think I have a far more chaotic way of making jam. Still I seem to get good results apart from the occasionally highly variable strawberry.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *