Indian Summer

Finally, summer has arrived in the Pacific Northwest.  We've had a run, maybe ten in a row, of days over 80 degrees.  The sun is shining, the skies are a beautiful clear blue, the late summer flowers are  beautiful and abundant and life is good.

I spent a little time at the Edmonds Summer Market this morning.  It's the last market I'll be able to attend this year as I am off to Mexico for two weeks next Friday and will miss the remaining two markets of the 2011 season.  I'm sure there will be wonderful produce and flowers in San Miguel, but I am feeling a little sad at not being home for the last of our local markets.

Everything is lush and beautiful.  Everything makes me hungry!  I made pickled beets a week ago with wonderful golden beets.  I am still enjoying them, so I passed on the beets today.  I did get some onions to pickle and use in salads for the next few days.

And I bought two half flats of blackberries and strawberries and made a dozen jars of sugar-free mixed berry jam.  I have never made sugar-free jam before and while it is not as over-the-top-yummy as the full sugar variety, the sugar-free kind is allowed in my diet.  And it sure is better than no jam at all!  Truthfully, is isn't bad---especially when smeared on a slice of deep, dark pumpernickel, that I also picked up at the market.

Raspberry Season

At the Edmonds Summer Market today were some perfect raspberries. Now, I am tired today. Really, really tired. My darling Annie and family left for home at 8 this morning and I will admit that the two weeks they were here were wonderful, delightful, precious....and tiring. I love my daughter, my son-in-law and my Alex and my Ian, but I'm tired. A good tired but----well----tired. Do not, Dear Reader, think this is just whining. It is not, I promise. I'm just explaining why I walked past the booth with the perfect raspberries several times without buying any. I tried to ignore the siren song they were quietly singing. I tried not to see how red and plump and juicy they looked. I tried really, really hard not to smell that delectable perfect raspberry aroma. I finally just had to admit that I was going to go buy three half flats and that I was going to go to the grocery store and get pectin and sugar and more jars. I had to make raspberry jam. I had to!

So I went to the grocery store and bought what I needed. And went to the EAF Hen party and had a fine time with my friends, sippin' wine, chatting and eating some amazing food. Then I walked home. I put off making the raspberry jam because I was tired. I asked Nonie to come eat left overs with me. She did. We did. I still didn't make the jam.

Nonie went home to let me go to bed early. I tried. I really did. But there on the counter were three half flats of perfect raspberries....singing the "oh, we would make such perfect jam if only some lazy soul would get up and make some jam!" So I did.

I got eleven pints of jam from the three half flats.

And I made some really, really, REALLY perfect raspberry jam. I did. And won't I be glad in November!

Sigh.