Plum simple

My neighbor Mary brought me six plums from the farmers’ market where she works. I decided to try making jam. It turned out to be good and simple.

Here’s my recipe:

6 plums
1 cup of sugar
1/3 lemon (juice)
1/8 cup water
Cut up the plums (take out the pits) and put them in a stainless steel pot. Dump in a cup of sugar. Turn up the heat and start stirring. I added 1/8 cup of water to get the juices juicing.

 I cut off 1/3 of a lemon and squeezed the juice into the pot. (I don’t know why, but a recipe I saw said to add lemon juice.) I used a whisk to break up the mixture as it heated.

 As it was boiling I used a wooden spoon. I turned the heat down to a simmer.

 I let the pot simmer for at least 25 minutes. I tested the mixture by taking out a spoonful every so often. When it started to look like jam (slipping off the spoon in one glob, not little drips) I cooked and stirred some more until I thought it was done. I let it cool in the pot for a little while and then I put it in a glass bowl.

 I covered the bowl with cling wrap and stored it in the refrigerator. I’ll eat it up in a week or so. I will not keep it much longer than that.


I don’t watch much TV
I’ve always said that I don’t watch much TV, but when my big old, bulky Phillips set went dead Monday night I was very unhappy. I have favorite programs: Antiques Roadshow, This Old House, Charlie Rose, The Good Wife, and my local nightly news. Ha. I am an addict. I guess I’ll have to admit it.

I rushed out Tuesday morning to buy a small flat-screen. There was a 19-inch advertised for $159 so I went to Radio Shack. The 19-inch looked very small. A 22-inch next to it seemed better. “How much?” I asked, and found out it was on sale for $149.

It was really simple to set up. I don’t have cable because I can get many stations just out of the air with rabbit ears. Why would I want to pay for TV that comes free?

I used FreeCycle to advertise the old TV and the rabbit ears and the converter box and the two remotes. Within a couple of hours the little stuff was picked up. However, no one wants an old TV so I’ll have to take it to the hazardous waste dump about 20 miles away.