Fruitful Thoughts

Bill and I went to Montana for the weekend. For both of us, this little road trip marked the last time we have to go away from home this year. 

I love traveling.  

I love home just as much.

The busy, busy fall of getting ready for one major trip and then scurrying around to prepare for another shorter trip has meant that some of my usual fall projects have been put by the wayside.

I can't wait to get started on them.  

One is whipping up this year's supply of jam/jelly.

Twice on our travels this fall, I had dining experiences where processing all that fruit, picked and frozen this past summer, has turned from a "getting roun-to-it" attitude to a real sense of urgency.

In both experiences, I almost felt like dispensing with the items at hand, hurrying home, pulling out the fruit and the jars and preparing various batches of preserves.

In one situation, we were at the Sharamore house in Ireland where our host brought us a plate of homemade pancakes (sprinkles with a dusting of powdered sugar) and local bacon, artfully set off with a large swirl of raspberry puree.  

That's the second time my trips to Ireland have put me on notice that those raspberry bushes need to keep producing more berries.  

I love raspberry flavor about as much as anything. 

Last year, the lemon pound cake at a coffee shop in Clifden, sopped with raspberry sauce and whipped topping, also made me want to get right up from that table, go home and try making that myself. 

Well, I ended up waiting a few months, but once I did----substituting vanilla ice cream for the whipped topping----both Bill and savored every bite which tasted good and re-awakened our good memories of Clifden.

This weekend, I had another of those moments.  This time it was the homemade blackberry preserves and the local bacon.  

If you haven't ever smothered a bite of bacon with any kind of preserves, give it a try.   

Truly a breakfast delight!

I also brought back a sensible idea.  I must start using smaller jars for my jams and preserves.  

That way my refrigerator may not be filled with a dozen jars with various quantities of jelly or jam cuz, when they get hidden behind everything else, out comes a new jar. 

The little jars, where in a couple of days, there will truly be a need for a new jar,  might just solve that dilemma.

Anyway, I'm looking forward these next several days, with no trip in the near future, of settling in to and enjoying a few domestic and tasty projects which will carry us over the winter with our supply of pork. 

I'm also happy to see the fall leaf pick-up project winding down, along with tomorrow's election and other fun items which we enjoy over the winter getting off to their respective starts. 

The next several weeks tend to be busy pretty much every year, but immersion into some of those kitchen projects that literally do provide satisfaction and sustenance as the "fruits of our labors," excites me to no end. 

Plus, I can spend a little more time with our four-legged beloveds, giving them the TLC they deserve. 

It's a good time. 

Happy Monday.