Waking up to a rainy day in Camden, Maine makes for a perfect set up for inspired roasting. With no chickens wandering the yard, and the harbor in view, fish is the natural selection for the meal centerpiece. And since jam is an obsession – well you see where I am going with this – I think positively about putting together some harmony to the day with a dinner of fish slathered with a creative confection of sauteed onions, fennel, tiny tomatoes (rescued from the browning leaves), some Gaeta olives and a mindful dollop of my Apricot Orange jam. And since I am staying in the culinary household of Nancy Harmon Jenkins food writer of noted excellence, I have within reach the best olive oil on earth.

Hours later and a success- local cod,  golden and bubbling, atop some arborio rice paired with a white Falanghina wine from Campagna followed by a lemony fresh arugula salad.  Life is good after all.

Want the recipe?

Mid-September ingredient choices are just too confusing. Consider a typical farmer’s market spread: summer berries and stone fruits alongside seductive apples, alluring orange pumpkins and root vegetables dropping bits of dirt. I want them all. But that’s me. I look at a menu with the same conflict – give me a taste of every dish – and stop the battle!

Last Sunday with friends coming to dinner and a chicken roasting in the oven cozily tucked in the middle of every root vegetable I could grab, I faced the choice of dessert – apple pie or berry parfait. I said yes to both of course and came up with the very delicious Confusion Pie – tiny individual pies constructed for the season with black & blue jam spread first and stacked with apples thick sliced with a few nuts and a touch of cinnamon and brown sugar. The jam bubbled up and laced the apples with a lovely summery hue.  I used small terrines and topped the mixture with a pie crust that Julia herself would have appreciated.

Morning coffee with Lewis always offers a bounty of new ideas. This morning lots of ideas of new peanut butter and jelly recipes. Stay tuned!

Another summer with the best of friends on the Vineyard – if only life had this momentary bliss. I cannot think of a better morning. 6 am light with the barest hint of warmth expanding as the sun gets higher. Now sitting sipping coffee and a little toast – and jam of course – the sun is hot and I am getting lazier by the minute. This is where it leads. Total denial of impending movement. Well maybe another bike ride or swim with friends. Tough choices to savour.

I grew up in Southern California in a house smack in the middle of an orange grove. Fruit trees surrounding the house produced ripe juicy fruits so flavorful that I have a classic Pavlovian response just looking at a peach, plum, nectarine or any other stone fruit. No wonder I try for that flavor in making my jams. Now I have the chance to send those jars and that flavor back to California in stores selling my jam. Love these circles in life. And the fruit my transport.

Is it me or is summer moving on too quickly? My favorite season too. OK the fruit thing is an obsession but I love the ease of moving into morning in summer – a seamless transition from the warmth of sleep to the day. And then there are the summer menus – I think fish and grilling and sometimes the two in one easy effort. Last night a fish stew made with the stripper caught by my Italian house guest Franco enjoyed by a second house guest from California and local pals. Tonight thinking of a fish to grill with a thin glaze of my peach ginger jam. I want to stretch these days into a week each.

Just back from Bonnie’s Jams’ first time ever appearance as an exhibitor at the Fancy Food show! Thanks to Susan and Ellen, show strollers tasted lots of jam and we had enthusiastic feedback on our booth, new labels, and the jam. Food manufacturers from Massachusetts were pretty much all in the same area thanks to the Branded Program supported by the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture. We were such a chatty group trading tips and tastes but still managed to snag some customers innocently heading our way. We tempted them with our morsels and then directed them to colleagues – Sauces n’ Love, Effie’s Home made, Root Cellar pickles, and about 15 others. Exhausting and valuable – the whole event all in steamy Washington, DC.

Brookwood Community Farm

Bringing Home the Farm: 2011 Education Series

Jams & Jellies – Preserving Summer’s Bounty

July 30th 1-3 PM

In this class you’ll learn from professional jam-maker, Bonnie Shershow of Bonnie’s Jams, how to make different all natural
fruit jams and jellies. All participants will leave with a jar of freshly made jam.
Location: First Parish Church in Milton, 535 Canton Avenue. Milton MA

For more information about each workshop or to register for individual workshops, please go to:

www.brookwoodcommunityfarm.org/education

The most elegantly dressed of fruits have arrived! Did you ever notice the sensuality of the skin? Feel one – then the color? Not orange, not pink – fleshy – but in a good way. And the good ones are juicy and irresistible. I am making jam touched with a bit of orange.

Explored the delicious food enclaves in Brooklyn. I can see how this happened – great 20 and 30 something smart population, also families who have always lived there form the perfect receptacle for artisan products. I know, I consumed some extraordinary stuff. Stinky Cheese has Bonnie’s Jams and hoping for more stores there. Love Brooklyn!