Plum Goodness

I cooked up a lot of plums this week. 

I tried a no pectin plum jam recipe.

It used 12 lbs sweet ripe plums

4½ cups white sugar 

to make 8 pint-sized jars. 

The recipe said to cook the plums with sugar on the stove uncovered until it boiled (stirring occasionally) and then simmer for 10 minutes and turn off the heat. Cool. Repeat. This recipe says to bring the plums to a boil a total of 4 times.

Well, it took a very long time, and I have to say that for all that work, I was not thrilled with the results. (pictured above).

I also tried making Jello Jam. This turned out quite deliciously. I used watermelon Jello which gave the plums a very pleasant flavor. This one is a keeper!

And then I made a batch of Plum Butter. I have always loved apple butter and am very pleased to have learned that I can make plum butter with all my plums (we have two plum trees).

Yesterday I made yogurt. I bought this yogurt maker  in 2010, and I love it.

The plain yogurt is very tasty with a bit of plum jam stirred into it.

 

Now, all I have to do is keep from eating all this yummy plum goodness!

This Just In

Oh happy day, my youngest son just got his high school exit test results. He passed! He is now graduated from high school!   He took the test June 18. Up until then, we were busy with studies. So, summer did not officially begin for us until Sunday June 19.   In all the years of home schooling my five children (it all began in 1992 when my first child was nearly five years old), we never took off more than two solid weeks of summer. Over the past month, I have been enjoying summer more than ever. Finally, so much time to relax in the pool to my heart’s content and go for long walks.  Boy, am I one happy mama!

Vintage Camping

This Delicious Easy to Make Bread Makes Any Meal Better

~ Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day ~

I have posted about this amazing bread recipe before.
It is truly delicious and easy.

One more happy summer meal enjoyed

Winnemucca Lake

 On Thursday, we and our two youngest children took a two hour drive up to
Carson Pass (elevation 8,652 fee)

for a 5 mile round trip hike to
Winnemucca Lake (elevation 9,000 feet).

Soaking our feet in the icy-cold stream -
Oh, that is so refreshing!

A cool place to go when the temperatures in the valley are 104 degrees.

~ Brilliant mountain flowers ~

It was a lovely day.

Luscious Apple Cake

I made banana bread and had doubled the recipe.

And then, to my disappointment, 

I found that I had forgotten to add the melted butter.

So, there I was with two sticks of melted butter.

I decided to make luscious apple cake.

It uses the same amount of butter (as long as I doubled the recipe).

~~~♥~~~

This recipe from my sister notes -

This cake serves 25 hungry men or 35 slender women.

Luscious Apple Cake

2 cups flour

2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2  cups finely chopped tart apples 

Vanilla ice cream - optional

Preheat oven to 350°
Lightly grease a 9" x 13" baking pan.

Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Mix until crumbled. Stir in nuts. Press 2 cups of mixture into bottom of baking ban. (This step is what makes this cake so luscious.)

To remaining mixture, add cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Blend well. Beat in egg, sour cream and vanilla. Gently stir in apples. Spoon batter evenly into baking pan. Bake until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool completely in pan. Cut into squares. Top win ice cream, if desired.  

~~~♥~~~

By the way: 

It turned out that the banana bread tasted delicious even without the butter. 

No one even noticed the missing ingredient.

A Day in the Mountains

Saturday was a free fishing day for Californians.

My husband and his "best man" planned a day on the lake.

 While the fellows went off on their manly quest...

 my daughter and I relaxed on the best man's upper deck.

 ~ View of property from the deck ~

~ View of home from back yard ~

The day ended with a picnic on the lower deck.

Now, that's a masterpiece. 

~ Deer on the property ~