Cherry jam

It's cherry season here in the UK - suddenly they're everywhere and really cheap. So, jam.

You're going to need a cherry pitter, a couple of lemons and a whole lot of sugar. You're also going to need some cherries. You want the cherries to be a little less ripe than you'd usually eat them. If you can get sour cherries, so much the better.Think about how many cherries you can handle pitting, then buy less than that. Believe me, your ideas will change on about your third punnet. You get about a jar to a lb, so if you really want a lot of jam try to convince a friend to help.

Before you start the jam, sterilise the jars by washing them in soapy water, rinsing them well and baking them in a cool oven (130 C) for 15-20 mins. Then go and find that shirt of your husband's/boyfriend's that you've never liked, or failing that, something black. You can wash your table down afterwards, but your top is likely to get stained. You may also like to put on some encouraging music - in a few minutes time you're going to have cherry juice all over you, so do it now.

Rinse, destem and pit the cherries. Convince yourself you've always wanted a red table and enjoy the stain starting to appear on your shirt. Chop about 3/4 of the cherries so they don't fall off your toast. Zest and juice the lemons. The juice contains pectin as well as acidity and will help to set the jam. The juice will also help to bleach your now pink hands.

In a heavy stockpot over a medium heat, cook the cherries until all the fruit is soft, stirring regularly with a spatula, scraping the bottom of the pan as you do so. Measure the amount of cherry mixture you have, then add about 3/4 of that amount of sugar. E.g. if you have 2 litres of mixture (including liquid), add about 1.5 litres of sugar. Turn up the heat and stir often. Place a saucer in the freezer.

After a while the bubbles will begin to subside and the mixture will become thicker. When it's ready it will coat the spatula, gel-like. Take it off the heat and put a small amount of jam on the frozen saucer. Return it to the freezer for a few minutes. If it wrinkles when you nudge it, it's done. If not, return the mixture to the heat and boil it for another few minutes then test again in the same way.

When it's done, ladle the mixture into the sterilised jars and leave to cool at room temperature.

Day # 1

In a less than fortuitous start to my new career as a trophy wife, the washing machine broke this morning. I assume our rental agency will treat this with their usual professionalism and urgency and I look forward to being able to use the washing machine again in December.

On a more cheerful note, I made some almond creme brulees and a rather nice salad for dinner:

200g quinoa cooked in chicken stock (or fake chicken stock as the case may be)
2/3 capsicum, diced
handful of feta, crumbled
small handful of chopped mint and flat-leaf parsley

Rose creme caramel

I came across a recipe for rose petal flan today and fell for the idea immediately. I dropped into Waitrose on the way home to get some ramekins and got to cooking straight away when I got home (stopping briefly to put on some music - I can't cook without music). By the time Vaughn arrived home I was the very picture of domestic, apron and all.

Just a couple of hours later and my tummy is feeling very content. If I were a cat, I'd be purring. As it is, I'm struggling to find enough will power to not eat the second serving that's in the fridge.

Rose creme caramel

Caramel
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tbsp water

Custard
2 cups milk (I used semi-skimmed)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp rose water

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees.

Caramel: melt sugar and water over a medium heat until golden brown. Remove from heat and divide equally between ramekins, coating the bottom of each. Place ramekins in deep baking dish.

Custard: heat milk and sugar over a medium heat until sugar in melted and milk is warm to the touch. Do not let the milk boil. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk remaining ingredients. Temper the egg mix with 1/2 cup or so of the warm milk mixture, whisking as you add the milk. Reduce heat under milk mixture to low then whisk in the egg mixture. Remove from the heat and add divide custurd equally between ramekins.

Pour enough water into the baking dish to come half way up the ramekins. Bake on middle shelf until custard is gently set in the middle, about 45 minutes. Chill until cold. To serve, run a knife around the edge of the custard then upturn on a plate.

De-licious.