Apricot Jam

Somehow, someway, I got an idea into my head that I didn't like apricots. All my life I've turned up my nose at apricots as something distasteful, but the truth is, I had never eaten a fresh apricot until one week ago. Having found this jam recipe on Culinate, I needed to try them because the recipe sounded delicious and I thought, "it's jam, how could it taste bad?" I happened to be at the farm market and one of the offerings was fresh picked apricots. I bought two, just to try. Honestly, I still don't like the fuzzy skin, just like I don't like the fuzz on peaches, but once I blanched the fruit and slipped the skin off....oh my, I was wrong. Apricots are a heavenly fruit. Back to the market for more apricots.

And the jam? Yes, just as delicious as I suspected it would be. Do you have other fabulous recipes for apricots? I think I should make good use of these fruits while they're in season.

This basket of kale and basil were put up over the weekend. Basil became pesto which is now residing in my freezer and I froze the kale as well. For two years now I've grown both kale and collard. I feel so earthy when I walk out the back door, grab a few greens and toss them into whatever I'm cooking, so last year it seemed such a shame when I lost all the greens at the first hard frost. I had no idea they could be frozen until I went in search of a way to preserve them and let me tell you, it's crazy simple. Remove the tough stems as far up as possible, tear the leaves into 2" pieces, blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes (collard is blanched for 3 minutes), cool in ice water, pat dry, lay out on a cookie sheet so the sides don't touch and put them into the freezer. Once frozen I dumped the batch into a zip-lock bag for use this winter. Come on, how easy is that?

I love the harvest season.