Write Out of the Blue: Endless summer

My husband had the most wonderful grandmother in the world.

She was like one of those grandmother's from a fairy story - kind, gentle, patient, indulging, yet a truth-speaker, and she loved me like one of her own. She was an incredible gift to me in the short time I knew her. Sadly, she died much earlier in our relationship than I would have liked. I truly loved her.

Gramy (as we called her) had quite an influence in my life, especially when I was a young bride - spending time with her, watching how she showed love to the men in her life, the stories I heard told about her - especially about her cooking. Over the years she won many blue ribbons at the Washington County fair for her pies, pickles and jams, setting a high bar to which I've always aimed. Tim and the rest of the family would rave about Gramy's creations, and one of the highest compliments Tim has ever given me is telling people that I have perfected his grandmother's pecan pie.

I adore my husband, and if I can please him by recreating (in at least a small way) those wonderful memories from his childhood of his grandmother's pies and jam, I will try to do that.

I think making jam and preserving fruit is a wonderful thing. I love the whole process, from choosing the fruit, to making it, to seeing it in those pretty jars, and then enjoying it all year long. It is as if you are putting summer itself into syrup and saving it for a cold winter day.

Last week I went to the farmers' market and bought a box of peaches. They smelled wonderful as they finished ripening on my counter.

Yesterday I blanched and peeled the ripest of those lovely peaches.

Next I sliced them off their stones...

...leaving a colorful and satisfying mess of skins and stones.

I chopped about half of them for jam, and mixed the chopped bits with with pectin and sugar, bringing them to a boil on the stove (no picture - hands sticky and messy!). That process not only makes the jam sweeten and set, it deepens the color and prepares the jam to look beautiful in the jars. While the jam was cooking, I made a simple syrup to pour over the sliced peaches for preserves.