Beach Baby, Beach Baby
And the way the sunlight plays upon her fruit
I hear the sound of a gentle wind
On the wind that lifts her scents through the air
with apologies to Mike Love And Brian Wilson
Mid August is when I can tell, what kind of year it will be. There was a TON of rains in July, so, that bodes well.. and suddenly, by mid-august, there was plenty of fruit on the bushes. Now, it just took time, sunlight, and patience.
Sadly, too much patience on my part, and someone had grabbed much of the fruit on my go to Beach Plum Plants. But that's OK... there's an old railroad bed, that actually is a dirt fire road, into the scrub pine. Along both sides are a lot of Beach Plum Plants. Beach Plums LOVE the sandy, well draining soil, near the salty oceans of New England.
Easy enough, I picked a few large plastic bags of the fruit. Many really ripe, some perfect ripe and some, green... the few green are as important as the perfectly ripe ones, too.
As I mentioned, complicated year, so I ended up freezing the fruit in their two bags, for an extra month or two. Once I thawed out the Beach Plums, above, it was time to start SMASHING!
The large stand, and metal strainer, along with a large wooden Pestle is perfect for reducing the fruit, with it's stone pit inside, into a pulp and juice for making some jelly.
Juice collected on the left, below, and the pulp, and pits, on the right.
I added some juice from one large lemon, some lemon zest, a few cups of sugar (Half what I used last year), and some Sure•Jell Pectin, and Boil it.
Meanwhile, boil some Jelly Jars, and the lids and Lid rings to sterilize.
Pour the hot liquid fruit into the jars, cap with a ring, and lid. I add a date to the lids, so I can know how long I can keep the jelly stored, safely.
In case you are curious, one of the jars is leftover from when my mom made jellies. (Probably more than one) I tend to buy at least a couple if not more dozen jars a year, as I give some away. But, this jar, below, had a label from mom, when she made Beach Plum Preserves.
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To the animals and birds around me
to put more plants in than I take out
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BEER
.Hey @bluefinstudios, here is a little bit of
BEER
from @pixresteemer for you. Enjoy it!Do you want to win SOME BEER together with your friends and draw the
BEERKING
.I love these rituals that you have Greg. I hope that your girls learn from you, as you learned from your mom. And that jar with your mom's handwriting is so special. Handwriting is so very treasured to me. It's like a fingerprint - but even more. Their hands held a pen and scrolled in a particula pattern according to their style. And even probably their palm pressed against the paper (or in that case - the label. So in a very real way, part of her is there with you. I love that. love it
Enjoy those yummy beach plums heheheh
I do enjoy a yummy plum, here and there
Simple & yummy mouthwatering recipe...👌 👏👏👏 😊 👍. Could I make the same recipe with cherries or strawberries too?
I've made similar jelly with Raspberries, Strawberries, and Blueberries... so, it should not be a problem. Basically, 1 cup fruit to 1 cup sugar.