Saturday, November 18, 2017

Fruitcake from Afar and Christmas in a Jar

 Adam's mother is a wonderful cook, and each year she sends various goodies to family and friends. Today a package arrived with a moist, delicious fruitcake, plus some beef jerky (which Adam has asked me to hide most of, so he doesn't eat it all right away), lots of her homemade caramels, and a fun book too! I'm looking forward to the fruitcake.
It came all the way from central Nebraska to the North Carolina coast.

Henny Penny posted a Christmas jam recipe on her blog, and I made a batch this afternoon. I'll put the recipe at the bottom of this post.
 See the space in the bottom of the jars? I did the "upside-down" method of sealing, and this jam is so thick, it didn't want to come down after I righted the jars. It's very yummy -- cranberries and strawberries.
Bless my hubby's heart, he's been working SO HARD to repair our roof. The entire roof is old and honestly needs to be replaced. However, only this edge (shown below) was causing leaks inside the house. He repaired it once, but it still leaked.
So he removed his repair, removed the gutter, and inspected -- he found a mess!
 Above you see new flashing he put on. The edge of the metal roof was rusted and crumbling to bits. Previous owner had applied more roofing, several layers, but it was a soggy mess. Adam removed all the bad metal, shoved new metal flashing way up underneath, put a second layer under that and wrapped it under the fascia board. He sealed it all with tar and other things I know not of. (He had tar all over his hands.) Then today he painted that roofing paint over it all -- two layers.
I'm quite proud of him. It's been a long, discouraging repair. He did his best job, and he did a thorough job, and it was a pain in the neck, using only an extension ladder by himself. We have rain coming tonight; we shall see if the house responds well to this treatment!

Christmas Jam

In a large non-aluminum pot:
12 oz. fresh cranberries
20 oz. frozen strawberries, thawed
4 cups sugar
3 oz. liquid pectin
Combine berries and sugar in pot over medium/med.high heat, stirring often, until boiling. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add pectin. Return to a high boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Immediately put into sterilized jars and seal.
Makes seven 1/2 pint jars.

7 comments:

Lisa Richards said...

Sounds like Adam's roof repair should do the trick! The Christmas treats look yummy! :)

Deborah Montgomery said...

Fruitcake is controversial -- but I'm a fan! And homemade caramels? Yes, please! That jam will be delicious. Sorry about your roofing problems. Good thing your husband is so handy. xo Deborah

Granny Marigold said...

I want to try Henny Penny's Christmas jam when cranberries come on sale ( which should be soon). One comment on her blog said she'd added some jalapeno which I will add too, just enough to give it some kick.
What a job your hubby had fixing the roof. Quite an undertaking if one isn't actually a roofer.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

What a nice pkg to receive, everything made with love.

The jam looks delicious!

From what Adam did this time with the repair job, it sure seems like it ought to NOT leak. I pray it won't.

Have a lovely Sunday and a great Thanksgiving week ~ FlowerLady

magsmcc said...

On a thankfulness list, a handy man has to be near the top. Can I still say that in these modern times? I do hope so! I am rubbish at jam-making. Maybe I'll call round for a master class, sigh!!

Henny Penny said...

I've been thinking about you...wondering why I never see any of your posts. Then it hit me...I've never added you to my blog list. I am so sorry. You have a great blog, and thank you for mentioning Henny and my sister's Christmas jam. Your jam turned out very pretty! Shelby and I plan to get together and bake a fruit cake. Now I will be watching for all your posts! :)

GretchenJoanna said...

May God bless and keep your roof through this winter!!