Jammin'

First of all, a huge, loud, boisterous THANK YOU, woohoo, whackadoo, and a joyful rendition of "We Are The Champions," to my wonderful readers for coming to the rescue with the cable answer. After getting reassured by several brilliant computer geek-types that yes, Virginia, they DO make a USB-to-parallel printer cable that will indeed work, I made a quick trip to Best Buy. I now present you the circumstantial evidence.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Don't mind the crumple at the top of the page. After I printed the test page, I threw it in the wastebasket, but brought it out to reenact the Moment Of Great Joy for you. 

I LOVE YOU GUYS. I LOVE blogging. WHAT did we do before blogging? Really. 

P.S.  They only had ONE such cable, and I had to do a bit of searching to find it.  It was 36 bucks - a bit more expensive than some that people linked me to, but I figured a bird in the hand, and also....THIRTY-SIX BUCKS!!!  Not however-too-much it would be for a new printer.  I was actually making quite a spectacle of myself in the store. You may see something about it in the national news.  Or not. 

More purchases:  I bought my first box of DVDs for burning.  Hey, allow me my moments.

AND I bought the only case in the store that would accommodate a 17-inch laptop.  It's a Targus, pretty fancy, sort of urban-hiking chic (not exactly my business style, but do I CARE? No.) and happily, very lightweight.  It has a little pocket on the side for a cell phone and various other doohickeys. It's a messenger bag style, not a backpack like I had before, and I hope it doesn't do a number on my shoulder.  If it does, the wheeled cart will come out more often, I suppose.   

In between all the computer dramas around here, I've found some time to make some jam. Rather, it was because of the computer dramas, really.  At times, I just need to get away from stress like that and do something domestic. Which, in my lingo, means cooking or gardening. Never the cleaning. Never. Ever. (but don't worry should you be the recipient of a gift from my kitchen -- the kitchen is always cleaned meticulously before I cook.  It's just another one of my inconsistencies.)

I missed out on the berries of summer for jam-making -- I'm not really sure what happened there.  But in the last two weeks I bought some kickass Pennsylvania peaches (sort of at the end of the season for them, but they were very flavorful for the jam) and some even more kickass New York organic pears at the peak of perfection, and did me some jam-makin'.

Recently Anj sent me some of her peach-ginger jam, and mmmmm, was that good. I ate it off a spoon and it was gone in three sittings. Yes, I am a glutton. In my defense, it was a nice less-sweet jam, and it was soft-set as well, so it seemed like a wonderful sauce on my spoon.  Mmmmmm. It got me inspired to look for interesting combination jam recipes. 

For the peach, I found this recipe for Peach-Rum Preserves.

Oh, my.  Is that good.  The rum flavor is extremely subtle.  If someone didn't tell you it was there, you might taste it and say, "What is that flavor I'm tasting?" and not until someone said, "rum" would you get it. But as soon as the person said it, you'd brighten and say, "YES! That's it!  Rum!"  Well, at least that's my little fantasy scenario.  I give this recipe a big thumbs up, both as something I want to eat and as very appropriate for gift-giving.  I'm only sorry that I discovered the recipe at the tail end of peaches season, so I could only make one batch of six lonely jars. 

Then came the pears.  Last spring I made plain pear jam, and it was lovely.  I still have two jars left, and I could have eaten them already, but it's weird -- I love it so much I don't want to eat the last two jars. 

But with the inspiration Anj gave, I thought I'd look to see if there was a pear-ginger jam recipe out there.  There were some that didn't look reliable to me -- the ingredients were all wrong (canned pears?!), and/or they were freezer jam recipes -- not a good choice for gift-giving, either.  But then I found this one (which, interestingly, can be used for either pears or peaches) and it seemed like a good choice.

The verdict?  To.Die.For.

Well, for me, anyway.  It is not for the faint of heart; not for someone who doesn't really love their ginger. (I do.) It is very, very gingery and oh, so, so good.  It is exotic and wonderful and it jelled up beautifully. I'm not sure WTF they're talking about when they say "mashed, peeled & chopped" for the fruit.  I'm pretty sure they meant, "cored, peeled & chopped," which is what I did.  I chopped it pretty fine.

I would worry a little bit about it for gift-giving, though, in that it is so assertively gingery.  For a British or Australian person -- not a worry. (I'm saving a jar for you, Alison.)  For your average American who's only ever had grape jelly or strawberry jam and doesn't like to try new things....a slightly risky gift.  Which is really just my way of saying that I'm NOT SHARING.  It's mine!  All mine!

Stay tuned for other out-of-the-ordinary jam combos coming up. There are hints in the basket.

 

Comments

[Shanti]

I have a similar messenger bag for my 17 inch laptop. I find if I sling it over my shoulder it hurts, but if I wear it across my body, the weight is distributed between the shoulder and hip, so my back doesn't hurt.

[Jean]

Okay. Now that I'm salivating all over my keyboard.... I can NOT wait to get back to the States and go to all the Farmer's Markets around West Point. Wheee...

[Dave Daniels]

Glad to hear that your excursion to BB was a success. And good to see the various exhibits of proof that it works. Nothing sucks more than going thorugh all that anguish and finding it isn't the right thing.(Don't ask how I know.)
YAY for that canning/jarring stuff.

[jpt]

Our 3-person household (none of us particularly into sweets) recently ate a jar of Damson plum jam in 24 hours. Our current favorite in the "unusual combo" category is apple, date, and ale chutney, eaten mostly in cheese sandwiches. We have started saying, apropos of nothing in particular, "hooray jam!"

[margene]

Save some of the pear and pear ginger jams for me!

[Teri P]

Congratulations on the most excellent good news, computer-wise!

Ah, jam. Brings such good memories, of picking fruit for my mom's canning... grapes, all kinds of berries, plums, pears and apples. Some of our favorites were the last batches in which she used the last of whatever fruit we had. yum and yum!

[denny Mcmillan]

MMMm ginger-pear jam.

In the middle of winter we drink ginger tea, very warming.

also my boy loves the pears, I may just get out the old canning pot,

oh wait it's become a dye pot.

[Roxie]

Yay for the cable! Yaya for the bag (cross the body, please. One shoulder is NOT the way those bags are designed to be worn.) Yay for the jammin'! You are brilliant in your use of natural light in your photos. There is such an autumnal late-afternoon feel about your basket. It speaks of a successful day of labor and preparations for the winter!

[KnittyOtter]

You make Jam too!! :D That is so cool.

I'm glad you got the right USB cable to work for your setup.

[scoutj]

Woot! Love bloggers and BEst Buy!

[Elizabeth]

I love pears and ginger. I think I have to make some of that jam. Since you're not sharing...

[elaine]

i am soooo trying that jam recipe. we have a pear tree in our backyard that always provides us (and our neighbors) with lots pears and i've run out of ideas. last weekend, it was pear sauce and pear/apple sauce (12 pints worth!). our neighbors have taken quite a few for cider. we've taken BAGS of pears into daycare with the kids. i've brought them into work to spread around too.

i think this weekend will be about pear ginger jam in our house. gotta go get some more canning jars...

[Iris]

I've never made jam before, but as I love all things ginger (I even wear ginger-scented lotions) I'm going to have to try that pear-ginger jam recipe. Wish me luck.

[anj]

see.. this is why I make jam almost once a month. to combine interesting flavors. I should send you my list of jams I have made/will make. A high favorite was pear butter which uses alcohol. I think the first batch we used the chardonney it called for, but the next batch was gin baby! (PS this butter was so well loved we have been asked repeatedly if it has been made yet. people go to their fridge with spoons and don't come out till its gone.)

I love ginger, and I try very hard to make at least one with ginger OR make one marmalade each jam session. I am truly sorry that that batch didn't gel as much.. but I was thinking the ginger set the acidity off...

more jam talk? I would be happy to at rhinebeck!

[Carole]

Hooray for the USB printer cable! And those jams sound wonderful. I remember the first time I tried crystallized ginger. I thought it would be sweet and I nearly gagged. I think I was about 10. Now I think it's fantastic so I'll bet your jam is absolutely delicious.

[Dorothy]

our rule of thumb is to expect a cable to cost fifty bucks. we are almost never wrong. finding one for 36 would have been a treat.

as for your jam, I make a pear-ginger jam and it has always been the favorite when I give it away. yours will probably be appreciated too. my recipe is a little different though. less sugar (5 lb pears to two cups sugar), candied ginger and a vanilla bean. and no pectin.

[Risa]

Glad the cable worked for you. While expensive it is still cheaper than a new printer for sure. Definitely carry the messenger bag across the body, over one shoulder isn't going to cut it.

[Risa]

Glad the cable worked for you. While expensive it is still cheaper than a new printer for sure. Definitely carry the messenger bag across the body, over one shoulder isn't going to cut it.

[jessica~]

OOOOOOOh, that jam sounds soooo yummy! All of it - ginger -peach -pear! I need to learn how to make jam. I'd do the same as you - eat if of a spoon. I see a pepper in that basket...are you making sweet pepper jelly?

For the record... I despise Best Buy. Every single thing I've purchased there has been either defective or they sold me the wrong item. Glad it worked out for you...

[Rabbitch]

I'm from Scotland. Send the jam and nobody'll get hurt.

[Martha]

Pennsylvania peaches are the best. I've never understood why people rave about Georgia peaches. I think PA peaches are much better. Although it may be because I've never had GA peaches IN Georgia (they've always had to do some travelling) and I have had PA peaches fresh off the tree.

[Isela]

Ooh my--send me some of that Peach Rum jam, lol, I need it around here :).

Glad you figure something out for the new laptop :)

[Lucia]

I'm so glad you found the cable! I'm utterly useless on that kinda stuff.

You could give (or sell) me gingery jam any time. I like Trappist ginger preserve, only it's maybe just a little too sweet.

[Silvia]

Yum yum yum...makes we wish I had some toast...

I too found that my new laptop didn't have the right hole for my old printer. I have the opposite problem where I hardly ever use the darn thing and didn't feel justified adding to the landfill. I spent more for the cable than I did for the printer (purchased 5 years ago for under $40).

[Katherine]

Right on, right on, right on, Norma!! My day-care provider handed me a big bag of pears yesterday to add to the (diminishing) pile of plums, peaches, apples, and other pears already in my kitchen. I really dislike apple butter, and I've never done pear jam. I assumed it would turn out kind of the same so I wasn't sure what to do with the pear-y bounty. I have a recipe for autumn fruit jam that includes pears, apples,and plums, but it's from a book which I no longer trust due to their absolutely disgusting salsa recipe (I kind of rescued it, but now the salsa definitely tastes like slightly spicy pasta sauce. Oh well, at least it's edible). Back to my point....

But NOW! Oh, right on. I am so totally making some pear jam. And maybe canning some pear sauce (I love that stuff so much more than apple sauce). Oh, and I guess I should make apple sauce too, while I'm at it. So.
Jazzed.
Now.
Thanks.

[Carol]

If ya ever run out of space for your jam I'll be happy to store one here for you! Glad everything worked out with the printer. There's ALWAYS a way...

[June]

I knew Mimi (of cyber-kitchen) a long time ago, back when I was in college. Funny how life circles around like that.

[Steph B.]

Glad the great printer issue of 2007 is over! (Hope I haven't just jinxed myself into one...) Going to take my first depo today after two months off and all I can currently think about is JAM! I should know better than to read blogs before work!

[Cookie]

Yay for cables, working printers and jam!

Boozey jam. I bet I could get boy to eat that. *L*

[Kate/Massachusetts]

If you like ginger in your jam, a yummy substitute for the fresh ginger is to chop up candied ginger. I throw the candied ginger into cookies, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes, and I have had it mixed into commercial jams.

[freecia]

I am not much of a Jam person but yours has me salivating. A family friend also cans and jams her own fruits, yet it still astonishes me when I think about all the yummy stuff people make instead of buy. (I had a roommate who thought Velveeta was cheese. She also loved "I can't believe it's not butter, Spray" And canned Salmon was an acceptable alternative to fresh fish...)

[Kathy]

Oooooh, full of ginger, you say? Damn, I wish I'd seen that link before dispatching the 4 pounds of peaches I bought for $1 (they were all a little over ripe) last Sunday. Will have to make some up very soon, though :-)

[Laura]

MMMMmmm!!! Norma! Thanks for the link to the pear ginger jam - I'm definitely making that!! Our neighors across the street have a beautiful pear tree full of fruit just waiting for me to come pick! Yay!!

[rock chick]

Sorry. Still laughing here.

[Cheryl]

Wow, that was a long P.S. ; )

[--Deb]

Oh, stop, you're making me hungry!!

[Kristen]

Oooo, LOVE ginger! Love it! I chew on crystallized ginger all the time. (Hate peaches though--blech, phooey, ick!) Regarding the messenger bag, definitely wear it across your body. Also, if it is one of the ones that will allow you to do this, swap shoulders regularly. It will be odd at first--most women consistently carry their purses on the same shoulder--but your shoulder/back etc. will be much happier.

[Kim]

Jammin' are you? I want to hear more about the yummy sounding jam that you mentioned on Judy's blog!!

BTW...I have an IBM thinkpad that I use on my desk with a 19 inch external monitor and it works great. I only use mine as a laptop when I am traveling for work, thank goodness!