Plum Blueberry Ginger Jam and a minty map table

The Farmers Market: Plum Blueberry Ginger Jam What a great month to kick off this new blog. It's July and the fresh produce is plentiful. As a kid, I remember summer evenings were made for catching fireflies in mason jars with little holes poked in the lids. I love mason jars. So much, in fact, that I've decided to dedicate each weekly post this month to those jars of my childhood. This week, I bought a pound of plums at my favorite vendor at The Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. I decided to try my hand at a simple jam recipe that doesn't involve the process of full on canning. The downside? I can't store it in the cabinet to use in six months from now. The upside? It's so delicious that it's almost gone. I've been spreading the love on everything from bread to oatmeal to graham crackers. Sometimes I eat it by the spoonful straight from the mason jar. It's a sweet jam with plums, blueberries and a hint of ginger. So easy to make too. I can't wait to try all sorts of simple fruit jams.

Plum Blueberry Ginger Jam
2 1/2 cups ripe plums, chopped
1 cup fresh whole blueberries
1 teaspoon ginger (powder)
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup sugar

1. Wash the plums. I used about 6 plums to achieve the 2 1/2 cups. Put a small ceramic plate in the freezer. This plate will be used later to determine if the jam is cooked enough to set or not.

2. Cut the washed plums. Remove the pits. Chop in to small pieces. Wash the blueberries, keeping them whole.

3. Heat the plum pieces, blueberries, ginger, lemon juice and sugar over medium heat in a saucepan.

4. Stir constantly to completely dissolve the sugar, about 4-5 minutes.

5. Let the mixture cook over medium heat. When it starts to boil, reduce to a simmer uncovered until the plums and blueberries become soft and tender. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. As the plums cook, they will get darker.

6. Cook until the mixture thickens.

7. Remove the plate from the refrigerator and place a spoonful of jam on it. Put the plate back in to the freezer for another minute and remove again. To text the jam's readiness, run your finger through the center of the jam. If it is clear where you ran your finger through, it's done. If not, cook it another 5 minutes and test again.

8. When the jam is ready, remove from heat and allow the mixture to rest for a few minutes. Transfer to a mason jar with an airtight lid and store in refrigerator. Good for at least 2 weeks. This recipe yielded approximately 1 1/2 cups of jam.

The Find: A minty map table This week's find is an old side table that I picked up at a local yard sale for a walloping three dollars. Old school. Solid wood and construction. I love the shelf which will neatly organize a pile of books, leaving the top free and clear for a cleaner look. The drawer is plenty big enough to house lots of other things. I see this piece as a bedside table. I mixed up some chalk paint using a beautiful pale mint paint called Distant Valley. Since I love maps so much, I decorated the drawer with three panels of an italian map. I stripped the hideous outdated drawer pulls and replaced them with simple antiqued gold knobs. I think this looks like one happy bedside table now!