sometimes i just wanna dance

and then dance some more

i'm dancing in the kitchen because this year we won.

we picked the plums before the rosellas ate them [or rather, took single bites before hurling the plums to the ground in disgust]

and in our short summer night [nowhere near as bright as the White Nights of the North] we stirred a cauldron full of bubbling red deliciousness

so now we have twenty jars of gloopy satsuma jam. it's gloopy because that's exactly the right consistency for eating with winter porridge

The Dog thinks we're silly. she prefers to eat her plums warm from the sun

and properly ripened [don't worry, we've set some aside for her]

dye notes

those of my students who wander past these pages might wonder about dyeing with plums...

they oxidise to brown if left exposed to air

the colour changes as they're heated

and they react quite strongly to hidden things dissolved in water

so

the trick is to use the parts that aren't affected by air [avoid the flesh]

and be careful with heat