Sunshine and Good Books

Hi everyone, I'm here lying on my lounger and basking in this beautiful fall sunshine, it must be Indian Summer!! Just loving every moment.  These are those moments where you grab a nice lounger, lie down, cosy up to the french window and enjoy a good book, which is what I'm doing. The book is called A Girls' Guide to Homemaking by Amy Bratley, I bought it on a whim, I saw it on the shelf at the supermarket last Friday and picked it up because I loved the cover!! I then decided, "ok, you're going in my shopping cart". I often buy books just becuase I like the cover, usually they don't let me down, haha.  I started reading it the same afternoon and believe me so far so good, it has romance, ambition, mystery, cheating boyfriend, repentment.....etc. etc.
As soon as I finish it I will give you the lowdown on if the book has a captivating storyline till the end or not, so off I go to continue with the adventures of Juliet (the main character) and her life story. Ta ta everyone,  my lounger and book are waiting for me in the warmth of the cosy Indian Summer sun.

Oven Made Prune Jam

Ciao everyone, today it's a super grey day!!! Dark and dreary, perfect for making some homemade jam, as you can see I've posted a photo of red prune jam, believe it or not this jam was made in the oven and not on the stove.  To make 3 small jars of this delicacy you will need:

1kg of ripe red pulpy prunes (cut up in small pieces)
250grms. of Demerrera sugar (also white sgr will do)
1quarter teaspoon of cinnemon
5 cloves (finely ground)

Take the prunes and wash them, dry them cut in half then take out the pits, cut the prunes in small pieces put in a bowl and stir in the 250 grms sugar.
Pour in an oven pan that is at least 6 to 8 cm deep and put in oven at 200 degrees (Better if you have a ventilated oven) for about 1 hour and a half, or when you see it gets to the right jam consistancy.  Near the end, about 10 - 15 mts before you take it out of the oven get a wooden spoon and stir, this helps to mix the jam better and have the desired consistancy.  To test that the jam is ready just put some on a small dish and let cool a few minutes, if it doesn't slide off the dish when tilting, it's ready!! :)
At this point remove from oven add the ground cloves and cinnemon, stir and pour in the jars, now put the jars upsidedown for 5 minutes or I usually prefer to leave it overnight to create a vaccum pack.

When filling the jars make sure to fill them almost to the rim, so not to leave any pockets of air.

Your jam is ready to be enjoyed already the next day.