“What do you want to watch?”, I asked. “ANYTHING BUT THIS!” they all yelled.

It’s pretty common to find our television on Food Network.  Ask anyone who has been in our home longer than 3 hours.  They’ll confirm.  It’s a default channel.  Watching cooking shows is where I get a lot of ideas for new recipes, specifically, baking shows.  That’s where I learn about flavor profiles and now know blackberries LOVE lime and blueberries LOVE lemon.  Be warned that you CAN in fact, run off your family during Christmas with too much Food Network. 

As a little girl, I remember my dad doing a lot of baking.  There were a couple recipes that no one will ever be able to make better than him.  Homemade peanut butter cookies… the kind where you actually pulse peanuts to make the peanut butter – yeah folks, that’s a thing.  Red velvet cake, cream cheese icing and his cheesecakes will make you want to slap the closest person to you.  Even your own mother.  They are that damn good.  My favorite birthday cake was a 3-layer red velvet cake with cream cheese icing.  Hands down, best cake of my life.

Most of us know the joy of licking the beaters, eating raw cookie dough and those of us who are not rookies know that you DO NOT run or jump in the kitchen when a cake is in oven.  But that’s pretty much where my knowledge ends on desserts. Unless… you consider jam a dessert.

Back in the day (I’m talking WAY BACK, like Stone Age) jam was discovered as a way to preserve food for storage.  It was a great way to preserve fruits and, also, prevent scurvy.  De Re Coquinaria (The Art of Cooking) was the first recorded cookbook and contained a recipe for jam.  That cookbook was dated fourth century AD.  But here’s where we get BACK to desserts and why I think jam completely qualifies as dessert.  Well, me and Louis XIV. 

Good ‘ol Louis was said to be so fond of jam that he insisted it be brought out on super snazzy silver dishes and served with silver spoons! That's LOVE! 

Since sugar was SUPER expensive, it was thought that this was also a way for him to brag about his wealth and make for good convo at the end of a most fantabulous feast.  Story has it, his jam was made from fruit gardens at the palace of Versailles, and he was big on pineapple.  Cool, RIGHT?  I mean, jam… dessert!  Silver plate, silver spoon and jam.  

Customers often ask me, “What would I put this on?”.  I usually answer with “… typical toast, ice cream, top off some cheesecake, add to oatmeal or even yogurt... or… just eat it off a spoon!”.  Well, now you know why.  Sometimes all you need is a spoon full of jam to wrap up a good meal or to help combat a real bad day. 

In the words of Mr. Best (may he rest in peace), “…I need something to quit off on”.  Well Mr. B., I sure wish I would have been jamming out back then.  I feel certain I would have had just the thing.

Love & Light