Yesterday was the day he was supposed to come home.
Due to a knee injury he got sent home early, so he’s been back for a while. His knees are still a little bit messed, but from the looks of it there won’t be any permanent damage and he’ll be back at 100% soon.
As I said last time, which feels like it was a year ago, I have a really hard time when he’s gone away. This time was especially difficult for me, I’m still in a really dark place a lot of the time, and I’m working on that. Because it all started with him leaving, I thought it things would go back to normal when he came home. He’s been back as long as he was gone for, and here I am, still a mess.
Everyone has been really awesome, understanding, and supportive and I am so thankful to everyone for helping me get through whether it was anxiety ridden late night conversations or convincing me to get out of my pyjamas. I haven’t been here much because I haven’t really managed to cook much of anything, and I really didn’t know what to say. Nobody wants to read posts about falling to pieces and shaking from the worry.
It’s time to not be frozen anymore. Things were bad and they are still pretty rough, but right now I’m taking the approach of trying to keep up with life. Hiding under blankets and sobbing hasn’t put me back to normal. It’s time to get back to the kitchen, back to happy, and back to life.
Pear Ginger Jam
4 lbs pears
2 Tbsp lemon juice
4 Cups sugar
3 Tbsp finely chopped candied ginger
2 Tbsp fresh ginger
1 package no sugar added pectin
Directions
- Peel, core, and chop the pears.
- Put the pears into a large saucepan and drizzle the lemon juice over top, tossing to coat. This will prevent the pears from oxidizing.
- Next, stir in the sugar and chopped candied ginger.
- Put the saucepan on the hob over medium heat. Stir regularly, until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the fresh ginger, and keep the jam boiling until the fruit starts to come apart.
- If you want a smooth jam, whiz with an immersion blender or run the jam through a blender in small batches.
- Once everything is blended, stir in the pectin, returning your jam to the boil.
- Seal in sterilized jars.
This jam is so tasty and fun. The ginger flavor is pronounced, but a tingly warm heat rather than a burn. It’s ginger flavor more on the ginger ale scale rather than the zing of gingerbeer. Using both the fresh ginger as well as the candied you achieve a really well rounded ginger flavor profile. The floral, juicy pears are up front and center too, and paired with the ginger it makes for a delightful jam to spread on a toasted (however vaguely) English muffin.
Mr Says: This jam is really tasty on toast with peanut butter and honey. (What a sugar addict!)
This time last year: French Bread
And the year before: My First Post!