• it’s super easy (three ingredients)
• it’s at least as cheap as buying jam from the store
• unless you’re buying Fraser Doherty’s SuperJam, your homemade jam will be ten times better than anything else.

Thanks to Phil’s dad for enlightening us!

Here’s the recipe I used for the plum jam (early taste tests suggest that it’s going to be even better than the strawberry).

Easy Plum Jam – makes 2.5 cups (or just over 1 pint).
(adapted from A Whisk and a Spoon)

Ingredients:

1 pound prepared fruit, about 3 cups
1 cup plus 2 T sugar for plum jam/1 ¼ cups sugar for nectarine jam
2 T juice from 1 lemon

Method:

• Prepare a jar, noting the expected quantity of jam above. To prepare the jar, place the glass and lid in a big pot of boiling water. Place the lid on the pot. This will sterilise the jar.

• While the jar is being sterilised, wash, halve and pit plums. Then slice them very thin. You want to wind up with 1 pound of fruit after prepping.

• Place a small bowl in the freezer. This will be used to test the jam later.

• In 10- or 12-inch skillet, bring the plums, sugar, and lemon juice to boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly and skimming foam as necessary, until mixture begins to look syrupy and thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

• Test the jam: spoon 1/2 teaspoon of jam into the bowl from the freezer. Allow to set for 30 seconds. Tip bowl 45 degrees to one side; the jam should be a soft gel that moves slightly. If mixture is liquid and runs to side of bowl, return the skillet to heat and cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes longer; then repeat test.

• When your jam passes this test, it’s done. Transfer it to the jar, taking care not to touch the inside of the lid or the jar with your fingers (keep it sterile!). Screw the top on, then place the jar upside down. This will help seal it. The jam will now keep, covered and refrigerated, for at least two weeks.

Image credit: The Bitten Word

Here’s why: TVP makes some of my favourite meat-centred meals vegetarian, which means that I can eat them again. As a (mostly) vegetarian, I don’t miss meat, but I do miss spaghetti, pasta casseroles, and my Mom’s turkey chili.

For months, pasta has been one of my most challenging nemeses. Without meat, a pasta dish becomes a big pile of fast-burning carbs, no matter how many vegetables I throw at it. I’ve tried bulking up my linguini with mushrooms and dairy, but even that burns off rapidly, and has the added effect of making me feel like I’ve been licking a cow.

And here’s the secret truth about being vegetarian: meat replacements suck. They’re typically highly-processed, expensive, and focused on impersonating meat. I don’t want to eat fake chicken or meatballs. I just want to eat food, get full and feel good.

On top of that, I can’t help occasionally craving spaghetti and other homey dishes. Bam! Like a flash, TVP to the rescue (just add water!). In the past few weeks, we’ve made:

• Spicy bean chili with TVP
• Zucchini and TVP fritters
• Spicy bean and TVP burgers
• Spaghetti bolognese with TVP
• Macaroni, mushroom and TVP cheesy casserole

The TVP acts like ground beef, without trying to taste like it. It simply performs the same function, and does so most excellently. It turns airy pasta dishes into substantial, gratifying fare, and is a happy base for veggie fritters and burgers.

I’m excited about what a future with TVP will bring. I’m already imagining shepherd’s pies, vegetable loaf and some serious enchiladas. For that last dish, at least, there’s still one barrier: finding refried beans in this too-far-from-Mexico country.

We had the benefit of hot, sunny weather all weekend long, and the hotel was snazzy enough to host a wedding on Saturday afternoon. But that did not stop the food from being terrible. The worst offence was the oatmeal.

Though the staff made a game effort to provide appropriate food for a group with two vegetarians, a vegan and a celiac, they failed completely when it came to breakfast grains. I eat oatmeal nearly every morning for breakfast, so I know something about the subject. Here’s my two cents about how it should be properly made:

Hilary’s 9-Ingredient Oatmeal

1. 1/3 cup oats (“porridge” oats cook extremely quickly, but you can use whole oats as well)

2. 1 tsp polenta flour

3. 1 small handful of crushed nuts (or about 1 tbs peanut butter or almond butter)

4. 1 small handful of raisins

5. boiling water

6. 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

7. 1/2 tsp ground ginger

8. brown sugar

9. milk (or soy milk)

Method

1. Boil water in a kettle. If you don’t have a kettle, get one. The British have been ahead of Americans for years on this one.

2. Combine the oats, polenta flour, nuts and raisins in a small pot. The polenta adds creaminess and makes the oatmeal taste a bit like Malt-O-Meal, my favourite breakfast-in-a-box from home. Nuts and raisins are optional, but they add flavour and help keep me going until my mid-morning yogurt break.

3. Add enough boiling water to cover everything, and cook on medium-low on the stove. Stir frequently.

4. When the oatmeal looks like your desired consistency (this takes only 2-3 minutes for me), add the cinnamon and ginger. Stir, then remove from heat.

5. Pour into a bowl and top with brown sugar and milk.

Image credit: Graham Lewis