Hot, Hot, Hot and apricot jam.

It is 45 degrees here at the moment, with a vicious north wind howling through the place as well. I was determined to try and save a few of the vegie patches from the heat after the really hot week we had last week, and how frizzled everything got over the 4 days of40+ heat. I gave everything a good water this morning before the wind started, and put up the beach umbrella over the tomatoes for a bit of extra shade. Unfortunately, the wind keeps blowing the umbrella over, so I don't know how effective that strategy has been..... Also gave the chooks extra water and periodic spray down with the hose to keep them cooler, luckily their pen is mostly in shade and they have made lots of dust wallows under the bushes which must be cooler. My friend had 7 of her chooks die from the heat last week, so I am really aware of the poor dears on days like today.

All you can do on days like this is try to stay out of the heat, our house is starting to heat up (we don't have air con), so we will probably go to my parents place and have a swim for a while. There is supposed to be a cool change around 5 or 6 this evening, so we will look forward to that.
There are quite a lot of bushfires around today as well, which is worrying, there is a fairly bushy area nearby, so you just have to be aware of the risk of fire. The Bunyip State Forest is burning apparently; I have cousins who live in Bunyip, so I hope they are OK. I guess we will hear if they are in trouble.wWe going on a rare Adults Only outing tonight ( usually everything includes the Kids), we are going to see a band called "The Waifs" play at The Peninsula Lounge in Moorooduc. It should be a great night, they are a really cool band and we are going with heaps of friends which will be lots of fun! They have sold out the show so we will be part of 700 other fans, so there should be a great vibe! The boys are staying at my parents, so they get a special treat too!
Everbody's happy!!!


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Thought I'd post how I made some apricot jam. It was my first attempt and I was pleased with the results.

APRICOT JAM

*Weigh about 1.5kg slightly under ripe to ripe apricots.

* Wash the apricots and cut them into quarters, I discarded the stones, but you can bash them with a hammer to get the kernel and add a few to the pot for a bittersweet flavour. Put the apricots in a wide bottomed saucepan with a cup of water and the juice of 2 lemons (to help with setting)




Bring this slowly to the boil, and simmer till the fruit is tender, or longer if you don't want chunky jam. Meanwhile, put 1.5kg of sugar in a baking dish and warm it to hand-hot in the oven.
Add warmed sugar to pan stirring until dissolved then boil rapidly for about 15 minutes or until setting stage. ( put a small spoonful on a cold plate and put in freezer for a few minutes, if the surface wrinkles and has firmed up, it is ready)



Ladle into hot, sterilised jars and seal. There you have it! Apricot jam easy peasy style!