2010-08-24 - 7:30 a.m.

summer, put up in jars

if heaven smells like peaches, then my kitchen smells like heaven. i've been up since early, canning in the kitchen. i could not sleep.

outside, it's raining, and i have the windows open to catch the breeze. in the next room, public radio is playing low, and in the room after that, my husband is still in bed.

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in the morning, peel and cut up three pounds of peaches, and mix with 1.5 cups of sugar and the juice of a lemon. let sit in a glass bowl in the fridge until the evening.

in the evening, pour the macerated fruit into a stock pot, bring to a boil and let cook for just until the fruit starts becoming translucent, about 15 minutes. skim the foam, then remove from heat, let cool and scrape back into the glass bowl. let it sit in the fridge overnight.

the next morning, pour the fruit into the stock pot again, bring to a boil and let cook until it reaches jam consistency - for me, this happened in less than 10 minutes. can.

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