Plum-Walnut Conserve for Christmas (!)

This may seem like rushing the season crazily, but I spent part of today putting up gorgeous Victorian preserves that will probably end up as Christmas presents. However, the first time I ever made traditional fruitcake, I joked with the lady behind the counter at the LCBO (where I went to buy the rum, of course) that I felt I was thinking too far ahead – it might have been late October – whereupon she rather meanly retorted that if one hadn't begun by Labour Day it was already too late. Some things just take time.

In any case, when better to put up plums than when they're in at the farmers' markets, attracting lazy wasps with the humid sweetness on those beautiful dark skins with their powdery bloom? The mixture includes plums, seedless raisins and sliced limes, combined with a generous mound of sugar. When it gels, you add chopped walnuts and a lashing of rum, then let it sit for a few minutes before ladling it into the jars. The tastes I tried were ridiculously good; I can only imagine what the pungent citrus and rum will do with the rich tart fruit and concentrated raisin flavours over the next four months.

Oh yes, and I made up another small batch of Ontario raspberry jam, which is really my favourite of the summer fruits, as well as a necessity for certain types of cakes. About which perhaps, more later. Below, my harvest for the day: 24 jars. The count mounts up so nicely when you use the small jars!