Back to School Jamming

I met my sister-in-law for lunch at Salvador Coffee in Darlinghurst. On closer inspection, as I was waiting for my lunch date to arrive, I realised the seats are pre-loved school seats, etchings and engravings all still remaining… amusing.

The setup is Spartan but effective. They roast the beans on site up the stairs on the first level. They serve minimal but enough food such as muffins and approximately 4-5 different sourdough sandwiches. They don’t do much, but what they do is at a high quality and delicious. The coffee was extremely pleasant and the organic sourdough sandwich with ham, cheese and avocado was satisfying and filling.

After lunch I walked my sister-in-law to the National Art School where she’s taking a summer course on anatomy of the body. Until today I didn’t know that the school even existed or that it was a gaol, just tucked away amongst the craziness of Taylor’s Square in Darlinghurst, behind the court house. Reminded me of the soggy jam sandwiches I would find tucked between my books at the bottom of my school bag. Then I remembered the homemade apricot jam my mum would make, the smell still pungent in my nostrils. I haven’t had jam like that in years, mouth-watering.

So I became determined to use up that punnet of strawberries sitting in the fridge, which is not quite good enough to eat, but not bad enough to throw out either. Oh and the dodgy bananas…they seem like a great idea at the supermarket when they’re all shiny and fresh, it’s just eating them that seems to be the problem.

Angie’s Homemade Strawberry Jam

5 mins prep, 35-50mins cooking, yield is ½ small jar

1 punnet dodgy strawberries, washed, hulled and halved

½ cup caster sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1 cup water

Throw everything in a small saucepan (non stick or cast iron preferred). Stir until sugar is melted, leave to simmer for 5 mins until the strawberries start breaking down. Use wooden spoon to break the strawberry pieces into halves again in the pan whilst cooking and stir. Cook on low heat for a further 30-45 mins, stirring often so the jam does not stick to bottom of pan. Do this until it’s reached a jammy consistency. Turn off heat, leave to cool and place in a small sterilised jar in the fridge. It should keep for about a week..if you don’t eat it before then. I enjoyed mine on sourdough with butter - yum! Fresh scones would go really well too, but I couldn't be bothered making them. I'll leave those for another time.

I hate waste (oh yes and my pay cheques aren't coming in anymore so I can't throw money away like I used to) so tommorrow I have to do something with those bananas.