This morning, I held up my hand and counted the correct number of fingers, so before my first cup of coffee I put jars in water on the stove. A few weeks ago, I lamented that the season may have passed me by and I hadn’t gotten nectarines into jars. At the farmers market on Friday, I found some beautiful white nectarines and snatched them up. I cut them up, tossed them in lemon juice, made an ultra light simple syrup adding a cinnamon stick, a thumb of fresh ginger and a teaspoon of ras el-Hanout and simmered the nectarines in the syrup before processing. I added a little more lemon juice before sealing the jars, just for good measure. It was so easy I couldn’t believe I hadn’t done it by accident a few weeks back or something.

My adorable grandchildren both have teeth now, which I admire in budding omnivores. Miss Sasha informed me recently that tiny Buckwheat likes food with actual flavors, which is exciting and means I will be standing next to the spice rack, cackling. Lightning will strike. My lab assistant will beg me not to throw the giant switch, but I will throw it! My hair will fly in an unnatural wind as I shout, “Give my jarred fruit SPIIIIICE!”