Kick out the Jams

Last night was an epic Friday at the Holt House.

Getting tomatoes didn't work out; the lady who normally has box upon box of them at her stand down the street is taking a few days off. Pffft.
But I was not to be deterred, so I snatched up some pears and strawberries instead, and came home and raided my crisper drawer, and then I made these:

Strawberry jam, Spiced Pear Chutney, and Clementine Pomegranate Syrup.

Pear chutney, sweet, sour and salty. And pretty.

The book turned out to be really helpful, and just plain pleasant to read. I want to try a few more of the recipes, although I think in general Ashley's tolerance for cloves in her jam might be a little higher than mine. I think they kind of make things taste like ham so I left them out.

Specifically, I'm gunning for the fig compote and the cherry marmalade.
Do you have any figs you want to donate to the cause?
Do you like cloves?

The beneficiary of other people's tomatoes.

I can't have a proper garden here. It's a constant source of frustration for me from about March until November. It's a long story as to why I cannot even grow a tomato in a pot, but the end amounts to our home having no homegrown tomatoes in August. Clearly, that's an unacceptable situation, and luckily several loving gardeners have seen fit to help me get through this tragedy by gifting me with tomatoes from their own gardens.

I'm like a meth addict for tomatoes too, if someone mentions they have one or more than they're apt to use, I'm sniffing around their windowsills dropping hints about how I can take care of that if they'd like.

So far Cindy and Evan's tomatoes have become a Sunday dinner pasta sauce (and wow was is delish). My Grandfather's tomatoes have been turned into about fifty BLTs (Mr. Holt says thanks, his cholesterol levels do not.) and the Whitaker's tomatoes became salsa, and salad with cucumbers and shallots. (OM NOM NOM.)

And now I'm thinking forward to fall, and I think maybe this year I can't get through the colder months without that sunny, bright deep umami taste of real homegrown tomatoes.

So I got a book:

from Ashley English at Small Measure, and tomorrow I'm getting a giant box of overripe, bruised and split tomatoes from a local garden and I'm going to can my guts out. This could be a big mess.

Have you ever canned your own tomatoes?

Do you have any tips for me?