No-Sugar Plum Marmalade

Here is a recipe for Plum Marmalade made with Agave Nectar, a 100% natural sweetener which will not raise insulin levels and is safe for celiacs & the allergic. I made it last week and liked it so much that I begged about 20 pounds of plums off my friend Heather so that we can make more on Monday night. In honor of Plum Season here in Southern Oregon and with many thanks to Christina, the crackerjack cook who gave me the Sucanat version of this recipe...

4 lbs. plums
1 cup water
3 small or 2 large lemons
2 cups agave nectar
4 1/2 teaspoons Pomona's Universal Pectin
6 teaspoons calcium water (calcium mix comes with the Pomona's Pectin)

Combine plums & water in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cover partially and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat and let stand for several hours (or overnight) until completely cool. Remove the pits from the plums and reserve the plums in their juice.

Note: If you're using a prune-type plum, you can eliminate this first step by pitting the plums first, chopping them roughly and simmering for 10 minutes with 1/2 cup water.

Bring a large pan of water to a boil and submerge your jelly jars and their lids. Bring to a boil and then turn heat to low. Allow the jars and lids to stand in the water until the final step.

Quarter the lemons, remove the seeds, and slice the quarters crosswise as thinly as possible. Remove the seeds as you go. If you have a mandoline or a knock-off brand slicer (like mine), this tool works quite well for this task. Place the lemon slices in the saucepan with the plums. Pour in the calcium water and stir thoroughly. Bring the whole mixture to boil over medium-high heat.

Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, add the pectin to the agave nectar and stir thoroughly to combine. When the plum-lemon mixture begins to boil, pour in the agave nectar w/pectin and stir thoroughly for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into jelly jars. Wipe the rims clean, place the 2-part lids over the jars and screw down tightly. Return filled jars to the water bath and boil for 5 minutes (add 1 more minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level). Remove jars from water and allow to sit overnight.

I turn my jars upside down to make sure they seal but everyone laughs at me about this precaution because, once my jars are turned right-side-up, my jam "sits" in the jar upside down!!!

Buncha Reasons to Fall for Southern Oregon

To all of my friends who've ever contemplated a move to Southern Oregon (some of you don't even know who you are. . . yet!!!) I'll just say I had to tear myself away from the cozy fire that Brian made for us tonight in order to get these posted...


Wild blackberries are one of the blessings of living in Oregon. The brambles grow everywhere water is available--if you look closely enough. We picked these at a friend's workplace. It was about 45 minutes of picking for all of us--except Eva. She picked alright but there wasn't a berry left in her bucket when she brought it back to us. Kerplink! Kerplank! Kerplunk! for all of Robert McCloskey's fans.


This is a large Cutthroat (sea run) Trout (I won't try to estimate size because I'll just over or underestimate) that Brandt caught in the Williamson River, about 50 minutes north of Klamath Falls. It was a great afternoon of fishing. Below is Brandt with his fish and below that is Seth with HIS first fish ever--a gorgeous Rainbow!



Ministry opportunities for largely unchurched Oregonians abound, as attested by the photo below of the Puppets in the Park ministry that Faith Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Grants Pass does several times each summer. Love that church! Eva's current favorite color is acid orange, thanks to a plethora of bright orange puppets singing praises to the Lord one bright Sunday afternoon in August. Uh, Dad, I think they may be looking for backup singers, come time for your retirement!