Gooseberry jam

I've made some gooseberry jam.

I think to myself that I am quite good at making jam, but shhh, don't tell anybody, because I wouldn't want anyone to think I wear a flowery pinny and sing tum-te-hum about the kitchen everyday, because I don't. I go in there every morning, trip over the floorboard, complain about the mess, clear up yesterday's plates, spill Cheerios all over the floor and tell Tiger that eating chocolate for breakfast is fine because the French do it. And no, you can't have any.

Anyway, I like making jams. And chutneys, too. I think I am now so good at it that I can set the pan going and then wander off for half an hour, and forget about it all together, until I smell a funny smell and wonder what it is.

Let's revise that statement then. I've made some burned gooseberry caramel. But at least when I discovered that fact, it wasn't 11 o'clock at night, like last year's apple chutney.