Hello! Sue here. I'm taking over the blog from Jo today so I can share my apricot jalapeno jam recipe. I whip up a batch of this every year when the apricots are ready and usually end up giving most of it away as gifts. It is very smooth with just the right amount of zip. Of course, you can make it more or less spicy, as you prefer. It is really tasty when you pour a bit of it over a softened brick of cream cheese. Just spoon a little onto a cracker and you are in sweet and spicy heaven. Of course, you don't need the cream cheese to enjoy it. A spoonful on a cracker is just as good. Or, this is great as a glaze on pretty much any meat. Apricot Jalapeno Jam Ingredients 3 1/2 lbs (6 cups) fresh apricots 6 Tbsps lemon juice 2 to 4 jalapeno peppers 1 pkg fruit pectin 7 cups sugar Directions Pit and chop apricots; place into large pot. Stir in lemon juice. Place peppers in a blender and add a small amount of the apricots, blend until smooth. Return to pot with rest of the apricots. Stir in pectin and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Quickly stir in sugar. Return to a full boil. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Pour into hot, sterilized jars. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. (To process using the boiling water bath involves packing jars with food, completely covering the jars with water, heating the water to boiling and processing for 10 minutes) Can take up to 2 weeks to set. Yield: 11 half pints. If you want it a bit milder only add 2 jalapenos, hotter - add 4. You could add more, if you want to, but it can get pretty spicy pretty fast so watch how many you add. I thought I would share a funny story about this jam. I asked my husband what he wanted me to pack him for his lunch one day and he mentioned a few things, all of which we didn't have in the house, finally he said, "Okay, just pack me a peanut butter sandwich." I looked in the fridge and saw an open jar of jam and asked if wanted some jam on his peanut butter sandwich. "Sure," he replied. I gave it a little taste, to see what kind of jam it was (I didn't always label my jams in the past), and it tasted like apricot. I didn't taste any heat so figured it was just plain apricot jam. When my husband got home from work later that evening he looked at me and asked, "What the heck kind of sandwich did you make me? It was hotter than heck." - Okay, he didn't say "heck" I'm just inserting that word as his were a little less polite. I didn't notice the heat because I just had a little lick of it but, spooned into a sandwich, it was a little spicy. Apparently I made him a peanut butter and jalapeno jam sandwich. He didn't find it as funny as I did. Go figure. Anyway, I tend to label my jam now. Be sure to check out The Mandatory Mooch for some great links. And, pop over to Blissful and Domestic for even more!

I have a passion for cooking, and I can probably thank my grandmother for it. She was a marvelous cook who could really stretch a food dollar. —Jo Talvacchia, Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey

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