Sunday, April 01, 2007

Oh for bread and strawberry jam!

I’ve got one slice of white bread left and I’ve been really longing for some bread and jam. The only problem is that I can’t seem to get into my new jar of Bonne Maman strawberry jam and I really want strawberry. I’ve got one of those jar lid removers but it seems to be a little too small for the fine girthed Bonne Maman jars, I tried yesterday to open it but gave up. My right arm not really being up to any exertion at this present time. But I really wanted strawberry! Finally after thinking I am going to have to make do with blackcurrant or raspberry (in much smaller Harvey Nichols jam jars and generally easier to open), I hit the side of the ginghamed jar lid on the edge of the work surface and then it popped. I have strawberry jam! Yeah!

Clearly this week of feeling sorry for myself has got me hankering for comfort food from my childhood. I remember sitting by the gas fire at my “big gran’s” and eating strawberry jam sandwiches possibly whilst watching “It’s a Knockout!” I seem to only recall watching “It’s a Knockout!” at my grandparents though I can’t believe we only watched television once a week. “It’s a Knockout!” was on Fridays, and Fridays was bath night! And whether Fridays was also bread and jam night I cannot remember for sure but it’s one of the few meals I recall enjoying at my gran’s. it’s a shame as I believe she used to be a good cook but by the time she used to occasionally feed me, she had got into a tinned new potatoes/butterscotch Angel Delight/slice of jellied ham/reconstituted Smash mash rut and I really didn’t enjoy her food. The jam sandwiches were good though. And so were the custard tarts.

I also remember eating jam sandwiches with ham in hospital. I was there after having my appendix removed and why I had jam and ham sandwiches (other than in a odd Dr Seuss rhyming moment) is unfortunately lost in the mists of time! Perhaps I believed them to be therapeutic!

I also have a feint recollection of another jam sandwich related memory involving a blond haired boy but I will have to rely on F to fill in the gap as I honestly can’t remember. Perhaps you can help me out F?

Nowadays I don’t really like the jam contained in a sandwich – lucky as I only have one slice of bread, so instead I just slather it upon my well buttered remaining white slice and enjoy. Bonne Maman jam is really chock full of (wild, apparently) strawberries and tastes as great as I remembered actually it's probably way superior to the jam my big gran used to feed me and I would never consider eating it with ham now, that would be weird! And of course, just in case M is worried, I didn’t use the same knife for the butter and for the jam. I’ve been taught well!

2 comments:

Linda said...

i think my favorite snack/breakfast/dinner/lunch/wine accompaniment is bread with jam and brie. YUM!

Anonymous said...

Fresh crusty bread (sliced thickly), butter and homemade raspberry jam... reminds me of my childhood... YUM!
Tip: to open "sticky" jam jar lids.... place the tip of the spoon in one of the gaps between the lid and the jar and lever it until you hear a pop (the vacuum air lock will have been released). It'll be easy to open after that. A spoon is used as it tends to be stronger than a knife/fork and less likely to get damaged.