One morning this past week, though our thermometer registered in the 40s, I was surprised that the hose at the corral, where I fill a stock tank, was icy to the touch. It ran water so I thought that there must not have been any frost. However, the next day, when I went to water the garden, I found some squash leaves and perhaps some pepper plant leaves that had, indeed, frosted. It just goes to show that fall is upon us. Our garden produce won’t last much longer.

Our rhubarb looks as if it’s about had it for this season. However, Mary Burnett, of Craig, says that you can use frozen rhubarb for the jam recipe that she set in this week. Though I haven’t made this refrigerator jam, I have tasted some like it that my sister Darlene Blackford made. It’s delicious. Serve it with the “Corn Grits Cornbread,” made from the recipe also sent by Mary.

Rhubarb Jam

5 cups rhubarb, cut into small slices

3 cups sugar

¼ cup water

1 package strawberry gelatin

Cook the rhubarb, sugar and water until the rhubarb is tender. Remove from the heat. Add the strawberry gelatin. Let cool. Refrigerate. (The mixture can be made smoother by crushing the rhubarb with a wooden spoon or a pastry blender, after the rhubarb cooks tender.) *If using frozen rhubarb, measure while frozen. Also, the recipe can be made lower in sugar by using less sugar and substituting a sweetener such as Splenda. You can also use a sugar-free strawberry gelatin which will reduce the sugar even more.

— Courtesy of Mary Burnett, of Craig

Corn Grits Cornbread

½ cup regular cornmeal

½ cup corn grits

1 cup flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk*

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs

½ cup butter, melted

— Courtesy of Mary Burnett, of Craig

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine dry ingredients, except soda. Stir the soda into buttermilk and add to the dry ingredients. Add eggs, lightly beaten, and the melted butter. Stir together and pour into a 9×9-inch pan. Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. * You can make buttermilk by putting 1 tablespoon vinegar in a 1 cup measuring cup and filling it with milk.

Enjoy cornbread and rhubarb jam! Thanks, Mary! If you have a recipe you would like to share, call me at 824-8809 or write to me at Box 415, Craig 81626.