10/09/2026
IYKYK.
My mother’s Cherry Jalapeño Jelly. Damn, it’s good.
Back in the day, my parents owned Mountain Top Grocery & Mercantile, a rustic little store in Cloudcroft, New Mexico. The kind of place where you walked through the door and were greeted by the smell of fresh-baked bread, pies, coffee, and all sorts of homemade goodness.
Mom made everything from scratch. Breads, pies, sweets, hot sauces, spaghetti sauces, jams and jellies. But her Cherry Jalapeño Jelly, made with local cherries, was something of a legend. It barely had time to settle on the shelves before it disappeared.
Fast-forward a couple of decades, and every so often Mom still makes a big batch, much to the delight of those lucky enough to receive a jar during the holidays.
Which brings us to yesterday’s little discovery, tucked away in the depths of our pantry.
A forgotten jar of that glorious jelly, complete with Terry’s unmistakable artistic touch and handwritten sarcastic optimism:
“Things are lookin up!”
And just like that, they were.
Toast never tasted so good.
