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Comfortably Domestic

Real Food. Real Life.

We Be Jammin’

by 23 Comments

My Dad and Bonus Mom arrived yesterday with 3 flats of gorgeous strawberries. They live south of us, so their strawberries are in peak season while our season is barely beginning.

I think it goes without saying that we are making jam today.  We are planning a light production load–only 24 pints.  Rest assure that I’ll be singing We Be Jammin’ all day.

We got a little carried away a few years ago, so we’ve been trying to reign it in ever since. Moderation with food stockpiling is not one of my stronger suits.

Jam kind of like rite of passage for us–we usually make at least five different types of jam throughout the summer: strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, mixed berry, and cherry.  Strawberries are in season first, followed by raspberries. Cherries and blueberries come at about the same time. If I am really lucky and remember to pick apricots, I may get a few half pints of apricot jam made at summers end.

So I guess it also goes without saying that I will have to whip up a batch of Light and Fluffy Biscuits to go with any leftover berries.  But seeing as the Baby has single-handedly eaten approximately 2 pounds of strawberries since their arrival last night, we may not have too many left. 😉

We will also be trying a no-cook freezer jam, so if it turns out to be tasty, I’ll post the recipe later.

On a completely unrelated note: Son #1 turned 11 yesterday. I just love that boy. I nearly gave birth to him in the car on the way to the hospital.  My wish for a natural birth gave way to my pleading for pain meds about 5 hours minutes before he was born. The nurses laughed at me. I did not get a medal for my efforts. However, I was given a far greater gift with my sweet oldest boy that I love more than life itself. He is such a joy.  Thankfully, I am handling this birthday a lot better than his tenth birthday, when I got all reflective and stuff.  Because clearly his birthday was all about me. 😉

Do the life events of others cause you to be reflective?

What do you feel the need to stockpile in your home?

Happy Saturday, Friends!

 

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Comments

  1. Ohhhh, I totally miss all of that jamming and pie making growing up. In Washington state my mom was great w/ all of that. In Hawaii of course there is wonderful fruit, just different so I haven't learned any jams or anything…plenty of time, especially now that we are growing our own fruit! :) Your jam makes me reminisce though. Beautiful. (And I CAN get strawberries imported…if that counts!) Keep it up and happy summer days, monica PS I owe you an emai, and a tweet ( :)) coming soon! hehe.
    Reply

  2. Those strawberries leap right off the screen! They are so beautiful! Some of my favorite summer memories are of picking strawberries and making various fruity treats.
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    • I just love the emotion invoked by doing something as simple as making jam. Now that you live in the land of perpetual summer, you should have all sorts of fresh fruit at your disposal for fruity treats.
      Reply

  3. We're past strawberry season here now, but I got enough berries off of my struggling patch to make a little bit of jam. I do freezer jam, and we love it. Sure miss my fresh strawberries. Enjoy yours!
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  7. My grandmother always made homemade jam that was wonderful. It was one of my favorite things about going to see her. My mom loves to tell the story about the time my parents left me with Grandma for a week. Grandma fed me all the jam I requested, and at the end of the week I had gained 5 pounds, no small feat for a smaller-than-average 6-year-old. Fun stuff! I wish I had paid more attention to how she made it so I could pass on the family recipe/process. In terms of stockpiling, my husband feels the need to do so with anything that's on a good sale, so the what varies quite a bit.
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  8. How cool! Homemade Jam is one of those favorite things. I spent many wonderful hours making jam. My fav was Blackberry Jam--Hand picked berries from our old neighborhood. I too would get carried away. Who wouldn't. Oh, how I miss those days. Your children are very lucky to have a Mom like you! Hey I do like the trading idea. Barb
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  9. Mmmm.....I love jam. Brings back memories of my childhood of making jam every summer with our mother. She would bake bread on the same day so we could have jelly foam sandwiches. Ever had jelly foam sandwiches? You have to scrape the foamy bubbles off the top of the jam before putting it into jars, so it may as well be spread on warm bread with lots of melting butter. Oh, man! I wish I was there to help. Happy birthday to your sweet son #1. He has the most gorgeous eyes. And happy Father's Day to your Hubs and your Dad. Sounds like an awesome weekend! PS - I'll trade you a kidney for a jar of that cherry jam later this summer.
    Reply

    • YES! I love jelly foam on bread. I usually spread it on biscuits or scones. But jelly foam on fresh, hot bread with a load of butter? That sounds like carb-wrapped-love on a plate! I might just send you a jar of cherry jam when the time comes--you can keep the kidney, though. ;)
      Reply

  10. I'm a jam stockpiler as well - especially jams!! I did Blackberry Grand Marnier (gave one to PW when I was in MT with Haley), and next I want to do Strawberry Balsamic. That's one heck of a lot of jam you got goin' on. Love it!! And happy birthday to YOU - your son might have been born today - but you did all the hard work :)
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  11. I am insanely jealous. INSANELY JEALOUS. Also, I made freezer jam last year from plums (grown right in mah backyard!), and it was delicious. Please post recipes and tips for canning for those of us still terrified of, you know, BOTULISM and everything.
    Reply

    • I am insanely jealous that you have plums growing in your backyard. At some point, I'll post a few canning tips that I've learned along the way, and maybe a recipe or two. I try to avoid botulism at all costs. ;)
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  12. Everything about this post made me smile! It's everything I hope for when I'm a mom: Making batches of jam to serve us all year long. Celebrating a son's birthday milestone. Thank you for sharing it all so that I can (for now) live vicariously through you! -Emily
    Reply

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