Strawberry Jam

Is there anything that says summer like strawberries?  I look forward to them every year, but this was our first year making our own, homemade jam.  It was easier than I thought, and more delicious than any store bought jam I've tasted.  The recipe came from one of my favorite blogs, The Pioneer Woman.  It isn't the healthiest recipe (7 cups of sugar!) but it sure was delicious.

I just love canning.  There is something so satisfying about preserving your own food.

 Cooking the strawberries, all supplies prepped and ready.  

Into the water bath for 15 minutes.

Isn't that lovely?  I heard the "pop" of them sealing almost immediately after removing them from the bath.  *swoon*  Of course, our water is crazy hard, so I wiped much of it off, but you can still see where the glass looks a bit frosty.  

Spread on freshly baked sourdough bread.  Mmmmmm.  Look how red!  Only 4 ingredients and zero dye!  Makes you wonder what the heck store strawberry jam and jelly is made of, because this sure doesn't need any dye.  

Do you have a favorite jam recipe?  I'd love to try a healthier version next time.  That may not be until next year though, with strawberry season being pretty much over.  

Strawberries for Mother's Day

My favorite fruit in the whole world, is a strawberry. If I could, I'd have a huge garden just full of them!  Maybe one day, but for now I'll settle with my new strawberry bed the husband and I made this weekend. Some

Of the plants are from Baker Creek seed company, some are from an online friend whose beds had been overgrown with strawberry plants. I was glad to help him out 😉

Hopefully they all do well and give us a good crop next year!  We still have a lot of work ahead of us. The whole house is surrounded by - what once were very beautiful - flower beds. Unfortunately, they were quite over grown when we purchased the house and it is taking quite a bit of effort and time to get them under control. With all the other projects going on, it hasn't been a huge priority. Not to mention the amount of mulch we will need!  

Overall, it was a great Mother's Day, spent with my 3 favorite little girls and the best guy in the world. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️