Sidewalk Chalk and Strawberry Jam

One of our favorite warm weather pastimes it drawing with sidewalk chalk. When Aria was 2 or 3 she always wanted me to draw on the driveway pictures for her of princesses, butterflies, animals, etc. Now Aria has become quite the artist and draws her own creations in chalk. Last week when it was warm weather she had drawn this mermaid and it was so cute and thoughtful I had to take a picture before the rain came and washed it away.

Strawberry Jam

Last Saturday I went shopping at my usual grocery store and was going to grab the usual things. I walked into the store and at the front was cases of strawberries on sale. They looked so good and thought it would be fun to make some jam. I have never made jam before and knew two things I needed fruit and pectin. Before I put the fruit in my cart I ran to the baking aisle where they kept all the canning stuff. On my way I was thinking of all the yummy jam I was going to make and eating on peanut butter sandwiches and smothering it on hot rolls. So I got to the aisle and found myself looking at boxes of pectin. I did not know there was so many different kinds of pectin (powdered pectin, liquid pectin, sugar free, low sugar) it was crazy. So I picked one that had a recipe on it for jam and headed back to get my strawberries. I returned home late that day and decided to make the jam Monday.

Monday morning came and I was so excited. First thing I started was filling my huge canner with water and placing it on the stove to start to boil, because that thing can take hours to boil. I then washed and hulled the strawberries. Aria came up an wanted to help. She is usually a good helper and if I let her help she is more likely to consume what we made. I gave her my special hulling tool and showed her how to do it. We started to work and work always turns into play with children. We began to pretend that we were giving the strawberries a haircut. Pulling there long green hair into a ponytail and then loping it off. Aria thought it was great fun and then started asking if it was a girl or boy strawberry's hair she was cutting. Anyway we got the strawberries hulled, and crushed. We measured them and put them into a pan with sugar and lemon juice. The yummy jam had came a boil and then we added the pectin and boiled some more. I poured the ruby mixture into the jars and put the lids and rings on. At this point of canning always makes me nervous, will the jars seal? I put the jam in their hot tub and set the timer. After the timer went off I lifted the the jars out and put them on a towel. Within minutes I heard that beautiful POP! and it was music to my ears. The jars all sealed.

The only minor problem I had was that the jam separated. It was bugging me a bit so I got online and did some research on jam making, which I should have done before. The reason for the separation is common and there is a few possibilities on why it happens. First, store bought fruit is more dense, and dry from setting in the store making it rise. Second, I did not crush it enough, but not too much. Third, I could have let the mixture sit for 5 min and then stir and then pour it into the jars. Fourth, it will taste fine and that I will just have to stir it after opening. So I will not be winning any ribbons, but it was fun and it tasted good. After making the jam I realized I am really the only one in my little family that eats jam.

I am the Little Red Hen.