Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Strawberry Freezer Jam






The strawberries are in season.  Some of my friends have taken their children to a you-pick farm in Carlsbad, but I haven't had the courage to pull it off.  Instead, Scott and I take our children to the farmer's market on Saturdays.  The strawberries are so sweet and full of flavor that we finish a flat before we get home.  

Adrianne and I had another project day today.  You guessed it.  We made strawberry freezer jam.  LOTS and LOTS of it.  We bought six 4 pound cases of strawberries from Costco, which made 36 cups of crushed strawberries.  Adrianne used Certo Premium Liquid Fruit Pectin, which called for 1/2 cup water, 1 pouch pectin, 4 cups sugar, 2 Tbs. lemon juice, and 2 cups crushed strawberries.  She made 8 batches.  Asha and Kai like to eat their freezer jam in a bowl with a spoon, so I tried the low sugar recipe for us.  I used 1 box of Ball No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin with 1 cup of water, 3 cups of sugar, 2 Tbs. of lemon juice, and 4 cups of crushed strawberries.  I made 5 batches and ended up with 10 quarts.  We under estimated how much jam we would end up with and ran out of containers.  We emptied out my container cupboard, and even used a zip-top bag to finish the last batch.  

Adrianne made an amazing baguette bread from scratch with my new red cast iron pot.  Oh, it was beautiful and authentic.  There is nothing like a baguette fresh from the oven for dinner.  I could have eaten the whole loaf.  Wow.

Some fabric love.  I have some projects longing to come to life, if only I could get on with the cutting, not my favorite part of sewing.

Finally, a picture of our great babies that smile and coo as long as they are fed.  The older ones enjoyed water play in the back yard.     

        

4 comments:

Mommymita said...

I wish I could join your sewing parties. The only problem is my baby would probably just scream. I've really taken to the sling lately to get things done but found I'm still one handed as Clara still wants to be held. Also, I can't really bend over with the sling on and afraid the steam from the iron might burn the baby. I think I'm still at least 3 weeks away from my sewing - cooking also. Thats why the pressure cooking may be a good idea.

The bread looks great!

The fabric is beautiful and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

Marie' said...

I totally understand where you are. Give yourself some time, though. It will come. You are doing great.

After reading Gillian's comment on your blog, I want a pressure cooker too. I am not good at thinking ahead when it comes to cooking, so a nice stew in 10 minutes sounds very attractive.

adrianne said...

I still can't believe we made that much jam yesterday. As per Hannah's request, we're making biscuits tonight for dinner.

What's next?

Marie' said...

Adrianne,
I am thinking oven mitts like this one. Do you want to try? What do you say?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22024649@N06/2350632707/in/pool-denyseschmidtquilts