Canning Season Returns

Strawberries are now cheap in the grocery stores. Mike brought home several pounds of berries, pectin, and lots of sugar Monday. Madelyn and I processed all the fruit and I made strawberry jam. Our family is made up of jam snobs. Store bought jam is sneered at whenever it is offered as a substitute for homemade.

Strawberry jam is by far our family's favorite type of jam. Last year, the kids ate 24 jars of strawberry jam by the end of June! We weren't able to get any more strawberries, so there was NO jam during the long winter months. I was able to make 15 pints of jam yesterday and will make more when the local berries become available. The strawberry jam will be hidden from the kids and put into a rotation with the other types of jam that I make each year.

Asparagus is now in season. I'm planning on getting 40 pounds next week to freeze. We love roasted asparagus and the frozen is quite tasty, even though it's never as good as fresh roasted. Wouldn't it be wonderful if asparagus season was longer?

I'm looking forward to filling up the canning cellar and the freeze with all the wonderful vegetables and fruits this summer. It's so satisfying to know that we have wholesome, well prepared foods on hand, especially when the cost of produce rises during the colder months.

Jams and Jellies

By early spring, we always run out of home-made jam and jelly. I managed to pick up quite a few strawberries at Meijer when they were on sale a few weeks ago. Time constraints only allowed two batches of jam to be made, so more will need to be made when strawberries are in season around here. At the same time, supplies were purchased to make apple jelly and grape jelly. It's cost prohibitive to use grapes and apples to make juice, to make jelly, so I purchased the juice. The grape jelly still needs to be made, but I've managed to get 20 pints stocked up for next year.

Weekend Update

Friday and Saturday, the girls and I froze 20 quarts of strawberries and made three batches of jam. The strawberries were $1/pound. Why are the local berries always so much more expensive than berries from California. The kids and I plan to pick some local strawberries when they are in season, but it's nice to get some at the lower price!

My mom gave me 12 young lilac bushes. I've always loved the look and smell of the purple variety. My mom shared some of her white lilacs, which have much less fragrance, but I still enjoy having them around. We planted them along the fence line where the one neighbor sits on her back porch and stares at us when we are outdoors. She seems like a nice enough person, but it makes us uncomfortable to be watched constantly. The lilacs should provide just the right amount of screen between our properties.

On Friday, Amy streaked her siblings' hair. Katie, Steve, and Madelyn got platinum blond streaks. Katie's was heavily streaked, and I thought that the difference in color was too extreme. Her hair was dyed blond on Saturday. It ended up being a strawberry blond color.