Strawberries

This must have been a good year for strawberries, because they're everywhere, and they're cheap. A dollar a quart! That's hard to resist, especially when I know how easily they can be transformed into homemade jam. So I succumbed, bought 2 quarts more, and made more jam.

You jam-makers out there will note that I use the cheating method for sealing: after filling the jars, meticulously wiping their lips and cranking on lids and bands as tight as an old woman can, I turn the jars upside down for about a half hour. Then I turn them right-side up, the lids seal with a pop, and the jars are "good to go."

Some canning websites warn against this method, claiming that it can produce a bad seal and ruined food. However, I've never had it fail, and I've canned a lot of stawberries over the years. My friends recommend this method too. But -- and this is a big but -- I only use it with fruit preserves. Stawberry jam is blistering hot when you load it into the jars. (It has 7 cups of sugar to 5 cups of fruit, and boiling sugar is extremely hot.) This heat alone ensures a good seal. With tomatoes, I still use a hot water bath.

I'm running out of jars, and two of the ones I used this time weren't quite a pint, so I ended up with leftover jam, and no jar to put it in. This will be the first eaten. It's great with PB on toast.

Just in case I don't get back here today, here's what's on my agenda: laundry, grocery shopping, making a big loaf of French bread so we can have a family-size sub sandwich for supper. Julia is attending VBS this week at church too. I'll grab a white t-shirt at WalMart, and she'll be making tie-dye this evening.