There are days lately when I don’t recognize myself in this amazing life I have been blessed to live.  Things are so vastly different since the birth of my son.  I live in the country in a small town, for God sake! Not a designer boutique for over 50 miles.   I always used to tell my best friend jokingly that  I was “just a simple farm girl.”  It’s funny to me still…but maybe there is some truth in that.

Last week my projects consisted of re-upholstering our kitchen chairs and making/canning homemade raspberry preserves from our garden.  Both tasks were big successes.  Mind you, both projects were pretty easy.  But, I may just have a knack for this “Martha Stewart-ishness.”

Preserving and canning fruit is WAY easier than I ever thought.  I started small.  Just a couple cups of berries.  The recipe I found on Pinterest (of course) said equal parts sugar to berries.  But I have since reduced the sugar considerably.  Too sweet for me.  I did not use pectin.  Raspberry seeds release enough pectin to give your jam a nice jelled consistency.  And I didn’t have any.  So there.

You start by bringing your berries to boil on there own in a medium saucepan.  After about 10 minutes and regular stirring, you can add your desired amount of sugar.  And then you bring that to a boil again for about 10 minutes.

In the meantime take your glass jars and put them into a pot of water and bring to a boil.  You can do the same with the lids and rings in a separate smaller pot.

Once they have boiled, take them out carefully (these suckers are hot!) with a pair of good tongs.  I put mine on a cooling rack.  While they are still hot fill them with the hot jam.  Leave about a 1/4 inch at the top.  Put lid and ring on.  Not too too tight, but tight enough.  Place them back in the boiling pot of water.  I did mine for 10 minutes….but apparently if you live at a higher altitude you may need to leave them in a bit longer.  Then I took them out (with tongs) and place them on the rack to cool.  Several minutes later you will hear a popping sound as each jar seals….it’s pretty cool.

Then I made labels….nothing fancy.  Just handwritten.  They actually come with the jars…which actually came with our house. Previous owner must have been an avid canner…?  Anyway, here is my finished product! It tastes amazing! Sooo sooo good! And a fun little gift to give people when then come for dinner or a visit.

 

See….who am I?  Giving a “how to” on making preserves? Lol! I love it.  Couldn’t be happier!  I moved onto homemade peach pie (OMG!) and peach preserves are next! My favorite! Until next time, keep fighting the good fight and remember, behind every great kid is a Mom who is sure she is messing it up!