Strawberry Jam (Recipe 12)

It is 8:13am. The sun is streaming through the kitchen windows flooding the room with that dazzling golden light of the morning. I just got back from a 1.75 mile run and have determined that morning runs (i.e. runs at 7:30am) are the best. The dew is just lifting off the ground which makes the air more humid which makes breathing a … breeze (ish). While I was running I got the urge to write. Which brings me here – sitting at the tiny table in our new kitchen, a bowl of Cherrios in front of me and a piping hot cup of coffee to my right. And even though we still don't have internet, it doesn't mean I can't write now and post later. And so, without further adieu – strawberry jam.

Strawberries are in season. And strawberry season may just be one of my favourite produce seasons. Maybe it's because Africa never had berries and I'm making up for the three years without them. Or maybe it's just because they have the perfect mixture of sweetness and tartness. Not to mention that they are a beautiful piece of fruit. The fire engine red colour with the dark green leaves poking out at the top. Can I just say again that God is an incredible Creator? If looking at the fruit He has made doesn't bring you to praise Him, well… it really should!

Because strawberries are in season and because Aldi was selling them for $1.00 a pound I couldn't help but buy enough to make Strawberry Jam. I found an easy recipe online that called for three ingredients:

• 2 pounds Strawberries 
• 3 cups White Sugar 
• ¼ cup Lemon Juice 

 First, I set to hulling and slicing the strawberries or taking out the greenery leaving delicious slices of fruit.

I put the berries in a pot with the lemon juice and sugar and set my jars in hot water to sterilize them. 

Again, handy cooking tip, setting wooden spoons over a boiling pot will keep it from boiling over. The jam is ready after it has boiled for a bit and the berries have been squashed to your preferred size. 

Take the jars out of the hot water and set them up ready for jam to fill them. 

I'm sure there is an easier way to get jam into jars, but I just took a spoon and slowly but surely filled each jar. 

Vwala. 

Once the jam is in the jars, place lids on them and place them in boiling water until the lids have sealed. 

Sonya, Damarise, and I played some Dutch Blitz while the jam was cooking. 

Once the jars have sealed, take them out, label them, decorate them, give them to friends, whatever you want! It's easy, delicious, and the smell from cooking it is how Summer should smell.