Jamming It Up!

Yes, I've been jamming it up this week at my home! 

My late beloved hubby and I always had breakfast in bed and I've carried on the tradition.  It's a quiet, prayerful time for me.

I asked if my grandson, Caiden and his girlfriend, Liz, would like to come over and make some strawberry jam, and they said "yes"!  Those are words that a grandmother loves to hear.  They are so sweet together and after we made the jam,  they each had two pieces of my homemade bread with the strawberry jam.  I sent them each home with some of the delicious jam.

I used this pretty Royal Grafton Strawberry teacup for my breakfast tray.  

Besides all the Strawberry Jam that we made, I made two batches of Fig Preserves from the figs that my friend Joyce gave to me.  You can find that recipe for the Fig Preserves here.

Yield: 8 half pint jars

Author: Kitty

Strawberry Jam

This jam will brighten your morning toast!

Ingredients

• 2 quarts strawberries once mashed they need to equal 4 cups
• 7 cups sugar
• ¼ cup lemon juice juice
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
• 1 pouch Liquid Pectin (Certo) cannot substitute with powdered pectin
• 8 half pint canning jars, plus lids and rings

Instructions

1. Sterilize your jars. I like to keep hot water in them until I need them, and then pour out the water, or have them hot in the dishwasher.
2. Put the lids in a pan with water covering them and bring to a boil, and then keep them on simmer.
3. Hull your berries by removing the stem and white pithy part.
4. Mash your berries.
5. Pour your mashed berries into a heavy bottomed pot.
6. Add ¼ cup lemon juice, then 1 cup of sugar. Stir.
7. Add the remaining 6 cups of sugar, and the butter (this helps reduce the foam).
8. Stir the sugar to incorporate it, then bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Once you get to a vigorous boil, stir for one minute then remove from heat.
9. Add liquid pectin and stir, and return to a full rolling boil; boil exactly one minute.
10. Remove from heat.
11. Grab a warm jar. At this point you need to work quickly so your jars, jam and seals stay hot. I leave my jam on the stove on low which keeps it hot without further cooking it.
12. Fill the jars using a ladle and a funnel.
13. Wipe the jar rim clean with a damp paper towel or cloth then place a seal on top. Screw a ring on the jar, finger tightening only. Screwing on your lid too tightly will prevent a proper seal from forming.
14. You can then process your jars in boiling water to seal. However, a friend in Ohio taught me about 50 years ago to turn the jars upside down for about 5-8 minutes, then turn right side up and and the seal will "ping" shortly. This way of sealing has always worked for me.

Notes

You must make sure that the rim of the jar is completely clean or the jar won't seal.

I went to Ella's first 8th grade volleyball game this past week, where she is the libero and the captain of her team.  I also went to Avery's volleyball game, in the bottom picture, with three generations pictured.  Fall is a busy time of the year.
 

Thank you for your visit!   Happy Labor Day! xo

I'm sharing with these parties:

Talking About It Tuesdays

Love Your Creativity Link Party

Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage