Jammin'

We jammed on the mulberry jam this week! I'm so excited. I was really intimidated by the idea of making jam and canning it - it seemed like something that one should not attempt if they don't have someone on hand that has done it before. My friend Jennifer and I tackled it without any wisdom at our side. We followed directions from pickyourown.org along with the directions that came with the pectin. We dirtied a lot of dishes, wondered what we were doing from time to time, laughed and made a mess, but the results are so worth it. We used a gallon of frozen mulberries and ended up with 12 8 oz. jars. The girls and I opened one this afternoon and pronounced it yummy. Really, it tastes very similar to the mulberry pie I was making, so how can you go wrong with pie on toast?

The girls and I went to Crabtree Farms this week with some friends to pick blueberries. Their trees are small and the berries are ripening slowly. The advice we got was to get there early...and not come with all your friends, if you want to get many. I'd say we all ended up with about a half a cup of blueberries. We're thinking about hitting this blueberry farm in a week or so. I've been there before and there was a multitude of berries. I got an email from them this evening and they said it looks like they're going to have a really good blueberry season this year. I'm thinking more jam! Also planning to head back to Crabtree Farms in about two weeks, when they said that their blackberries will be ripe and going gang busters. Watch out berries, you're going to be jammed!

I'm not just cooking and eating these days. I've started making pinwheel squares to put into winter quilts for the girls. I'm really hoping they'll be done by winter so that I can surprise them. I'm also finishing up another Emmeline apron. And there's more embroidery on the way as well. Pictures to follow as progress is made.