In a Jam

Strawberry jam, to be exact. The no-spray farm down the road from us opened its gates for U-pick strawberry season. Tuesday, we and a couple of friends went down there and picked strawberries all morning. Imagine being able to pick fresh, sweet, ripe strawberries right from the plant and pop them in your mouth without having to worry about what might have been sprayed on them. That's exactly what we did; in fact, I think my younger daughter ate more than she put in her tray. The farmer jokingly said, "If you don't come back with hands and mouth stained red, we'll send you out again." My daughter didn't need to be sent back out; that's for sure. Our family spent a great morning picking strawberries together, and somewhere during the process my teenager said, "We should make this a family tradition." I tell you, folks--when a teenager wants to create a family tradition, it's time to sit up and take notice!

The Huz and I processed about five full flats of strawberries over the next couple of days. I think it came out to eighteen 12-oz jars of strawberry jam, plus a tiny bit extra; several dehydrator trays of strawberry fruit leather; two dehydrator loads of strawberry chips; and several bags of (cane) sugared frozen strawberries that could be used to make more jam or used for desserts, etc.

We'll be going back for a few more trays worth of strawberries before the season is over; I want more to eat fresh, plus I want to dehydrate a lot more for future use in salads and hot cereals.