Rumble and Ramble in Strawberry Jamble

My neighbor/comrade-in-motherhood moved to Texas this week. She will be missed terribly, and Heath is already baffled by the lack of boys playing on the other side of the fence. Besides being good-humored and sweet, my friend was a walking source of organic, natural, all that is green goodness. Around this time last year, she made an incredibly tasty batch of strawberry jam that was so delightful, I have a very vivid (and only mildly embarrassing) image of myself licking the inside of the jar when it was sadly at the point of not even being scrape-worthy for an additional dibble for my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

So this morning, the kids and I were outside playing in the yard, and I glanced over at my friend's house. The bounty of kiddie toys, gone. Familiar sounds of boys riding tricycles, just an echo of a memory. Suddenly, I had to make Strawberry Jam.

Fortunately, my mom has quite the strawberry patch in her backyard, and earlier in the week she'd mentioned that it needed some picking. So I got Heath and Stella in the car and headed over to Papa and HeHe's for some strawberry picking, and some tips on making the jam. You see, as I have mentioned many times before, when it comes to cooking, I am a total and complete novice. And while I have eaten many a jar of jam, making it myself seemed like one of those, Oh my word, that's much too complicated, I'll just buy some activities.

Heath insisted on wearing boots and bringing his toolbox. Not sure what he had in mind in terms of what it would take to pick a berry, but he was very eager to do some work. And it was already hot, so everyone got a nice yard working glow. My mom and I picked the berries, while Heath busied himself with some tree tramping. (If anyone is looking for some weeds pulled, branches trimmed, or holes dug, I am totally willing to hire Heath out for the summer.) Stella tried desperately to climb a tree and nibbled on a questionably ripe plum.

Berries picked, recipe confirmed, written down, and reconfirmed, I headed back home with enough berries for a manageable first attempt at jam making. The kiddies were great helpers with the washing and the mashing. Heath is the house "dumper" so he got to put the berries, lemon juice, and sugar in the pot.

And then it came to a boil. And then I left it like that for less than twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. And then I had a nice jar of yummy homemade strawberry jam. And that's it. That's all it took. How odd to have gone so many years thinking something would require so much, when it required so little. And it was fun, too.

So tomorrow, while I am eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (because I always eat a pb and j), I will load it up with my strawberry jam, and think of my dear friend settling in to her life in Texas. I can't say that my jam is as good as hers, but knowing that she inspired me to make it will make it that much sweeter.