Do Try This at Home, Kids

A few years ago my friend, Steph, taught me to make jam.  She gave me her no-nonsense instructions and a beautiful old-timey pot & directed me on which handy tools to buy (which is part of the fun of having a new hobby, now isn't it?).  I must've eaten at least a jar's worth of apricot jam while cooking that first batch.  Wow.  So good.

And... then my littlest one starting toddling around my legs in the kitchen.  Bubbling preserves (apricot! plum! strawberry! raspberry! what a summer!) started feeling a little dicey.  But, having homemade jam in the house at all times wasn't something we could give up without a fight.

So we started making freezer jam.  What a delicious and easy alternative.  In fact, this batch here -- the only thing I actually did -- was to pour it into jars (because one of my handy gadgets is, eh-hem, misplaced).  Otherwise, the kids could have done this part, too! 

Invest in some basic canning jars if you don't already have 6 miscellaneous boxes in your garage.  For $10 you'll have freezer jam containers, storage for leftovers, a bouquet delivery system, homemade cookie gift packaging, button jars, ...

On the right: what we had in our
pantry.  On the left: what I just
bought.  The key is
"instant" or "no cook."

Here's the low-down:
Stir together sugar & freezer jam pectin (from our local Ace Hardware store) according to package directions.
Mash fruit (fresh, or 3 bags of frozen raspberries -- our year-round, non-heatstroking standby).
Combine.
Pour into jars (I buy freezer jar lids at Ace, too.  $5)
Freeze until you're ready to use.
Eat.  On everything.  Share.  Gift.  Take pictures of jammy smiles.