We Be Jammin' - Part Two

When I turned 30 someone asked me how I felt. I told them it wasn't that I felt old, I just felt that the speed at which I was turning into my mother had kicked into high gear. Maybe it was when I quit my job. Or maybe the cloth diapers. Or maybe when I took over the bread machine. Whatever it was, I have become my mother. It's not a bad thing, just a fact.

When I was in junior high, my mom and a girlfriend of hers starting make jam, jelly, and pickles. They were simply wonderful. And while I'm sure she gave them away, we had a go to stock in the pantry that was wonderful; triple berry jam, spiced peach, spiced pear, and grape. One day I will tell you all about camping pies made over the campfire with butter, cheap white bread, and homemade jam. They are amazing.

This summer when my mom started sending me pictures of her amazing blackberry harvest, I started to reminisce of triple berry jam made with blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries. When I told my mom, she offered to share her harvest (she brought me 3 quarts) and told me we could make jam when she visited this summer. It technically would be fall, but it was still over 100 degrees here in Sunny SoCal.

I'm actually not a fan of raspberries (at all) so I opted for blackberry-strawberry with the strawberries we picked up at the Kaiser farmers market. They were the sweetest I've had all year. And Lily is a huge fan, gobbling them up faster than I can cut them.



Oh, the smell of the cooking sugar and berry concoction was just divine! I opened a jar as soon as mom left (not sure why I bothered sealing it) and devoured it all by myself in 5 days. Mom made a couple of batches to share. I, on the other hand, will probably be hording the blackberry for myself. The peach, the pepper, and the strawberry-peach can be used as gifts.



We made a lot of jam in two days (maybe 3, I can't remember.) You really only get 5 or 6 jars per batch.

After mom left I tried a batch on my own. Spiced peach. It didn't set as well; I think because the peaches were frozen. I'm sure it will get eaten. It tasted good to me.

We'll be trying spiced pear next week. I have over 20 pounds of pears in my refrigerator as I type. I might even try some canning.

I am my mother and I love it.